Isaacs, M., Week 2

Welcome back for week 2!

This week was full of learning, but for this blog post I will discuss a documentary we watched call Side by Side and the public relations conference we attended. I will also discuss a trip we took to the New York Wine and Culinary Center. Also, in another day spent in the classroom we had a guest speaker was very informative. Lastly, as a wrap-up, I will discuss overall what I have learned thus far for what it means to market entertainment, media and sports.

To begin with, the Side by Side documentary truly brought the realization to how much more goes on in the production of movies "behind the scenes". I did not realize prior that such little aspects of each scene such as the specific lighting not only of it as a whole, but each individual aspect in the scene was made to fit perfection. Within this movie, it takes viewers through the evolution of this entertainment industry and how technology is moving to become much more digital. Each side, both digital and film, were portrayed to have their own negatives and positives. What stood out the most between the two for me is each leaves a different feel on the audience. What made this documentary intriguing is it was an interactive movie, interviewing many filmmakers, producers and actors, we got to learn where they believed the industry is heading, and most importantly, they were asked the question is it the end of film? I personally feel as though film is coming to an end, but not anytime too soon. Each is a transition that each in the industry will have to make, but I believe it will be at their own paces. For film has done some amazing thing, many are not yet ready to give that up to go digital.

Another part of my week within the class was our first field trip to the PRxNE conference. Held in Corning, New York and put on by the Finger Lakes chapter of the Public Relations Society of America for the Northeast district it was an amazing experience. The way it was run was there was two keynote speakers, Ross Levi for I Love NY and Data Tsunami by Katie Delahaye Paine, and then there were individual breakouts. The individual breakouts I chose to attend were Leading and Empowering Millennials, Lights, Camera, PR in Action, Visual Imagery in PR for Global and Multicultural Audiences, and Blow Up the Right Way. One aspect that raised my interest is each session was nothing like the last, and there was a wide range of options to fit the interests and needs for all that attended. With all the speakers I attended, two presentations stood out to me. The first being the I Love NY presentation for it was intriguing and interesting. The thoughts and ideas that go behind the marketing of a the state are far from simple, yet they do so in a way that is not overwhelming. The marketing strategy seems to be interactive and in a way to overall benefit those who visit. The next one that stood out to me was Blow Up the Right Way- Minimizing Major Legal Risks of Social Media for PR presented by Mike Johansson and Scott Malouf. With one of them being a lawyer, they talked about the legal risks of PR within social media. With my own hopes to attend law school this was something that I genuinely liked. It gave insight into the areas of this field that are risky, as well as how to prevent them. This was a very interactive presentation/ discussion with them with made law more interesting.

My favorite part so far was our trip to the New York Wine and Culinary Center. Not only did we get to tour this center, we had a meal prepared directly in front of us. While this center does work hand in hand with businesses and schools in the surrounding area, they are a nonprofit organization. The overall goal of this center is to promote New York and what it has to offer. Almost all of the products used to prepare the food are from right within New York. There wines are also all products of the state. The upstairs of the restaurant is the bistro where it is just a restaurant for all the enjoy. An interesting part of the upstairs is there is a board with all the products of the day that they are serving and where in New York they are from. The downstairs was an event center, an interactive kitchen and a demo room. This was a different side of the marketing world for they are nonprofit, so that area stood out to me. One last big aspect is they are in no way attempting to compete with any other restaurant or actually anywhere in New York.

 Within one of our classes, we had Matthew Hufnagel from Hufnagel productions. He shared his journey from beginning as a manager of different entertainment facilities to now being a promotor. In such a short presentation, he taught me a lot. I never before knew what the keys were to making money in such an industry. He was very open to what his past has taught him within the industry. It was also extremely helpful to learn the differences between small versus large events he has promoted.

Overall, the marketing of sports, media and entertainment is far from the basics I believed. So far it seems to be all about knowing your target market. Each different type of event or center must be directed to intrigue those who one hopes to attract. Marketing each is identifying how one wants to minimize the risks that are involved and how to get the attention of those they need, whether that be social media or a billboard.

Thanks for tuning in, come back next week for more!