Honor Contractual Agreements. Stars usually have clauses in their contract that spell out the size and placement of their billing, their photo approval, as well as approval of how their image is used in advertising and marketing materials, what they will and will not do regarding publicity and appearances, etc. It is important for press agents to get copies of these clauses from the general manager in advance so that we can meet all the contractual obligations.
Figure Out How to Reach the Public. Producers used to purchase full page announcement ads in the New York Sunday Times to herald a new Broadway show. Today email blasts have replaced many print ads as well as direct mail campaigns as the method of choice to seduce audiences. Email blasts, Tweets and Facebook posts are used to supplement and support publicity and are a very cost and time-efficient way to reach your target audience.
However, just as direct mail flyers required accurate mailing addresses, email blasts require accurate email addresses. If you are handling a play about a doctor or medicine, you probably want to let doctors know about it. But if you don’t happen to have a list of doctors in your area, what should you do? You could get a telephone book and start cold calling but a more efficient route would be to purchase a list of doctors from a list broker. You can classify mailing lists by a wide variety of demographics including zip code, age, occupation, income, special interests, ethnic/religious affiliation, political preferences, etc. List brokers charge per name, with a minimum number of names required to purchase a list. It is better to start with a larger pool of names than you actually need as some may turn out to be duds, unless the broker regularly ‘cleans’ the lists. Another way to get email addresses for your target audience is to reach out to an organization with similar interests. For example, if you have a play about AIDS, look for organizations that support AIDS-related projects. They might be interested in offering a discount to their members, or might buy out one performance as a benefit for their organization. Offer to do reciprocal email blasts.
Approach other theatre companies that present productions similar to yours and offer to ‘swap’ mailing lists. That doesn’t mean you actually give each other your lists — you simply share info on the other company’s project to your audience, and vice versa. You can search online for egroups that share an interest with your target audience and post on their boards. If you don’t have good computer skills, companies like Patron Mail and Constant Contact provide boiler plates for creating professional-looking email blasts at a reasonable cost.
Nothing Is Off The Record. Let me repeat, NOTHING IS OFF THE RECORD. Anything said in front of or near a reporter is fair game. Saying ‘please don’t use that’ after a client has blurted out news of her pregnancy does not work. If you don’t want to see it in print or on TMZ, make sure you and your client keep your mouths shut. When Paul Newman was asked something he considered too personal, he simply smiled and said, “I’m sorry, I just don’t feel comfortable talking about that.” And then he shut up.
HOW HAS PR CHANGED
When I began working as a press agent our tools were an electric typewriter, mimeograph machine, stencils, a mail order house that made metal plates for every name on our mailing lists, a Rolodex and a dial telephone. Those mailing lists of writers, critics, editors, which reflected our relationships with the media, were our most valuable assets. Releases and photos were ‘serviced’ via US Postal Service First Class mail or messengers. A lot of time was spent stuffing, sealing and stamping envelopes and, in some cases, hand delivering them to the editors and writers at the major newspapers.
Today we use laptops, tablets, ipads, and everything is transmitted electronically, but our contacts and the relationships they represent are still our most valuable asset. Photos and releases are serviced via email and rarely is a press agent seen at a newspaper office schmoozing with writers as they personally deliver releases and photos. Phone calls have been replaced by emails and texts and the importance of daily newspapers and weekly magazines has been surpassed by blogs and electronic media.
In the past, getting a ‘break’ on the Associated Press newswire meant that your feature or theatre review would appear in thousands of newspapers around the world within a few days. Now a feature on Playbill.com or Theatermania.com can be picked up on hundreds of other websites, get ‘shared’ on Facebook and re-tweeted, and may be read by millions of people within seconds. Where we would nurture relationships with reporters, meet for lunch or a drink, we now court unseen and, often unknown, bloggers who cover the entertainment field.
Major announcements, previously timed to break on the evening news shows or in the morning newspaper, are now made on Twitter or Facebook in a 24-hour news cycle. Mark Zuckerberg called Facebook “the best personalized newspaper for users.” Focus groups have been replaced by Facebook friends and press conferences by Twitter chats. Both Michelle Bachmann and Anthony Weiner made major political announcements in carefully edited videos they posted online. In their self-produced mini-movies, neither Bachmann nor Weiner had to deal with pesky journalists shouting questions at them, and they could control both the message and the lighting. And Paula Deen posted two weepy, and ultimately ineffectual, mea culpa videos on line.
Which is better — a two minute segment on a broadcast TV show or a YouTube video that goes viral and reaches millions of viewers instantly?
Today we rarely email photos to journalists — we post them on Pinterest. We list feature ideas on industry egroup boards and on HARO and post links to podcasts we create ourselves. Complete press kits are posted on Dropbox or are downloadable from websites, and multi-city press tours have been replaced by satellite press conferences. Free Google Alerts have replaced traditional and costly clipping services.
We no longer measure the success of a PR campaign by quantifying the size and number of impressions received in the print or electronic media. Influence is now measured by the saturation of social media and the number of hashtags. And theatre marquees, which used to have the show’s logo or artwork hand painted onto a back-lit sheet of plastic, are now multi-media billboards with animation, video and ever-changing messages.
Is communication better, faster and more cost-efficient now? Absolutely! It is also a lot less personal, and much colder, out there in cyberspace.
But maybe we need to consider how much is ‘too much information.’ I don’t believe that all publicity is good publicity. Sometimes NO is the right answer, whether in response to a request for a quote, an interview or an appearance.
Occasionally we all just need to shut up.
INDEX
PLEASE NOTE: This index reflects the print edition of this title. Pages listed here are unlikely to correspond to the pagination of this e-book. However, entries and other terms listed below may be easily located by using the search feature of your e-book reader.
A CHORUS LINE 59, 79, 128, 134
A COCKTAIL PARTY 30
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM 34
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE 164, 189
Abbott, George 75
Actors Studio, The 17
Adams, Don 11, 146
Adams, Lee 20
All About Eve 20, 22
An American Family 143-146
Anderson, Bibi 77
Andrews, Dana 78
Andrews, Julie 27, 59, 78, 134
Angelescu, Jackie 80
ANGELS IN AMERICA 141
Ann-Margret 78
ALL GOD’S CHILLUN GOT WINGS 108-110
All That Jazz 130
American Theatre Wing 94
APPLAUSE 14, 20-28, 105, 135, 189
Apple, Fiona 28
Around the World in 80 Days 18
Arrested Development 111
Arts & Entertainment Network (A&E) 52, 189
Associated Press 50, 51, 159, 165, 170
ATPAM
(Assn. of Theatrical Press Agents & Managers) 19, 90, 97, 99
Bacall, Lauren 11, 14, 20-28, 135, 189
By Myself .
.. and then some 23
Bach 125
Backstage Newspaper 18
Bainter, Fay 78
Baird, Bil 16
Baker, Joe Don 17
Bantry, Bryan 60
Baldwin, Alec 11, 164, 189
Baryshnikov, Mikhail 131
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 94
BELLS ARE RINGING 157
Bennett, Michael 59, 126, 128, 134
Benson, Jodi 11, 45
Bernstein, Leonard 21
Berlind, Roger 29, 33
Berman, Rob 80
Berry, Chuck 136
Bostwick, Barry 75
Blaine, Vivian 54, 78
BLITHE SPIRIT 135
Bogart, Humphrey 20
Bolger, Ray 11, 75-77
Boone, Pat 78
Bosley, Tom 54
Boston Herald American 126
Boston Globe 126
Bowie, David 77
Breakfast at Tiffanys 68, 69, 106
Briggs, Tom 78
Brioni Suits 69, 70
Broadway League, The 95
Brookes, Jacqueline 136
Brooks, Mel 29
Bryant, Mary 12, 116
Bryggman, Larry 136
Brynner, Yul 11, 16, 53-56
BYE BYE BIRDIE 20
CAA 135
Capp, Al 32
Cariou, Len 11, 23, 24
CAROUSEL 78, 157
Carter, Dixie 104 Celebrity Bulletin 112
Chadman, Christopher 105, 128
Chalfant, Kathleen 11, 12, 141
Chamberlain, Richard 106
Champion, Gower 103, 135
Chaplin, Charlie 77
Chase, Mike 147
Chase Manhattan Bank 73
Check It Out 146
Chenoweth, Ellen 48
Chenoweth, Kristin 134
CHICKEN SOUP WITH BARLEY 41
Childs, Julia 149
CHIPS WITH EVERYTHING 41
Cilento, Wayne 11, 59, 60-62
Clements, Sir John 11, 29, 34, 39
Close, Glenn 11, 136, 137, 189
Circle in the Square Theatre 75, 77, 104, 105, 107, 108, 110, 135, 141, 159, 189
Cohen, Alexander H. 11, 53
Cohn, Sam 135
Collins, Dorothy 11, 116, 117
Collins, Glenn 89
Columbia Artists 84
Comden, Betty 20
COMPANY 116
Cook, Barbara 16, 117
Copeland, Joan 106
Corey, Irwin 16
Cosby, Bill 11, 31
Coward, Noel 11, 27, 135
Craig, David 116
Crain, Jeanne 78
CRAZY FOR YOU 45
Crosby, Bing 79, 80
Crosby, Kathryn 11, 78, 80, 84
Crosby, Mary Catherine 79
Cruise, Tom 52
Cue Magazine 35
Dale, Jim 11, 141, 160, 189
DAMN YANKEES 125, 130
DANCIN’ 105, 125-131, 135, 189
Dakota, The 25
Davidson, John 1, 11, 78-83, 96, 99
Davis, Bette 22
Deacy, Jane 108
DEAR WORLD 135
DEATH AND THE MAIDEN 137, 189
Debuskey, Merle 11, 12, 29, 36, 125, 159
Dewhurst, Colleen 107
Dexter, John 11, 29 - 44, 135
Diamond, Neil 125
DO YOU TURN SOMERSAULTS? 122, 124
Doll, Bill 12, 18-22, 25, 138
Dominic, Zoe 40
Dorfman, Ariel 137
Downton Abbey 141
Drake, Alfred 54, 134
Dramatists Guild 41
Dreyfuss, Richard 11, 137, 189
Dropbox 171
Eikenberry, Jill 151
Eisenhower Theatre 32, 40
Elizondo, Hector 11, 108, 111
EST 118
EQUUS 30, 32
Eugene Onegin 39
Everett, Sonny 84
Fabray, Nanette 54
Farrell, Barry 21
Farrentino, James 107
FDR 46
Field, Ron 27
Fischer, Bobby 147
Fisher, Jules 12, 128-130
FLAHOOLEY 15, 16
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF 29
FOLLIES 116, 117
Fonteyn, Dame Margot 74
Forrest Theatre 32, 34, 37
Forsyte Saga, The 141
Fosse, Bob 11, 59, 105, 125-131, 135, 189
Franklin, Bonnie 11, 14, 27
Franz, Robert 79, 84, 90-95, 97, 157
French, Arthur 107
Frizzelle, Jack 18
Frommer, Myra and Harvey
It Happened On Broadway 56
FULL CIRCLE 77
Fuller, Penny 11, 14, 28
Gardenia, Vincent 57
Gardner, Ava 107
Garfield, John 31
Garfield, Julie 11, 12, 31, 37, 44
Garfield, Matt 84
Gelbart, Larry 108, 111
Gershwin, George & Ira (‘The Gershwins’) 45, 75, 150, 157
Get Smart 146
Gifford, Gloria 11, 12, 30, 44
Gilbert, Craig 143, 145
Gilford, Jack 11, 108, 109
Gilford, Madeline 109
Gill, Bob 11, 12, 128, 129
Glynn, Carlin 11, 12, 48, 49, 132
Goddard, Paulette 77
GO FLY A KITE 140
Goodman, Frank 12, 19, 121
Granier-Deferre, Christopher 142
Granier-Deferre, Pierre 141
Grant, Cary 27, 132
Green, Adolph 20
Grode, Eric 117
Groener, Harry 45
Guare, John 117
Gussow, Mel 43
Guthrie Theatre Company 23
Haberman, Clyde 50
Hackman, Gene 11, 137, 189
Haefner, Susan 162
Hagman, Larry 11, 124
HAIR 18
Halliday, Heller 120
Halliday, Richard 120, 122
Hammerstein, James (Jamie) 11, 81
Hammerstein II, Oscar 78
Hampshire, Susan 1, 11, 12, 30, 57, 141, 142
Happy Days 152-4
Harburg, Yip 15
Hare, Will 17
Harnick, Sheldon 117
Harris, Julie 11, 17, 134
Havoc, June 17
Hayes, Helen 79, 157
Haymes, Dick 78
Henner, Marilu 104
Hepburn, Audrey 69
Hepburn, Katharine 79, 156-8
Herbert, Jocelyn 37, 43
Hingle, Pat 159
Hoffman, Abbie 11, 48-51
Holbrook, Hal 140
HOW TO SUCCEED 135
Human Factor, The 77
Hunter College High School 18, 150
Hurt, Mary Beth 151
Iman 77
Imperial Theatre 33, 43
Jacobs, Bernard (Bernie) 131
Julia, Raul 11, 75-77
Jerry McGuire 52
Joffrey, Robert 11, 112-114, 118
Joffrey Ballet, The 112, 113
Jones, Cherry 134
Jones, Tommy Lee 137
Joy, James Leonard 78
Kael, Pauline 67
Kander & Ebb (John Kander & Fred Ebb) 26
Kasha, Larry 22
Kaye, Danny 39, 106
Keach, Stacy 157
Keitel, Harvey 107
Kelly, Kevin 126
Kempson, Rachel 30
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The 32, 33, 39, 40, 43, 122
Kennedy, Jackie 46
Kennedy, Ray 63
Kim, Willa 128
King, Martin Luther 30
Kline, Kevin 11, 75
Kimmel, Sandi 112, 115
Kipness, Joe 22
Krebs, Albin 50
Kidder, Margot 91, 92
Kulukundis, Eddie 29, 30
Kumin, Ron 84
Kushner, Tony 141
Lacombe, Brigitte 164
Lady Caroline Lamb 106
Lange, Jessica 11, 164, 189
Langner, Philip 79, 84, 92, 157
Larry Sanders Show, The 111
Lawrence, Peter 137
Lawson, Carol 50
League of American Theatres & Producers, The 94
Lennon, John 21
Leon, Joseph 40
Leonard, Sheldon 31
Levene, Sam 29, 34, 38, 40
Lloyd, Natalie 84-103
Libin, Paul 105, 159
Life Magazine 21, 80
Li’L ABNER 32
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. 18, 112, 113, 189
Loesser, Frank 75
Loud Family, The 11, 143-146
Bill Loud 143, 145
Pat Loud 143-146
Lance Loud 143-145
A Woman’s Story 145
LuPone, Patti 134
Lyman, Shelby 11, 147-149
Lunts, The (Alfred Lunt & Lynne Fontanne) 11, 27, 79, 119, 157
Ma, YoYo 11, 52, 53
M. BUTTERFLY 43
MacLaine, Shirley 27
Maggart, Brandon 28
Maggart, Maude 28
Mann, Theodore (Ted) 105
Mark Hellinger Theatre 27
MARK TWAIN TONIGHT 140
Marks, Peter 12, 86, 98
MARATHON ’33 17
Marguerite and Armond 74
Martin, Mary 11, 16, 119-124, 134, 157
Masteroff, Joe 135
Masterson, Peter 11, 17, 48, 138
Matthau, Walter 27
Mattioli, Louis 78
Maxwell, Jan 117
Maxwell, Roberta 11, 23, 29, 34, 37, 43
McAfee, Diane 28
McArdle, Andrea 11, 78-80
McBurney School for Boys 150-151
McDonald, Audra 134
McHattie, Stephen 136
McKechnie, Donna 11, 78-80, 134
Mercer, Johnny 59, 68, 70, 71, 74, 189
Meredith, Burgess 77
Merman, Ethel 119, 134
Merrick, David 10, 11, 78-103, 106
Merrick Foundation, The David 103
METROPOLITAN OPERA 33, 39, 112, 113
Mike Douglas Show 106
Miller, Arthur 106, 107
Minnelli, Liza 131
Mitchell, Jack 128
Molaskey, Jessica 11, 62, 69
Morrison, Patricia 54
Mostel, Kate 38
Mostel, Zero 11, 29-44, 135
Munsel, Patrice 28
Newman, Paul 132, 169
Newark Star Ledger 149
Newsweek 50, 141
New York Daily News 137
New York Post 63, 72, 149, 159
New York Shakespeare Festival 75
New York Times 43, 50, 86, 87, 89, 98, 117, 131, 145, 146, 149, 162, 166