My Publicist, My Guardian Angel

In a brief moment of solace I had the opportunity to watch Terrell Owens new reality show on VH-1. NFL Pro Terrell Owens references his publicists Monique Jackson and Kita Williams as his best friends and his guardian angels. The show depicts the two publicists planning, pitching, consoling and even mothering the ofttimes misinterpreted football star. What touched me most about the show is that its obvious that the women have formed much more than a client relationship with TO. They are personally vested in his professional life as well as his personal life. I've heard speculation that TO may possibly be involved romantically with one of the young women. While I'm not sure about the relationship between T.O. and his publicists, I do know from personal experience the very intense relationship between publicist and client is far from perfunctory. While I may not have relationships with my clients that directly mirror the one between Terrell and Monique and Kita, I can say I consider my clients my friends. Their business is my business. Without a very personal relationship I doubt I'd be able to be as effective as I am with their brand(s).

Since an undergrad, I've known that my job of "publicist" is so much more than writing press releases, pitching
stories, facilitating interviews or acting as a defensive lineman on the red carpet. I consider myself the gatekeeper of my clients overall image and like any publicists worth their weight in media impressions, I approach my job duties with a no holds barred mentality. I am fiercely protective of the clientele on my roster and even of the talent I media train. My duties consist of informal responsibilities such as endless hours on the phone having extremely personal conversations and even matchmaking on occasion. Much like a lawyer, I practice a strict publicist/client privilege. My clients know that much like a best friend or personal advisor their deepest and darkest secrets are not only safe with me but are guarded by me. Why you may ask? In order for me to truly be able to competently represent and often defend my client I have to know the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. After signing a new client it is my practice to sit down and initiate a soul-barring session with the client. I do a safe amount of self-disclosure of my own in order to get the client to relax and we go from there. Eliminating any unnecessary surprises early on, prepares me to handle any curve balls the wayward media may throw my way.

As a result of spending such long hours and having such a candid relationship with clients, it would be inhumane not to form personal relationships with clientele. Perhaps its because I believe creativity is the base of my skill set, I can admit to becoming seduced by my own charms. By that I mean, after Enchanted PR
takes on a new client, I become so engrossed in the vision for that client that I can admit to losing objectivity. Much like a mother who simply cannot fathom another baby being more beautiful than their own,
I live, breathe, eat and sleep my clients. I feel they are entitled to every opportunity I wrangle for them and so much more. This year my client Chilli from TLC was tapped as the spokesperson for Dasani water. It was a huge career coup for her and introduced her fan base to Chilli as a spokesperson outside of the TLC brand. While we were overjoyed at the opportunity, my vision for her as personality and as a member of an iconic pop entity, was so much more. This year as we prepare for a television show on a major network, a huge book deal, and several sponsorships and endorsements, including a renewed Dasani campaign I know she is set to reach her full potential.

Years ago I represented a hip hop artist based in Atlanta, GA. I saw potential in the artist and believed he embodied an image that was much more marketable than the average rapper. I began pitching MOE Betta as the creator of "upscale hip hop". Before he knew what happened and before he'd signed a major deal, I'd snagged him an endorsement deal with an urban clothing line just as they were about to launch an ad campaign. MOE Betta was featured in the company's ads that were placed in several heavy-hitting hip hop magazines including The Source. His pictures along with music were used to brand the new clothing line at the Magic show in Las Vegas along with A-list celebrity driven lines such as Applebottoms, G-Unit and Sean John. While the musical project didn't reach the success I hoped it would, that victory in itself was huge for my company. Besides having malleable clay for a client, I believed in the project and sold it like I was a junkie hooked on it myself. Never mind that the artist didn't have a record out and the single wasn't buzzing in the streets, I felt my client was entitled to the clothing sponsorship and that his value was worth this company making an investment. Many would argue my pitch was self-serving and biased. I would certainly agree. I believe in order to truly an effective spokesperson one must buy into what they are selling lock, stock and barrel and so I relent. And it works.

It is my belief that product managers, talent managers and even booking agents need to maintain a realistic view of their clients market value, but if I buy into those "real" numbers as a publicist then I have become mediocre in my thought process regarding my client and my results will no doubt follow suit. It is my job to believe my client is the cream of the crop in their genre and even beyond so that I am able to present their project in such a fashion. To me the semblance in akin to the belief I would have in a family member or close friends. For it is only those close to us who truly recognize our full potential.

I am not certain if Kita and Monique would reference themselves as Terrell Owen's guardian angels or not. I also am not hesitant to acknowledge that while clients do take up a huge part of our daily existence as with any job there must be boundary lines and we must remember to practice a form of business etiquette. Notwithstanding I do know that when I am calling a journalist to get them to retract misinformation about my client, or I am pitching an outlet on a client they know nothing about, or I am defending my clients actions or non-action to an often judgemental and fickle public audience I am nothing less than a guardian. All good publicists should be.