EPPS One-Day Conference on Entertainment Publicity Deemed a Success
Nearly 400 PR Publicists sought the secrets to success at a one-day conference sponsored by the Entertainment Publicists Professional Society on Nov. 6. At the second annual “Entertainment Publicity: Sources, Secrets and Successes,” held at the TV Academy’s Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre, publicists heard from some of the entertainment industry’s biggest influencers, in addition to learning more about what publicists do, how they can do it better or differently, and in one of the more well-attended sessions, how to get paid more for what they do. Many ICG members helped organize this event. Co-sponsors of the conference were UCLA Extension, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. Opening keynote speakers Charles Koones, publisher of Daily Variety and David Kenin, executive vice president of Hallmark Channel, talked about the importance of publicity in entertainment. “The power you yield is extraordinary,” stated Koones, who offered three key characteristics every great publicist should have: credibility, creativity and commitment. “The difference between being half-in or fully committed is so apparent to the reporter you are speaking to – more than you know,” Kenin added. He also enlightened the audience with an inside look at how Hallmark Channel has relied on PR to protect and promote the Hallmark brand, as well as elevated the importance of PR to where the PR team is being consulted at the programming development level. After the keynote session, attendees split into breakout sessions – TV publicity in one area and music PR in the other. Then, some great home video campaigns competed with David Bowman’s “Finding and Keeping a Job in Entertainment Publicity.” In the main theater, The Apprentice season one winner Bill Rancic told a rapt audience what it was like to go from a virtual unknown to one of the hottest commodities in entertainment virtually overnight. Rancic spoke endearingly of NBC’s Senior Press Manager Jim Dowd who helped guide him through the phalanx of reporters, requests and scrutiny that came with winning one of the biggest reality shows to hit television in 2004. Dowd talked about working with such powerful personalities as executive producer Mark Burnett and Donald Trump and how he managed the press surrounding the hit show. Jason Clark of FOX followed up with a video vignette featuring the actors of The O.C. which underscored the difficulties of working with a large cast. Clark talked in great detail about how the PR team behind The O.C. both developed viewer awareness for this summer’s biggest hit and then managed to tame the media feeding frenzy that comes with success. His most important lesson learned? “A cover isn’t a cover until it’s out on newsstands.” While Jim and Jason talked TV, a powerhouse panel of music industry journalists gave the lowdown on publicity in the meeting rooms adjacent to the theater. Daily Variety’s Phil Gallo, The Hollywood Reporter’s Chris Morris, Geoff Boucher of The Los Angeles Times and music industry veteran Bob Merlis offered some basic fundamentals to anyone looking to break through the clutter, including: use your news sense and figure out what a good angle will be; don’t try to pitch the same thing to everybody to see what sticks; know the publication, the style and the tone before you pitch; and know when and how to use the word “exclusive.” The music publicity panel was followed by "Finding and Keeping a Job in Entertainment Publicity," with David Bowman of TTG Consultants who advised the SRO group on the do's and don'ts of job-hunting and salary negotiation. Bowman shocked the audience when he declared that you should never tell a prospective employer what your previous (or current) salary was. Instead, you should focus on discussing all the aspects that go into the package, such as benefits, 401k, etc. Meanwhile, Universal Home Video publicity’s executive director Evan Fong, and Craig Radow, manager of print publicity entertained the audience with a case study on the DVD release of Van Helsing, which pointed up the difficulties and opportunities that come with promoting a film that was not a blockbuster at the box office. On the flip side, Charlie Nelson, vice president, national publicity at Walt Disney Pictures showed the challenges of developing a successful DVD launch for a blockbuster film like Pirates of the Caribbean. After a light lunch, attendees were treated to an in-depth keynote conversation betwe recent elections, the impact of reality television and how new technology has given more power to individuals to create and distribute product unlike anything before. “Product is sacrosanct,” explained Dowling, “no one knows how to make a successful product and we know money can’t buy it. The opportunity exists for the inen Bob Dowling, editor-in-chief and Publisher of The Hollywood Reporter and president of VHU Film & Performing Arts Group, and EPPS president Scott Pansky. Dowling offered his opinion on how the entertainment industry might be affected by thedividual to become more successful than ever before.” Later that afternoon two great sessions took place concurrently. One focused on a case study on the SAG Awards, with a special emphasis on the politics of working with talent. The other was a hard-hitting and informative panel on "Publicizing to a Diverse Community." In the main theater, Will & Grace star (and four-time SAG Award winner) Megan Mullally was joined by awards show executive producer Jeff Margolis, producer Kathy Connell, talent executive Maggie Barrett and publicists Rosalind Jarrett (SAG Awards), Andy Gelb (PMK/HBH Public Relations), Maureen Squillace (TNT/TBS) and Ilyanne Morden Kichaven (Screen Actors Guild). In the adjacent theater, Marcy DeVeaux moderated a panel, featuring such diverse journalists as Lee Bailey of Urban Radio Network, Tanya Kersey of Black Talent News, Antonio Mejias-Rentas of La Opinion, KSSE-FM’s Raul “El Diablito” Martinez and Audrey Shiomi of Rafu Shimpo, Los Angles’ leading Japanese language newspaper. As the breakout sessions came to an end, this year’s “Panel of Media All-Stars” brought everyone together again, to hear from representatives from some of the biggest media outlets in the country. Brad Bessey of “Entertainment Tonight,” Brill Bundy of Zap2it.com, KABC-TV’s George Pennacchio, Amy Austin of Premiere Radio Networks, Barry Nugent of E! Entertainment and Laura Marcus of “The Best Damn Sports Show Period” gave everyone the inside scoop on how to best pitch and book stories with them. After the media all-stars had their say, it was time for publicists to learn from some of the publicity industry’s heavyweights, in the first-ever “TNT: Tools & Techniques for 2005 and Beyond,” with Kenneth K. Markman of KKM Global Brand Strategies, Sue Procko of Procko Public Relations, Lee Solters of Solters & Digney Public Relations, Sandi Padnos of Padnos Ink and Cindy Ronzoni of GSN, The Network for Games. This meeting of the minds offered new and old publicists alike, an opportunity to learn some new information, gain some new insight, and get a perspective on how publicity continues growing and becoming a more integral part of every organization’s plan for growth. The afternoon’s festivities wrapped up with a great keynote address from Emmy-nominated actor Bryan Cranston, who was joined on stage by Greg Hernandez of the Los Angeles Daily News. Cranston gave his insider’s view on how actors rely on their publicists, in addition to the incredible impact an actor can have by volunteering his time to a cause and working with PR professionals to help spread the word of the charity’s mission. Cranston recently produced a DVD called KidSmartz, which is designed to educate families on to stay safe from child abduction. His KidSmartz video, shot with the help of his Malcolm in the Middle crew, who also volunteered their time, also raises money for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, by donating a portion of the proceeds from the DVD sales. It is available online at Amazon.com and other national retailers. |
