Implementing Smart PR When Your Client is a ‘Freak Show’

In light of the recent premiere of the adapted-for-the screen tale “Water for Elephants” my interest in depression-era traveling circus acts and the history behind them was tickled.  After reading the book in college, as always with adapted-for-the-screen novels, I was intrigued enough to see the movie.  Luckily, I read the book long enough ago, that I could not readily identify the diversions of the screenplay. While the book and film are both dripping with imagery, I was intrigued most by the reality of these boom and bust businesses, filled with uncertainty in uncertain times and most importantly, dependency on pubic relations to thrive.

P.T. Barnum, entrepreneur and founder of the Barnum and Bailey’s Circus could be considered in our profession as one of the first great PR practitioners. Barnum built an empire of followers and publicity while promoting his traveling circus, menagerie, and “freak show” in the late 1800’s and his legacy as a self-promoter, savvy businessman, and PR specialist lives on to this day.

The most interesting tactic I read about was posted on this blog. Evidently, Barnum had an elephant plow his field so passersby on the train to New York would see it and his museum and circus would garner interest. What followed was a media storm to Barnum’s events and shows, which led him to become the forerunner of the most successful circus act in United States history.

As leverage and positioning has changed with the times, the PR professional has also. In the age of social and digital media, the tactics and strategy for casting light on businesses, individuals, or events have evolved into a multi-media expedition of sorts, where campaigns are as varied as the clients represented.

There is a great deal the modern day PR professional can learn from the tactics from the days of old, the first being; cater your message to your audience. Too often the same materials are being spoon-fed to the public, and nothing stands out. In a society where thousands of advertisements reach each individual daily, it is important to find that elephant to plow your field that delivers the WOW factor.

Barnum’s techniques were deliberate, creative, and indelible. In an age where television, radio, and internet were non-existent, Barnum was forced to create publicity wherever he could find it. And publicity he made, whether hiring a terrible orchestra to play near his building that would drive people into his museum to escape the noise, or paying a street-walker to continually exchange bricks on the street to intrigue passersby; the novelty of his tactics were so simple and effective, they still influence modern day PR.

Though some of Barnum’s methods are quite controversial by today’s standards, it was his quick thinking and understanding the influence of the media, which allowed him to entertain thousands in his shows. He was once quoted as saying “I am indebted to the press of the United States for almost every dollar which I possess.”

Barnum’s circus became what was remembered as the most successful acts in American history.  After his death, his circus lived on for another generation, and his legacy lives on to this day.  Now as Red Sky develops new client relations and we expand our network, I will think of P.T. Barnum and that African elephant trudging with a plow on its back the countryside in New York state as onlookers laughed and stared wide-eyed at the spectacle before them.

-Amanda Watson