As the world becomes increasingly saturated in digital and online methods of both connecting and understanding, a new and innovative array of channels have opened up that maximise the impact of PR communications. With the arrival of Twitter and other forms of social media, content can be streamed and processed faster than ever before. Items of interest now have the ability to transcend the reaches of traditional media channels. As a result of this, we have ‘viral’ images and videos, which can not only be used to entertain, but can also serve the purpose of driving home a political, social or moral issue which people relate to and invest in, such as the Kony campaign which spread like wildfire throughout social platforms in 2012.
The film industry utilises the idea of PR for promotion to great effect. By setting up dedicated accounts for their films, and releasing a variety of trivia, trailers and release dates, they are able to draw in fans and keep them updated with current information and generate a large amount of interest prior to the film being released, therefore generating as much hype and profit as possible. So with nothing to stunt the public’s access to information regarding their anticipated releases, the PR campaign for film has undeniably become an easier task.
However press offices are always looking for new and diverse ways in order to maximise the image and publicity of their films or their respective clients. The concept of celebrity PR relationships emerges from the public’s growing interest in every aspect of the lives of stars. Specifically, a large amount of interest is garnered by the love lives of various stars. By persuading usually the two female and male leads of a film to purport to be in a real relationship, detached from the synthetic world of the film, fans are offered the opportunity to emotionally invest further into the franchise.
The relationship of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson from the Twilight series is a good example of this. The relationship was initiated around the time the first film in the franchise was released. Their relationship peaked, and fans were able to connect with them, or Bella and Edward, away from the films through magazines such as OK, Star and Heat, providing priceless PR for the series. As the series began to wind down, their relationship hit rock bottom with the revelation that Kristen was cheating with British director Rupert Sanders. This revelation perfectly coincided after the release of the final film, as the relationship now had no selling point with regards to the franchise. The films had stopped, and inevitably with it was the magic of K-Stew and R-Patz.
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