A man of great writing talent, he was able to capture his reader's attention and make them want more. All with words. (We as PR folks should be envious!).
Authors want to sell books, have them fly off the shelves and get royalties. Then, the logical step is to write more based on the success of that first novel. The passion to write is contagious. For Salinger, the art of writing and the personal satisfaction it brought him was why he was doing what he did.
Early on Salinger followed that course of PR recognition, but hit a major tsunami when Shirley Blaney, a high school student wrote an interview with him and put in some personal info in The Daily Eagle. J.D. took the proverbial scissors and severed himself from the world.
As a man in reclusion, he wielded a lot of power what could be said about him. It was impossible to adapt any of his work, put his image on a T-shirt or do anything commercial. HE seemed to control the press. Witness the only interview he gave in the early 80s and from what details I have, it was a short one with The New York Times. Mr. Salinger was quick with the lawsuit too, protecting his name, image, and writings. As a matter of fact, he was rarely photographed and this picture that accompanies this blog is one of the few that are found on an Internet search.
Yet, the Salinger mystique built an empire of fans who just craved, craved, craved - and never caved. Every word he wrote was coveted. When you don't hear from someone for a long time, especially one who had prominence and the limelight, the natural inclination is "Out of sight, out of mind." Here it worked the opposite.
From a PR draw, it was a reverse vacuum. The more reclusive, the more we wanted to know. In an ironic twist, Facebook has a fan site. Social media meets an anti-social icon.
Interestingly, we can tie a link here to the newly launched iPad. (Besides that poignant part of iPad being born and J.D. dying) Steve Jobs has created a product line, the i-EVERYTHING and after the initial launch to market, draws a cult following with users, fans asking the predictable, "What's next?" The response that comes back is an unexpected product. I'll leave the bells and whistles for the iPad for the techies, but what I saw of it is extremely cool. Much like Salinger's writings.
In the mean time, iPad is embracing social media - the launch was covered live by many tech blogs. Salinger, when he made a rare appearance somewhere, was relegated to one line, often in the past.
So, what can we learn from J.D. Salinger's mystique and apply it to PR? Simple. Keep your audience and fans hungry. Be accomodating and keep your offering relevant and in the limelight. And, most important, communicate to your client that without engagement, you will lose fans and customers.
Salinger was the lone exception to the rule, and he pulled it off flawlessly. Let's take notice over the next few days what develops around the mystique of Salinger. Will there be people close to him "spilling the beans" or will it be another story shrouded in mystery?
Either way, we want to know!
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