Gracie Communications

Yes.  And no.

Here’s the thing about rock stars. They are cool, fun and everybody idolizes them.

And they know it. 

Dave Matthews Band has been my favorite band for…well, forever. I love the music.  I had an out-of-body experience once walking a few blocks with Dave from a Starbucks to an event.  We talked about kids and organic bagels. (Seriously.) But he didn’t stay with me for long; he was soon on to the next fan.

There are a lot of rock stars out there in the marketing, public relations and social media industry too. Rock stars have stage presence. They have a real way with words. They seemingly never sleep.  Most of them also are smart, savvy men and women with great things to say. It is easy to get caught up in their enthusiasm and wisdom.  And it’s fun to bask in their super star glow. 

Here’s the thing. If you want a long-term working relationship with them, you better make sure the star has an all-pro team to back him or her up, because sooner or later your idol is going to leave you to make other connections.

Here’s an analogy from my days as an event manager.  Successful events (just like successful projects) take more than one person to pull off.  It takes the visionary to see how the room should look. A crew to get the stage set up quickly. A production manager to run the script cues. Another team to handle the logistics of registering volunteers and/or guests. Etc. Etc. Etc.

I really don’t want Dave Matthews worried about the after-party buffet anyway.  He needs to focus on singing.   In PR and marketing circles, I want my rock stars to be thought leaders, out and about, selling and speaking.  That’s why you shouldn’t work with one until you meet the people on their teams; the ones who actually sweat the details after the rock star packs it up for the next stop on the tour.

I made that mistake. Once.  The rock star in question is at the height of his game. It is a ball to hang out with him. He’s smart, fun and easy to talk to. His brain fires on all cylinders. He understands his industry and can really sell its benefits. But when it came time to implement, his team and I didn’t speak the same language. There were hiccups in the process. We even almost parted ways…until the star came back on for an encore and saved the day.

Bottom line: It’s easy to gravitate toward the star in the band, but it’s good to know the back-up singers too. 

Mack Collier has another interesting take on the importance of social media rock stars at The Viral Garden.  Check it out.