Last night, my wife asked me what I thought of Kathy Griffin. I had no idea why she would ask me that. Normally I watch too much news but the last couple weeks I’ve been out of the loop. When I asked her why, she said the lovely Ms. Griffin had been photographed holding the severed head of Donald Trump. My first thought was so what, celebrities and their willingness to do anything to draw the media’s attention is nothing new. Then I saw the photograph. It’s hard to imagine a more vile, disgusting and despicable image.
Next came the poor-dopey-innocent-little-me apology:
“I sincerely apologize. I’m just now seeing the reaction to these images. I’m a comic. I crossed the line. I moved the line. Then I crossed it. I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people. It wasn’t funny, I get it. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career. I will continue. I ask your forgiveness. Taking down the image. Gonna ask the photographer to take down the image. And I beg for your forgiveness. I went too far. I made a mistake and I was wrong.”
I suppose there are some people stupid enough to believe that as a professional “comic”, Griffin just goofed up thinking this particular image would get the biggest laugh. But anyone with any marketing sense knows exactly what happened. It was a marketing publicity stunt meant to draw attention in the press and had zero to do with comedy. Her mistake had nothing to do with testing the comic edge; it was an error in assuming the public’s moral sensibilities had sagged to her level.
There’s a good lesson in this though. Celebrities are keenly aware of the value of media coverage. Much more so than business people. Celebrities will go to great lengths to get publicity. They will shave their head: Britney Spears; meet with El Chapo: Sean Penn; wear a crazy new outfit every day: Lady Gaga; have their wardrobe malfunction: Janet Jackson; wear blackface makeup: Ted Danson. Need I go on?
Maybe it’s time—I can’t believe I’m saying this—you took a lesson from celebrities and harnessed the revenue-generating power of the media. The good news is, you don’t have to do anything outlandish to get coverage. The need your product serves is an intrinsically valuable and interesting story to audiences all over the country. You just need our publicists to get you in front of their media contacts.
No one has the attention of the public like the media, and no agency is more effective at helping companies and their products find their way into the media’s spotlight. We charge per story we arrange so you always get coverage for your money. Surely you would see an increase in sales if your product was in the news more often. Put a little money on account with us and see what we can do. If it works, you can scale up your coverage. In some cases we have been getting clients regular stories every month for decades. Call us at 952-697-5269 or visit us online. We have been arranging earned media coverage for companies and products for 30 years, so we are experts who can give you a quick assessment of how much coverage is likely available, how many people you would reach and what it would cost.
P.S. I haven’t even touched on how our editorial staff and internet team flow our clients’ media stories through their websites and social channels. Publicity is undoubtedly the most overlooked and underused promotional mix channel. It’s a real hidden gem.
