I have spent the larger part of two weeks
trying to tackle this topic from various angles; the serious academic, the
fledging young media semi-expert, the student who is planning to enter a career
in Media/Marketing/Events/PR/Advertising or perhaps, the klutz caught up in a
job with little entertainment despite the outward allure? In the end, I decided
to procrastinate for a while and then go with my instinct.
Let’s start off as the young fledging media semi-expert. The topic suggests that we accept that nothing, especially publicity is entirely free. Accessing a semblance of free publicity for a business or event or for an individual comes at a cost - No, not HARDWORK- a far greater cost that spills beyond your accepted boundaries; the cost of maintenance. Publicity - good or bad - can simply (in this context) be the notice or attention given to someone or something by the media. To achieve this, one needs an engagement plan or strategy ultimately designed to showcase your subject (product/business/individual) in a light that is not shining on any other in your immediate landscape or terrain (there is really nothing new under the sun, so it’s likely your “nouveau” idea is old news somewhere). The point is, to get publicity, make it news-worthy.
Meeting the right people, especially in
Ghana, is either what gets you your publicity or not. This may not be what we
want to hear but it is the reality that we usually learn the hard way. Shooting in the dark will leave your plans,
no matter how well designed, as just that; plans. If your plan says you should
do radio interviews, talk to an editor who matters to your target audience.
Since we want close-to-free publicity however, a simple meeting is woefully
inadequate. You need to have a bargaining chip; sometimes free tickets (if it
is for an event) are not enough. Identify a common goal of the channel you wish
to use for the publicity. The better the fit, the greater your likelihood of
success.
Don’t offer publicity to someone offering you
publicity (you are likely to have tried this gimmick at one point or the other
in Ghana).
“When you give us the executive interview
free of charge, you will be named as a gold partner and be shown on all our
branding during the event.” Sorry to burst your bubble, but if you need their
platform to reach your target audience, then it is likely that they reach them
amply well and will not require your platform to engage them. What to offer
varies per medium chosen but if your strategy was well thought out or planned;
you should be able to do the following:
·
Have a list of preferred publicity
mediums
·
Open communication channels well
within your execution timeline
·
Sell them your idea in a manner
that showcases the opportunity for them to achieve a pre-existing goal by
providing the publicity
·
Have a bargaining chip to
greatly reduce your financial cost for the publicity
·
Leverage your opportunity for publicity
beyond what was originally sought (if you have a 5 minute interview on station
P, talk about it on social media before the day! Tweet a hyperlink after the interview!!
Publicize the Publicity.
If you do manage to push the boundaries of
impossible to get free publicity or a semblance of it, treat it as your curtain
closing performance. If the publicity was for an event then live up to your own
billing. There is nothing worse in Ghana than flopping. The whispers and
embellishments of a failure travel so far and wide that the previously
near-impossible challenge of ‘getting close to free publicity in Ghana’ will
become a definite impossibility with the media channels and outfits that
matter.
If you read this article to the end and I
still have not managed to say anything worth your while let us recap:
·
Free publicity does not exist
·
If we want next to free
publicity, we need to have an air tight strategy for engagement.
·
Approach the right people with
the outfits that matter to our objectives
·
Have a bargaining chip
·
When you land the opportunity
make it worth it
0 comments:
Post a Comment