Doug Simon and Kate Ryan Talk Big Apple

Doug Simon, CEO of D S Simon Media and President-Elect of PRSA’s New York Chapter, spoke with Kate Ryan (@kateryanNY), Managing Director, US for Diffusion PR, about Diffusion’s Big Apple win in 2017 and how it has translated into growth and new business opportunities.

Doug and Kate covered many topics including:

• Diffusion’s Big Apple win in 2017 for their client Cyberlink, in which the Guinness World Record for most consecutive hours of TV watched was broken.
• How the award had both internal team benefits and facilitated external, client-driven results.

Full transcript below:
DOUG SIMON: Hi. I’m Doug Simon from D S Simon Media. I’m CEO there and President-elect of PRSA’s New York chapter in charge of the Big Apple awards. One of the things we’re doing to create excitement for the 2018 awards is showcase what we feel are the best of the best, our winners from 2017. Got a really cool one with me, Kate Ryan–
KATE RYAN: Yeah.
DOUG SIMON: –the managing director, US for Diffusion PR. Thanks so much for joining us.
KATE RYAN: No problem.
DOUG SIMON: So tell us about your win last year.
KATE RYAN: Yeah, it was a really exciting win. We won for our client, Cyberlink, and we did an amazing stunt with them that broke a Guinness World record and generated more than 200 pieces of coverage. So it was a really great one to submit for, and we really enjoyed it.
DOUG SIMON: And the idea was marathon-watching television?
KATE RYAN: It was binge watching television for more than 94 hours. The original record was 92 hours, and we worked with our client to promote their product, PowerDVD 16, which makes any viewing experience better. And to prove that, we watched 94 hours of television.
DOUG SIMON: Wow, that’s pretty hardcore. Has that person who actually watched the television set the record, they’ve gone to a senior role in global politics and saving the world, or–
KATE RYAN: They actually broke another world record with us earlier last year. So yeah.
DOUG SIMON: So it’s the ultimate dream, getting paid to watch television. So where can I sign on for that one? But importantly, you’ve mentioned to me that the Big Apple award has really helped be a key factor for your business and for its growth.
KATE RYAN: Yeah, I think one of the major things that the PRSA award did for us that we didn’t even consider was team unity. It’s really an exciting thing to win an award as a team and to really be proud of all of those sleepless nights that we spent winning those hours of TV. So I think that team unity is a huge thing.
We also use it in all of our new business presentations, and it’s great to show clients that we can do a really cool stunt and be recognized for it.
DOUG SIMON: That’s awesome. So how about– we’re also looking for some tips. What would you advise the audience if they’re looking to enter and even create a winning team for their clients, what are some key factors to think about?
KATE RYAN: Yeah, I think one of the key factors is what the actual PR campaign did for the business. I think it’s really nice to get amazing coverage or beautiful coverage. But does it change the bottom line for the company? And for our client, it absolutely did. They saw a marked increase in sales, which I think connecting those two pieces is a really big part of winning a Big Apple award.
DOUG SIMON: Yeah, and that’s been the key. Obviously communications is now so ingrained with how do we show that we’re moving the needle on sales, on growth. And–
KATE RYAN: Exactly.
DOUG SIMON: –thanks so much. We’ll probably look forward to you being on the winner’s podium again in 2018.
KATE RYAN: Absolutely.
DOUG SIMON: Thanks so much.
KATE RYAN: Thank you.