Editor’s Note: Two of the #PRBC, Sherri Haymond and Marie V-B, teamed up to live-blog the premiere of Bravo’s new PR reality show “Kell on Earth.” Below you’ll find their impressions and responses to the show as it aired.
MVB: Kell on Earth starts off with Fashion Week – which apparently is the PR equivalent of hell.
SH: I’m going to say really mean things to you and you should take the abuse. “This is not dress up. This is not Barbie.”
MVB: So apparently there’s no crying in PR, especially in the office. Her tip: go outside if you are going to cry. I’m giving the sensitivity level zero points.
MVB: On top of producing a fashion show, you are responsible for invites and celebrity wrangling.
MVB: Ah yes, a staffer that’s never been trained to do the job…just being thrown into it…
SH: I’ve heard Robyn (People’s Revolution partner) is really this ridiculous – throwing the staffer right into the fire – she should be explaining what she wants the staffer to do and how she can accomplish it. Otherwise she’s setting her up for failure.
MVB: Side note: for being obsessed with fashion, did I just see jean shorts? During a client meeting nonetheless?
SH: Did she just tell a member of her staff that she needs to find him a sexual partner?
MVB: Yes, apparently she hired Andrew because he wasn’t a blond girl..I bet he’s thrilled to hear that. Wait that means I would never get hired there.
SH: I wonder what they actually learn there.
MVB: I learned that during Fashion Week, the boss tries to get her employees laid.
MVB: Ashley Dupre snuck into a Fashion Show, People’s Revolution got fired because of it. A publicist always gets blamed!
SH: Ha!
MVB: “My clients are paying me to give them good phone.” Ah Kell, putting it in perspective about the client’s expectations of always being available for them.
SH: So what exactly is her firm’s role during fashion week?
SH: I didnt realize a publicist runs a fashion show – front and back of house.
MVB: Employee banter…Well we’ve all been under stress and tiff with each other. However now a co-worker Andrew S. is trying to convince another colleague to pop some pills to get through the day. I’m going to take a wild guess that this isn’t the wisest philosophy.
MVB: Fashion Show time! It’s true that if something goes wrong – it’s the publicist’s fault and our responsiblity to find the solution. That Kell insight is pretty right on.
SH: But at least in Kell’s case, she’s getting major kudos for getting it right.
MVB: Yes, having a client say “Thank You” is pretty rare indeed (as Kell also points out).
MVB: Holy crap, did Robyn just say she lives and works at the office? Yes, she literally lives there in the building and works at the same building. I think that’s a bit extreme!
MVB: Now Kell is explaining how she balances life as a power publicist and a single mom – she created a live/work building. That’s pretty cool that she did that so she can see her daughter at 3-4 pm and still run a PR firm.
MVB: Oh goodie a lesson on couture. Apparently Juicy Couture (sorry Jess) isn’t really “couture.”
MVB: Wow creating a seating list for a fashion show is like a wedding on crack. You can’t sit competitive magazine editors next to each other, nor can you sit celebrities next to celebrity magazine editors. Yet all the “important” folks have to be in the first three rows, otherwise you aren’t “in the game.”
SH: Seating charts – they’re an art. The seating chart thing seems really stressful. Since the agency creates it – it’s just another thing to get blamed for if something goes wrong. And go wrong it does – “At the end of the day, we aren’t magicians.” Intense.
MVB: Next up: delegation. One worker complains she’s expected to do everything and is only one person. Kell informs her that just because she delegates something it doesn’t mean it gets done.
SH: Right. So delegate, but keep worrying about it anyway.
MVB: Right. “Hyperorganized.” I think I just learned a new adjective that people can use in cover letters.
SH: Sure – appealing to a future boss who’s just like Kell!
MVB: Okay I’ll admit the side story of Kell being a mom is pretty heartwarming, especially on how she struggles to balance it all. Then she takes the elevator down to the office and turns back into crazy.
SH: She’s totally different around her daughter. It’s quite amazing, actually.
MVB: Junior Account Executives around the world can relate to watching someone struggle with the pressure and expectations and trying to prove herself to climb up the corporate ladder.
MVB: These outfits everyone is sporting while they are working are making me feel less embarassed about live blogging in my mismatched flannel pajamas.
SH: And me about my ripped sweats….
MVB: Printer failure! That has totally happened to me that there is a major tech fail in the middle of a big event and/or when you have to get something out to the client.
* * * * *
MVB: Overall, I think Kell on Earth gave us a pretty good look at the world of fashion PR. I’m definitely interested to see where it takes us.
SH: Same here. I can’t imagine what pearls of wisdom we’ll learn next week!
[reus id=”6″][recent posts]