Every time you see celebrity
chef Rachael Ray on television or on front of a cookbook, you have Georgia State alumna Jennifer Pullinger partly
to thank for it.
Pullinger graduated from Georgia State in 2003 with a master’s degree in
communication with a concentration in screenwriting/film. She worked as Ray’s
publicist for two early cookbooks: Comfort
Foods: Rachael Ray’s 30-Minute Meals and Veggie Meals: Rachael Ray’s 30-Minute Meals. Pullinger describes
the campaign she designed in a recent interview on the web site
mediabistro.com.
Pullinger said she focused her
pitch on Ray’s personality and likeability, focusing on television and radio
rather than print. She sent videos of the chef to about 20 different contacts
at the Food Network, and sent the rest to network shows that had regular guest
cooking segments.
The pitch paid off with an
appearance for Ray on NBC’s The Today
Show. Within days, her cookbook had shot to the top five in sales on
Amazon.com, and the Food Network had called to discuss setting up a show.
“The publicity plan involved
equal parts strategy, a talented, charismatic author, and luck,” Pullinger
said. To read the interview in full, go to mediabistro.com
