trendSpotting Report
Lizzie Jenkins

When I first considered jumping into the world of PR I imagined attending red carpet events in fabulous gowns, lunching at Pastis with celebrities and receiving gift bag upon gift bag of amazing goodies.

But little did I know…

One of the first events I worked at was a book signing for Madonna at Bergdorf Goodman. All I could think was, “YES! Madonna. I am going to meet Madonna!” Not only did I not meet Madonna (hardly saw her), I spent an entire day absentmindedly checking unrecognizable names off a list, fighting with the press at every turn, and receiving a few unintentional elbows to the face courtesy of paparazzi vying for the perfect spot to snap.

That day marked the end of my PR dream and the beginning of my PR reality.

After an eye-opening experience like that, I asked myself if I was in the right field, but knew the only way to find out was to learn the in’s –and out’s of the business. So, I buckled down and began to look for the method behind the madness of this industry. There is a backstage world of PR on which I’d like to shed some light so that others don’t act so oblivious, like me that Madonna-less day, wondering where the glitz and glamour have gone to.

PR takes work—hard work. We research our hearts out, familiarizing ourselves with not only our industry but industries of our clients and constantly seek the most current trends while carefully forecasting what’s on the horizon.

We are Excel Spreadsheet wizards, relentless creators and updaters of hundreds of media lists and budgets and pitches. We edit and re-edit documents until our eyesight blurs. We wake up at 3 AM to rush to tape morning shows, which often don’t air, and pull all nighters with surprising regularity. We pitch stories we are darn passionate about with all we’ve got, and we pitch stories we are less than passionate about with more than we knew we even had.

PR takes perseverance, hard work and dedication. Yes, we know that. However, not many people can survive being yelled at, hung up on, ignored, or worse, which PR pros often are; we pros not only put up with abuse, we take it in stride to fuel our next move while we dial another number, draft a new release, and plan our next major event. We live for hard work that pays off, tangible results that work out, and of course getting that über-tough reporter to listen to what we have to say.

Don’t get me wrong, though. The celebrity events, VIP parties and awe-inspiring red carpets are part of the business too—they’re just more of a result after lots of a sweat, blood and—I hate to admit it—tears.

So the next time you open an issue of Us Weekly, remember that a PR person spent hours planning and executing those “Who Wore It Best” photos. No accident, that. And oh yeah. Tomorrow, when you’re reading your New York Times, know one of us worked our fingers to the bone for that corporate profile in the Business section. Lastly, let’s talk about next month’s Vanity Fair article about the new wave of blog advertising! You can be pretty sure that it was inspired by a PR person like me, who only finally slept soundly the night that issue hits the stands.

Lizzie Jenkins is an Account Executive at RLM who loves delivering measurable results for her clients.