Suffice it to say, it's never a good PR practice to limit the media to a "press pen" set up outside of the location of the publicity event you've invited them to. But that's precisely what happened May 13 when the American Jewish Committee and Hachette Filipacchi Magazines decided it couldn't accommodate the dozens of journalists who wanted to attend a humanitarian awards ceremony for HFM President and CEO David Pecker.
And Pecker wasn't even the draw for the event which was held at the New York Hilton.
Who the media really wanted to see was John F. Kennedy Jr., co-founder/editor of George, who presented the award to Pecker.
According to Gary Spruch, director of campaign PR for AJC, the organization had never intended to trigger the press interest it did and initially only a "select group" of editors and reporters were invited to the event.
But Spruch ended up learning firsthand one of the cardinal rules of PR: It's a dangerous tactic to try to hand pick your coverage. And you always have to factor in what kind of media fever a guest, keynote speaker or award winner might spawn. As a result of news spreading about Kennedy's presentation, Spruch said he received a barrage of calls from journalists who wanted to come to the awards gala.
"Because of the level of interest Kennedy's appearance created, Hachette Filipacchi and the American Jewish Committee reached a joint decision [on the afternoon of the event] that the press wouldn't be allowed inside or it would be a total mess," Spruch said.
In the end, Spruch said, about 40 photographers - many from tabloid news operations - three camera crews and a handful of print journalists remained in the press area outside the room while the ceremony took place.
"We had to do something to maintain some decorum based on our knowledge that this event had triggered a paparazzi kind of news mentality and the media was covering this from a celebrity point of view," Spruch said. "In the end we've learned that nothing compares to a Kennedy and that we have to be conscious of what kind of media attention someone can attract." (AJC, Gary Spruch, 212/751-4000)