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?
