In the world of media, you never know who you’ll run into. Is the lady standing next to you at the crosswalk the editor-in-chief of a national publication? Or is the gentleman next to you in the elevator a producer at one of the top morning shows?
Case in point. I took the train from Manhattan to Philadelphia one afternoon and of course was running late. As I jumped on the train, the doors shut behind me just in the knick of time. I found a seat right away across from another girl about my age. As I took my seat, I realized I didn’t have enough cash to pay for my ticket. I debated for a few minutes whether or not I should ask her for a few dollars. How do you word it? “Excuse me. I know we don’t know each other but can I borrow some money?”
I debated for five minutes then mustered up enough courage to ask her.
She gave me the three dollars, we exchanged business cards and I told her that I’d mail her the three dollars back. Her business card said “Sonja Van Sacker – Researcher for The CBS Early Show.” I didn’t know what I was more excited about – not getting kicked off the train for insufficient funds or meeting someone from The Early Show.
It turned out I had enough cash on me and instead of the gaining three dollars, I gained a friend for life. Four years later Sonja is now working at Bloomberg TV and we continue to pick each other’s brains for story ideas and reminisce about how we met.
A second case in point. After relentlessly pitching Vanessa Weber at Good Morning America she finally agreed to air my client’s product on the show the next morning. Luckily for me, someone dropped out at the last minute.
I didn’t have enough time to call my client and get another sample in my hands – as the show was airing at 7AM the next morning. What in the world was I going to do? This was a brand new product! I called about a dozen electronic stores to see if they stocked any of the devices and found a store on the Upper East Side. I jumped out of my seat at 7PM on a Tuesday evening and flew outside to hail a cab. Unfortunately for me, it was raining and felt like 20-degrees outside.
Long story short, I had to take the subway uptown, purchase the device then took a bus cross-town and walked four wet blocks to the studio. By this time it was 9PM and I had one block to go! I stepped off the curb right into “black ice!” Needless to say, I was drenched and of course I was wearing crème colored wool pants.
I finally dropped off the device and met Vanessa in person. She was lovely and quite appreciative of the fact my left leg was practically frost-bitten! Five years later, Vanessa and I remain in touch and often work together.
I guess Forest Gump was right after all! Life is like a box of chocolates and you definitely never know what you’re going to get!
Christie Burgner
Tilson Communications
