Justin Bieber PR Strategy

By James Mendez

University of North Texas

Mayborn School of Journalism

Last week I blogged about a PR disaster that probably could have been avoided had the right PR decisions been made. This week I am going to discuss a PR disaster that was avoided with some savvy PR strategies.

Everyone is familiar with Justin Bieber. He has made headlines more recently for reckless driving (most likely under the influence), vandalism (egging his neighbors house), and assault (on the paparazzi). While the majority of these more recent antics have not been handled well from a PR perspective, we can find one if we go back to 2011.

Photo Via Before It's News.

In late 2011, Mariah Yeater filed a paternity suit against Bieber, claiming that he was the father of her son. According to an MTV News article, Yeater claimed that she and the pop star had sex backstage on October 25, 2010 after one of his concerts at the Staples Center. Yeater even went as far as filling out a hand-signed affidavit claiming that they did really have intercourse.

While this, true or untrue, could have been a major blow to Bieber’s career, it was handled well by one of the best. If Justin Bieber has made one good decision in his life, it was hiring Mattherw Hiltzik of Hiltzik Strategies. Hiltzik, a PR strategist, has worked with many prominent celebrities from Katie Curic to Alec Baldwin and was able to save Bieber a major headache.

Hiltzik instructed Bieber to go on the “Today” show and completely deny the allegations being made by Yeater. Bieber explained on November 4, 2011 that, “I’d just like to say basically that none of those allegations are true.” He went on to tell Matt Lauer that, “it’s crazy that some people want to make up some false allegations, but to set the record straight, none of it is true. Never met the woman.”

Hiltzik took it a step further by filing a countersuit against Yeater. Bieber then took a paternity test, proving that he was in fact not the father of her child. Yeater eventually dropped her case and the story blew over.

By acting quickly, Bieber and Hiltzik were able to avoid a major PR disaster. My only question is, where is Mr. Hiltzik now? Bieber surely does need him.