How Rachael Ray’s TV Career Was Propelled By Radio
How Rachael Ray’s TV Career Was Propelled By Radio
As a book publicist I talk to authors and clients every day and every so often one says, “Oh I really don’t want to do radio” or I’ll have a client who’ll decline a radio interview and then give me reasons like “There’s only 5,000 people listening to that station, or such and such is a small town, or nobody listens to radio at 2AM,” or whatever. I usually respond with “If the Rotary Club in your home town called you today and invited you to speak to their club and 450 people would be in the audience, would you go?” The answer is always a resounding “YES! I’d love to do that…” What’s the difference? Perhaps it’s perception. If you can see them, 450 people are a lot of folks. If you can’t see them it’s too small. How about 5,000 people? But, it’s not always the quantity of listeners it’s the quality of that listening audience.
Let me tell you, radio makes stars, radio interviews get people on TV, radio gets people on Oprah.
That brings me to the story of Rachael Ray and her big break in 2001. She had already sold 10,000 of her cookbooks and she had her own TV segment on WRGB, the local CBS affiliate in Albany, New York. Jennifer Pullinger, the publicist at National Book Network assigned to work on two of her books, Comfort Foods and Veggie Meals, had booked her on various radio shows for phone interviews as part of the publicity campaign. After booking Ray on a handful of small-market radio shows, Pullinger utilized one of Ray’s contacts at WAMC in Albany, New York and scheduled her for a cooking demo on Northeast Public Radio's "Vox Pop." The host, Joe Donahue, had had Ray on his program before and happily booked her again. Ray did her demo, and of course, listeners loved it.
And, guess who was listening to that station? Someone who knew the Food Network’s VP of Programming, Bob Tuschman. That “influential” person heard Ray’s segment, and told Tuschman about her. Tuschman then called Pullinger to arrange a meeting with Ray and the rest is history. Oh, and who was listening to another of Rachael Ray’s radio interviews while on his vacation? Al Roker, the weatherman from the Today Show. Al told the show’s food producer to check her out. The producer called Pullinger and booked Ray for a live cooking segment with Al on the Today Show. She was a hit. Then after a couple of years on the Food Network she got THE BIG CALL from Oprah which led to her daily nationally syndicated TV show.
Her big break(s) can be traced back to radio interviews and the groundwork laid by her publicist Jennifer Pullinger, who had previously shipped tapes of Rachael on WRGB-TV to the Food Network and all the morning shows. Think about it. A major star’s career was born from a radio interview, and one that happened at the last minute, and one she nearly turned down. PR opened the door for Rachael Ray and it can do that for you too. Putting a value on that is hard to do but, I’d have to say it’s priceless.
I am often called by producers who want a guest at the last minute. I always deliver them a guest and since I just helped them out of a jam they remember it.
The bottom line is, radio works - radio is a great medium. If you get a radio opportunity, take it! You never know who’ll be listening.
How Rachael Rays TV Career Was Propelled By Radio - To learn more about this author, visit Scott Lorenz's Website.
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Rachael Ray heads an empire that includes hit TV shows, best selling books, a magazine and her own product lines. Things keep getting better and better for Rachael Ray. But, you might be interested to know that it was a couple of radio interviews that propelled her to fame and fortune.
As a book publicist I talk to authors and clients every day and every so often one says, “Oh I really don’t want to do radio” or I’ll have a client who’ll decline a radio interview and then give me reasons like “There’s only 5,000 people listening to that station, or such and such is a small town, or nobody listens to radio at 2AM,” or whatever. I usually respond with “If the Rotary Club in your home town called you today and invited you to speak to their club and 450 people would be in the audience, would you go?” The answer is always a resounding “YES! I’d love to do that…” What’s the difference? Perhaps it’s perception. If you can see them, 450 people are a lot of folks. If you can’t see them it’s too small. How about 5,000 people? But, it’s not always the quantity of listeners it’s the quality of that listening audience.
Let me tell you, radio makes stars, radio interviews get people on TV, radio gets people on Oprah.
That brings me to the story of Rachael Ray and her big break in 2001. She had already sold 10,000 of her cookbooks and she had her own TV segment on WRGB, the local CBS affiliate in Albany, New York. Jennifer Pullinger, the publicist at National Book Network assigned to work on two of her books, Comfort Foods and Veggie Meals, had booked her on various radio shows for phone interviews as part of the publicity campaign. After booking Ray on a handful of small-market radio shows, Pullinger utilized one of Ray’s contacts at WAMC in Albany, New York and scheduled her for a cooking demo on Northeast Public Radio's "Vox Pop." The host, Joe Donahue, had had Ray on his program before and happily booked her again. Ray did her demo, and of course, listeners loved it.
And, guess who was listening to that station? Someone who knew the Food Network’s VP of Programming, Bob Tuschman. That “influential” person heard Ray’s segment, and told Tuschman about her. Tuschman then called Pullinger to arrange a meeting with Ray and the rest is history. Oh, and who was listening to another of Rachael Ray’s radio interviews while on his vacation? Al Roker, the weatherman from the Today Show. Al told the show’s food producer to check her out. The producer called Pullinger and booked Ray for a live cooking segment with Al on the Today Show. She was a hit. Then after a couple of years on the Food Network she got THE BIG CALL from Oprah which led to her daily nationally syndicated TV show.
Her big break(s) can be traced back to radio interviews and the groundwork laid by her publicist Jennifer Pullinger, who had previously shipped tapes of Rachael on WRGB-TV to the Food Network and all the morning shows. Think about it. A major star’s career was born from a radio interview, and one that happened at the last minute, and one she nearly turned down. PR opened the door for Rachael Ray and it can do that for you too. Putting a value on that is hard to do but, I’d have to say it’s priceless.
I am often called by producers who want a guest at the last minute. I always deliver them a guest and since I just helped them out of a jam they remember it.
The bottom line is, radio works - radio is a great medium. If you get a radio opportunity, take it! You never know who’ll be listening.
How Rachael Rays TV Career Was Propelled By Radio - To learn more about this author, visit Scott Lorenz's Website.
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Good content about preparing for a radio interview
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 How Rachael Ray’s TV Career Was Propelled By Radio
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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 Scott Lorenz (Visit Scott's Website) Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with individuals and entrepreneurs to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz has handled public relations and marketing for numerous doctors, lawyers, authors inventors and entrepreneurs since 1980 and is an integral part of the marketing strategy for many firms. Lorenz has arranged for plastic surgery, LASIK surgery, dental surgery, liposuction and BOTOX for numerous radio, TV, and Sports personalities in Michigan. He’s arranged endorsements with members of the Detroit Lions and Red Wings as well as Detroit TV and radio personalities helping to convince customers that it’s safe and desirable to use elective medical procedures. On an international level, Lorenz handled the public relations effort for Kevin Uliassi, a balloonist attempting to become the first person to fly solo around the world in a balloon. More than 135 news organizations generated over 4,000 articles and newscasts worldwide during the launches and flights over a four year period.
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| Scott Lorenz Video - Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm with a special knack for working with authors and entrepreneurs to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether its their first book or their 15th book. Hes handled publicity for books by CEOs, Navy SEALS, CIA Officers, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. Hes generated media coverage for numerous genres including, fiction, health, romance, business and children. |
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