Miss Universe Organization

When Donald Trump bought the Miss Universe Organization in 1996, he had the ambitious goal of turning this lesser-known entertainment property into the most watched international television broadcasts.

This endeavor required redefining the brand, enhancing awareness for the pageant and the pageant winners, and creating a cachet that would transform the pageant into a must-see television program. As a result of the media attention RPR generated, the pageants realized an increase in broadcast ratings, as well as significant gains in the number of sponsors and overall notoriety.

RPR created a three-pronged public relations program to propel the Miss Universe Organization and its three pageants (Miss Universe®, Miss USA®, and Miss Teen USA®) into the media spotlight. The first initiative involved crafting story angles that would generate high-profile coverage designed to increase the pageants’ viewership. Over the course of 15 years, nearly every major daily newspaper has run feature stories about the pageants and its winners, as have national magazines including W, Vogue, Parade, People, Allure, Time, Life & Style, OK and People en Español and television networks and programs including Oprah,” Live with Kelly and Ryan, TODAY, Good Morning America, CNN, MSNBC, Fox & Friends, EXTRA, Inside Edition and The Wendy Williams Show.

The second initiative focused on forging relationships with various charitable organizations, generating coverage on the titleholders’ charitable work and creating synergistic opportunities between the Miss Universe Organization and existing initiatives. This approach added a philanthropic element to the pageants and created a wide variety of ongoing media opportunities.

Finally, the third initiative emphasized publicizing the titleholders personally and their activities throughout the year. RPR developed extensive media tours, carefully delivered exclusive interviews to leading media, and generated coverage on photo opportunities for the titleholders. The agency’s exhaustive media tactics set the stage for making Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA the most sought-after women in the world.