Eric Nemeth Eric PR & Marketing Q & A Profile
Today, an interview Q & A with Eric Nemeth – owner of Eric PR & Marketing and former PR executive for the Harlem Globetrotters and Comcast-Spectacor.
Q: You recently launched your PR and marketing agency during a pandemic. What led to the decision to go out on your own?
A: Some of those initial decisions were made for me. The pandemic devastated the live event industry from Broadway, to concerts, to family shows. It forced my employer of 10-years to pull multiple tours off the road and implement mass furloughs.
When my furlough began in April, I had real life decisions to make and essentially had three options. I could wait out the furlough and hope live events would reopen with large crowds. I could look for a new job. Or I could start my own agency, which was the only option that offered me control of my own destiny. Eric PR & Marketing, LLC was born on April 28, 2020.
Q: How did you find your first clients?
I knew I could make meaningful pro bono contributions in the nonprofit sector. While this approach did not bring in revenue, it did show proof of concept. If I could demonstrate success outside of sports and entertainment, the revenue portion of my business would follow with new clients. On a personal note, it was important to me to do something that could contribute to the great efforts being made by so many of our neighbors who are essential workers. Using my skills to play any role in the effort to combat COVID-19 was paramount.
I called my friend John Lynch, who started a very special nonprofit named The Lunch with Lynch Foundation, which is located in Wildwood, NJ. I asked John if his organization had mounted any new efforts in response to the pandemic – and that is when he told me about Operation iPad. I initiated a publicity strategy that led to national attention, including CBSNews.com, People.com, and Cuomo Prime Time on CNN. Through a variety of efforts, John’s foundation donated 135 iPads to connect patients with family members all over the nation.
Q: What led to your early success in attracting paying clients to work with you?
A: I have so many people who supported me and believed I could do it. It started with my wife, Sara. Then, Kurt Schneider, the former CEO of the Globetrotters, was one of the first to reach out to me. I’ve been helping him promote a new clever podcast called Smart Drivel. The Philadelphia Business Journal heard what I was doing with nonprofits and wrote about my story in June. That led to further business and interest in my services.
Q: What sets you apart from other agencies?
A: I am being very judicious with how I build my portfolio so that I can be fully entrenched in the work for every client. I bring a level of experience that combines leadership with execution. As a result, I can be a strategist for a client, while also having current skills to execute the tasks. A client gets me as an extension of their operation. I won’t pass off an account to a junior person. I want to compete for my clients to help bring them as many victories as possible.
Q: What is the future for Eric PR & Marketing?
A: As of August, I officially moved forward with Eric PR & Marketing fulltime and said goodbye to an incredible run with the Harlem Globetrotters. Now, every waking moment is dedicated to over delivering for my existing clients. That includes NEST, a national retail facilities management company, Jock MKT, a new daily fantasy sports platform that turns sports into a stock market, MISS SWISS, an innovative makeup case that launches this holiday season, and Smart Drivel, a fun and thoughtful conversational podcast. I hope to extend those partnerships into 2021. I will continue to help nonprofits like The Lunch With Lynch Foundation and Ron Jaworski’s foundation called the Jaws Youth Playbook. If I do a great job for my clients, the rest will take care of itself. My company’s growth will be determined by my performance.
To learn more about Eric PR & Marketing, go to EricPR.com.
