By Cassy van Eeden

Handling the public relations for any brand is a challenge. But what if the brand is just one person? And what if that person has millions of fans? That’s exactly what PR pros who represent celebrities have to deal with. And more.

Lights, camera, not so glamorous

Being a publicist to the stars might seem like it’s all glitz and glam, but as some of South Africa’s top celebrity PRs will tell you, it’s not what it seems.

“It really does look glam, but it’s not,” says Farah Fortune, director of African Star Communications and publicist to stars like Cassper Nyovest and Loyiso Gola. “The public don’t see what happens in a celeb’s life, every day,” she says.

Alisha van Deventer, managing director of Starburst Promotions, agrees: “There is a lot of hard work, late nights, tears and stress linked to handling the publicity for the stars.”

Van Deventer, who represents ADAM, Charlize Berg and Cordelia, says anyone who is in her line of work who is after glamour is in the wrong place.

“The hard work definitely outweighs attending any red carpet event or being a VIP guest at a function,” says Sheila Afari, managing director of Sheila Afari Public Relations and publicist to Khuli Chana, AKA and Kabelo Mabalane.

There’s no time for downtime

Representing public figures means that you are always on. Should a crisis strike, celebrity PRs need to be available immediately. They also need to constantly be on top of the latest news and events.

“You need to be prepared that anything can come up at any time and be ready to deal with it in real-time,” says Afari.

As Van Deventer puts it, things can change at any moment and can affect weeks and even months of planning. “So you need to be able to adapt to any kind of situation or circumstance almost instinctively,” she says.

“You work long hours, you hardly have time for yourself,” says La-Tasha Pucoe, founder and MD of PRuth Communications and publicist to celebs like DJ Sabby, Tumi Tladi and Rap Nerd. “You need to be on call all the time amongst many other factors,” she says. “You also need to have a great amount of patience when things do not go as planned.”

Celebs are not just your average brand

Celebrities are unlike any other brand. They are idolised by their fans, berated by the press and have endless media appearances. This isn’t easy to manage.

“You need to have patience in bucket loads,” explains Fortune. “You need to be a sounding board, a friend, a publicist. Everything. You’re literally teaching someone how to handle their fame sometimes.”

“They are human. People forget that sometimes,” says Afari. “They also have good days and bad days and make mistakes.”

“It is generally more challenging to work with celebrities because most of them have strong creative sides and are temperamental, but that makes my job interesting,” says Van Deventer.

“Sometimes you have to bring your client back down to earth and let them view their career and growth realistically,” says Pucoe. “They make mistakes, like human beings, but their image can be harder to manage,” she explains, “They possess a ‘brand personality’ that’s constantly up for scrutiny.”

Are you a PR to the stars? What challenges do you face? Let us know in the comments below.