The Business of Art - Gray Owl Strategy's Jenny Barker Discusses Public Relations
Published July 18th 2024
By Justin Stokes
Visual artists have multiple tools available to them to reach a wide audience. Just like with the implements they use regularly in their own studio work, each of these tools requires their own understanding and approach, taking time to master.
Public relations is one such tool for artists to use. Unlike marketing—which is moreso about creating a customer base, narrowing in on that customer base with data, etc.—public relations is about reaching an audience through stories placed with media outlets.
Explaining the work of public relations for visual arts personnel is Nashville-based PR professional Jenny Barker. Jenny Barker (Accreditation in Public Relations/ College of Fellows, Public Relations Society of America). The founder of Gray Owl Strategy, Jenny offers PR services related to brand building and positioning, transformation, strategic partnerships, fundraising and investor relations, and crisis management.
Jenny’s career is one marked with many honors and prestigious clients. According to her website, “She has earned numerous awards from PRSA, the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI), the Tennessee American Hotel & Lodging Association (TH&LA), and the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA). Jenny served as president of the Junior League of Nashville during its centennial celebration (2021-2022) and has served on the boards of Oasis Center, Nashville Cable, and Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. She is active in the Rotary Club of Nashville.”
Our interview with Jenny is below.
Let’s go over your career in strategic communications: You’re a professional with more than 20 years in the field of public relations, with some of that work spilling over into other fields like marketing, advertising, and social media. Is that correct?
Yes! And I think the thing that I bring to all of my clients is perspective. I worked in PR agencies. I’ve worked in large publicly traded companies. And now, I’m a solo practitioner.
And you are the principal behind Gray Owl Strategy, a strategic communications company that offers a number of different services. Is that right?
That’s correct. And you’ll find that public relations is the discipline, but it’s kind of morphed into a broader approach.
Strategic communications is more encompassing. And being a strategic communications professional is different than being a straight publicist.
It seems that being a traditional publicist was a job rooted in 20th century media practices, whereas being a strategic communications professional reflects media needs in the 21st century.
The roots of public relations can be traced back to the 1800s, with traveling shows and vendors going from town to town. Circus barkers are a great example of this! P.T. Barnum was known as a publicist in the sense that he was drawing attention to something, and bringing awareness to it.
Between then and now, public relations has evolved. I feel like public relations professionals—especially with TV shows like “Sex and the City”—were given this reputation for being spin doctors. That reputation is unfair, as it discredits the intentions of many public relations. The term strategic communications is kind of a way to take that reputation back.
Truly, the role of public relations is to build mutually beneficial relationships between an individual client or organization and its audiences.
For artists, that could simply mean establishing general relationships to the community where they live. It could also refer to creating relationships between an artist and the people they want to collaborate with, or relationships with individuals who might be part of the target audience to purchase specific pieces.
I think that’s where working with a PR practitioner is a chance to work with someone as a coach. Someone who can help the visual artist think more broadly about potential audiences and expanding one’s reach.
I’m certain that there are numerous examples of public relations professionals who’ve worked as spin doctors… But that label of being a spin doctor seems to paint the entire profession with a broad brush. It seems like most people handling public relations are honest people whose job is to ensure that things are understood clearly to a large audience.
I think the best PR people are folks who think both critically and strategically. Also, they’re the kinds of people who can see through someone else’s perspective. I think the ability to do that helps you think about how a message might land with an audience.
It also helps you step back and see the big picture of what you’re doing. Clarity in this line of work is critical. Especially now, when it seems like everyone’s attention span is so much shorter than what it used to be. Now, you have to get a message across that’s both succinct and impactful to your target audience.
Let’s go back a moment to clarify some terms. In public relations, you have what’s known as a publicist, an individual whose job functions revolve around the submission of press releases, coordinating with members of the press, etc.
As opposed to a publicist, someone in strategic communications might execute all those roles of a publicist as well as other things, such as making recommendations—for instance, telling an artist to go network with particular artists at an event—that impact their business. Should the understanding be that a strategic communications professional working with a visual artist would help steer the ship?
That’s right. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)—of which I’ve been a member my entire career—actually offers accreditation in public relations. I earned my accreditation from that program, which holds me to a higher standard. I compare that to the CPA exam but for PR people in the sense that both credentials validate that you can do the work.
The highest accreditation you can get in PRSA is the College of Fellows, which I was inducted into last year. I think what you’ll find is that people who are more connected to the practice of public relations can speak the truth and guide clients in ways that are going to help them establish more than just a good reputation. That guidance is going to enhance the respective brand.
If you think about all of this in the context of visual artists, their brand is more than just the work that they’re producing. Artists should recognize themselves as both a brand and a persona. This is depicted through their work, but what I’ve noticed about visual artists I enjoy is that I like both the person’s body of work and the individual themselves. For example, an artist’s website, social media channels, and media coverage are ways to help audiences understand who they are as an individual and their motivation for the art they produce.
And let me say: With the merging of media and technology, visual artists should really be thinking about their online persona, and how they digitally provide access to who they are as well as the thought process behind the artwork. Doing this will only further create a connection between an artist and their digital audience.
In the realm of marketing, the idea of product-market fit is used by marketers as a gauge to determine whether or not a marketing client is ready to execute a campaign. Should the same attitude be assumed for public relations? That is to say, should visual artists—particularly those who do not have a strong following—honestly gauge whether or not they’re ready to hire the services of a professional as opposed to simply just doing so?
The thing is, strategic communications professionals can help guide clients to figure things out. This includes an assessment of what’s currently working for a visual artist, what’s not currently working for a visual artist, and where do they want to be. We can help them with all of that by creating an action plan.
But I think you’re spot-on in terms of the convergence of roles under the strategic communications banner. PR, marketing… all of it, we look at it through the lens of integrated communications. I always think of marketing… like matchmaking: This is the audience, this is the message, what’s the best way to connect these two?
PR is a bit more nuanced. Sometimes it requires someone asking questions and leading with curiosity in a way that’s going to bring forward the values the client should present to their audience. From there, you can look at how you might incorporate those values into their campaign.
One of the many things that anyone working in the field of art promotion can bring to a client is a third-party perspective. Artists may lack the ability to hire a professional, and for whatever reason may feel that they can’t get a second set of eyes on what they’re doing. That means that there’s not someone there to tell the artist about the mistakes that they’re making, or how they might correct them.
That’s not just true for artists. I find that with entrepreneurs. I find that even with some folks who have enough corporate experience to know better. Being so close to something makes it really difficult to pull back and see what you need to do. And I see this all the time with folks who are trying to figure out how to position themselves for a specific thing. Pulling back is really hard to do by yourself. That’s where having some sort of outside help to ask the right questions or make the right recommendation can really help you.
With that said, it seems like there are elements of public relations work that shouldn’t be left for an artist to do. Certain things like being a soundboard for ideas should demand that a second person be involved in the campaign because that emotional gauge can only come from another person.
And don’t get me wrong, there are definitely artists who are smart enough to do some of their own public relations work, such as fleshing out a press release.
Yes, but that’s a tactic, right? That’s not a strategy. And I think that’s where a PR strategist can help you from soup to nuts.
I’ve seen an emphasis on artists just putting together a show. And look, having an art show is a great way to meet people and have them experience your art. But nobody is going to attend your art show if they don’t know about it. And they’re not going to know about it if you don’t do a press release, or get on an events calendar for people to find you.
You want to amplify your message for the public to join you. Otherwise, what good is all of that activity if no one shows up?
In my experience, artists come to journalists and public relations professionals looking to fulfill certain presumptions. For instance, that X number of news outlets will cover their event, or that X number of people will attend an art event based on a certain amount of press coverage. My understanding is that there are no guarantees when doing public relations for a client.
There are actions that can be taken to increase the likelihood you’ll get those kinds of results. But there are no guarantees. You could have an amazing art show opening, and you could have members of the press express interest in attending… but there might be some breaking news that happens at the last minute that prevents those people from attending.
That’s why a multi-faceted approach is always a good idea. Also, being able to be nimble is especially important. You want to be able to have substitutes for things in case your original plan falls through. A recommendation that I would offer to anyone putting on an art show: Have your own photographer there to take pictures. Don’t rely on, say, a press photographer to show up and take pictures. They might get called away to do another gig. That way, you can capture what’s going on and share it instead of relying on someone else. A good strategic communications person can help you think of ways to work smarter to give you that multi-faceted approach.
Also, when you’re doing anything, you want to make sure that your dollar stretches as far as it can. Again, that’s the value of working with a professional. Yes, we have some big budget ideas, but we can also be scrappy, and many of us know how to get results for something without extra money spent.
I want to talk about something else for a moment. And just so that readers of NUMBER, Inc. are aware: The media landscape has been fractured by the advertising duopoly of Google and Facebook, which newspapers blame for killing journalism. This means that fewer journalists are working the arts and culture beats. So, the idea of even getting a feature story placed in local news is now much harder than it was decades ago.
And, even if you did? The chances of a wide audience seeing that particular story are a lot smaller than they once were. That’s where social media can help artists. There are some huge advances in social media platforms where artists can find their own audiences. There’s notably been more of a shift toward what I would call owned media. This can include items such as an email list so that when you plan that big art show, you can reach out to people directly and invite them to attend. And if you have a smart strategy—such as finding some way for that individual to bring a guest with them—you can use that owned media to grow your audience. Owned media is a guaranteed audience of people who are pre-qualified to be interested in what you’re doing.
The current landscape for traditional media today is heartbreaking. It really is. I went to school for journalism. Writing is my first love! Now, it’s skeleton crews at a lot of these places.
The upside is that we’ve also seen a lot of niche publications popping up, as well as podcasts, etc. There are different ways now for a visual artist to connect with audiences.
Sure. All hope is definitely not lost. You’ve got podcasts, you’ve got niche publications, you’ve got different social media content creators, newsletters, all doing the work that used to be done mostly by traditional media outlets in previous years. And all of these news platforms provide multiple avenues for one to pitch a client.
It’s also helpful to think about this in terms of prioritizing audiences. I think about the 80-20 rule. In PR, that concept helps you to think about where you’re going to spend your time and dollars for the greatest impact. After you’ve determined who your primary audience is, there may be some secondary audiences for you to look at. They might still be a good fit, but they’re not your core audience. That’s why the discovery session conversations with a client are so important, as this is when you’ll find out what the goals are, and who that primary audience is going to be.
So, in an artist’s tiering of their audience, they are making sure that they’re not putting their eggs in one basket? Instead, they’re ensuring that they have a diversified strategy?
Yeah! Think about loyalty programs for a brand. Those exist to create a repeat customer. It’s not like that business just stopped going after someone because they bought something once. They continue to incentivize them to do business with that particular brand.
I think about Marriott International. You know, I worked for Gaylord Opryland for many years. They became part of the Marriott portfolio of brands. We know that those customers in their rewards program are going to be extra loyal! They’ve got skin in the game, and they’re going to keep coming back. And this provides us an answer to the classic question of “Which is harder? Getting a new customer? Or turning a one-time customer into a repeat customer?” In the context of Marriott, it’s much easier to get a customer to come back than it is to convert a customer who is a huge Hilton fan.
That’s interesting! Do you think that visual artists might benefit from adopting that style of thinking that builds customer rewards programs?
I think it’s “Yes! And… .” I think that you’re going to have folks who become fans of a visual artist who want to buy more of your art. And hopefully, their loyalty to you will also expose your art to a new potential customer.
But it’s important to work that strategy while you’re looking for new potential customers. You don’t want to miss out on those new opportunities to reach more people.
Let me ask: If you were a visual artist who didn’t want to do her own PR, what would you look for when hiring a strategic communications professional?
I think I would want to see some case studies of work that they’ve done before.
But you also want to keep in mind that the beautiful thing about PR is that the principles can apply in any sector. My own career provides a great example of this. I worked in an agency where I had a multitude of clients from different industry sectors, and those same concepts for PR still applied to all of those clients. Whether it’s hotels or hospitals or an arts business, you’re still taking time thinking through what those core messages are, who the potential audience is, and what’s the best way to reach those potential customers.
A common thing that I’ve noticed is that PR clients tend to miss out on audiences that are right under their noses. For instance, many organizations have loyal employees who happen to be the biggest potential advocates for the brand. If you think about PR from an organic word-of-mouth approach, you start to ask “Who else is associated with the brand that could amplify its message?” This might be vendors who work with a business, nonprofit advocates who’ve previously entered into a partnership, or some other kind of relationship.
So in your soup to nuts approach, you would consider word-of-mouth and social media alongside getting an article placed with an outlet.
In all of this, the client needed to ask themselves “What’s the goal? How big do I want to be?” An experienced PR person will be able to plan an event, optimize an event, and make it something that’s both memorable and focused on building good experiences. PR people can handle all of those things! And I would say that for visual artists, that’s really where a lot of them seem to need the most help.
And here’s another thing: Do not be afraid to approach someone and have a conversation regarding your needs for public relations. You should ideally be interviewing a couple of different PR partners before you make any sort of hiring decision. Ask questions, not only to figure out what’s going to be the best fit for you, but to see if you can learn anything in these conversations that you might not know.
What advice would you give someone looking to hire a PR professional to help them get the most out of their work?
You’ve got to think of the business of your campaign with the PR practitioner as a partnership. The practitioner can’t do their best work for you unless you’re giving them all the information that they need.
I see things sometimes in other people’s campaigns that cause problems. The opportunity for success in any campaign can be directly related to the response time between messages. If a PR practitioner reaches out to you, you want to get back as quickly as possible to answer their questions. And vice versa.
Also, be willing to give feedback along the way for what’s working and what’s not. And you’ve got to be completely honest. If someone is, say, creating quotes for a press release that will be attributed to you, let them know if the quotes don’t sound like you. And let the practitioner know how it should be said.
Look at hiring a PR practitioner in the same way that you would if you hired a contractor to work on your home. Even if you’ve hired someone else to do the work, you still need to make yourself available. It’s not simply “Set it, and forget it!” There’s going to be a little bit of lift required on your end to make this partnership successful.
So, the three values that clients need to offer anyone doing their PR are available, flexibility, and willingness to openly communicate.
And trust! Also, a good PR person will create checkpoints to see where you’re at in the campaign. That way, they can provide you with updates. If you’re not on track, those checkpoints will provide a chance for you to get where you need to be.
I’ve previously written about “The Three Month Rule,” which was a concept I learned from one of my past editors about planning at least three months between the submission of the press release and the date of your event. When planning a PR campaign, how far ahead should one be planning? Is three months a good window to effectively plan a PR campaign?
Yes. And with that window of time, the person doing your PR can look at new and interesting trends that may affect your campaign. They can study what you’re doing, and try to accentuate what’s different in the press release. Even if it’s for something like a holiday that’s only possible on social media, there are all kinds of possibilities there.
But you do have to have enough time to do all of that. Most PR projects take at least three months to deliver results. Good PR takes time.
So, a client should be looking as far ahead as they can from whatever they’re looking to promote, as it gives that PR practitioner enough time to work with them? Especially if you want to prevent any mistakes from creeping into your campaign?
Absolutely! And things can go wrong. Longer lead times tend to help with better results. In my experience, a lot of this work is front-loaded, and it’s going to take some time for anyone to get their PR partner ramped up. Budget your time accordingly with them so that you can be more available in the beginning. Afterward, the plan will convert to more of a maintenance schedule with a set cadence for regular updates and feedback.
There are a number of tasks involved with PR, including the creation of the press release, writing social media copy, and updating a bio for a client. What other tasks are worth noting here?
You hit on some of the tactics. But there’s opportunities to fine-tune the entire content strategy… But usually, once you get those key messages down, the PR team is good to deploy the messages to whatever mechanism needed.
We have found that press releases are not as relevant to reaching an audience as they once were. Sometimes, the right move is reaching out to an individual reporter with a snippet of the story that whets their appetite. Of course, those messages sent to preferred journalists for a campaign aren’t sent once. There’s so much followup with this job.
And here’s the other thing, too: I don’t think that people realize that effective media relations is 90 percent research and preparation. You don’t just blast a press release to every reporter. That’s not effective.
Another big—and often overlooked—element of public relations is the relationship between the PR person at that particular journalist they’re wanting to cover a story.
There’s so much of that! And one of the things that’s been hard for me as a long-time practitioner is that so many people you used to have strong relationships with have retired or left the field. It’s like you’re always seeing new faces, which means that you’re back to the beginning of building a new relationship. And, there aren’t as many beat reporters as there used to be covering something like visual arts, so you can’t expect the same level of depth in something getting covered that you saw in previous eras.
There are also more pay-to-play opportunities now. I think that if you’re evaluating those carefully, sometimes they can be a good secondary option.
So, in addition to hiring a PR person, someone might want to come to the table with a little bit of money to spend strategically on purchased media of some kind? And that the recipe for effectiveness may be a mix of public relations and advertising strategies?
We do recommend that, absolutely. And the great thing about that is that it’s all connected.
I heard long ago from a publicist that publicists aren’t really hired to make people famous. They’re hired to help build new fame for already famous people.
With that in mind, before a visual artist sets out to launch a PR campaign, should they invest in building their own social media presence first to grow a reputable audience?
It depends. Developing a strong social media strategy is something that PR people can help with as well, though. Often, social media is part of both the ask for clients and the metrics that we’re looking at to gauge where a client is. We’ll look at your social media presence and make strategic recommendations to help build your voice. We can look at things on the back end, like posting schedules and analytics, and tell you things like which dates and times are best to post or what new content you should be trying to create. We might even recommend paying for boosted posts on certain social media sites.
For further information about Jenny, visit the website and social media of Gray Owl Strategy.