Sometimes I get lost in a daydream where I’m having coffee or lunch somewhere and a celebrity walks in and, by chance, chooses a seat next to me.
Of course, my charming personality and witty banter (this is my daydream, remember) blows them away, and before I know it, we’ve become best friends.
In my head, I’ve become BFFs with the likes of Robert Sheehan (DUH), Kristen Bell, and basically the entire cast of The Office.
Now, while I would love to know who everyone’s favorite celebrity is, this is not the platform for us to discuss it.
But, because of this constant daydream, I decided to tweak it a little to make it applicable to Spin Sucks.
That’s why this week for the #SpinSucksQuestion I asked:
If you could interview one person in your field, who would it be and why?
Here’s what I discovered.
The Marketing is Strong With This One
I’m not going to lie, while I’m a huge Star Wars fan, I didn’t expect anyone to give me an answer related to the force.
I was pleasantly surprised with Lindsay Scarpello’s answer:
Kathleen Kennedy might not be considered a “marketing” person, but as the president of Lucasfilm, I’d argue she is, haha. I’d want to talk to her about how she’s re-engineered the Star Wars franchise under the Disney umbrella to make more money and generate more conversation among fans in a truly social era. When you look at these massive film franchises being put out by Disney—Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, and the redone classics—they’re essentially giant content marketing campaigns, using character as the hook. As a fan and a marketer, I find it incredibly interesting.
An Apple a Day
I think Steve Jobs is fascinating and I’m not alone.
Shane Carpenter wants a time machine so he can interview him:
Oh my goodness. There are a whole lot of people I would love to interview. If you’re going to make me pick just one though, I would hop into a time machine and have a conversation with Steve Jobs. While technically he isn’t a PR or marketing person, he certainly had flair for both. It’s rare that I’ve seen a business person control a stage and craft a message the way he did. Antennagate was a prime example. When he addressed it, every analysis from PR professionals stated he did everything wrong and it was a failure, but the controversy went away and sales went up. Watch any keynote or interview. He was a master at advocating for and selling his product.
“Where’s the Beach?”
I can also confidently say I never once thought we’d get an answer related to the MTV show, Jersey Shore.
It turns out I should just stop expecting or not expecting anything, because the Spin Sucks Community is creative enough to come up with a million good answers I would never consider.
Lauren Anderson wants to interview, SallyAnn Salsano:
I’d want to interview SallyAnn Salsano, CEO of 495 Productions (you know, Jersey Shore, Double Shot at Love, and Floribama Shore).
Does she foster some of the most out-of-this-world personalities? Sure.
But she takes normal concepts like going to the shore with your friends or finding love and turns them into stories worth telling. I’d want to learn more about how she conceptualizes her ideas, pitches them to her team, and establishes a captivating format!
Nothing Irrational About This List
Adena J. White would choose Ava DuVernay:
I’d love to interview Ava DuVernay. Before she became an award-winning filmmaker, she was a journalist-turned-PR-pro and opened her own firm. She’s a skilled storyteller and trailblazer.
Our own Laura Petrolino even answered this week’s question:
I have three, because I am a cheater:
Malcolm Gladwell: When I read the Tipping Point in college, it was one of the first times I thought to myself, “wow, I could really get into this communications thing”. It made me think, got me excited, it lit that fire that still informs my work today. I love the way he thinks about everything in the world, not just communications. And I’d love to wax lyrically with him about unimportant things that are absolutely fascinating (because I spend a lot of my non-working hours pondering such things).
Adam Grant: Organizational psychology is crazy interesting to me and I love Adam’s work around leadership, organizational psychology, and situational dynamics.
Dan Ariely: Wow, I’m geeky, but I also love behavioral economics and think it’s extremely important for everything we do as comms pros. Dan does a great job helping you think through it in a really resonant and relatable way.
Who Would You Interview?
I particularly loved this week’s question.
I feel like these types of questions are a way for me to connect with other people.
Because it shows what you’re interested in and what you’re passionate about.
Do you have someone in your field you’d love to interview? The comments are yours.