What you are…thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
There’s one big difference between professional and Guerrilla P.R.: whereas the pro drives around all day in someone else’s car, the Guerrilla drives his own. There would be no campaign if not for you, and to leave yourself out of the picture would be to sabotage your efforts. I said in the first pages of this book I wanted you to think like a publicist, and I hope you’ve begun to do that. Now I want you to start acting like your own client.
You are the best media point person for your project. Nobody else can speak with as much passion, knowledge, and insight. You cannot function merely as a funnel for press releases or act as ticket taker for your own carnival. You must become the focus for the media’s attention on your project. You must become their resident expert on whatever it is you do.
That means that anytime, anywhere, when asked to speak to the media—you’re on call. Assume a pocket pager has been surgically attached to your body. That’s how accessible you must be. So before I get to the chapters that relate specifically to individual media, let’s spend some time preparing to become—to paraphrase Tom Wolfe in Bonfire of the Vanities—a Master of the Media Universe.
Does the name Roger Ailes ring a bell? He’s the astute media consultant who played a major role in Ronald Reagan’s 1984 reelection campaign, now runs Fox News, and is nothing less than a modern-day Dale Carnegie.
Nobody on earth understands media better than Roger. He’s taught me a lot, and I’d like to share with you a few of his ideas. Earlier in the book I discussed ways to be a better communicator. But Ailes goes one step further by spelling out the keys to effective communicating with media. As Roger states in his book You Are the Message, the four essential components of good media communication are these: be prepared, be comfortable, be committed, and be interesting.
That may sound simplistic, but great ideas are often very simple. Mastering these four is no easy trick. They all take practice. Preparation is obvious. You must be thoroughly knowledgeable about your subject when you engage the media. But, as Ailes puts it, others must feel that you know more about your subject than they do. Facts, figures, and philosophy should come as naturally to you as breathing. Proper preparation requires ongoing study, whatever your field of expertise. Even the violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman still practices his scales. Granted, he does so while watching the Yankees on TV, but he keeps his edge via continuous preparation.
It’s important not only that you feel comfortable yourself but that others feel comfortable with you too. Relaxation is the key. This isn’t a book on stress reduction, but I suggest you acquire skills that promote relaxation. TV, radio, and newspaper interviews can make anyone nervous; yet nervousness is the most counterproductive emotion you can show. It smacks of uncertainty, the kiss of death. Watch the “experts” on TV. They always seem to know what they’re talking about, even when they don’t. So stretch, breathe deeply, roll your head, close your eyes, astrally project to Tibet. Slow yourself down in order to pump yourself up for the media. Making others comfortable with you requires a sparkle, a gentleness, a light touch. This doesn’t mean you have to totally rearrange your personality, but try to bring out those aspects of yourself that inspire confidence and familiarity. Humor, listening, and noticing will bond you quickly to your media counterparts.
Noticing is no small point. Paying attention is an enormous part of being successful at publicity. Before you pitch a story to a magazine or newspaper, read it. More than once. Before you offer a suggestion to a television program, watch it. Several times. Before you try to place an item on a blog or on a Web site, visit and read it. Editors, producers, and other media gatekeepers make the point over and over again to the edge of monotony: the successful pitches are those that come from people who understand the outlet to which they are pitching. Be one of them.
Ailes’s third essential is commitment. That’s just another word for caring. As a Guerrilla, you already care. It’s a matter of putting that caring into action and demonstrating it to the media. Every one of the Commandos profiled in this book exemplifies total commitment. You should model that kind of zeal. Maybe we envy it in others because so few people these days feel passionately about anything. The media never fail to pick up on this.
To be interesting is tricky. On one level, we’re all interesting in our own way. But once you go toe-to-toe with the media, we’re talking about a performance. I’ve told you how easily bored the media get! They’re like a two-year-old child with a short attention span. You have to keep flashing new toys to get them to keep their eyes on you. Your ability to keep them focused makes the difference between being seen on the front page or being shown the front door. One way to do that is to become conversant in the zeitgeist, a German term meaning “spirit of the times.” Guerrilla P.R. masters collect phrases, anecdotes, punch lines, quotable quotes, and other bon mots to keep the focus on themselves and their message. Remember what I said about gift-wrapping? This is another form of it. Read tastemaker publications like Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, and GQ. Watch Entourage or Lost once in a while. Check out the latest Scorsese film. I don’t want you to become sickeningly hip overnight, but there’s nothing wrong with clueing in to our culture. In addition, put yourself on a mind-improvement program. Commit to reading several classics of literature each year—and I don’t mean the latest Stephen King thriller. Cultivate your aesthetic self. It’ll make you more interesting.
America is becoming the land of the TV zombie: illiterate, uneducated, unaware. The trend can be reversed only one person at a time, and I say let it begin with you. Read a novel by Dickens, or plough your way through Plato. Have you ever discovered the joys of Mark Twain or Shakespeare, Steinbeck or Flaubert? Have you been enraptured by the late string quartets of Beethoven, Wagner’s Ring cycle, or early Billie Holiday? Even if, God forbid, your project never takes off, the benefits of acquainting yourself with the great achievements in culture will stay with you always.
Personal P.R. Power
Now, let’s put the pieces together. I’ve already defined public relations in both macro and micro terms. Establishing good relations with, say, your coworkers is just as noble a P.R. target as being profiled by Time magazine, if it accomplishes your goals. I’ve spent time in this chapter exploring ways to make yourself more P.R. ready, and if you practice and refine these skills, that’s exactly what you’ll be, no matter what your aim.
Let’s say your initial goal is to rise to the top of the corporate ladder in your place of work. To do that, you may not necessarily need to pursue the media or widespread public attention. Your target audience may be no further than your colleagues down the hall, or your customers who walk through your door. Before I get into the meat-and-potatoes about press releases, talent coordinators, and city desk editors, let’s explore how to harness your personal P.R. power to influence just those in your immediate space.
Personal P.R. invokes the same philosophy as engaging in a full-blown media campaign: you ultimately appeal to “the public” one person at a time. As writer Sara Nelson wrote in an article in Glamour magazine, “No matter what, people will judge [others]—so why shouldn’t [we] harness and direct that judgment?”
Sara is right on the money. Personal P.R. is a matter of controlling to the greatest extent possible the impression you make on others immediately around you. More than any other form of “marketing,” this is the one we each have the greatest ability to steer. Over the years, I’ve acquired a few skills that have helped me in this regard, and I believe they can help you as well.
Mark Twain once said, “I could live two weeks on a good compliment.” I abide by this statement. It’s in keeping with the Golden Rule and all the other priceless precepts by which civilization has prospered over the years. As I’ve alluded, personal P.R. success depends on being liked and being perceived as a charismatic, powerful person. If you read the advice of mentors like Dale C
arnegie and Roger Ailes, you will have the knowledge necessary to pull this off. But as with any endeavor, theory and practice are often very different.
Let’s look at the hypothetical example of the junior executive who wants to move up. The greatest lesson I’ve learned in business is that the most profitable thing you can do is to be altruistic. Giving begets getting, pure and simple. So beyond the smiles and attentiveness, our junior executive needs to take action. He should accept high-visibility assignments others may not wish to take on, and plunge into his work as though the CEO were personally looking over his shoulder.
The Japanese have put down the American worker as under-motivated, and perhaps in some cases this is true. But, by and large, I don’t buy it. I think we do know how to work hard, and while some may feel work can be its own reward, I know it also pays off down the line. Our junior exec should ask peers and coworkers for advice, trade favors with them, or even do favors “on the house,” cultivating an image as a team player, not a glory hog.
I have seen many cases where someone in business attempts to become popular at work and ends up coming off like a sycophant, or, in common parlance, a bootlicker. This invariably stems from insincerity. While you engage in self-motivated altruism, you must prove to yourself that you mean what you say and say what you mean. Otherwise you come off like an insincere politician kissing babies.
You develop sincerity by establishing a link between what you do and say today with what you hope to achieve tomorrow. Why? Because I believe self-interest is the guiding force of the human universe, even in cases of extreme compassion, caring, and giving. Before you accuse me of being selfish and conniving, think it through. Ultimately, everything we do originates in self-interest. Even an anonymous donation to charity, with no apparent ulterior motive, results in a good feeling for the donor, whose self-interest lies in the satisfaction of doing good. So, if you recognize that zeal, enthusiasm, and devotion, with no trace of cynicism and disdain, can help you, can boost you, can actually redeem you in your career, then you should have no problem working up a good attitude.
Here’s a real-life illustration. A good friend of mine happens to be a major entertainment business attorney. He’s represented many top stars, brokered scores of million-dollar deals, and established himself as one of the premier litigators in Hollywood. But he didn’t start out that way.
For his first few years out of law school, he bounced around from job to job, working in a D.A.’s office for a while, and looking for a toehold at a few leading law firms. He knew he was smart; he knew he was ambitious; yet he couldn’t understand why he was pushing thirty and still hadn’t found his niche. Although he had always possessed a fine legal mind, his career didn’t begin to take off until he made a few fundamental changes in his own personality and outlook.
First, he took the sound advice of legendary football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, who once told an interviewer, “I’ve learned how to hold a team together until they’ve finally got one heartbeat. There’s just three things I’d ever say: If anything goes bad, I did it; if anything goes semi-good, then we did it; if anything goes real good, then you did it.”
By deliberately relegating his own seemingly selfish needs to secondary importance, my friend found that his colleagues were more and more frequently coming to him for advice and collaboration. He never came on like a wild tiger bucking for senior partner. He made others around him feel as if they ought to be senior partner. In this way he cultivated trust, respect, and affection. His personal public relations benefited immeasurably.
This attitude he applied equally with his clients. Like any good lawyer, he rigorously pursued their legal interests, but he went one step further. His newly developed taste for empathy helped him step into his clients’ shoes. He believed he was championing what was right. He accepted only those cases he truly believed in, and thus he became more than mere legal representation for clients: he became their friend in the truest sense. Of course he benefited financially as his career mushroomed, but he could look anyone in the eye and say he prospered while doing what he sincerely believed in.
Now, was self-interest his primary motivator? I’d say so. He wanted material comfort, professional status, the power and ability to bring his dreams to life. But none of this would have happened had he not consciously adopted that unique form of active selflessness that engenders personal P.R. power.
Most of this book teaches you how to work with media. But if your objectives are more narrowly focused, if you simply want to make inroads with those around you, then the principles I’ve outlined in this chapter are your main link to success.
Tips & Traps
Show interest in other people and subjects beyond your area of expertise.
If you’re a stranger at a function, go with an acquaintance who knows the people there. He or she can introduce you.
When you meet people, tell them what you do, find out what they do, and get their phone numbers and addresses.
Make friends when you don’t need them.
Trying too hard can backfire. Center yourself.
Keep your temper in check.
Emulate the Japanese: have business cards made, and give them out like candy on Halloween. People do keep them.
Don’t hype your product too much while meeting people in social settings. You’re there to make new contacts.
When you meet people, ask questions about them rather than hog the conversation. Later on, call or write a brief note to let them know you were pleased to meet them.
As you increase your network, remember that follow-up is the key.
Remember to keep in touch: make thank-you notes, announcements, holiday greeting cards, and other notices a regular part of your mailings to your list.
Always, always, always keep your promises.
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GUERRILLA P.R. COMMANDOS:
Bob Columbe and Peter Crescent
In a world where phenomena like movies based on theme-park rides and Paris Hilton (for whatever reason) captivate the media, clearly crazy ideas sometimes turn out wildly successful. Take RALPH (the Royal Association for the Longevity and Preservation of The Honeymooners). What began as a simple desire on the part of two college administrators to see their favorite TV show back on the air eventually evolved into a national movement with thousands of members, annual conventions, and enough media attention to make Madonna jealous.
RALPH co-founder Bob Columbe recalls his organization’s origins in 1983: “The Honeymooners had been off the air in New York for two years, and we figured we’d lobby to bring it back.” They wrote and called a local TV station for months, but got no response. “We came up with the name of RALPH to make us sound more official,” says Columbe. “But there was no initial plan to take it any further than getting the show on the air.”
But it did go a lot further. Once they succeeded in getting The Honeymooners back on the air, the news media took note. “Everyone we talked to in the media was a fan of the show,” notes Columbe. “They looked for reasons to cover us.” The pair would send out press releases via the office fax at C.W. Post College, where they worked. Since The Honeymooners had national appeal, their releases were picked up all across the country.
RALPH’s biggest break came when Peter and Bob appeared on the Joe Franklin Show after they had lobbied for months to get on. In their brief guest shot they reached millions. The membership ranks swelled to many thousands. RALPH grew so big that the founders incorporated. Annual conventions were packed events, and the media flocked to cover anything staged by RALPH.
“We did everything ourselves,” says Bob. “We learned to capsulize everything of interest into two or three minutes.” Bob also caught on to the benefits of visuals. Both he and Peter wore their official Raccoon uniforms whenever they appeared in public. The two developed a keen sense of what the media liked. When Jackie Gleason donated his original Ralph Kramden bus driver uniform to RALPH, Peter and Bob invited the media to attend the arrival of
the package via Federal Express. That morning, Peter and Bob’s front lawn was jammed elbow-to-elbow with TV cameras, reporters, photographers, and even satellite dishes.
After five great years, the pair folded the organization because they had accomplished everything they’d set out to do. Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Audrey Meadows, and Jane Randolph became close friends of theirs, but with Gleason’s death, they felt it was time for RALPH to hang it up too.
Throughout the experience, Peter and Bob became wise in the ways of media. “You need to know your market,” says Bob. “You also need to be available to media, even when it’s inconvenient. Whenever any of them needed something on The Honeymooners, they called us.” Bob also cites his personal passion as a key. “You can’t be enthusiastic about something unless you love it. If someone wanted us to promote The Brady Bunch, we’d know what to do, but we wouldn’t have the enthusiasm. We were successful because we truly loved the product. We sold our enthusiasm as much as we sold The Honeymooners.”
Though the dizzying world of media fame has faded for Peter and Bob, they have no regrets, only fond memories. “I have three books of press clips seven inches thick,” says Bob. “And I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.” To the moon!
* * *
4
Plugging In:
Guerrilla P.R. in a Wired World
You can’t say civilization don’t advance, however, for in every war they kill you in a new way.
—Will Rogers
It’s not the world that’s got so much worse, but the news coverage that’s got so much better.
—G. K. Chesterton
The Digital Information Age came just after Guerrilla P.R. was published, and it changed everything. No, really.
In the world of public relations, speed was always imperative: you had to get your message out to the world before the world either got the wrong message or (worse) lost interest. So speed was never a secondary concern.
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