Publicist

From ArticleWorld


A publicist generates and manages publicity for someone or something. Generally publicists serve a celebrity or do work to promote a book, movie or product. Publicists typically work for large publicity companies and handle multiple clients.

Tasks involved

Publicists attempt to manage the public’s perception of a product or a person. Publicity is a portion of promotions, just like advertising, marketing and public relations. In fact, a publicist’s role is often similar to that of a public relations specialist’s. Often, a publicist must create his or her own news, rather than waiting for opportunities to present themselves. For instance, publicists often create contests, athletic events, exhibitions, presentations, announcements and more.

Tools of the trade

A press release is a key tool of the trade. Publicists also use telephone conference calls, media tours, video news releases, newswire stories, press conferences and the Internet to effectively manage the opinion of the public. Publicity is generally low cost and improves the credibility of the person or product it promotes. However, publicists are often challenged by a lack of control over how the releases will be used and they can become frustrated over low results. A commonly used phrase is “any press is good press,” and it can often be said to be true. It implies that bad, or negative, press will still generate public interest – or at least awareness. Oftentimes, the end result is positive.

Top publicists

In the United States, top entertainment publicists include Lizze Grubman (from Grubman PR), Karen Ammond (from KBC Media Relations) and PMK Public Relations. In Austria, top publicists include Max Markson (from Markson Sparks!), Greg Tingle (from Media Man Australia) and Harry M. Miller (from the Harry M. Miller Group).