Let's Talk About... How to Spot PR Scams (which are shockingly similar to distribution scams) Before You Get Taken for a Ride. Time for a Little Media Literacy Lesson.
Guaranteed placements, "contributor networks", $25,000 "production costs" upfront and more. How to spot these grifts before you get taken for a ride. Plus: the difference between PAID vs EARNED media.
If you’ve ever started a business, then your name and company name no doubt ended up on some mailing list where six months or so later you get sent a very official-looking solicitation from something with a very dry business name to mimic that of a government agency. The very official-looking solicitation will demand money for something vague that sounds legit but it makes your Spidey senses tingle. Then they will also tack on a “late fee” and tell you you have X amount of days to reply and if you don’t then the fees will double and you KNOW something isn’t right.
This look familiar?
Yeah - it’s totally bogus and the people behind this are running a huge scam where they are preying on people’s fear of running afoul of business laws and regulations. Sure they’ll stand behind the “goods” they’re offering but this is a totally bogus grift meant to separate you from your money. Skimming if you will.
As if you don’t have enough to worry about as a small business owner (bills, overhead, P&A, revenue, etc etc), you’ve now got to make sure you know how to navigate shark-infested waters like these as well from top to bottom. It’s exhausting to be so vigilant all the time but crooks and shills are everywhere.
If you’ve ever made a film, then you’ve no doubt run into something like this as well. It seems that no matter where you turn after you make a movie or tv show, people who had no involvement in your film have their hands out asking for money. Now some things you’re going to have to pay for (ie - good and services and fairly compensating your vendors and cast and crew) but you should be on the look out for some grifters who are just out to make a quick buck off of the unsuspecting. I hate to say it but many distributors and “marketing” people fall in this bucket as well.
But how do you protect yourself, especially if you don’t really know what to look out for in the first place? We’re going to take a deep-dive into some of the most common scams in the hopes that you can protect your hard-earned investment and partner with someone who’s going to do right by you and your film and deliver what they say they can deliver on without emptying your pockets.
There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors in the film business and the same holds true for the PR and marketing world as well. Don’t get taken for a ride.
Ready? Let’s dive in and discuss the Top PR scams and how to avoid them!