my family nest as I earlier explained. I was struggling to make ends meet when one day I shared a cab with this beautiful girl coming from a wealthy family, it was easy to recognize her as her dad was running for the mayor’s office. After stepping down of the cab I had this great idea which was getting in a relationship with her so as to benefit from the outcome. But how will the insignificant boy that I was be able to get involved with the daughter of the most influential man in town? After some research I found out the only way I will be able to impress her is by being a singer, so I put together a band and started working on becoming a singer/performing artist. Before I know, it had taken bigger proportions leading me to my first record deal.
Q: What made you step away from singing to become a PR Specialist?
A: During my time as a singer I surely may have had a record deal, attractive songs, good story lines and even a good physique but that wasn’t enough to make me a lasting celebrity. I was still lacking the support and creative mechanism that could transform the talent I was to a celebrity. At the start I didn’t know what field best identifies one who wish to understand the celebrity making process, so I jumped in to the fashion industry and started scouting talents, then I stepped in to talent management, then publicist and I even tried talent promotion by being host of radio talk shows, TV shows and promoting events. A wise person will claim that I really wasted precious time for nothing, but when looking back I think all that gave me a global view of what was needed to create, develop and sustain brands (not to say celebrities). After completing a Master’s degree in Brand activation and sustainability (under the Public relations Department), I realized “Celebrity” is a sector/niche on its own same as the medical niche or weight loss niche. I know many different talents out there will love to break the walls not to be seen just as talents, but being able to be celebrated for what they bring to the table while making ends meet through their craft. I now know the celebrity making process and I stay determine to create a massif number of celebrities from different disciplines.
Q: What was your biggest challenge in the transition?
A: Challenges! Well it is true that everyone going through a major transition will incur a great amount of challenges but I will admit that staying in the same entertainment industry was even helpful compared to me running for president hehe! Nevertheless I still faced some challenges because as a young man, people often found it difficult to take me seriously. I even had to change my appearance so as to look much older or use an older person to represent me in major businesses. There is always an impression that artists are empty heads and as a result could not bring anything on a business table. I am glad to prove those people rough whenever they make a mistake to give me a chance.
Q: What type of clients do you promote?
A: This question is a little tricky because many people think my services are same as that of a PR agent. This confusion is equally present when comparing a publicist to a PR agent. These two different but connected sectors are often considered to be carrying the same functions. The task of a planning and sustainability strategist is completely different from that of a PR. This is because whether you have a manager, publicist, PR agent or a booking agent, you will still need a brand/career planner whose role is to design a character which together with your talent will ensure longevity of your brand’s power. This will help you to know exactly what you will be doing in 10-15 years to come. You also gain a clearer view of how your after career will look like.
Let us consider Michael Jackson as an example. MJ had managers, publicists, PR agents etc, but above all Michael equally had a team of creative career strategists who designed a sustainable strategy that kept him “publicly alive” even when he spent many years without releasing an album thus not making use of his talent. The role of a brand/career strategist is not to waste time fixing the talent/brand that you already have but our role is to work on possible alternatives that helps uplift and sustain your brand, guaranteeing a same or even a better level of notoriety. My clients involves Talents of the movie, TV, music and Fashion industry, brands, organizations, associations, concepts etc.
Chrislan Treasure Interview (continued)