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Since we’ve been talking about headlines and their importance, I decided to break up the flow of the eletter topic to cover an important and timely media story that’s had massive “Mind Capture” and headlines the last few weeks.
HEADLINE:
After Lies Are Revealed On Oprah, Author James Frey
Changes Book Title To “A Million Fabricated
Pieces”
The three marketing and pr lessons we all can learn from the Oprah/Frey media frenzy:
1. There’s no such thing
as “bad publicity”
2. Be straight with people
3. Oprah is a master marketer
What’s bad publicity? As former president Bill Clinton said “that depends on your definition” All kidding aside, stop and really think about the controversy. Are thousands of books STILL flying off the store shelves? You bet.
Who’s making money? Not only Mr. Frey, the bookstores, Oprah, but the publisher as well is all making money hand over fist despite his confession of fabricating certain stories within his book.
Now, let me be very clear here, I’m not advocating deception and lies. I’m pointing out that on the surface people would think this would hurt Oprah and Frey. It has diminished Frey’s career, but the money train hasn’t slowed down one bit. Even though it’s bad pr, many authors would kill to have 1/100th of the attention Frey got, even though we know it was negative on the front end.
The second lesson to chew on for future reference is to ALWAYS be straight with the media. I completely understand that many of you reading may never move beyond local or regional publicity, but the rules still apply at all levels. I’ve had conversations with many writers and they always say, “Don’t tell half-truths and always be straight with them”. This should be common sense, but sadly humans continue to test the limits and risk integrity and reputation for short term gain.
The third lesson is to again remind you of a couple of reasons why Oprah is a master marketer. Whether you like her or not, you can’t ignore the fact that she’s a brilliant marketer with an incredible amount of influence. To prove this point I can tell you that as an author I’ve been pitched with many offers to attend teleseminars or events that teach aspiring speakers, authors, and experts how to increase the odds of getting on her show.
Oprah has come out of the Frey debacle looking great, and at the same time generated a ton of publicity for her show. Sure, a few people may look at her less favorably, but I’m certain she’s picked up even more viewers due to all the attention and initial controversy.
In addition, once the facts and half truths were discovered she did something that more celebrities and pro athletes should model: she apologized. Her viewers are her lifeline, and by being honest she renewed their faith and picked up even more fans/customers along the way.
Helping Others Achieve Marketing & Communication Breakthroughs!
Sincerely,
Tony Rubleski
For additional marketing resources visit www.mindcapturegroup.com.
