When publicists need to gag their clients: THE SAEON EXAMPLE

It started as a rather boring day full of the usual chatter and banter on twitter, or so I thought, until emerging singer, SAEON decided it was time to stir up a little dust and get some attention.

SAEON

After launching into a tirade against fellow singer and Chocolate City artiste, Victoria Kimani, calling her mix tape a “fail”, she went further to throw words at fans who cautioned her, bloggers who challenged her and any other person who dared say anything uncomplimentary.

I thought it was over until she went further to launch accusations against another artiste, BLACK MAGIC and at that point, I was wondering where her publicist was and why no one from iCirculate MEDIA (The firm that handles her PR) haven’t shut her up already.

I have absolutely nothing to say to SAEON. She’s an artiste. As a publicist and long time media professional, I have dealt with several artistes for me to realize they are like four year olds. They always need watching and they can’t be trusted to handle themselves 90% of the time.

That being said, I wonder why her PR team hasn’t gone into crisis mode already.  Remember when a publicist was called a “press agent”?  Now, to quote the legendary Hollywood publicist Pat Kingsley, “suppress agent” might be a better term.

In this era of social media, any client with a half-baked idea and a cellphone — can quickly undo a publicist’s months or years of careful image crafting.

It’s high time as publicists, we demand that clients refrain not only from talking to journalists, but also from posting anything on personal social media accounts or blogs that could jeopardize their projects. (Preferably get this done in writing, with consequences)

If your client does not understand the value of a public image that has to be managed or considered, it’s your duty as a publicist to school them.  For the simple reason that it will make your job easier.

They need to know how they should handle interviews or manage the stress of fame, and importantly, they need lessons on Internet privacy. Lessons should include why a nude photo should never find its way online (Mo-Chedda could have used this lesson) and how lashing out on Twitter can backfire.

The problem with the Internet is not only the potential for overexposure, but also the quickness of the medium to disperse false or easily misinterpreted information. One comment can become a fiasco in 10 seconds.  Social media gives our clients many new opportunities to screw up, and this is not the time to be sloppy.

 After all, you’re still going to clean up after them.  So be on the look-out and be ready to gag that baby of yours when necessary ok?