All the Right Moves

PR experts tell Newsweek the winning strategies that keep Dancing With the Stars as popular as ever after 19 years

- BILLIE SCHWAB DUNN

IT'S IN ITS 33RD SEASON, IS watched by millions and, year after year, attracts a variety of celebrities eager to strut their stuff on the dance floor. But what is it that makes Dancing With the Stars still so popular after almost 20 years on the small screen?

Newsweek spoke to PR experts to discover the strategies that the television show has implemented to keep it so relevant.

This year, celebrities competing for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy include The Dark Knight actor Eric Roberts, Real Housewives of Atlanta star Phaedra Parks, Olympic rugby star Ilona Maher and many more. Aquila Mendez-Valdez, CEO and founder of Haute in Texas, told Newsweek that there's a clear formula to the selection process.

"To me, Dancing With the Stars has that unique combination of a steady, longstanding brand melded with a fresh crop of celebrities every season," she said. "They've done an exceptional job of selecting their cast every year based on a specific formula: a couple viral sensations, a couple beloved legends and a couple controversial selections that some audience members will be secretly watching in the hopes that they flop.

"The format remains consistent to the point of comforting."

Lauren Richardson, senior PR executive at Marketing Signals in the U.K., agrees. "The show has a knack of choosing celebrities who currently attract widespread media attention and have the ability to grab the audience's attention on and off screen," she said. "Celebrities who are infamous, such as convicted con artist Anna Delvey [aka Sorokin], will bring audiences to the show for different reasons from the shock factor that they're on a prime-time reality show or to see if they fail at the challenge."