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Speaker 1: Welcome to Strictly Business Varieties, weekly podcasts featuring conversations with

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Speaker 1: industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. I'm

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Speaker 1: Cynthia Littleton, business editor of Variety. Today. My guest in

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Speaker 1: New York is Shaun Cassidy, president of marketing and public

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Speaker 1: relations firm d k C. Cassidy has been in the

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Speaker 1: business of representing celebrities, newsmakers, and corporations since the early

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Speaker 1: nineteen nineties. In our wide ranging conversation, he offers insights

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Speaker 1: into how social media has changed the media game for

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Speaker 1: PR professionals and their clients as well as journalists. Shaun Cassidy,

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Speaker 1: president of d k C, a public relations and marketing firm,

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Speaker 1: thank you so much for doing this today. It's my pleasure.

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Speaker 1: Thank you. So you know, obviously this is an incredibly

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Speaker 1: fraught time in the world of any kind of media,

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Speaker 1: free media, traditional news media, social media. D k C

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Speaker 1: has been known for as a company that was was

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Speaker 1: very much ahead of the curve in terms of working

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Speaker 1: with clients and generating, you know, significant real headlines around

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Speaker 1: newsy projects, and that I think is a credit to

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Speaker 1: the kind of people that you have worked with. How

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Speaker 1: has that process of working with clients who are already

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Speaker 1: in the news and and you know, getting your message

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Speaker 1: across in news coverage. How has that changed in a

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Speaker 1: world where news travels around the world in a nanosecond

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Speaker 1: and everybody in some form with their phone and their

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Speaker 1: social media can be a reporter. How is that? How

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Speaker 1: is your work in this area changed? Well, Tony, it's

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Speaker 1: it's changed, but it hasn't. Um And I'll tell you

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Speaker 1: how it hasn't. Is that the is the premium on news.

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Speaker 1: I mean, if you're a public relations professional in today's era,

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Speaker 1: you need to be thinking of yourself as a newsperson

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Speaker 1: all the time. And then that made seem obvious to

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Speaker 1: you as somebody in the news. But but there was

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Speaker 1: always this continuum between marketing and and editorial. And I

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Speaker 1: think for many years PR firms were very proficient at

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Speaker 1: being at at marketing on behalf of their clients, but

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Speaker 1: they weren't necessarily great at coming up with the news

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Speaker 1: side of it and figure out a way to um,

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Speaker 1: you make a story attractive to the press. And right now,

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Speaker 1: I would argue that's more important for a variety of reasons. One, UM,

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Speaker 1: the press matters no matter what anybody tells you about

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Speaker 1: the influence of media and today's market and your readers,

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Speaker 1: the readers of Variety are looking to you for direction.

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Speaker 1: So so so what you say about a business you

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Speaker 1: cover or individually you cover, matters greatly. I love hearing

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Speaker 1: you say that I'm not just trying to be a

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Speaker 1: nice guy. I mean so. However, at the same time,

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Speaker 1: there are and this is where it's this is where

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Speaker 1: it has changed, is that there are so many more

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Speaker 1: channel by which to communicate and and certain sectors. You

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Speaker 1: see it in beauty and fashion absolutely positively with celebrities

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Speaker 1: there there there are channels now which which matter in

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Speaker 1: some cases almost as much as the press. And I say,

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Speaker 1: I still believe that that third party opinion by um by,

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Speaker 1: by a reporter, by any media outlet is extremely influential.

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Speaker 1: But brands, individuals can speak to their audiences directly right now.

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Speaker 1: And again, there too, the ability to create newsworthy content

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Speaker 1: matters because if it's newsworthy, it's relevant, if it's newsworthy,

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Speaker 1: it's interesting, and ifs newsworthy, it gets shared. And so

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Speaker 1: the the idea that that you can just sort of

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Speaker 1: put content out that's really advertorial via social media, that

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Speaker 1: I believe that's wrong. So I think there's still a

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Speaker 1: a a tremendous need for editorial judgment on the public

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Speaker 1: relation side. Uh, there's a tremendous need for it now.

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Speaker 1: And I guess what evolve this? This just there are

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Speaker 1: just so many different channels by which to communicate. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I mean, you know, publicists have been putting out press

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Speaker 1: releases for decades. How is how is the trajectory of

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Speaker 1: the news cycle different when you have a client who

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Speaker 1: has you know, millions of followers on Instagram, and as

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Speaker 1: we've seen now more and more, you have a celebrity

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Speaker 1: that can break significant news about themselves on their own channel,

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Speaker 1: and then, you know, do you sit there with the

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Speaker 1: stopwatch and wait for the first reporter calls to come in?

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Speaker 1: If somebody announces a big movie or a or a

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Speaker 1: music tour or some kind of partnership or something, Um,

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Speaker 1: it's it cuts both ways. So so one absolutely positively

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Speaker 1: the cycle is faster now than ever you know news.

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Speaker 1: And it's very interesting because news, as also social media

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Speaker 1: can blow up and get white hot really fast, but

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Speaker 1: also flame out very quickly. So the site that the

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Speaker 1: duration of a story can depending on how it migrates

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Speaker 1: from one from social to earn to what we called

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Speaker 1: our media to traditionally you, Um, depending on how that

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Speaker 1: that that goes. You know, a story can burn burn

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Speaker 1: out very quickly or it can last, you know, last

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Speaker 1: very long time. Here here's what has happened. UM. And

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Speaker 1: I think ultimately this is uh, the advice I gy

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Speaker 1: of the people in the public relations business and to

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Speaker 1: anybody who works with public relations executives is following. Um,

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Speaker 1: there's a belief now and it's and it's frankly, it's

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Speaker 1: it's it's there's evidence to support this. When you have

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Speaker 1: have clients who have social media followings that are many, many,

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Speaker 1: many millions, UM, those individuals can communicate directly with their

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Speaker 1: with their with their fans. Uh. You know they can

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Speaker 1: do that, UM. And that that gives you a lot

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Speaker 1: of flexibility in terms of what you can say and

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Speaker 1: cannot say, because again you're going directly to your directly

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Speaker 1: to your fan base. What I believe has happened, and

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Speaker 1: I think this is a bad thing. I think it's

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Speaker 1: a bad thing for frankly, for for um, for the

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Speaker 1: client is that you have a leaf now that you

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Speaker 1: don't have to deal with the press, you don't have

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Speaker 1: to have relationships with the media anymore. And I don't

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Speaker 1: believe that to be the case. I think that's wrong.

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Speaker 1: UM and I can I can elaborate on that, but

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Speaker 1: just suffice to say, you know, the the um the

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Speaker 1: third party validation or lack thereof from the press is

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Speaker 1: very significant because remember, you know, an article and variety

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Speaker 1: can be shared across social media and you have a

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Speaker 1: global footprint, you know, hit a global footprint very quickly, right,

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Speaker 1: And but is there something in terms of like, especially

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Speaker 1: for the sort of the fan base, is there there's

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Speaker 1: a level of authenticity if they're reading it on somebody's

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Speaker 1: Instagram account versus. Yeah, yeah, I think that's right. I

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Speaker 1: think that that um that not just a level of authenticity. UM.

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Speaker 1: For many fans, they're there their primary interaction with the artist,

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Speaker 1: uh is via the the via social media. UM. I

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Speaker 1: think where where not dealing with the press becomes a

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Speaker 1: problem is when the say a story starts to spin

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Speaker 1: out negatively and then that gets the purpose through social

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Speaker 1: channels at the fans say so. So the idea that

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Speaker 1: you can you know absolutely positively, you know, you you

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Speaker 1: have plenty of options right now is what it's dealing

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Speaker 1: directly with the fan base. But I I guess the

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Speaker 1: point I'm making is you just you just can't ignore

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Speaker 1: the traditional media. It's a that's a mistake and not

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Speaker 1: something I allow to go on here. Well, I think

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Speaker 1: I want to ask you a little bit more about

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Speaker 1: the traditional access to celebrities, because that is definitely I

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Speaker 1: can personally I know is changing. I can feel it

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Speaker 1: in my own career, not and not just celebrities, but executives.

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Speaker 1: I mean, people just feel so much behind behind the wall.

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Speaker 1: But I want to ask you first, particularly with social

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Speaker 1: how much do you have people if you have a

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Speaker 1: high profile client and you know things are going to

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Speaker 1: be going on and you know they're going to be

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Speaker 1: generating headlines, do you have like people dedicated to just

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Speaker 1: watching how it's playing out on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook.

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Speaker 1: Do you care on the on that granulural level. Yes, absolutely,

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Speaker 1: I you know it's UM. So the answer is the

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Speaker 1: first question is yes, we have people here and that

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Speaker 1: that's what they do there there. And it's not just

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Speaker 1: especially a digital team. Anybody who's working on an account

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Speaker 1: UM has to be paying attention to how that client

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Speaker 1: is being covered in social media because it's it's on

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Speaker 1: one hand, it can be social media very tricky business.

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Speaker 1: On the other hand, it gives you a heads up

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Speaker 1: of stuff that's bubbling up early on UM and so

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Speaker 1: so so. So the answer your question, yes, we do

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Speaker 1: UM in terms of in terms of UM how we

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Speaker 1: handle it. It's it's tricky because you know, there's a

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Speaker 1: there's a bit of a delta you cross. UM. You know,

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Speaker 1: you can see something bubbling up in social media and

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Speaker 1: typically will watch it UM because if it's something that's

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Speaker 1: completely ridiculous, uh, you know, will be prepared for how

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Speaker 1: to deal with it. But sometimes it just fizzles out

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Speaker 1: if it looks like it's taking off potentially, and this

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Speaker 1: is where becomes it becomes an issue, is where it

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Speaker 1: makes the jump over to the traditional media side. So

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Speaker 1: say your publication, for example, pick something up that's that's

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Speaker 1: in social media, then now it's real. UM. So you

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Speaker 1: want to make sure you're prepared for that. And the

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Speaker 1: only way to be prepared for it is to constantly

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Speaker 1: be watching right and and looking you know, deep in

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Speaker 1: the deep in the comments. Because it's kind of shocking

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Speaker 1: to me how much, as you said, like like things

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Speaker 1: that start that sound ridiculous or or even now, there's

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Speaker 1: so much back and forth with the this person said

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Speaker 1: this on Twitter, and this person responded and and all

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Speaker 1: of that, and and sometimes it's just it becomes so

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Speaker 1: much noise, and your news judgment can be completely skewed.

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Speaker 1: But other times that you know right or wrong, it

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Speaker 1: does steamroll. And I would imagine that that is a

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Speaker 1: that's a there's a vigilance there that you didn't have

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Speaker 1: to deal with ten years ago. Absolutely, But it also

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Speaker 1: comes back to your earlier question about news um. You know,

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Speaker 1: the role of the public relations executive as somebody who

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Speaker 1: understands news cycles, and when you have to think a

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Speaker 1: little bit like an editor when you're watching something something

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Speaker 1: bubble up. It's sort of like you know, a city

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Speaker 1: editor at a at a local newspaper. You know, they'll

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Speaker 1: they'll sit and they'll listen to the police and fire

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Speaker 1: department scanners and they'll have a pretty good sense of, Okay,

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Speaker 1: that looks like that's becoming something. Maybe we want to

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Speaker 1: start somebody out to cover or you know what, it

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Speaker 1: looks like they're gonna put it out pretty quickly. It's

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Speaker 1: like that's it's the same thing. It's the same judgment

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Speaker 1: you're using in social media. Okay, that looks like something

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Speaker 1: that could actually blow up, and we have to be

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Speaker 1: ready to deal with this, and you know what, and

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Speaker 1: we don't want to do something that makes it bigger,

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Speaker 1: so we have to watch it. But at the same time,

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Speaker 1: you know, sometimes it's just you know what it's it's

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Speaker 1: it's so ridiculous that you just sort of watch it,

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Speaker 1: let it. You know, you'll see if it flames out

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Speaker 1: on its own. So it's so that to to your

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Speaker 1: to your point, it is about constant vigilance and and

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Speaker 1: X sizing news judgment as it relates to how to

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Speaker 1: deal with you know, what's going on in social media.

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Speaker 1: Do you find do you for your for individual clients? Um?

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Speaker 1: Do you find that you have to coach people? Are

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Speaker 1: part of the job of representing them in the pr sense,

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Speaker 1: is helping a person have a have a strong voice

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Speaker 1: in social media? Yes? Um, But I think individuals and

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Speaker 1: brand i'd say the same thing. Um, it just has

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Speaker 1: to be authentic. Um. And I think the the the

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Speaker 1: easy part in the hard part is that is that

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Speaker 1: you know, if you're working with it with an individual

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Speaker 1: a very similar overment with the company, you have to

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Speaker 1: stay what does that person believe? UM, you know what

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Speaker 1: what what is that person's voice? What is that brand's voice?

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Speaker 1: You know, what is it that's that's what is it

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Speaker 1: that makes that airline special? You know? And if you can,

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Speaker 1: if you can, if you can decipher that reason so

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Speaker 1: you can focus on that, then what's said on social

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Speaker 1: media becomes largely derivative of that voice. UM. Where I think,

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Speaker 1: so where you get into trouble and social media is

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Speaker 1: you have no voice and you start going all over

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Speaker 1: the place. And and what's interesting about um, the you

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Speaker 1: know with artists with brands, you know they're they're shocking. Similar,

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Speaker 1: overexposure is a bad thing. And you become overexposed when

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Speaker 1: you're out there all the time, and and and and

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Speaker 1: you're all over the place in terms of what it

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Speaker 1: is you stand for. UM, it just becomes noise at

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Speaker 1: that point. And what you have and what you know,

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Speaker 1: whether the reality of the environment or in today, is

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Speaker 1: that social media can be the express train to overexposure.

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Speaker 1: So understanding that voice and making sure it's authentic is critical,

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Speaker 1: UM to be successful and successful um as all social media.

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Speaker 1: I want to return to that because I think to

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Speaker 1: your point, about um, you know, particularly celebrities individual stars

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Speaker 1: that are UM, I certainly sense it that there's a

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Speaker 1: wariness about press and and and certainly for the all

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Speaker 1: the dynamics we've just been discussing. One quote can be

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Speaker 1: you know, potentially even taken out of context, can travel

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Speaker 1: around the world. Oh my god, can you believe he

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Speaker 1: or she said that? And UM, is there do you

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Speaker 1: sense is that do you have to convince clients sometimes

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Speaker 1: to do like if you if you're going to do

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Speaker 1: a major story that requires a reporter tagging along with

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Speaker 1: a person for a day or two, like, is that

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Speaker 1: a harder sell to some people nowadays? I think I

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Speaker 1: think there's definitely a greater trepidation now than there was before.

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Speaker 1: And um, and I sort of sort of break that

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Speaker 1: question in two parts. One, I mean, the notion of celebrities,

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Speaker 1: artists being protected. I don't think that's new. I mean

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Speaker 1: that goes all the way back to you know that,

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Speaker 1: you know, when when studios used to create fake relationships

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Speaker 1: between couples. You know it's like that, Like I mean

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Speaker 1: that that the the paper over the problem that happened

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Speaker 1: that weekend in Mexico or whatever. Right, Yeah, I mean

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Speaker 1: that the idea that um, that image is uh, celebrity

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Speaker 1: images are very carefully manicured. UM. I don't think that's

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Speaker 1: super new, and I think there's always been a level

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Speaker 1: of protection of the artist that has that has existed

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Speaker 1: for for many, many, many years. UM. I think what

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Speaker 1: what you're seeing in today's environment is where it's changed,

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Speaker 1: is that you have a UM, there's a bit of

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Speaker 1: a clickbait code, not a bit of it, there's a

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Speaker 1: clickbait culture and so so one of the things you

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Speaker 1: have to be careful with is, you know, if you

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Speaker 1: have a have a five thousand words story about you know,

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Speaker 1: somebody's fifty years the entertainment industry and there's one little

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Speaker 1: personal revelation in there, UM, that can potentially overshadow the

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Speaker 1: entire the entire focus of the piece, which is somebody

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Speaker 1: who changed the industry. You know, you have to hope

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Speaker 1: that an editor is not going to pull that out

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Speaker 1: and make that the focus of the of the social

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Speaker 1: media push. But in an environment that is very clickbait driven,

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Speaker 1: that's always a concern, um, you know, and that that's that,

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Speaker 1: you know, the salacious nous tabloid ism. I mean that

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Speaker 1: that is that I've been doing this almost thirty years now.

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Speaker 1: That's always existed. But that notion that you want to

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Speaker 1: get as many clicks as possible, I think there's just

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Speaker 1: an automatic temptation to try to pull out that which

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Speaker 1: is going to uh to to create controversy or or

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Speaker 1: or a salacious interest on what have you. So, so yes,

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Speaker 1: I think you have to be nervous about it. But

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Speaker 1: I'm a big believer um that it's very important, certainly

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Speaker 1: for public relations executives to have relationships with the media

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Speaker 1: with whom they work. I think it's really important, and

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Speaker 1: by extension, I think there has to be a bridge

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Speaker 1: with with the client there. I think that I think

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Speaker 1: that just do do nothing and communicate entirely social media.

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Speaker 1: I don't know. I'm not a believer in that. I

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Speaker 1: think that that that some degree of access is a

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Speaker 1: worthwhile long term investment as long as it's strategic. There

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Speaker 1: is definitely a you know, there's definitely going to come

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Speaker 1: a time in the most glittering career where you're gonna

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Speaker 1: want to have where you're gonna want to have those relationships,

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Speaker 1: no doubt. How do you deal with I I often

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Speaker 1: think about you know, for me, in the course of

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Speaker 1: my reporting career. It has definitely become it was. It's

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Speaker 1: never a nine to five business, but it has definitely

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Speaker 1: become a seven business, Thank you Internet. But how do

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Speaker 1: you all deal It's it's also much more of a

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Speaker 1: global business. And how do you I would imagine when

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Speaker 1: you have a big client in some big news is breaking,

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Speaker 1: your people probably get five hundred calls from reporters you know,

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Speaker 1: around the world. Have you guys dealt with just the

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Speaker 1: sheer expansion of the of the number of platforms and

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Speaker 1: outlets that call themselved A journalists? Sure? Well, that that's where, um,

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Speaker 1: where social media is your friend and your enemy? Um,

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Speaker 1: I mean you know, obviously because of social media and

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Speaker 1: because of the proliferation of news and you have news

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Speaker 1: platforms globally, Um, you know you will literally get five

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Speaker 1: hunter phone calls in a day. Um. Where social media

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Speaker 1: is your friend is you have a means by which

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Speaker 1: to put out authentic communication pretty quickly. Now, uh does

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Speaker 1: that mean we we don't eventually get back to many

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Speaker 1: of the five Yes, but you but look, you have

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Speaker 1: to live in reality here. You have to very often

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Speaker 1: if something is breaking, you do have to get it

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Speaker 1: out quickly and that is where social media can be

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Speaker 1: very effective. You know, you can get it out to

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Speaker 1: it and we we you know, we we we we've

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Speaker 1: certainly had this situation with stories where you guys have

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Speaker 1: been have been aggressively looking for information. You will usually

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Speaker 1: social first and then we will look to put together

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Speaker 1: a depending on what it is. You know, the depends

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Speaker 1: you know, for example, like we do a lot of

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Speaker 1: crime management here, um, you know, and and when when

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Speaker 1: you're representing clients that are involved in allegation, are involved

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Speaker 1: any anything, anything that involves attorneys, the PR firm is

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Speaker 1: typically is at the table, but the ultimate decision maker

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Speaker 1: is going to be be an attorney. Uh And so

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Speaker 1: sometimes you can't say as much as you'd like to

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Speaker 1: write away so because you know, because that could ultimately

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Speaker 1: have an impact on a case. Uh So there will

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Speaker 1: be a little bit of a of a playbook will

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Speaker 1: follow and sometimes all you can do is put something

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Speaker 1: out via social media and that eventually, you know, as

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Speaker 1: things progress, you can you know, you can be a

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Speaker 1: little more open in terms of what you can say later.

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Speaker 1: But um, as a general rule, when we have been

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Speaker 1: in that so we're in that situation quite frequently where

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Speaker 1: you're getting five front a phone calls, um, you know

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Speaker 1: at two in the morning. Um. They you generally want

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Speaker 1: to get something out pretty quickly, just just to keep

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Speaker 1: the cycle at bay and then uh, and then you

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Speaker 1: can figure out what the next step is once once

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Speaker 1: you get all the information you need because sometimes sometimes

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Speaker 1: how about how diligent you are in terms of monitoring

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Speaker 1: social media, stuff can happen very quickly and you have

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Speaker 1: to you have to react for your fast. And the

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Speaker 1: worst thing is is when something from an official channel

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Speaker 1: or official pr turns out to be not quite right,

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Speaker 1: that that really makes reporters cranky, cranky, and and it

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Speaker 1: goes back to to that credibility point you're making earlier

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Speaker 1: about being authentic, is that it's that if you're disingenuous

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Speaker 1: in terms of what you say or in an effort

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Speaker 1: frankly you know to do the right thing and just

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Speaker 1: and just just answer a question quickly, and you don't

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Speaker 1: have all the facts it can be And that's where

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Speaker 1: you have to very level head in this business. Uh.

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Speaker 1: You know, I this is not an industry for people

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Speaker 1: who panic, because you know, you have to be able

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Speaker 1: to take a deep breath and and think about the

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Speaker 1: consequences of everything you do and everything you say. You know,

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Speaker 1: not just one minut it from now, but twenty four

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Speaker 1: hours from now, a year from now. What are some

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Speaker 1: of the biggest misconceptions about how the news media works

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Speaker 1: that you find when you're working with clients. I taste

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Speaker 1: two things. One that uh that relationships don't matter. Um.

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Speaker 1: I think it's extremely important for anybody who deals with

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Speaker 1: the media to have a relationship with relationships with the

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Speaker 1: individuals who are who who are working in the media. UM.

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Speaker 1: I think too to you know, I deal with this

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Speaker 1: a lot with major corporations that think they can exist

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Speaker 1: entirely by feeding statements two reporters. Um. I don't think

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Speaker 1: that's a real relationship. UM. I don't think it's effective.

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Speaker 1: I just I don't believe in it. The second thing is, look,

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Speaker 1: your role is to get at the truth. UM. You

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Speaker 1: know a a if we're doing our jobs, if you're

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Speaker 1: doing a job at a reporter or producer, Look, you

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Speaker 1: want to get at the truth. Um. And that doesn't

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Speaker 1: mean that the reporter, the producer, whomever is out to

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Speaker 1: get the client. And you know, for so many years,

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Speaker 1: one of the things I found, particularly major corporations is

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Speaker 1: this goes back before the year of social media, is

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Speaker 1: that the press was something that wasn't easily controlled. So

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Speaker 1: if you had these companies, if they had a really

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Speaker 1: big budget and really and a really big footprint um

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Speaker 1: through advertising, they could just communicate with their customers that

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Speaker 1: way and and just really react to the press when

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Speaker 1: they got a call and maybe issue a statement. Is

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Speaker 1: that And then what happened is then all of a

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Speaker 1: sudden you'd have a reporter digging into something and asking

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Speaker 1: tough questions, and and these companies were so uncomfortable that

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Speaker 1: often little issues seemed like really big issues because they

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Speaker 1: were so elusive when it came to dealing with the press.

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Speaker 1: So I'm a believer that you have to be very

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Speaker 1: proactive and you have to maintain relationships. You know, you know,

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Speaker 1: you know, you should should have a cup of coffee

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Speaker 1: with that reporter it was covering you. You just should

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Speaker 1: you have that relationship. And so I think that the

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Speaker 1: answer the question very sucinctly. One of the misperceptions is

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Speaker 1: that is that that the press is the enemy and

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Speaker 1: you can't you can't, you shouldn't deal with them because

400
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Speaker 1: they are out to get you. I don't believe in that.

401
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Speaker 1: I think the press is there to get at the truth.

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Speaker 1: And as long as you're comfortable telling the truth, you

403
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Speaker 1: know what, there's there's no issue. I couldn't agree more

404
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Speaker 1: with that message. Sean. You've been at d k C

405
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Speaker 1: since nine two, you worked your way up to partner

406
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Speaker 1: and president. What is it that brought you into PR

407
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Speaker 1: and what has kept you here at d k C

408
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Speaker 1: so long? Well, I really fell into the public relations business. UM.

409
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Speaker 1: I graduated in the degree in American History from Tough

410
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Speaker 1: University and UM and I didn't really know what I

411
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Speaker 1: want to do. UH, and I was one of those

412
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Speaker 1: one of those kids who graduated and it's probably a

413
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Speaker 1: slow was a relatively slow economy. UM. I did not

414
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Speaker 1: have a job when I graduated, and I did what

415
00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:07,840
Speaker 1: people did back then when they were looking for a job.

416
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Speaker 1: Was I. I set out resumes and answered ads in

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Speaker 1: New York Times and UM. About after about eight to

418
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Speaker 1: twelve weeks of looking, I ended up with two job offers.

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Speaker 1: One was to edit pharmaceutical textbooks for a Swiss company

420
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Speaker 1: and the other was to work in a small public

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Speaker 1: relations agency UM in midtown Manhattan, and I opted for

422
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Speaker 1: for that UM and it was interesting about it was

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Speaker 1: I I had grown up in a family you know

424
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Speaker 1: that was not in the news business. But my family, believe,

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Speaker 1: my family loved news. My mother read the daily news,

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Speaker 1: my father at the New York Times. And um, and

427
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Speaker 1: I was it was just something I paid very close

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Speaker 1: attention to. So it was a fairly logical. It was

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Speaker 1: a skill set that I I took to it pretty quickly. Um.

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Speaker 1: And I had I had worked at at this a

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Speaker 1: I had worked on a small agency everybody a year

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Speaker 1: and a half, promarily doing real estate clients. And then

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Speaker 1: a friend of mine had gone to work for for

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Speaker 1: Dan Cloris and and he he called me, and he

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Speaker 1: had just started the business. It was only six months

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00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:20,439
Speaker 1: old at the time, and and he had built up

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Speaker 1: an extraordinary reputation and the firm that he had been

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Speaker 1: with had an extraordinary reputation. So I said, look, I'll

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00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:31,280
Speaker 1: give this a try. UM. If I hated, you know,

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00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:34,359
Speaker 1: I can always maybe be a lawyer or something like that. Um,

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00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:38,959
Speaker 1: and I like, I liked it. So years later, Uh,

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Speaker 1: and what's what's kept me in the business is the following,

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00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:45,480
Speaker 1: the the pace of it, the mix of work. UM.

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Speaker 1: You know, we represent every righty, from airlines, the high

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00:24:48,359 --> 00:24:54,840
Speaker 1: profile celebrities, to health systems, to sports franchises, to apparel

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Speaker 1: manufacturers to beauty fashion companies. This this growing analytics business

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Speaker 1: right now. We have an experiential practice so interested a

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00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:06,440
Speaker 1: product design and events and influence the work. So so

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Speaker 1: no two days in this business, and certainly this company

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00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:14,160
Speaker 1: for me has ever been sane. So while twenty eight

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Speaker 1: minutes in this business now seems like a long time,

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Speaker 1: you know, twenty years has gone by pretty quickly because

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Speaker 1: it's um, it's just been an extraordinarily diverse um experience. Well,

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Speaker 1: I can honestly say that you're you're, you and your

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Speaker 1: folks have always been among the most professional and the

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Speaker 1: smartest people in this business to deal with. That's high praise. Report.

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Speaker 1: Thank you very much, Thank you for your time showing

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Speaker 1: you're very welcome. Thank you, thanks for listening. Be sure

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Speaker 1: to tune in next week for another episode of Strictly Business.