For this month’s portfolio event, Erika and I packed up the car and hit the road to NYC. After the epic heat wave we’ve been having in Philly, we actually managed to go on a day when the temperature and humidity were bearable. That, plus having the easiest drive through the Lincoln Tunnel (Seriously, no traffic?!) had us feeling like a million bucks when we made it to the city for our two meetings at DDB New York and PMK BNC.
After lugging what felt like a 100-pound pelican case (it was actually 90) for seven blocks, we finally arrived at our first meeting with DDB New York. Erika started us off with a short presentation about Wonderful Machine and how we could help the agency, which the room was really receptive to. After that, we showed around 23 books to about 35 different creatives that wandered in and out.
Creatives at DDB looking through the books.
Daniel Bergeron’s book got the most views at this event. People couldn’t stop gushing about the printing quality and how the saturation and blacks looked on the paper, and with all the compliments on the printing, we couldn’t help but brag that our Sr. Photo Editor Stacy was the one responsible for it, as she had printed the book in-house. One of the more impressive comments we heard was that the printing was amazing and that it was “like looking into a box and seeing the actual person.” A few other stand-outs at the meeting included Luke Copping with his soulful dog portraits and Cade Martin with his unique whimsical style.
Once we packed everything up and said our goodbyes, we drove off to our next stop at PMK BNC, a PR firm that represents celebrities but also has a creative division.
Our parking was much closer to our destination this time and before our meeting we had some time to kill. Within seconds, we found a conveniently placed Shake Shack right outside their office buildings, and clearly, Erika and I had to stop for burgers and fries. You just can’t pass up that opportunity.
Just enjoying my well-deserved burger.
With bellies full of delicious burgers, we made our way into the PMK BNC office and met with Kirsten and Kori, both Sr. Designers with the company. It was like talking with two friends when we showed them our 16 books. Because of the nature of their business, they were drawn mostly to Jennifer Roberts and her dreamy celebrity portraits. They also enjoyed Taylor Roades and her picturesque quality. Both were really interested in hearing how we could give them recommendations for some of their more obscure assignments within a timely turnaround period as well as hearing about how the stock page worked.
Of course we needed a marketing consultant/work best friend portrait in the waiting room at PMK BNC.
After a great day of meetings, Erika and I packed up the car and headed out for a nice drive home in rush hour traffic. We had a great time in the city and made some key connections. Until next time, New York!
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