Now that I’ve entered the world of PR, I can see the lessons that some films can teach us about the varied world of public relations. I’ve selected three film quotes that stood out to me and the messages they convey about this industry.
Be creative
“Almost Famous” is the story of a young, up and coming journalist in the 1960s who is given the job of interviewing his favourite band. He ends up in a world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, without his overprotective mother knowing, he ends up falling in love with one of the bands most infamous groupies.
My favourite PR quote from the film is: “Is it hard to make us look cool?”
Making your client appear interesting to the media is a major aspect of public relations, and sometimes it seems impossible to make them “look cool”.
In the world of Business Education, sometimes clients want you distribute challenging research, or a story that might have already been told.
This is why creativity is important, taking the time to come up with a new angle in order to provide the media with a fresh way of telling, or adding to, a story. If you can successfully execute this, you will build your clients' profiles and credibility around the world, essentially making them “look cool”.
Don't over-complicate things
“One Day” is about two university graduates who spend the night together after their graduation ceremony. Dexter and Em are shown each year on the same date to see where they are in their lives, sometimes they are together, sometimes they are not.
The best PR quote from this film is: “I think we like to complicate things when really it’s quite simple”.
To successful grab an editor’s attention you have to develop the knack of writing in a simple way, making the wording engaging and understandable.
The same can be said when working with university research, to transfer it from academic language into a message that you can send to the media which is as simplistic as possible. This is the best way to reach a wider audience.
Make the right decisions
“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” is the second movie in JK Rowling's fantasy saga. In the film, Harry ignores warnings not to return to Hogwarts, only to find the school plagued by a series of mysterious attacks.
I think the most relatable PR quote comes from the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore: “It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices.”
It is very easy to be excited by an interesting piece of research or new product and want to release it to the press immediately, however timing is everything.
Being a good PR advisor means choosing when to distribute press releases, which journalists to send them to and picking a time when your topic is in the news.
It also means being realistic with your clients about how well their story will be received. We spend a lot of time sifting through the information our clients share with us to find the stories that will make the best impact their target audiences.
Want to speak to a PR advisor that gets results? Contact BlueSky PR today.
Author: Kate Mowbray
