If I asked for a show of hands on how many people watch the Golden Globes religiously every year, I would guess more hands would be up than down. Why? The Golden Globes, and other similar award shows, are the most publicized events of the year.
No matter where you live or what you do in your spare time, you have heard of the Golden Globes, the Emmys, and/or the Grammys. Entertainment News reported that last year, over 20 million viewers flipped their channels to watch at least part of the award show. Another 1/2 million viewers watched the announcement of the winning names on E! the following day.
This astonishing number begs the question "Why do so many people watch these events?" The answer is remarkably simple: the public relations that surround these gala award shows are huge. It takes a team of hundreds all year to plan, coordinate, book, publicize, and pull off these huge shows.
Working in the PR department of any of these events entails quite a bit of differentiated work, I’m sure. PR reps for these huge events must work day and night up until the big event, just to verify that everything goes off without a hitch.
There would be the planning side of things, where the PR rep must act as an event planner. A venue must be selected and all details ironed out with that venue. A menu is selected, seating charts written out, and security hired, to name a few of those details.
The press side of things is where the meat of the job always occurs. Every time a new category’s nominees are confirmed, press releases must go out. Each time a presenter is secured, a brief has to be written. Good working relations must be maintained with all the major television networks, radio stations, and newspapers that cover the event.
All of that hard, continuous work leads up to the success of some of the "biggest nights on television" each year. Although working for big gala events like the Grammys is every publicist's daydream, there are thousands of other opportunities for PR specialists in our world today. There are over 200,000 PR specialists working in the market right now.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the field of public relations specialists is expected to grow by 18%, much faster than the average. The BLS website also states that the need for good public relations in an increasingly competitive business environment should spur demand in all types and sizes of organizations.
This is good news for people that are just getting started on their career. If they keep dreaming about doing the PR for a major event like the Emmys, the Grammys, or even the Golden Globes, they have a great shot at succeeding.
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Thank you for the statistics on the future of this profession. That gives me some hope that I migth be employable! :)
ReplyDeleteAlong with you, I also hope to create my own position where I currently work. So maybe we can partner up and come up with a prefect plan of attack!
Hey, I have never seen the Grammy’s and I probably never will just because I am not interested in that particular event, but I would almost have to imagine that the Super Bowl would have to be a similar process as that of the Grammy’s. I don’t plan on being a publicist, but I know what I can learn and take from this class will help me organize events for my father’s business. Thanks for the insight on all the work that goes on in those major events. It was a real eye opener.
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ReplyDeleteYou know, I never thought about all the coordinated efforts it must take to put the Grammy's together. I bet that when it's all over they start right up the next day on the next year's show!
ReplyDeleteThis production also shows the teamwork that must be done and time management. Just think of the pressure they are under. If someone or some team didn't do their job like they were expected to, it would be a mess. But, of course, we the viewers would never know about that because that would be taken care of very quickly by someone else.
I think that PR has a lot to do with how many people watch the Golden Globes each year, but I also think that it is related to how much TV people watch these days. People watch so much TV that they want their favorite actor or actress to win an award. I believe that along with all of the PR work that the crews of people do are the two main reasons for the popularity.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right that public relations has so much to do with how many people watch the Golden Globes and other similar events each year. I also feel that it has a huge influence on how people react and what they think about the event. I feel that it takes a lot of work to make these great events happen and to also make them so popular to our world. Public relations places a major role in all of this. If someone group or individual messes up one little thing it is noticed by everyone so it is very important that everyone does their job and does it right when it comes to public relations. There are many critics out there and everyone will point out every mistake.
ReplyDeleteI find what you've said to be very true with not only award shows, but as Randy stated, also the Super Bowl. If it were not for all the hard working PR people bringing these events into the spotlight and working their tails off to pull everything off, we wouldn't be as aware of the events as we are. Any role as a PR in any field of entertainment and everyday things is pretty huge, in my opinion.
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