Apr 12
29
There's Gina!
A busy weekend to say the least as The Brass Ring invaded New York City. If you follow us on Facebook (which, why wouldn’t you?), you know that TBR was in the Big Apple for the National Publicity Summit hosted by Steve Harrison. While Gina has been to the event as a panelist a few times, this was my virgin voyage. We arrived in NYC late on Friday. Now, being from Boston, I have my own reservations about those pesky “New Yawk-erz”. Sure, they never sleep. And, they have one of the highest paid teams in baseball, but whatever! Driving on the maze of roads however, made me have a new appreciation for the folks in NYC. Let me say this: folks in NYC are MUCH better drivers than most of us in Boston – hands down. The transit system? Overwhelming for an out-of-towner, but it’s clean, well-maintained, and overall…dare I say it…better than Boston. (Man that hurts typing that!) The only downside? When you tell a cabbie where you’re going and you have to pull out your smart phone to help him map your course. I’m thinking, as a cabbie, invest in a GPS.
My view from the stage at the National Publicity Summit in NYC
Our morning started at the Hotel Pennsylvania, right across from MSG (Madison Square Garden) for the event. We were escorted up to a conference room where we met the rest of the panelists who would be joining us for the morning session. Now, I don’t intimidate easily, as I’ve been around the media block a time or two. However, joining Gina and I on the panel were folks from CBS News, Fox News and yes, even a producer from The Rachel Ray Show. We were then brought into the ballroom, where we were greeted with applause from the 100+ folks in the room, looking for pearls of wisdom from us up on stage. Hopefully Gina and I offered up a few nuggets of wisdom for the masses, and then were whisked off to another room where we were set up in our own booth, giving the attendees a chance to sign up in advance, to pitch us about their book, topic or area of expert.
People waiting in line to talk to Gina and I at our booth.
Consider this an endorsement for the National Publicity Summit. I’m not sure how many people came to our booth (it felt like hundreds, however in reality I’m guessing maybe 50, I lost count after the first five.) Nearly everyone was polished, prepared and pretty much on time with their pitch. If this is a result of the NPS, they did an outstanding job preparing them for the event. The crew from NPS was outstanding. Our assistant at our booth was Brittany and man, was she good. From keeping the guests on time to making sure their info got into the box to be shipped back to us, she was tremendous. It was a pity she had to go to lunch – I forgot to take her picture for the blog. Besides – who does she think she is eating at a time like that? (Kidding!)
For the people who visited us, it was a way to connect and hone their skills with the media. But what the authors don’t realize is it works the same for us. We now have (I estimate) 50 new contacts – new guests that we didn’t have before. I personally also got to hone my skills at the event. Listening to stories and becoming a better “pitchee” so to speak. (Is that even a word?)
All in all, I had a blast in NYC at the Summit. Steve and his crew put on an outstanding show and if all works out, we’ll be invited back for his next event in the fall.
