While PR is an extremely challenging job, it also has amazing perks. Today I'm taking you behind The Purple Door into my house where chefs Michael Schlow and Claire Robinson cooked for the team. They prepared an amazing menu, taught us a few tricks of the trade and treated us like queens. We had an amazing time and want to share it with you!  

MONDAY
We kicked off the morning with Danny Seo on the CW talking about Earth Day freebies…everyone loves a freebie…here’s the clip: http://weblogs.wpix.com/news/local/morningnews/blogs/2010/04/earth_week_day_1.html. At the same time Caroline and Courtney met an editor for breakfast from Real Simple to talk about story ideas for fall. When they returned everyone got together for a staff meeting to discuss strategy for each client that week. Then Diana headed up to ABC News Now with Danny for a segment (http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/earth-day-2010-10447595) while I went downtown to have lunch with the PR Director from Food Network to talk about our clients and PR activities for the next few months.

In the office Niki and Caroline were busy arranging the details for Catherine McCord’s media tour, and they also confirmed a Green Fashion Segment for Gretta on The Early Show for Thursday – we typically have weeks to put something like this together but only had 2 days! Exciting and completely insane! With no time to spare, Erika, Caroline, Courtney and Ursula agreed to be the models. Then we quickly started pulling samples from a range of designers from H&M and Loomstate to Stella McCartney and TOMS shoes…as a full service agency we do it all!

Today Guy told us about a heartwarming project he is working on.  Next week he is going to start building a replica of his first biz – a pretzel cart (below), which he will donate to his own elementary to teach the 8^th graders about entrepreneurialism. The team brainstormed ways to promote this project.

TUESDAY
Well, this is quite rare…we kicked the day off again on the CW, but this time for a segment on healthy school snacks with Catherine McCord. http://tinyurl.com/yyqf4pn At the same time, I was at a business conference with Gary Vaynerchuk called Re-Set: The Business Models of Tomorrow. Speakers included Gary, Michael Eisner, Anna Bernasek, Seth Godin and Tom Peters. They were amazing and I’m sharing a few quotes with you:

• Gary: “It’s illegal how much self-esteem my mom gave me” 
• Tom: “Manners are more important than God” 
• Anna: “Trust and integrity are our most valuable assets” 
• Seth Godin: “Use the recession as a time to reinvent your business and yourself…if you wait for it to be over you will loose” 
• Michael: “The Devil you know is better than the Devil you don’t – promote from within.”

After CW, Catherine and Niki headed over to meet with the editor of Ser Padres, then I met Catherine and the whole Food team at Woman’s Day in their test kitchen and had a blast. From there we had a quick bite, then stopped at the office because Gretta was there working with the team on the Early Show segment. Catherine and Gretta met for the first time!

Catherine then went to meet with the editor at Parade

then over to a shoot Fox News with Dr. Manny – it went so well that he asked her to be a correspondent http://video.foxnews.com/v/4159440/weelicious-for-kids/t. At the end of the day Catherine met with the editor from Working Mother then uptown for a meeting with her super agents at William Morris Endeavor.

That afternoon Michael Schlow drove in from Boston for the Food Bank awards – we asked him to come a little early so we could pitch a few media meetings. Amanda arranged to take him to both Rachael Ray Magazine and Bloomberg Business. Both meetings were a success and will lead to feature stories.

WEDNESDAY
The morning started early for Diana – she went downtown to Gary Vaynerchuk’s Vaynermedia office to participate in a brainstorm. It’s important for us to be entrenched in our clients business so we can truly understand what they do and generate substantial ideas as a result. Catherine started her day in meetings with editors from American Baby and Parents, then went uptown to shoot a segment with Better.tv (airs in May), had an amazing lunch at Milos, then over to meet with the fabulous editors at Health and Family Circle.

That afternoon Diana went to Fox Strategy Room with Danny who was on for the full health hour. He talked about ways to green your life including bedding, cooking and most rooms in the home. He even got the hosts to eat organic pesticide on crackers! http://video.foxnews.com/v/4160985/greening-your-home

After work, two of the girls took an editor from Ladies’ Home Journal out for drinks to talk about upcoming story ideas.

THURSDAY
Happy Earth Day! The team met bright and early for Gretta’s Green Fashion Segment. It could not have been better - I’m so proud of the team who worked approx 20 hours to make this happen! http://tinyurl.com/26a4vpz. Before lunch Gary and Matt came up for a team brainstorm which always generates fantastic ideas.

During the afternoon, the team had a deskside to talk about Mally with Allure Magazine, Ingrid did a shoot with TLC, Cat had an interview for her Working Mother cover story and I met with a producer up at NBC to talk about booking clients on Morning Joe.

FRIDAY
Ahhh the end of the week, but we didn’t slow down one bit. Gary had a CNBC shoot at Vaynermedia, the girls had a lunch with a Self Beauty Editor, Jeff did an interview with GQ, Ricky had one with Soap Central and more…and my perfect ending to a fantastic week….sushi with friends!

• Do they have the confidence?
• Do they have the energy to keep viewers interested?
• What is their experience on TV?
• Do they know their content? 
• Do they have a good attitude?

CONFIDENCE:
This is key to success in any business, but on television if you are not confident, it shows.  How do you gain confidence?  Practice practice practice…do it alone, in front of a friend and most importantly, tape yourself.  Then you can see what you truly look and sound like.  You also have to really want it!  You have to want to be there and know your content…as our client Gary Vaynerchuk says “content is king!”
 
ENERGY:
There is nothing worse than a guest with low energy.  Think about what will pump you up and do what works for you.  For example, I’ve seen a popular Food Network host do push ups on set before he tapes a show.
 
EXPERIENCE:
Everyone’s got to start somewhere.  It’s rare that a major morning or talk show will book you without demonstrated success on another show.  Start small – there are fantastic shows on the web, as well as local morning shows…compile a reel that demonstrates you can do a great job in a range of formats (live, taped, demo, sit down) then use it to secure bigger programs.
 
CONTENT:
Like I said – content is king…to make a great guest you have to know what you are talking about and be ready for any question that comes your way.
 
GOOD ATTITUDE:
There are SO many guests vying for your spot…many of which will also do a great job.  When you go to a show, it’s important to have a good attitude and be nice to everyone from the car driver to makeup artist to the EP.  If you aren’t you may not be invited back.
 
We’ve booked our clients on just about every show on show from Oprah, Leno, Fallon, Ellen, Regis and The View to Today Show, Extra and MSNBC Your Business.  In fact, in the last week we worked with Today Show, GMA, Regis & Kelly, Price is Right, Morning Joe, ABC News, Bonnie Hunt, KTLA and others.
 
How do we do it?  In addition to keeping up with a range of news outlets, trends and studying each program, relationships are key!  Producers know we will never waste their time. 
 
After reading this blog - do you have what it takes…and does your publicist have the connections to make it happen?

• The PR person needs to pitch targeted ideas to the television show – let’s use a morning show as an example.  Consider the viewers – are they female, moms, male, etc… Then come up with ideas that would appeal to that audience.  To generate successful ideas, keep several things in mind:
  • What’s happening in the news?
  • What time of year is it?  Back to school, holiday, spring
  • Is it hot outside – will people grill…
  • What is your client really good at doing on tv?
  • What does your client WANT to do on the show?  Is that realistic (if not, better tell him/her)?
  • And so much more…
• Okay, the ideas are generated and off they go in an email to the producer…but more to consider…
  • Does the producer know you?  If the answer is no, then find a way to prove you are worth knowing.
  • Does the producer know your client?  If not, better also messenger a great looking press kit (make sure there are up to date placements and no long boring materials inside) and also include a 3 minute sizzle tape or reel when you send that email to demo your client can kick ass on television.
  • Will the producer READ your email (if it’s from us, they will!)?
  • Do you have a good track record with that producer/show – meaning have you delivered what you promised and were you good to work with in the past.
  • Again, soooo many factors.
• Producer got the ideas, responds to you 3 (or more) days later, but the answer is NO. Then it’s time to ask questions such as:
  • Would you like more ideas?  Are you interested in my client?  How far ahead are you booking?
• You offer more ideas, then follow up…back and forth a few MORE days, and the answer is YES, let’s book it.  (See below for what to do when the answer is NO)
• Then a few more days could go by while there is back and forth about days the show can have the client on…but those days aren’t good for the client, etc…till finally a day is found.
• Hmm, my client is from out of town so the PR person asks - Will you fly my client into NYC?  NO, okay, if the client fly’s in, will you pay for hotel?  (let’s say YES)…and so the back and forth begins until all of those details are settled.
• One more big question…if it’s a food segment, will the network pay for the food stylist? (most do not have in-house food stylists)… If’s a fashion segment, who will pay for the models? If not budget for models, then we have to go find friends, and so on...
• Once that’s settled, then we move to the recipes…producer asks PR person for ideas, PR person asks – how long is segment? How many recipes will the client demo?  Will they want beauty shots (just for sitting on set and looking good)?
• That back and forth goes on for at the least 2 days till recipes are approved (by producer and client).
• Then it’s time for the client to speak with PR person and food stylist to discuss the recipes and all the details for the recipes.  What does a food stylist do? This person shops ingredients, preps all the ingredients (puts in bowls, measures everything just perfectly for cooking), many times this person also prepares the décor (from plates to flowers), prepares 1-2 complete meals the morning of so they are on set, and more…so this is an important job and also important for client and stylist to be on the same page…or the client will not be happy.
• Once that’s all settled, it’s the PR persons job to do even more:
  • Prep a comprehensive run down of the segment so client knows exactly what to expect…including talking points (key things that are important to say) and more.
  • Make sure client is set for hair and makeup.
  • Talk about what to wear – sometimes clients will email pics of a few outfits and then we discuss…hell, sometimes we just go shopping together to make sure they are dressed just right (have done this MANY times…which is fun).  We’ve even had to lend clients our own clothes and jewelry…literally off our own bodies.
  • Make sure producer has clients credit info for the cyron (tv host, author, have book on set, etc..)
  • Run through all flight info, hotel, car, etc…with either client or client’s assistant.
• On the day of the segment, we meet the client at the studio or their hotel…we bring with us their books, copies of the run down, extra makeup (just in case).  When we are sitting in the greenroom, we do mock interviews, and run through the news of the day… in case there’s news the client should know.
• Are you EXHAUSTED yet?  We usually are, but it’s also a great feeling of accomplishment…and tons of fun!
• Still think a segment is easy????  I’m guessing no!

If the answer to having the client on is a NO, what you do next is very important….

• Thank for the producer for getting back to you.
• Ask the producer if he/she can give any hint as to why the answer is a no.  Accept that sometimes they will not tell you – bottom line is that their boss said no and you can bet that the producer is not going to spend time bugging their boss to get more feedback.
• Then ask if you can go back and pitch ideas in a few weeks.
• If you do not take NO gracefully and keep pushing it’s the kiss of death – I can guarantee that you blew it…not only will that client not get on that show for a very long time, but the producer is less likely to pay attention to your other pitches.

Now that you know what goes into making a segment, take a look at some behind the scences photos below.  All the hard work does pay off!

Guy Fieri in the dressing room backstage at Letterman.

Guy Fieri in the dressing room right before his cooking segment on Wendy Williams.

Guy Fieri right after he cooked for the amazing crew at Elvis Duran and the Morning Show in their Z100 NYC studio.

Cat Cora on set with Bonnie Hunt

Cat Cora doing a run through at Wendy Williams before the segment

Guy Fieri right after he cooked up a mean Halloween meal on Regis & Kelly

Ingrid Hoffmann on the plaza right before her cooking segment on Today Show

Chef Michael Schlow right before his segment on Good Morning America

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.

We missed some of my favorite events, like Burger Bash and Bubble Q, as well as Gary Vaynerchuk’s phenomenal wine and food pairing event, but we arranged all the media beforehand and everything ran smoothly.  It is times like this when you realize how amazing clients can be.  When Ingrid heard we were snowed in, she actually offered to send her assistant to go and help our OTHER clients in any way.  What a great feeling!

We arrived in Miami just in time for dinner, and boy was I hungry.  I saved a million calories from missing a few events so was ready to catch up.  We were personally invited by an uber famous Miami chef and restaurateur, Jonathan Eismann to go to his newest restaurant Q (as in BBQ), which is one of his four restaurants in the Design District.  I went with Ingrid and a small group and when we walked in the door we found shots of tequila waiting for us on the bar.

We ate the most tender, tangy ribs, brisket, pulled pork, salmon, sliders, and more.  It was incredible.

Then we headed over to Rachael Ray’s fabulous party with Guy – he and his wife Lori walked the red carpet.

Next we headed to the beach where we met Guy, Gary, and a group of media and friends from talent agencies all over the country.  It was a blast!

From there we rolled to a private after party for the talent only, and before I knew it, it was almost 4am.

Have I mentioned the cold?  It was the coldest month in Miami’s history, so as you can imagine, most girls packed their little dresses and are probably home now with pneumonia.
After four hours of sleep, Erika and I jumped (well maybe I should say crawled) out of bed for a breakfast meeting with a fabulous talent agent from California.  We talked about a few exciting projects, then headed to our second meeting with two journalists, then off to try Jonathan Eismann’s new pizza place, Pizza Volante.   After that our day kicked into high gear – went to the beautiful new W Hotel where Gary had his second event - a wine seminar.  It was sold out and everyone was so pumped to be there.  It’s amazing to watch Gary in action – I never get tired of it.  He captivates the audience with humor, great stories and incredible knowledge of the biz – he’s an amazing teacher. 

Then we headed over to the Grand Tasting Tent to ensure Ingrid did her interviews after her HSN demo and book signing.  Did I mention she is also shooting a pilot?  So she had a crew shooting her exciting life all day.  After the signing, we went to the VIP media tent to meet Guy, execute a few television interviews and then sat backstage with him as he prepped for his on stage demo.  While waiting, we sat and talked with Morimoto, Duff, Robert Irvine, Rocco,  Anne Burrell, Lee Schrager (the guru behind the festival), and many other exciting and gracious Food Network stars.

For an hour leading up to Guys event, the crowd started building - hundreds of very excited fans were anxiously awaiting his arrival .  When his demo started, I was on the side of the stage along with his team watching the crowd who went absolutely wild…no bra throwing this time, but incredible energy.  Guy brought his LA DJ so the music was off the hook.  A few min into his demo of Hong Kong noodles (which I’ve made with him – they are amazing), his buddy Stretch threw on his cape, grabbed the 5-foot tall margarita machine, and wheeled it out on stage as ACDC blasted.  Guy and his crew made margaritas for everyone and his friends including Ingrid, Morimoto and Anne came on stage and started dancing…words can barely describe it!

After the event, Ingrid and our teams jumped on a golf cart and raced back to the hotel to get ready for Guy’s closing party which was at the Gansevoort Hotel in the back on the beach.  Guy made some of his favorite foods for the party and his DJ was there spinning,

while Guy posed for endless pictures and signed autographs.

One of my friends from People Mag was there who I’ve worked with for years and while she has interviewed Guy and featured him before, it was at this party with the screaming fans and flashing cameras that she saw first hand the hysteria that surrounds him.

It was a fantastic festival and at the end of the day all the clients were happy – their events were successful, they did some great interviews and even had some fun along the way.

Till next year…

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.