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Publicity is a sponsored and non-paid message about a firm that appears in the public information media. The difference between publicity and advertising is that publicity must earn through its news value the space and time that advertising buys in the communication media. It must be information of general interest to the public in order to get printed or broadcast by the media. A second way in which publicity differs from advertising is that it cannot be controlled by the firm it is written about. Whereas advertising says whatever the advertiser wants to say; publicity is at the mercy of the media editor.
Publicity is usually handled by the directors of fashion, special events, and/or public relations.
Publicity is the spreading of information about people, special events, or newsworthy topics through various communications media. There are no media costs for publicity, but for that very reason, it is difficult to obtain. It is also considered more prestigious than advertising because it is the result of an editor's choice rather than the payment of money. Media editors choose the material they will use based on what they think may be of interest to the community and decide how, when, and where the message will be used. Publicity helps promote the sale of fashion merchandise by making a style, manufacturer, retailer, trend, or other aspect of fashion better known to the public.
Publicity Campaigns:
Retailers hope to bring their names to the public eye by calling attention to newsworthy developments in their stores. They may create events such as fashion shows or celebrity personal appearances to obtain publicity. Stores provide the media with information about such events or topics in the hope that the media will publicize them. A publicity campaign may be handled by the public relations office or the fashion office, whichever is more concerned with the topic or event. Alternatively, it may be prepared by an agency or consultant. Every retailer has a different approach.
Newspaper fashion editors often use publicity releases and photos to write their articles. Fashion magazines give publicity to retail stores in editorial credits, the mention of the store name as a source of merchandise that is editorially featured. Paying advertisers are becoming more demanding of the media in their requests for publicity.
Press Package:
As part of a publicity campaign, a press package consisting of a news release and photographs might be prepared to send to media editors. A news release is a written statement of the important facts about a person, place, or coming event and is often accompanied by glossy photographs, which may be provided by vendors.
Press releases: The news or press release is the primary means of making publicity material available to editors. The publicist writes the press release according to an accepted format and sends it to selected media. Press releases send out the news about a firm giving the important facts about a person, place or special event. The press release begins by telling who, what, when and where. It is written in order of diminishing importance, meaning that the most important information comes first.
Advertising Agencies: Many retailers, even those with their own in-house staffs, use outside advertising agencies to handle special projects, media buys, or for concept development. Agencies also help when there is a heavy workload or for a special project, such as a magazine format insert. Stores also use agencies as a cost-effective way of producing timely advertising without having to retain an expensive in-house staff. Payment may be handled on a project fee basis or an annual contract.
In large agencies, groups of people are assigned to particular accounts under the direction of an account executive, who acts as a liaison between the agency and the client. Agencies also use freelance copywriters, illustrators, and production artists to help them with heavy workloads and special projects. The drawback to using agencies is that it takes time for them to become acquainted with the store's point of view. On the other hand, an agency can offer objective ideas about how to project the store's image.
Individual Approaches:
To achieve maximum benefits from publicity, public relations or fashion office staff directs publicity to the media whose audience would be most interested in their message. News may be approached from various angles to ensure that each medium gets a unique story.
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