I started this company when I was 25, so over the years I’ve learned a few things about timing. The saying ‘timing is everything’ is true, but not always easy for a client or publicist to accept. We want everything NOW!
The other day a producer saw an angry tweet from me and was shocked. She said I’m the most even keeled publicist she knows. She also said that in all the years she has known me, she never sees me angry (note: when I told my husband he got a good laugh). Yes, sometimes I get mad…here’s my top 5:
My nickname around the office is Poodle, but most know me as Erika Martineau. This might sound like a silly nickname for the Vice President of a prestigious PR agency, but I embrace it. I can't remember when it exactly started but I think it stems from the combination of my curly hair, my admiration for the super smart four legged creatures, and my overall state of mind. In my first career I was a teacher, and as the second in command at The Brooks Group, I take my role as advisor to the other Brookette's very seriously. On a daily basis I offer the girls my words of wisdom AKA “The Poodle Tips” along with the story of how I learned the lesson. It’s taken me years to amass all my tips but since we only have a few minutes here on Behind The Purple Door, I thought I’d share a few of my favorites with you:
When a smart strategic publicist pitches a story, she (let's go w she for this blog) spends a good amount of time researching the journalist or producer she is pitching…reading articles, watching segments and more. When a smart strategic publicist pitches a story, she (let's go w she for this blog) spends a good amount of time researching the journalist or producer she is pitching…reading articles, watching segments and more.
It is astonishing how much the Brookette’s accomplish in one week, so we thought it would be fun to share a snapshot with you. Last week we had 5 clients in town, conducted a media tour and 6 tv segments. In addition, we were worked on countless interviews for Guy Fieri, created a media strategy for Jonathan Eismann, booked interviews for Ricky Paull Goldin to launch his new TLC show, planned a media tour for Ingrid Hoffmann, Beauty Editor meetings for Mally Roncal, book pitching for Cat Cora, Mother’s Day gift pitching for Lori Greiner….and more…phew!
Now that you know how much time goes into pitching and executing a television segment, do you have what it takes to be booked and then asked back?
Just about everyone who hires us wants to be on television, but not everyone has what it takes to make a great guest.
In the office we discuss a few key elements about a client before pitching:
Ever wonder what goes into a 4-6 minute segment on television? Each week we pitch our clients to national and regional programs and execute a variety of segments from cooking, fashion, home and travel to beauty. Today, I’d like to take you through a cooking segment.
What you see in a few minutes takes 18+ hours to make happen behind the scenes….let’s break it down into steps:
It’s hard to believe that this was my fifth year at the festival. The first year I was working with Rachael Ray, and then as we brought on additional Food Network clients, including Ingrid Hoffmann, Cat Cora and Guy Fieri, I needed more staff to manage both the press and to support the clients.
This year Guy Fieri, Gary Vaynerchuk and Ingrid Hoffmann were part of the festival. Each had several events so 2 amazing women (Brookette’s) from the office came down, but on our way we hit a major roadblock…SNOW. After repeatedly cancelled flights and a ton of stress we arrived…but two days late.
Behind the Purple Door is a behind-the-scenes look at the PR industry, hosted by Rebecca Brooks, President of The Brooks Group Public Relations firm.
In this episode, Rebecca talks about getting started in public relations and growing her company to represent a variety of talent like Guy Fieri, Gary Vaynerchuk, Cat Cora, Samantha Brown, Mally Roncal and many more.
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