A Placement Specialist is an individual whose main function is to place people as guests on television and radio shows. The individual might also arrange for clients to be interviewed for print media. There are television talk shows throughout the country. There are television talk, news, and variety programs. There is also an abundance of radio news and talk shows on the airwaves today, with more being scheduled every month. These shows must have guests booked on a constant basis.
The Placement Specialist (or placement professional, as he or she is frequently called) may work for any of a variety of different types of clients. He or she may work for celebrities such as movie stars, television actors and actresses, singers, recording acts, dancers, musicians, or other show business personalities. The individual might place book authors, magazine writers, political figures, and speakers. The placement professional may arrange interviews for people who are not well known. The individual might place doctors, lawyers, health care professionals, trade association directors, etc. He or she might also place spokespeople for corporate clients. If a Placement Specialist is good at the job, the individual can place almost anyone or anything on a broadcast interview show.
The individual must decide whether the client should be placed on a local, syndicated, national, or cable show. While most clients want to get on Jay Leno, David Letterman, or Good Morning America, this is not always feasible. The Placement Specialist must look at the client objectively and make a decision about what kind of shows he or she can book the client on.
Local shows are television or radio shows that have a local listening or viewing audience. There is a difference, however, between small-market local and major-market local. New York City is an example of a major local broadcast market. Kingston, N.Y., is an example of a small local broadcast market. The individual usually finds it easier to place guests on shows in small local markets than in larger local markets.
Placement Specialists often find that syndicated shows are good places to place clients. These are shows bought by local stations that may be shown in a number of different locations. There can be small syndicated shows that go to only two or three areas and large ones, such as Oprah, which are bought by local stations throughout the country. The Placement Specialist frequently uses cable shows when arranging interviews for clients. More and more of these are springing up. They are useful to the individual because they are so plentiful, usually in need of guests, and have specialized audiences.
As noted previously, most clients aspire to be on national shows. These are programs shown throughout the country on the affiliate stations of the networks. Placing guests on these shows is more difficult because, unless the individual is placing a very well-known celebrity, national exposure is hard to achieve.
Once a Placement Specialist obtains a client, he or she usually meets with the person to discuss goals and to obtain information needed in order to place him or her. The individual finds out why the client seeks exposure. It may be to bring attention to a cause, to publicize an event, to attain fame, or to help sell a product or service. The Placement Specialist must obtain a biography of the client, press kits, news releases, photographs, and any other pertinent information. In some cases the Placement Specialist puts together bios, press kits, and news releases for an additional fee. In other instances the information is supplied to the individual.
The Placement Specialist must find out if the client wants to do a media tour or just one or two placement shots. He or she must also know the geographic locations to which the individual will travel. The Placement Specialist then goes to work. He or she takes the specific city or cities and begins making a list of potential shows. The individual must know what radio and television stations are in the area as well as what type of programming is available. He or she then writes a cover letter and sends it with press information to either the program producer or the guest coordinator. If the Placement Specialist does not hear from a program within a reasonable amount of time, he or she may call the producer or guest coordinator to ask about the possibilities of an interview for the client. The Placement Specialist may often call or write a producer just at the time another guest has cancelled or when a specific show is in the planning stages.
The Placement Specialist who is successful is persuasive without being offensive. The individual must be persistent and keep trying to get clients booked on shows. If the individual is not handling a well-known celebrity, he or she may have to come up with an angle in order to make the client seem interesting enough to be a guest. The Placement Specialist often seeks out programs specific to the individual client’s needs in order to make placement easier. For example, someone trying to place a financial speaker might look for business programs. An individual placing the owner of a catering company might look to morning or afternoon information shows.
If the individual is booking a media tour, he or she must make sure that the scheduling is both cost and time efficient. A client cannot easily be in Los Angeles in the morning, New York City in the afternoon, and San Francisco in the evening. With new technology the client can, however, do phone interviews for radio without even leaving the house. In this manner he or she may do up to 10 interviews in a day and spend no time traveling.
In some instances the Placement Specialist may accompany clients to shows or arrange for someone else to accompany them. In other situations the Placement Specialist prepares a list of shows, the dates and times of appearances, contact names at the stations, and phone numbers and addresses. This is given to the client. The Placement Specialist may also send confirmation letters to program personnel. In some instances the specialist may work with clients, preparing them for interviews. He or she performs mock interviews to make sure that the individual can answer questions easily and feels comfortable in front of a microphone or television camera. It is important that the Placement Specialist make sure that clients arrive when they are supposed to, dressed appropriately, and are adequately prepared. Even one guest who doesn’t show up, or one who clams up in front of a television camera, can hurt the reputation of the Placement Specialist, making it impossible for him or her to book another guest on that show.
Placement Specialists work long hours. If they have a lot of clients or they are placing people in different time zones, they may stay on the phone for hours. The Placement Specialist who is doing consulting or freelancing is usually responsible to the client who has done the hiring.
Earnings are almost impossible to estimate for Placement Specialists. The individual may work on a per project or freelance basis. He or she may also be retained for weeks, months, or longer by clients.
Placement professionals may earn from US Dollars 25 to US Dollars 7,500 plus per placement on a show, depending on the specific program and whether it is local, cable, syndicated, or national. Individuals might be compensated by a flat fee per week, month, or city. Once again, there are many variables. Earnings may be increased by performing other services such as writing press releases, compiling press kits, preparing clients for interviews, or accompanying them to shows. Successful Placement Specialists may earn up to US Dollars 200,000 plus annually.
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