- Pickie Pie recently hosted four food writers and bloggers at a wine dinner prepared by Chef Erick Nixon of the Downtown Austin Fleming's. We put together the right group of writers for a splendid evening. The wine dinner was a great way to show off to writers what chefs at restaurants like Fleming's can do off menu.
In addition, Pickie Pie works hard to cultivate our relationships with writers, who are also big users of social media with large followings. We love this post by Jette' Momant which was replied to by the other writers who attended. Effectively using social media keeps the buzz going beyond the event and touches the consumer on a casual level.
An Austin-based Public Relations, Promotions, Publicity, Social Media and Television Production Company. Contact us at 512.699.7054 or at Rachel@pickiepie.com.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Social Media Mentions
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
About Rachel Elsberry of Pickie Pie Productions, LLC
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| Rachel Elsberry, Founder Photo by Chad Harlan of La Pistola |
Rachel Elsberry started journalism classes when she was 14 years old at Angleton High School in her hometown of Angleton, Texas. She owes her love for information to her parents who were avid news watchers and history buffs and to Linda Winder, her high school journalism teacher. Rachel has been involved in television and radio since she was 18 years old. Her most-recent experience in television was at WJBK, the Fox station in Detroit, Michigan from the late 1990s to 2001 and an 8.5 year stint as the Executive Producer of Special Projects at News 8 Austin, the Time Warner 24-hour cable news channel in Austin, Texas, from 2001 to 2009. She covered numerous large stories and events over the years including a week in Louisiana immediately following Hurricane Katrina, the Austin City Limits Music Festival and the victory of her Texas Longhorns in their pursuit of the National Title at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Rachel also produced and reported weekly lifestyle features from food to fashion and home décor, all areas of personal interest as well, including weekly cooking segments with Chef Jeff Blank of Hudson’s on the Bend, whom she credits with turning her into a foodie.
In the summer of 2008, Rachel was among one of 12 American journalists awarded a RIAS Fellowship (which stands for Radio in the American Sector) allowing her to spend two weeks immersed in learning about German media, the European Union, NATO and the critical relationship between the United States and Europe when it comes to world affairs. She is honored to be in the small fraternity of RIAS Fellows. Rachel has also received numerous awards for her work from the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters. She also has two Edward R. Murrow Awards and several Emmy nominations hanging on the wall.
During her career as a media insider, Rachel watched many public relations professionals and business owners struggle with getting their message beyond the newsroom gatekeepers. She left the news business to start her own business helping people effectively use media to promote their causes, events, products, services and businesses using the knowledge she gained as an insider. Thus, Pickie Pie Productions was formed to be a friend and asset to small and medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurs. No one can get you past the media gatekeepers like someone who once tended the gate.
The name Pickie Pie comes from a nickname given to Rachel as a baby by her maternal grandmother, Irenne Hoffmann Rennie. As the only grandchild in the family with brown eyes and as a picky baby, her grandmother started calling Rachel “My Brown-eyed Pickie Pie.” She referred to Rachel by that name in written correspondence and in person all the way up until she passed away in the summer of 2005. In return, Rachel called her grandmother “Nanny Pickie Pie” or just “Pickie.” The two had a special bond that still tugs at Rachel’s heart today. Pickie Pie Productions is a tribute not just to Rachel’s grandmother, but to all grandmothers who always see the potential and promise in their grandchildren just as Rachel sees the potential, promise and possibility in her clients.
In addition to her PR work, Rachel continues to work as a freelance journalist for media outlets such as Inside Edition. She also spends a great deal of time in Houston’s Medical Center where she writes and produces several cutting-edge medical stories per month that air on television stations across the country via a company called Medstar Television.
Making the Pitch, Getting Results
Representing a business that does not have a brick-and-mortar store front or restaurant can be a tricky endeavor as there is no where to entertain media or bring patrons to show off goods and services. Such is the case with our client Dagar's Catering. While they have a huge, impressive facility and kitchen in North Austin that's been operating for decades, they don't have a place to bring media to try out the food or hold events as easily as a restaurant would. So, we have to look at different ways to get them press and attention.
When Kathryn Dagar-Albarado of Dagar's Catering and DNA Events recently wrote a post on the DNA Events blog about food safety in summer and the idea of putting together a food safety kit, Pickie Pie, from our years as a media insider, recognized an opportunity. We took her post, made a few adjustments to make it media friendly, pitched it to local press on a Monday morning and waited for them to bite.
As a result, KEYE-TV called us Tuesday morning bright and early and asked to book our client on their 4:00 p.m. live program called We Are Austin Live. We hopped to it and got our client in gear and ready for broadcast and set up.
Much of the segments on We Are Austin Live are pay-for-play, meaning many businesses pay to be featured in a significant portion of the program. However, some content is editorially based. Landing an editorially-based segment that was not paid for is a big get for our client, who ended up with not one, but two live segments during the broadcast.
Viewers of a broadcast and/or readers of a publication inherently see editorially-based content as having more value than a paid advertisement as anyone with money can purchase an ad. To get featured in editorial content, a business has to have news value and merit in the eyes of a journalist. At Pickie Pie, we see the world with a journalist's eye and help our clients frame their message with the right kind of media in mind.
Here are links to the segments we garnered for Dagar's Catering on KEYE:
Segment One:
http://weareaustin.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=151866
Segment Two:
http://weareaustin.com/libraries/nxd/media/?data=media_player&v=240767
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| KEYE's Hunter Ellis and Kathryn Dagar-Albarado preparing for We Are Austin Live |
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| Food Safety Kit |
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| Hunter Ellis and Kathryn Dagar-Albarado |
As a result, KEYE-TV called us Tuesday morning bright and early and asked to book our client on their 4:00 p.m. live program called We Are Austin Live. We hopped to it and got our client in gear and ready for broadcast and set up.
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| Setting Up for We Are Austin Live |
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| Kit on TV |
Here are links to the segments we garnered for Dagar's Catering on KEYE:
Segment One:
http://weareaustin.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=151866
Segment Two:
http://weareaustin.com/libraries/nxd/media/?data=media_player&v=240767
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Meet-the-Chef Summer Wine Tasting at Fleming's Domain
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| Veuve Cliquot Rose' cold and ready for guests |
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| Chef Boyer Derise talking with guests |
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| Jette' Momant and CW Star Mandy Dugan |
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| Terri Broussard and Lemuel Williams chatting with friends |
Here are a few nice "thank you" shout outs on Facebook from some of the guests invited by Pickie Pie.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Photos from ATX Man Magazine Launch Party
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| The first issue of ATX Man |
ATX Man Magazine held their launch party for the inaugural issue of the magazine at the Land Rover Dealership, Wednesday, June 1, 2011. The event was a total see-and-be-scene event of Austin A-listers and a crowd of 300+.
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| KXAN's John Bumgardner, Michelle Valles, KEYE's Jason Wheeler, Jenny Hoff and Pickie Pie's Rachel Elsberry |
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| Fitness Trainer and ATX Man Writer Ryan Nail (friend of Pickie Pie) |
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| Chef Erick Nixon and Chef Boyer Derise of Fleming's serving it up at ATX Man launch |
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| Tenderloin sliders |
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| Members of the Fleming's team |
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| AW's Katie Lesnick, Jenny Lin and Pickie Pie's Rachel Elsberry |
FOOGS Goes Green with YNN-Segment to Air Saturday, June 4th
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| FOOGS Founder Ty Mellon and his daughter installing our raised bed March 2010 |
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| FOOGS Garden, May 2010 |
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| Tomatoes from our FOOGS garden |
In addition to securing media, we contribute content to FOOGS. Click here to read our first post as we became gardeners.
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| YNN's Rich Segal interviews Rachel Butler of Foogs.org Wednesday, June 1, 2011 |
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| Simple household products which can be combined to control garden pests as recommended by Foogs.org |
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| YNN Photographer Drew Moses, YNN's Rich Segal, Rachel Butler and Bill Norton, both of Foogs.org |
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
A White Night
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| David Clark and Tracy Tenpenny |
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| Jenny Woys, Rachel Elsberry of Pickie Pie, Tracy Tenpenny and Jillian Newman |
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| Terri Broussard, Lemuel Williams, Chef Boyer Derise of Fleming's and Dorian Fogo |
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| Season-Your-Own Potato Chips from Dagar's Catering |
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| Dagar's Catering served BBQ sliders |
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| BBQ sliders from Dagar's |
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