Rachel McCallister – mMRm Public Relations

A) The premise of the show is for entrepreneurs and inventors to win an opportunity to have a spot on the Home Shopping Network. During the episode, we meet with various different experts to help them get a start.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the show and how did you get involved in it?

A) It’s something that I do on a regular basis and I really enjoy working with entrepreneurs. I thought it would be an interesting opportunity and it was! They were interesting people and were open to getting advice. I think that’s one of the things that is very different about “Made In the USA.”

Q) You’ll be helping the inventor teams to shape the public’s responses. What kind of advice do you provide?

A) It’s not so much to shape the public’s responses, but how to really help them to condition their products to identify who they are selling it to. That’s the advice that I provided. I asked them how do describe your product, who do you market it to, what do you think they are going to respond to and what is the best way to reach the people you are trying to reach out to. In terms of how it works, in each episode, they go through a particular challenge and, in regards to the challenge, they get advice from the expert.

Q) What is your most memorable moment from being on the show?

A) I thought it was a really interesting experience, really looking at how these people work, in terms of how they thought through their projects and what had inspired them to develop them in the first place. One particular pair had invented lots of different things and were really into inventing. They all came up with a solution to fit a particular need.

Q) What kind of criteria did you use for choosing the winner of the challenge?

A) I worked with them through their challenge, which was picking out a wardrobe that was consistent with their brand image. It was whether or not they met the premise of what was branding them. It was interesting because only one pair understood and got it right.

Q) Why should viewers take the time to tune into the show?

A) I think they will really find it interesting to see how products go from being a glimmer of an idea in somebody’s eye to actually being in the market place. We’re so accustomed to finding things on the store shelf, but how did it get there? That’s what the show is really about. This is somebody’s idea and making it clear how it goes to sale.

Q) Why did you originally get into PR?

A) I actually got into it by accident. I was in television production and worked on a number of different shows (none of which were terribly successful). At a time when I was looking for a job, there was an opening at a very large PR agency. I got the job because I had production experience. Then I discovered that public relations was something I enjoyed and was actually quite good at!

Q) You received The Publicists Guild of America’s Les Manson Award for outstanding career achievement. How did that make you feel?

A) It made me very good. I was very honored because I was being honored by my peers and that is a very special thing.

Q) What has been the highlight of your career?

A) There are so many! The Les Manson Award was obviously one of them. I think I’ve been involved with a lot of different accounts and campaigns that we’ve developed that have worked well, seeing companies being launched very successfully, seeing television shows and movies become hits and just running a company and seeing the success of myself.

Q) What do you do in your spare time?

A) I do the same things that everyone else does and try and relax. It’s a pretty intense job, but the thing that is really great about being on the agency side is the fact that you are always being exposed to different ideas. It’s all about learning different kinds of things and I really enjoy that.

Rachel McCallister is Co-Founder and Co-President of mPRM Public Relations