CES continues to inspire me to think big. First off, the literal growth of ZeroHour Innovations, the start-up I’ve worked with for the past couple years. We've gone from standard 10'x10’ booth among hundreds of start-ups to our first 20-footer, fully-furnished and branded! Those extra ten feet made a real difference. While we’re nowhere near the size of the small cities erected by Samsung or Panasonic, we felt great about our presence. I worked my magic PR fingers and, with the help of the CES media team, we received several hits on local broadcasts covering hot products from the show. So many attendees came by and told us “I saw you on TV!” I may have to audition for American Idol next, except this is their last season and I can't sing.
The cherry-on-top was definitely CNET: I happened to recognize a reporter passing by, which led to an invite to meet with one of their editors, and boom! CNET featured us on the last day of CES. Two years into this process, I know how hard it is to stand out and get media interested in you when there are a million other products out there, so I’m really proud whenever we inch along the path of discovery. Of course, it all starts with a cool product, but I still exhaustively research media opportunities, and I think it really helps to be direct and keep our pitch simple when I reach out.
Benefit of having the same name as your father: his high school friends know how to find you!
CES also reminds me how much I miss working on a team. I'm typically brought into projects to solve problems in the absence of a team or outside a team's regular duties, and I conduct most of my work from my home office. But I'm social! I love talking to people and learning about others, and I think I have a knack for conducting myself well in team environments, even when they're stressful. I recognize that we're all in it together and don't get bogged down in politics or posturing, and when the wheels run smoothly, I like to be part of making the machine glide along. I have this experience to a degree in my consulting work as it's project-focused, but working a huge event like CES really lets me dive into the action.