Month: June 2020

“The best-laid PR & marketing strategies are rooted in intent and purpose.” Listen as Andy Kushner and his guest Natalie Denyse discuss essential building blocks of a strong PR and marketing strategy, how to create a culture for your brand, and rethinking your brand message plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.

Natalie is the founder of In Good Company Public Relations, a boutique PR and marketing firm servicing distinguished brands in the wedding, events, and hospitality industry. She uses a forward-thinking approach, combining media relations, social content, and off-line marketing tactics into one holistic strategy. Natalie is also the creator of The Essential PR & Marketing Field Guide, a digital education resource for creative brands looking to propel their businesses to new heights.

“Reach your clients where they are.” Listen, as Natalie shares, the first thing you need to build a strong PR and marketing strategy is a powerful message or elevator pitch. She also discusses ways to keep your brand secure and build relationships even when things get a little unpredictable, like they are now with the pandemic, but also think about strategies that will pay off in the long term.

“A post should feel thought out.” Natalie shares examples of what she means by keeping up with your social media by curating photos on Instagram and telling stories by utilizing the full capabilities of a caption. Another way is to put out an email newsletter sharing something of value to let them know you are thinking of them. Don’t miss a word of what she has to say.

Also, Andy has launched a new podcast network called The Wedding Biz Network, in which he produces podcasts for other people in the event industry, with Sean Low being its first member. Sean’s show, The Business Of Being Creative, comes out every Tuesday and stay tuned for more new show announcements coming soon.

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“My proudest moments aren’t only about design. They are about how my clients feel when they see and experience the design.” Listen as Andy and his guest Lisa Vorce discuss Lisa’s love of celebrations, what inspired her to leave corporate America to launch her own business and much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.

Lisa is a world-renown celebrity event planner, receiving accolades from Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Brides, BizBash, and Martha Stewart, to name a few. She planned several events for Kobe Bryant and produced some of the most iconic celebrations, including the weddings of John Legend and Chrissy Teigen and Kate Upton and Justin Verlander. Lisa is a speaker and headliner at conferences worldwide, including WPPI, Engage, and DWP.

Lisa shares that the first event she worked at was a birthday party for George Clooney’s mom, how the referrals from the first wedding she planned led her down the destination wedding path, and the process she follows for each client. Lisa also shares the roles each of her treasured team members play in the events they produce.

Listen as Lisa describes an event she did recently, how she helps her clients choose a venue for their wedding and why each client is set up with a website and email address so they can communicate not only with Lisa’s team but so that the team can communicate with the guests that are attending the wedding.

Also, Andy has launched a new podcast network called The Wedding Biz Network, in which he produces podcasts for other people in the event industry, with Sean Low being its first member. Sean’s show now comes out every Tuesday and stay tuned for more new show announcements coming soon.

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Alan Shukovsky is located in NYC and is the Executive Director of Event Sales & Marketing for Glasshouses, which has new venues in NYC, including The Glasshouse, the highly anticipated new venue with a capacity of 1,850 located on the west side of the city. He is a member of a Manhattan-based task force for events and catering in NYC. The task force is made up of 30 plus of some of the most prominent properties and local event professionals in the City. Their purpose was essentially to collaborate and create a system of protocols, checks and balances, for running events during and after the Covid-19 pandemic and for both event professionals and their clients to feel safe. At a minimum, listening to this conversation will give you a host of important issues and ideas to think about. Below are the documents that resulted.

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I recently started a series, coming out from time to time called “A Conversation With,” which will feature general conversations with a variety of previous and new guests. Today’s conversation is with Colin Cowie, who has been on the show two previous times: Part 1 was episode #128 and Part 2 was #135. I urge you to check them out as they were both absolutely engaging interviews.

Colin was my first entre into the luxe wedding market, with Kushner Entertainment when he hired myself and one of my bands, SoundConnection, to perform for two of his major wedding clients. Those two experiences, with Colin, taught me the true meaning of luxury and I will forever be grateful to him for such invaluable lessons.

In today’s release, Colin talks about what a typical day is like now, during the Covid-19 pandemic, and what he has learned about himself. He also talks about how his brand is diversified, working in hospitality outside of the event business, having launched a new division of his event planning and design business.

Colin is currently working on his 11th book, which he tells us all about, as well as a television program of which he will give details another time. Colin also talks about how he is staying connected with future clients and how he’s dealing with his team during this difficult time. We also discuss what the event industry will look like, in the future, and his suggestion for couples whose weddings have had to be postponed. Colin addresses how he’ll run his event business, moving forward, and defines what true luxury is all about.

This is not a conversation to be missed!

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