Tenacity: When it comes to booking a celebrity… “No” doesn’t always mean “no”.
One of the questions I get asked a lot is “What’s your secret? How are you able to book so many A-list celebrities, when others say they are impossible?” Since you asked so nicely, today I’m going to share one of my celebrity booking secrets.
Celebrity Booking Techniques
One of my biggest clients wanted me to book Oscar-Winning Director Ron Howard for a high profile project. Howard is one of the busiest guys in the business and his rep told me that he would not be available for some time, until he was out of production. For some celebrity bookers, that would be that. Over the years I have learned that if you can get to the star directly, you might be able to grab their interest. But how do you gain access to a superstar like Ron Howard?
As a member of the Producer’s Guild of America (PGA), I knew there was an upcoming screening of a new Ron Howard film and that he would be there for a Q&A after the film. I hoped I could get an opportunity to speak with him for a moment after the program and get him excited about the project.
Normally at the end of one of these events, the celebrity is hustled out quickly as people start crowding the stage to say hi. I was able to speak with Ron Howard and he could not have been more friendly. I told him I was a celebrity booker and about the project. Not only did he seem interested, he gave me the contact info for his producing partner and told me to get in touch. Ron said that I should stay in touch with them for when they had the right project to promote.
When doing celebrity booking, as in many professions, follow up is so important. In addition to reaching out to Ron’s producing partner, I also got in touch with the film publicist for Ron’s films.
Hot Celebrity Booking tip: many stars have multiple representatives for different aspects of their careers.
After a series of conversations, and quiet, polite persistence through phone calls and emails, we were able to find the right project that they wanted publicity for and I booked Ron Howard!
The key to this celebrity booking? Tenacity. Patience. And finding the way to “Yes.”
Celebrity Booking is not always about phone and emails. Whether you’re at home, in the office or at a screening, a celebrity booker’s work is never done.