The phrase has been repeated throughout the decades, “No publicity is bad publicity” making the point that any kind of notoriety, be it for the right or wrong reasons, is inevitably – and eventually – beneficial. This is because ‘bad’ publicity is still publicity nonetheless and serves to get your name or brand out to the masses . But is this true?
I for one have deduced that publicity is something that does not necessarily require any monetary payment. This is because anyone can gain publicity from practically anything that is of interest to the public, from winning a medal for your country in the Olympic games to a heroic or even a dirty deed. It certainly helps if you are a celebrity or have some claim to fame and that would make it easier and more likely to happen.
Nevertheless, for those who feel they would like to spend money to gain publicity be it for themselves or their products, they need not spend enormous amounts of money on advertising. Instead, they should consider the benefits that a smart investment in a public or media relations campaign can bring them – especially if they’re willing to come to the table and explore ideas on what may have the magic ingredient to get them all the publicity they need. Ad space comes at a price and if you consider the advertising equivalent of a release or article in the news papers or magazines, then which one really brings the best return on investment.
So, all that aside, is it really true that there is no such thing as bad publicity? Well, to me it really depends on what you are aiming for in the first place. If you have no concern about your image and all you want is to be in the public eye, then I guess any kind of publicity would be good for you. However, if image and reputation is important to you, then bad publicity will definitely still be bad publicity. Take Tiger Woods for example. Need I say more?
Open to the floor…..