NO stranger to celebrity publicity and media placement, knew how important it would be to get Madonna (new mom, Material Girl, "Evita" star) on the January cover of Redbook magazine.
The magazine, intent on repositioning itself as a hipper read, looked to the Manhattan agency to get the word out to the media and to the general public that Redbook is red-hot.
As the established editorial bastion for young American women, including mothers, Redbook hopes that putting "Mamadonna" on the January cover kicks off the New Year with a re-energized, provocative content mix of fashion, beauty and lifestyle features, plus news articles geared to an audience tht is younger and more confident. Starring Madonna on the front says it all. Inside, the singer/actress talks about her mother's death and the surprising plans she has for her offspring. The publicity message: like Madonna, Redbook is sexy, surprising and fun. Quite a coup.
Advance copies of the January Redbook were delivered to 300 media decision makers rolled up in jumbo plastic baby bottles. Much Madonna-motherhood press ensued, with Redbook mention at the top of the copy.
"At this point we don't know the effect of all the coverage," says Redbook editor Kate White. "But the baby bottle drew editors' attention to the cover of a brand that's 90 years old but repositioned as a much different magazine than the Redbook our mothers read. To me, the (media placement) was a wake-up call that to me is as important as getting on MTV."
JT Public Relations extended the reach of White, herself a young mother of two. JTPR, as the media placement boutique is known, consists primarily of partners Jennifer Polansky and Tami Gross. Both are formerly of Maury Rogoff Public Relations, another media speciality boutique, where they worked for several years as senior account representatives handling New York, Premiere, and Town & Country magazines.
While the concept of putting Madonna on the Redbook cover in fact came from Redbook (a Hearst magazine) editorial, Polansky and Gross effectively grew that acorn into the proverbial oak tree. In just two years since its inception, JTPR has garnered an enviable reputation for devising fresh and innovative "big ideas," especially for magazine clients, which now also include Country Living, Wired, and Bauer Publishing (Woman's World, First For Women, Soap Opera World.) According to White, one of the best things about JTPR is the client service it offers in the form of faxing and e-mailing items for her attention.
"And Jennifer and Tami are very candid - they don't stroke you," add White, who adds that even the receptionist makes her feel like "Diana Spencer" when she calls.
"We always keep in mind the fact that some editors receive over 300 pieces of mail a day, and sometimes as many as 100 packages," says Gross. "We're great at coming up with clever, not necessarily expansive ways to get our client's message across at a glance."
Other JTPR clients include Griffin Bacall Inc. (an advertising agency), and William Shatner's Future Call Company, which markets prepaid telephone cards. For Future Call, Polansky and Gross negotiated the world's largest conference call, featuring fans chatting up "Star Trek" Captains past and present, Shatner and Patrick Stewart.
JTPR also represents the more upscale affiliates of the Riese Organization, which owns and operates over 150 restaurants in New York. Last June, The (New York) Daily Newswrote about John Kennedy Jr. dropping by Riese's The Java Shop, just because he liked the pretty package wrapping his George editor's media invitation. JTPR was credited.
In a clever bit of cross-client promotion, a Future Call affiliate, Virtual Reality Productions, was commissioned by The Java Shop and JTPR to write a song for the restaurant's grand opening, The Java Jungle, crooned by festive Rockettes-type costumed dancers.
JTPR worked with NBC's marketing department to promote the hit series "Friends" and "ER." In a Mediaweek "Forum" asking PR experts how to reverse the inevitable backlash against the excessively popular "Friends," Polansky and Gross suggested repositioning cast members as real people: Jennifer Aniston, in public, on a bad hair day; Matt LeBlanc confessing to Oprah that he had no "friends" as a child.
Considered Manhattan's pop culture public relations boutique of the moment, the dynamic duo is often sought after for publishable commentary on the entertainment and media industry. They've been the subject of several newpaper articles focusing on their volcanic media placement concepts, and countless more in the representation of clients, some of whose names cannot be divulged for reasons of confidentiality. While the full-time support staff numbers five, Polansky and Gross personally attend to every account. When necessary, the agency ramps up with reliable freelancers, especially for events. "We're known for our 'big bonanza' ideas, our track record of creating a huge media buzz," says Polansky. "We have to be selective in our clients because there are no guarantees in PR, but there sure are a lot of fast talkers. When something interests and excites us, however, we can really communicate to others with our infectious energy and enthusiasm."
"The media cover the media, and what we try to do is introduce a certain slab of the (media) establishment to our clients in a way that goes full circle," adds Gross. "We're really a (media) distribution channel."
By servicing a mix of restaurant, entertainment, consumer products and celebrity clients, Polansky and Gross leverage the relationships they've built with people like Regis Philbin and Kathy Lee Gifford, Kurt Anderson (journalist, playwright, and former Spy and New York magazine editor), movie stars Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow, producers, journalists, food editors, fashion editors, editors-in-chief, talent coordinators and retailers.
Jennifer Polansky spent the early years of her professional life with "Entertainment Tonight" in Washington D.C. She's also worked for a production and public relations firm where she handled projects for MCI and the American Diabetes Association. Tami Gross spent 4 1/2 years at Liz Claiborne, Inc., in product development and new business ventures. Past public relations clients at another firm included Coty Fragrances and Cosmetics, North Beach Leather, high-profile architects and designers such as Haverson Rockwell of Planet Hollywood and Tatou fame. (Tami Gross, Jennifer Polansky at JTPR, 212/750-2366; Kate White at Redbook, 212/647-3477; Maury Rogoff, 212/246-6777.