Ever wonder what goes into a 4-6 minute segment on television?

posted Friday, March 19, 2010 by Rebecca Brooks

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:

• 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