Please Wait...
-
On 2/11, Psi Bands debuted on ShopNBC, located in MN. What an exhilarating and exhausting experience.
We received our PO with just more than a week before our on-air date. I think this was unusual, but it did have us scurrying in many directions to pull it off – from fulfillment to travel arrangements to childcare arrangements (I am a mom of two boys, and the boys happened to have a short week at school during my travels due to the President’s Day holiday which meant pulling childcare out of a magical hat. Thank you to my dear friends who pulled through for me – remember that lesson I mentioned awhile ago?…ASK for help when you need it!).
After the air times were confirmed, and travel arrangements were made, they needed to adjust the air times and dates. Unfortunately, I was unable to accommodate this request due to it necessitating an additional day’s stay in MN, so I was left with 3 on-air segments vs the original 5. This is TV, however, so one must be prepared for changes.
The trip did not start off so well. My plane was delayed by more than 1 hour which resulted in me sprinting from one terminal to the next to catch my connecting flight. With several minutes to spare, I made it. It was smooth sailing from there.
The next day I attended two on-site trainings where everyone was very welcoming. The first was with 2 of the 3 hostesses that I would be going on air with (I had 3 on-air segments, each with a different hostess). The meeting was highly beneficial, where I got to connect with the hostesses and answer their questions in a calm setting (the TV environment is not calm, but rather a flurry of people who are doing their jobs in an expedited fashion) so this opportunity was truly invaluable. Following the hostess training, I attended a 1-hour training that would prepare me for the airings, and I was given a tour.
I left ShopNBC energized, and then proceeded to the local mall to have my makeup and nails done. I retuned to the hotel, where my hope was to go to bed early, sleep a few hours, and show up to the green room (where you wait until you go into the studio to tape live) refreshed. Between the two hour time change (I am from CA, so my internal clock had not yet adjusted to CST time), and my adrenaline, I could not sleep. I showed up to the green room at 1am CST, one hour before air time (they request you show up one hour ahead of time). I showed up with my suitcase, where I changed in the dressing room and then proceeded to the green room, where I awaited my first on air segment.
Each on air segment was slightly different based on time of the day (how I was feeling – for the first two airings, I had gone 20 hours without sleep; by the third airing, I had returned to the hotel for a couple of hours worth of sleep) and the hostess. Each hostess has her own unique style. As the vendor, we follow the lead of the hostess. Each airing was fun, and flew by!
After the three segments, I met briefly with the buyer, who told me that she felt Psi Bands was a unique product and a great fit with ShopNBC, and that she would like to have me back in March, hopefully with longer on air segments. I am still awaiting sales figures. Our debut was not a large money maker for us; however, it was not a large risk either. And, the exposure (upwards of 70M viewers per segment) is invaluable. I look forward to the opportunity to return to ShopNBC, to take what I’ve learned from my first tapings, and improve upon my presentation.
You may watch one of the airings here (not sure how long the video will be featured online):
P.S. One of Psi Bands goals for 2009 is to land another large retail account (5,000+ stores).
Read Romy's other blog entries >
ShopNBC – Part 2
