#publicty

Every week LocalTheatreNY.com gets dozens of press releases via email from Off-Broadway, Limited-Engagement, and Off Off Broadway shows. We barely read them.

Sometimes, out of curiosity, I will open one (usually from a friend or someone in the industry I might know) just to see if there is anything different about this press release, and I will still be disillusioned by how bad they are. It’s always the same boring use of adjectives like “ground-breaking,” “timely,” “shocking,” followed by listing their unknown talent, information that barely creates a ripple or inspires anyone to write about them. Even worse are those press releases that provide nothing more than the who, what, why, and where. Those are in abundance, sometimes written by the playwright herself in an effort to save marketing dollars. Which is smart in a way, but really shortsighted.

Okay, I sound jaded. But bear with me. It’s not that I am, at all.

Press releases - on their own - are the worst scam in the history of modern theatre. I know. I set out to change this a few years ago by offering my services as a publicist at more affordable fees, and realized the system is broken and I couldn’t really fix it by being a better writer or creating and sending out to a longer contact list. Those days are gone.

One theatre publicist I know promotes his business by boasting that the press agent is the one and true reason behind the success of any show. He’ll publicize your show by getting you reviewed on one of the two or three (ugly) blogs he manages. Most of his clients don’t realize this, but being reviewed in a relatively unknown blog (or three) that barely makes a blip on the radar is not worth $2000 or for that matter, $200! But still there he goes…charging to write the press release, send them out (via email), and then create useless “hits” (a term for the number of media hits or coverage your publicity efforts generate) on a barely-read blog. And he boasts about these hits as iff he were getting full page articles in the New York Times! 

Other publicists don’t go the boasting route, but instead maintain that this is the way things are, it’s a “hit-or-miss” part of the business, and then blame the media and all the editorial cutbacks that have changed the media land-scape. At least they have that part somewhat right. I admit that I’ve used that reason on more than several occasions. It really is frustrating to spend hours trying to get reviewers and no one responds. 

For all the press releases we’ve received over the years, let me tell you that there are two big things missing right off the get go:

A Pitch! Almost no one ever pitches us a story. I think one rep in the last five years actually bothered to call us and explain why her story should be covered. One! Publicists must only be pitching the big media because they ain’t pitching us.

An Angle. Some idea of how to approach yet another story about another new show that is being offered to the public with no thought behind why audiences would need or want to see it! Zero!

Publicity and PR remain a big part of the mix for producers, but the days of big reviews creating critical successes have shifted to the big boys: Broadway and big name talent. The media landscape has changed. It just has. Big newspapers have eliminated hundreds of editorial jobs, some of these folks have then moved on to blogs, and podcasts, and vlogs. With the number of shows now being produced in a city like New York, how many plays can these limited number of reporters and writers have time to write about? Think of the logistics. And even if they do, most only write about these shows if said shows advertise. It’s a pay to play deal.

For Broadway (and some OB), the appeal is still there and that’s why there’s plenty of stories out there about them. But what about everyone else?

While we figure this out and experiment by creating our own stories, making a splash on social media and digital platforms, we’ve decided that in certain instances we will offer our publicity services free to certain clients. Instead of just dishing our releases, we are exploring stronger relations with media contacts (if they stick around long enough) and focusing on how we can make their jobs better. We’ve dived in head-first on learning how to capitalize on the changes in the media landscape, rather than use them as an excuse for an old system no longer working. And that’s what we are doing right now. Unless you folks have any better idea.

In the meantime, start fixing your boring press releases, start pitching your stories... and, most importantly, learn what makes a good story. Email me at [email protected] if you have any questions about your show.

RG

Please follow us on Instagram: @TheatreMarketing2019

Recently, the official website for A Silent Voice/Koe no Katachi‘s film updated with a full listing of the members of the production committee. They are (in proper financial contribution order):

Kyoto Animation Pony Canyon ABC Asahi (not to be confused with TV Asahi, the Tokyo TV station) Quaras Shochiku Kodansha

KyoAni, Pony Canyon, and ABC Asahi worked together for the Free!/High Speed!/Phantom World productions, but this is the first time that Quaras, Shochiku, and Kodansha have worked with Kyoto Animation on a production committee. I’ll detail what their companies do and why this excites me.

In our media-driven culture, we confuse visibility and celebrity with quality and credibility. It is easy to fall into the error of believing that the media world is the real world: that what happens online and on TV is what really matters.  If you say ridiculous or offensive things to a few people, and you’re an annoying crank. If you can reach a million people, you become a voice that deserves to be heard, and your lousy book, song, movie, or speech has gravitas and becomes a work of art.