Carmen Grayson may be a new Publicist in the industry, but she is not new to the industry. She is a Bay Area native born in San Francisco. Carmen always had an interest in the Entertainment industry from a young age. She was in school plays, landing lead roles. She ended up going to Long Beach State University for a BA in Communications. After returning to the Bay Area Carmen was known as Msbayarea411 doing Bay Area club reports with DJ Backside on 106.1 KMEL. An On-Air Personality for 94.1 WHAP Radio where hits are played by interviewing artists and playing their new breakthrough hits on the show Friday nights. Carmen has also been a host on several Bay Area Podcasts.
She is recognized as Carmen on a WeTv reality show for 2 episodes in 2017. Partnering up with WETv yet again opened more doors and opportunities in the Hollywood Scene. Carmen has spearheaded promotions for many of the hottest Hip-Hop, and R&B parties working with everyone from Dj Mind Motion, Pirate Djs, Core Dj’s BMB Events, Personal Touch Entertainment, Kid Capri, Dj Clue, DJ Kay Slay, and many more. She is still very much involved with hosting celebrity events and parties but now has moved on to the concert sector and is working with Bobby Dee Presents and Uncle Snoop’s Army.
While working behind the scenes at the Bobby Dee Presents Shows she was influenced to pursue her dream in the PR world. She began being mentored by one of LA’s well-known Publicist Barbara Sanchez CEO of Elegant PR. Barbara quickly recognized her dedication, poise, hustle, and drive to embark on her new role in the PR world, where she brought her on to her firm as a junior publicist and is now working closely with Carmen on conquering her dreams
Carmen is a Brand and Marketing Strategist who partners with CEOs, executives, artists, Social Media Influencers, and solopreneurs to grow their personal and professional brands, human-to-human. Under Barbara Sanchez PR Firm, Carmen is working with well-known celebrities; her forte is developing Press Kit and Media materials (both print and electronic – known as EPK’s, Electronic Press Kit is well-known for their artistic managers (music/TV/Film).
She is also an activist when it comes to domestic violence. She is very much involved in taking a stand and educating victims and providing support.
indieactivity: You witnessed the revolution from traditional PR into measured/quantifiable PR. Plus the incursion of social media in PR and modern audience engagement. How did you infuse it into your working business model? How did you scale up or scale through?
Carmen Grayson (CC): A huge aspect has been being intuned and seasoned with social media and the different platforms that are available. Being able to work with huge influencers has really spruced me up and brought me current into what is currently out there.
Your work spans mostly creatives in the US. Any reason why that client-sphere worked for you? Was it deliberate, strategy, luck, or just work?! Tell us about your team?
Carmen Grayson (CC): I currently work for Elegant Pr and we are constantly growing to serve all aspects of the entertainment industry, whether it is for a social activist cause, athlete, actor, artist, musician, or even international as well. Branching out and partnering up with different individuals has prepared us to serve mostly anyone who is in the need of PR needs.
During a project: marketing, production launch, box office results, how early do you get in on a project? When do you assert your influence on the project?
Carmen Grayson (CC): As soon as I have retained a client. We map out a 3-month plan where goals are set and we begin to execute for those dates on the calendar. Literally, on the 1st day, we begin to put the plan in play so we can accomplish all the goals.
Why social activism? What about social activism attracted you? Tell me about your personal brush with domestic violence? We’d love to make a connection to your background and so will the reader?
Carmen Grayson (CC): It is important to have a voice and a place where people just like me with similar encounters can have a place to turn. I was young when I was in a relationship and was damaged pretty badly by verbal and physical abuse. At that time, I thought this was normal. There was nobody to turn to or at least who I thought I trusted. So, I was silenced. At every point, I was terrified to let my parents or even close friends. I did not want to make myself feel worse than what I had already felt. I was stripped, made insecure and most importantly my light was dimmed
How much do you educate, build rescue and heal domestically violated people? Do you see any changes? Are we working at the root of this problem, or has it come to stay forever? It is a troubling subject?
Carmen Grayson (CC): Domestic violence is huge. As a survivor of domestic violence, I have made it a point to talk about my past experiences and to let others like myself know that you are not alone. The more awareness I can put out there and educate people can make a difference and even save a life. We are taught to always speak about the positive things in our lives and it’s taboo to speak about the negative things. We should not be ashamed or feel we deserve to be treated horribly. I want to make an impact and help those with similar stories. The more it is discussed and accepted in society the more resources we will have to try and overcome domestic violence.
What else have you got in the works?
Carmen Grayson (CC): I am branching out to work with international clients. Nigerian artists are crossing over into the US music industry and I have begun structuring marketing and branding plans to provide pr services to these artists. I believe being able to serve all artists internationally is a huge benefit.
Tell us what you think of the interview with Carmen Grayson. What do you think of it? What ideas did you get? Do you have any suggestions? Or did it help you? Let’s have your comments below and/or on Facebook or join me on Twitter.
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