Improving Perceptions of Your Entertain Firm and Clients Through Effective Public Relations
Marketing is a powerful tool to shape the public’s perception of your product. Using effective public relations strategies for your entertainment business will help ensure the long-term success and viability of your firm and clients. Several essential public relations strategies can be employed to support your overall marketing efforts, and improve the public’s impressions. TV, film, and other media projects, as well as the business, technical, and artistic professionals that support them, can be drastically affected by negative commentary in the media. Read on to learn a set of modern strategies to improve your brand positioning on the firm and client level.
Determining the Level of Demand for Your Entertainment Project
Unless you have an excellent idea of how the market will responded to your project and artists, there is no way to gauge the likelihood of success and acceptance by the audience. A well-fated project starts with diligent market research to reveal the interests of dynamic entertainment markets. Primary and secondary market research are crucial in this phase of strategic marketing plan development. Primary market research gathers data by direct observation and interaction with potential target markets.
Secondary market research considers pre-existing data sets to evaluate trends among entertainment consumers. While both approaches are effective and necessary, primary research surveys and focus groups are especially critical to ascertain potential demand for releases, and anticipate consumer response to artists, regardless of the form. When you understand the market demand factors for a particular genre of entertainment, you can proceed with creating content that will yield the greatest profit margins by driving demand for advertising opportunities.
Proactive Brand Positioning in the Entertainment Business
Creating an image for your business and personnel is best performed before content is fully developed and staffing is finalized for the project. The previously conducted market research will equip you to fine-tune your entertainment offerings and generate marketing materials that emphasize the most appealing aspects of the project and related artists. Proactive brand positioning will improve efficiency and marketing results by speeding the acceptance and adoption of new projects by the media and public.
Brand positioning allows you to exercise more control over the public’s perception, presenting an image that supports and stimulates interest in the project. Neglecting to employ this influential power may result in unintended perceptions that will work against the goals of the project, and require remediating efforts after the fact, potentially resulting in setbacks and diminished interest in the final product.
How do you want your company to be perceived in the entertainment field? Do you want to represent the highest quality content, or be the recognized provider of projects that are delivered on time and under budget (or all of the above)? Through the way you conduct your business, and how you design the marketing messages you disseminate, your firm can achieve a brand position that gains the trust of business partners, investors, and entertainment consumers.
Timing Your Press Releases for Maximum Exposure
Press releases are a powerful tool to gain media attention for existing and upcoming projects. A well-written, and properly distributed press release will capture the imagination and interest of media professionals, journalists, the public, and provide you with widespread distribution at a minimal cost. Releases should be properly formatted, concise, include all the relevant information regarding the project or subject, and be issued at the appropriate point in the project development process.
An ideal strategy is to issue press releases at timed intervals throughout the development process. Optimal times for distribution include during the initial planning phase, when dramatic changes are made to the production, when new artists are added or substituted, and in the period leading up to the release of the project. An informed entertainment press release strategy will stimulate excitement in the media and contribute to a strong reception by the target entertainment market.
Re-positioning After Negative Press
No matter how well you plan, and strive to positively position your project or firm, setbacks in public perception can and will occur. This can be due to controversial issues that arise with the content of the entertainment production, misunderstood marketing efforts, and inappropriate or offensive conduct by artists. When this occurs, a prompt and well composed response can re-orient the public’s perception, and gain additional media attention, which can have a long-term positive net effect.
Potential strategies include openly addressing the issue, diverting attention, and re-framing the subject. Facing criticism and scrutiny directly will help defuse negative perceptions by the public and media. Diverting attention by bringing up other issues relevant to the context of the situation, and providing rationales for the cause of the matter, can recast the project in a positive light. Sometimes these strategies cause further controversy, and it can be best to drop the matter, allowing the public and media to forget the issue.
Expert Counsel
Public relations for entertain firms requires finesse and diligent planning to obtain the best results. An effective PR strategy will promote a strong connection with the media and generate greater returns upon project release. When in doubt regarding what strategies will be most appropriate for any given public relations situation, consult with experienced entertainment PR professionals that will keep your project on track and help prime the media and consumers for an overwhelmingly positive response.