Over the past month I have never had so much trouble trying to spend money with a company in my life. While my bank account thanks you, or Diane von Furstenberg, it make me begins to think. How long can a business model like this sustain growth? How many times are you going to make people wait in line, put their name on wiring lists, and more importantly, tell people to just “deal” with a default product.

There are so many analogies I could compare Apple’s business model to, but my most relevant one would happen to be “That Guy!” Yes, you know who I’m talking about. The guy who cuts you in line and thinks he’s entitled to be there, the guy you go on a date with who only talks about himself the entire time and then you get stuck with the bill. What do you typically do with this said guy? You usually de-friend him, ignore his calls, never go out with him again and will be damn sure you never spend a dime on him again.

So when will Apple begin to listen to it’s customer and actually put them first? Will we ever wake up and stop drinking the apple-flavored Kool-aide? And even better yet, why do we hold other brands, products and corporations to a higher standard while we let Apple get away with ordering $150 worth of dinner and drinks to be stuck with the bill?

As a former Apple geek, the orange-flavored Kool-Aide is starting to sound pretty nice.

Please feel free to vent your frustrations below, the more the merrier!

Scene 1: Camera One pans to girls at door.  A faint voice states “thirty seconds till we air.” Final checks in place, Louboutins  (check), black dress (check), clipboard (check), stern look (check.)  Let’s roll, 5..4..3..2..air.

Camera Two pans to X celebrity arriving in the black sedan and walks up to red carpet, she stops to pose for a few photos to hear cat-calling from paparazzi in the galley.  Cut to second scene.

Scene 2: Louboutin-wearing girls hovering around a VIP table having a cocktail (yes, at their own event) and hanging out with their friends they snuck in.  Drama begins to unfold.  Cut, end scene.

Ok, how many of us have watched reality and primetime television shows where this act is played over and over again? (Pause for all PR people to verbally grunt at the computer.) Exactly.

Recent turmoil has unleashed in response to Kim Kardashian’s announcement  of a PR reality show appropriately reported on People.com.  My immediate reaction was frustration and defense of the PR industry as a whole.  Then I wrote this blog post.  While my first draft is lying nicely in my trash can, I came to a realization that I can see the glass half full on this matter.  Please hear me out. 

As Lauren Fernandez eloquently pointed out in her blog post Monday, Publicity is different from PR. I concur on this matter with a foot-note that publicity is still a form of public relations and has proven successful for corporate clients as well as the entertainment industry. 

As I was emotionally ranting of the frustrations that PR is not just red carpets, designer duds and celebrities, I found myself being a hypocrite.  Currently I finished a publicity/ pr event that involved step and repeats while wearing a designer dress and shoes, clipboard in tow and there was a celebrity involved.  How is this any different?  No, I am not having cocktails with J-Lo and having Versace designers knocking on my door with free gifts, but in some form I am producing the same type of a publicity event and exceeding the client’s expectations in the process. While my background primarily lies in events and launches, my day-to-day public relations duties consist of social media, writing, networking and all the normal corporate communications.

Publicity events for corporate clients with celebrities, red carpets and features in magazines are only the icing on the cake for this form of public relations.  Sure, the drama surrounding the on-site events holds the sex appeal to draw millions of viewers, but as PR professionals we all know where the REAL drama lies, behind the scenes.   I believe this is the sore spot with everyone in this industry.  Where are the cameras when the nuts and bolts to the campaign or event are being born?  Brainstorming sessions conducted a la Mad Men style (in no reference to Sunday’s episode), ideas being pitched to clients, hundreds of creative design ideas for invitations, step and repeats, Web sites, logos, etc., press releases being written (and the twenty revisions), media lists compiled, talent negotiations, do I really need to keep going?  I think we understand all the hard work that happens behind-the-scenes that makes the pr and publicity campaigns work. 

So, one may ask, “Why are these scenes edited?” my guess, viewers, money, advertisement dollars and TV executives.  Outside of the PR industry, we would lose the general public on the first draft of a press release.  The producers, and general public, want the glitz and glamour.  Is this necessarily the “right” thing to do? No, but PR isn’t the only industry in the same boat.  What about “Making the Band” and “Project Runway?”  Is life really this easy to get a record label or a four-page feature in a major fashion magazine for up-and-coming artists? Are all the steps and dirty laundry revealed? No! Why? Million dollar word; viewers!

Bottom Line:

While some view publicity as Louboutin-wearing blondes with a clipboard obsession, publicity is a form of media relations that has proven successful for many clients.  Our problem lies more in the lack of education to the public on the different sectors that lie within the PR industry.  Trust me that a successful publicity event uses as much communication as a traditional press release launch, plus a few side orders of event logistics.  Now, I can’t say the individuals participating in Kim’s reality show hold these same standards, but they shouldn’t be held as the poster children to the Publicity ring either. 

Therefore, PR flacks, I challenge you to sit back, relax and enjoy the drama that someone else will be experiencing and revel in the fact you are sitting on the couch when their talent says the wrong name of the product!

Mark on AirTran was a daring campaign on all fronts, even as it was complicated by Homeland Security/TSA logistics and FBI requirements.  Nevertheless, the campaign redefined experiential marketing by taking full advantage of social media, events, digital and public relations, growing its reach and depth exponentially as Aspen Marketing guided communication streams to build upon each other.

For more information on the campaign, please visit: www.MarkonAirTran.com

UPDATE:
Vote for People’s Choice Award Here

While some see Twitter as the ideal forum to announce their morning coffee ritual, others developed methods to market brands, pitch stories to journalists, communicate with CEOs and, our new favorite, to raise funds for charity.  The Twitter community recently hosted Twestival, an ingenious event that merged social media and social philanthropy in more 202 cities globally. The event raised nearly $250,000 for Charity: Water, a non-profit organization bringing clean safe drinking water to people in developing nations.    Digitally-savvy people around the world networked, mingled and discussed amongst the “twitterati” while raising funds for an amazing cause. 

NYC Twestival attracted 1,800 attendees ranging from Sesame Street illustrators to New York Times reporters and raised over $24,000 to help fund clean water wells for 2,000 people over 20 years.  Aspen Marketing, a longtime advocate for volunteerism and supporting local communities, participated in the event and had numerous employees in attendance.  With real-time journalism conquered, could social cause be the killer app for social media?

I believe technology should be used to create stronger relationships. Thanks to Twestival, thousands of people around the world have become aware of the heart wrenching challenges of supplying clean water and the noble work of Charity: Water.  Want to get involved? Donate funds for Twestival and Charity: Water until April.