What to Look for in Hiring a Celebrity or Subject Matter Spokesperson

An interview with Deb Durham, President of SPOKESPERSONS PLUS NETWORK®

What do you look for in a spokesperson?

Whether you seek a subject matter expert or a celebrity spokesperson, credibility is the #1 quality to look for. You only want a spokesperson who can authentically get behind your brand’s messaging and has the credentials that support it.

post1 For example, my company secured Anna Post, Emily Post’s great-great granddaughter and an etiquette expert in her own right, for Intel’s Mobile Etiquette campaign.

Anna is 30-something, has the perfect background, and in addition to the media activities booked by Intel’s PR folks, Anna was able to incorporate Intel’s messaging into interviews she was doing on her own to promote the recently launched the 18th Edition of Emily Post’s Etiquette, of which she is co-author.

Secondly, make sure that the spokesperson has not …Read more…

Saying “No” Means Never Having to Feel Sorry You Did

With a nod to the famous quote “Love means never having to say you’re sorry” from the novel and movie “Love Story,” saying NO is one of the hardest things we ever have to do.

The stars Ali McGraw and Ryan O’Neal made that one of the most famous lines in movie history. Here they are:

You need to learn how to say “no” …Read more…

The News Media Doesn’t Need PR People Anymore

Informatic spy (EPS 10,includes transparency) You may be wondering why a media trainer who guides corporate executives through the stages of interviews in traditional media and, in recent years, on Skype and social media, would make a statement like the one above.

It’s because we increasingly hear complaints from PR people about how much more difficult media relations has become since the emergence of the Internet.

Reporters as Detectives

Edward Bernays, who is credited with inventing the term “public relations,” polished John D. Rockefeller’s image by having him give away coins to encourage thrift. This early PR initiative was …Read more…

Has the Internet Changed What Reporters Are Looking for in a Story?

Man Bites Dog

Man Bites Dog

While the number of print newspapers and magazines is shrinking, the trend is more than offset by the proliferation of online media outlets. Think Huffington Post, online editions of print publications, and blogs.

At the end of last December even Newsweek shut down its print edition and morphed into the online Daily Beast.

Have the Rules Changed?

Social media has enabled new conversations between reporters and their sources. So have the rules changed about how to pitch a reporter and what they’re looking for in a story? …Read more…