Party Dos and Don'ts

Last week I attended a party for iconic watch company Vacheron Constantin.  While I was thrilled to go with my friend (a big time watch editor) and very excited to see the famed I.A.C. Building, I have to admit that overall, the party fell flat.  Sure it was cool eyeballing Salman Rushdie and his hot new female companion, and it was fun to check out Kate Bosworth and see just how skinny she is in person (very!), and I felt honored to be in the same room with the architect Richard Meier, who designed, among many other famous building, the very building the party was housed in, but the general atmosphere of the party was one of snobbery and those who aspire to achieve it.

Designer extraordinaire Yves Saint Laurent once said, "We must never confuse elegance with snobbery." and while I agree wholeheartedly, the organizers of this event should have realized that the same is true in reverse.  The reason for the party was the launch of the "un-knock-off-able" Quai de L'ile watch, which was fabulous, so this is not a critique of the company, I know nothing about them other than they've been making highly respected watches for hundreds of years, but there had to be a way for the organizers of the event to shuffle us nobodies past the red carpet line without being so blatant about the fact that they think we're nobodies.  And I know for a fact, because I've done it myself, that there is a way to tone down the backstage chaos when you're in front of house--it makes people nervous and anxious when some stressed out PR girl is pushing through the crowd screaming into her headset, even if it is about getting Kate to go through the photo line.  Behavior like that doesn't make you look important, it makes you look rude. 

I guess the bottom line is, having famous people attend your event and ignoring everyone except them does not make your event fabulous.  While the wait staff were in general pretty friendly, the tone is set from the top, by the people making the decisions.  Those people should remember that everyone at the event is a potential customer, fan or foe.  While a regular person's endorsement of a brand might only reach 20 of his closest friends and a famous person's can reach millions, the two do not have to be mutually exclusive.  And besides (and maybe this is the naive midwestern girl in me) how hard would it be to just be nice? 

Comments

[Jessica]

You are so right on with this one!

[Kerin]

here is another really important point or two for folks to remember ( and maybe this goes along w/ the subject of thanking the costume stylists and not just the stars when they wear your things and yo get a placement)....first of all, GREAT customer service, which truly is the only place where american companies can compete these days ( we cant really do it on price) is what we have in our promotional arsenal...it costs so very little to make EVERYONE feel special...and that good will goes so far...which brings me to point number two...you never know who those "nobodies" are related to, have for best friends, or how far reaching the blog they write might be...so...if someone feels treated like a 'nobody', word travels fast....if someone feels treated like a 'somebody', it travels fast too...and honestly, you never really know where that "news' is headed!....besides, it is sooo much more fun to treat everyone well....(at least I think so!)

you go girl!
Kerin

[laura james]

Great topic, and on the flip side I would like to take this opportunity to comment about the experience I had with editors of the top-tier mags this past week in a suite that I was a part of at The Bryant Park Hotel (several of us in the suite were newbies at the whole in-person editorial event experience and therefore did not know what to expect when meeting these famed writers of the mags we so dutifully devour each month).

Needless to say, we were overcome by the friendliness and overall exuberance for our products exhibited by EVERY SINGLE editor that graced our suite...and there were many. Every appointment slot was booked from 9am until 6pm and the event could not have been a better success- not merely for the fact that we were able to meet and greet the Magazine Gods face to face and give our schpeels, but mostly because of their interest, smiles and listening ears that set the tone for the day, no matter how ragged they might have felt inside from running around all day.
When style maven Bobbi Thomas arrived with her pooch Gucci in tow, her professed desire to promote women was a major haiku to the throngs of us in this business slaving away in hopes that one day someone will take note.

Cheers to the Editors in the Fashion Industry- thank you for making it that much easier to be creative in a very intimidating world!

Laura James
Laura James Jewelry
www.LauraJamesJewelry.com

[Michelle Orman]

I'm so happy you had such a positive experience, Laura! Congratulations and keep it up!