With most clients that I work with, there is rarely a need to go in-depth with them in regards to their personal life, and how it may affect their profile and/or their company/product in the media. In fact, the closest I have gotten was with a music producer client many many years ago. He was fun, somewhat flamboyant, had big ideas, and always seemed to have the endless budget. Looking back now, I guess I should have raised an eyebrow to a few things that he had done, but I just chalked it up to him being so enthusiastic. It wasn’t until much later that I learned that the client had a terrible drug problem. By the time the news surfaced, I was no longer representing him (thank my lucky stars) and he and his business were long gone, so there was never a need to be in pr crisis mode and deal with any media. Phew!
For me in that particular situation, I was luckier than most because I typically take on clients or projects that fall into the lifestyle, luxury goods, artistic, or food/beverage arenas. But for some, especially for those pr and marketing colleagues who work with and represent high profile corporate or political clients, it is not smooth sailing all the time. Why? Well, stuff happens. And in general, news moves much faster these days with email, websites, blogs, YouTube, and the like. The pr colleagues with those types of clients need to know just about everything that is going on with their client so that they can be prepared at all times and not be caught off guard… if something should go wrong.
Look at the current situation with the announcement of Senator John McCain’s vice presidential candidate, Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin; and the announcement of her 17-year old unmarried daughter’s pregnancy. There are two things that could have happened. Either a publicist in her camp is running around there, going “Ok… is that it Sarah? Is there anything else I need to know? If not, now is the time!” Or perhaps Palin’s publicist knew about the pregnancy info and their camp simply decided not to announce it. For me, this is the one area where I go against my “less is more” theory. In this case, “more is more,” and the more information a client shares with their publicist, the better.
Everyone has some sort of baggage. And for some individuals who are considered more high profile than others, it is smarter to disclose any and all skeletons, or scenarios, with their publicist so that they can be prepared for the media.
So let me hear from you. Do you think John McCain and his camp even had a clue about Sarah Palin’s un-married daughter’s pregnancy?
