As we bring in the New Year, I’m excited to share a little inspiration from notable foodies like Ruth Reichl, Dana Cowin, Carla Hall, Padma Lakshimi, Kim Severson, Sara Moulton and….myself! We candidly discuss how we successfully balance our personal and professional lives…which is no easy feat.
During any given week, we are working on at least 4 television interviews for our clients. Pending on the type of segment – from cooking, beauty, business or home – it entails countless details about what TO do, as well as reminding them what NOT to do. Check out our top 5...
We often have clients in town at the same time who have major television appearances. At The Brooks Group we like to end the year with a BANG. Over the next few days we are working on 11 television segments for our clients from The View and Today Show to Good Morning America and Access Hollywood Live ....if you factor in that it takes at least 10 hours to work on each segment, that's a whole lot of Brookette power.
When the Brookettes first began working with Jacques Torres Chocolate, we were lucky enough to get a behind the scenes glimpse at the famous chocolatier’s production facilities on Hudson Street in Manhattan, and across the river in DUMBO, Brooklyn. To say we felt like ‘kids in a candy shop’ was an understatement! It was amazing for us to see how much skill, effort and dedication goes into making the sweet and decadent treats sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate’s five NYC locations. After we returned to the office we knew we had to give the media a sneak peek (and taste!) of how Jacques creates all of his quality products, and let them know what Jacques Torres Chocolate is all about.
As publicists, we appreciate the events we attend and take notice of all the details. From the lighting and signage to the flowers, food, and attendees, we recognize that an incredible amount of time, love and stress goes into the planning. During Fashion Week we hosted a breakfast event for beauty bloggers and website editors for Mally Roncal (www.mallybeauty.com), to launch her infomercial and latest products.
I read a blog on PRdaily.com about what PR firms need from their clients and was so inspired, I'm sharing it with you with my own spin. We could have the most amazingly talented clients, but if they aren't active in the PR process, success will be challenging.
When I visit Israel each meal is a delight of fresh breads, salads, cheeses, yogurt, meat and fish...then there are the creamy desserts, baklava and the freshest fruit you can imagine. Luckily there is so much hiking, biking, walking and swimming that I can afford to think about food 24/7. There were so many amazing meals but one of my favorites was breakfast at Rothmans in Lotem.
In the world of PR, publicists are constantly vying to attract the attention of the media. Journalists receive hundreds of emails everyday from PR professionals across the country, so it is crucial to communicate in a way that sets you apart in a positive, compelling way. We spoke with a few of our favorite editors and producers and asked what they feel is the best way for a publicist to catch their attention. Here are the results:
When Miss California won Miss USA she was asked if she could meet anyone in the world who would it be - her answer was Buddy Valastro (www.buddyvalastro.com www.carlosbakery.com). Naturally the first thought was ‘How are we going to get them together?” We connected with her PR team and arranged a live surprise meeting on Good Day New York.
Today we are wrapping up our journey Behind the Purple Door to Guy Fieri’s (http://www.guyfieri.com/) Guy Fieri Food book launch with his last appearance on The View.
Today we are continuing our journey Behind the Purple Door to Guy Fieri’s Guy Fieri Food book http://www.guyfieri.com/ appearances on Z-100, Rachael Ray and Nate Berkus.
Creating a NYT best seller takes thoughtful strategy, many months of hard work and an incredible team. This month we launched Guy Fieri’s first cookbook, Guy Fieri Food http://www.guyfieri.com/ and a few days later it made the NYT best seller list!
I love this topic because it’s important for a PR firm to only accept clients they believe in. That’s the true recipe for a successful long term relationship. What are your goals? How do you define your brand?....
Working with a PR firm is an invaluable way to build your brand. Do your homework and find an agency that has the capability, demonstrated knowledge and impressive staff to get the job done. Here’s what you must ask:
Since this will be my 7th year attending this exciting festival, I’d like to share my tips and tricks for those attending for the first time. Now if you are reading this and are a SOBE veteran, remember…nothing is obvious to the uninformed.
Working for top beauty brands like Mally Beauty, the team fields emails daily from bloggers and vloggers requesting product samples to "review." Why not? Easy publicity to add to the monthly report, right? Not so much. At The Brooks Group, we take pride in delivering results that truly impact the brands we represent and make sense for their growth. Here are some steps we take to ensure we're focusing our time & efforts on valuable media opportunities.?
I’m bringing you Behind the Purple Door to experience a few days of media with Buddy Valastro (www.buddyvalastro.com). November was an incredibly busy time for The Cake Boss – he launched his first book (which made the NYT best seller list), kicked off a 17 city tour, announced that he will expand the business with a new building in Hoboken so he can ship nationwide and much more.
What a year! Come Behind the Purple Door for a look at few client press highlights from 2010.
We were thrilled when our newest client, Gigi’s Cupcakes (www.gigiscupcakesusa.com), invited The Brooks Group to their Annual Franchise Owners Convention in Nashville. Gigi’s is one the fastest growing franchises in the country and their cupcakes are adored by celebrities like Nicole Kidman and Reba McEntire. Brookette’s Erika and Amanda will be spearheading the team and landed this sweet assignment. Below chronicles their adventures in Music City, USA.
Since we spend so many hours in the office, there are a few things that are incredibly important to me. Today, I’m bringing you Behind the Purple Door to share my top 4:
In order to attain those goals, it’s important for The Brookette’s to love their clients, and work hard, but to also step away from their desks and experience fun exciting activities as a team.
I’m bringing you Behind the Purple Door to share an exciting day….we booked Guy Fieri to co-host Regis & Kelly, shoot with Extra and meet with 60 editors from Wenner Media (US Weekly, Men’s Journal and Rolling Stone).
A few months ago when we found out that we had a half a day in NYC to book media for Guy, our first call was to Regis & Kelly – that turned into a booking…not just for a segment but to co-host with Kelly. Seriously…words can’t describe how exciting it was to deliver that news to Guy! We only had a few hours – to make the most of his time we booked a behind the scenes shoot with Extra and arranged a lunch with Wenner Media.
So what does a snapshot of this day look like?
Catherine McCord, founder of Weelicious.com goes Behind the Purple Door to dish on the importance of meeting media face to face AND finding the right PR firm.
Now that you've met The Brookette's, I will bring you Behind the Purple Door into our Monday morning meeting where the team will share a few of their fav PR tips - enjoy!
When it comes to PR, the saying "it takes a village" is true! For this episode of Behind the Purple Door I thought it would be nice for you to meet the amazing sparkling Brookette's. One of our wonderful clients gave us that nickname...no, It's not because we are amazing at kickline (although we are pretty darn good).
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.
Last weekend I went with Guy Fieri and his Krew to AC for the Food & Wine Festival. I’ve been to dozens of festivals with clients over the years including Rachael, Cat, Ingrid, GarVvee and others. It’s ALWAYS exciting. While there I wear many hats – publicist, buddy and bouncer to name a few. The festival was a hit – I spent a day with Guy and his family and friends and 2 full days filled with media and events.
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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