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Topic: Publicity Tour
| Author | Message |
| NewbiePR | Posted – 5/12/2007 10:33:14 AM | show profile | email poster ? to the group. Does anyone have a publicity tour check list? and tips on how to target markets? Client has been recently featured in a large publication and wants to follow up with a publicity tour. 1) What is a reasonable amount of radio or tv show interviews to do per day 2) How many days do you tour per city? 3) What's the average length of a publicity tour? 4) Is the cost for the tour paid by the client or is the radio show/tv show supposed to cover the cost of the flight/lodging and/or car service? Newbie |
| marianna | Posted – 5/12/2007 4:24:40 PM | show profile It's impossible to answer your question without knowing details. What exactly is your client promoting? A book, movie, CD? A service or some newly invented software? A new religion? Please reveal all. A publicity tour can last as long as there are media outlets willing to feature your client. You can test the waters by sending out a media advisory via email to big markets announcing that your client is available for tv interviews (or whatever) and see if anyone responds. The responses (or lack thereof) will let you know whether a tour is justified. You can also hire people who will do satellite tours for your client, which doesnt require travel--your client just sits in a studio and gets passed around from Good Morning Omaha to Good Day Tulsa... |
| maphop | Posted – 5/13/2007 10:05:37 AM | show profile I have to agree with the last poster in that without more information it's nearly impossible to answer this question in any kind of real detal. What I CAN add is that a) your client should expect to pay for the tour unless they're signed with a major publishing firm, record label or film studio (in which case they'd be working with an in-house publicist who has done this stuff for years) and b) scheduling a true tour takes a lot of work, a lot of contacts and a lot of experience. It's one thing to try and set up eight radio interviews, call it a "tour" and have your client sit at their desk and take telephone interviews all day long and another to literally have your client hit the road. Quite frankly, that kind of campaign usually only makes sense for someone with an incredible story, deep pockets (tours are very, very expensive) and is the kind of PR campaign that should be scheduled by someone who already knows all of the answers to your questions. I don't mean that to come across as rude but a tour can easily, easily run $25K to $40K for a mid-level tour and you need to know 1000 contacts to score twenty interviews and you must also know the markets intimately. What plays well in Alabama may bomb big-time (and have PR repercussions) in, say, San Francisco. |
| NewbiePR | Posted – 5/18/2007 2:49:56 PM | show profile | email poster Update Thanks marianna and maphop. 1 is a contestant winner of a reality show and the other was recently featured on the cover of a magazine because of their celebrity spouse. Do you have recommendations (I'm just going to hop on google) for companies that do satellite tours. maphop - I didn't take it as rude, it's just real. I'm committed to learning and don't want to waste my clients time or money. Thank you both!! |
| marianna | Posted – 5/18/2007 3:43:12 PM | show profile Hello newbie, I'm acquainted with a few reality show people and usually it's the network that foots the bill for any sort of post-show publicity tour or television promotion; it's certainly in their financial interest to do so. But apart from that, it seems most "winners" or well-known reality show members start to solicit sponsorships or paying gigs (appearing at club openings, concerts or Budweiser events) the MOMENT the show ends. A non-paying publicity tour seems a waste of time, considering they could be making money instead. The shelf life of a reality star is probably 15 months tops, so your clients should act now to get management who could set up some deals--and then you could publicize them. Good luck |
| maphop | Posted – 5/18/2007 7:54:59 PM | show profile Newbie, when you say you're going to hop on Google to see who does satellite tours - - what exactly are you looking for? Are you looking for another PR firm that schedules and books tours as part of their repertoire? It's true that if one of your clients is a reality TV show winner, chances are that the network will pick up the tab for a modest tour IF the show is going to be repeated next season. We're usually talking about the week after the win has been announced, rarely after that. This is something that the network would usually tackle with in-house staff, too, since they know what outlets they want, whether they have script or credit with an airline, hotel chain, etc. I'm surprised that they're farming that kind of stuff out but good luck! |
