October 10, 2014,
Inc.
September 15, 2014,
LinkedIn Articles
Attention is a scarce resource—and that means it’s a costly one. In a world of hundreds of competing voices, art and music have become a powerful way to bring a brand back into the spotlight.
Read the entire article here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140915152830-9638-music-and-your-brand-five-ways-to-tune-your-demographic-in-with-the-right-band/
September 8, 2014,
LinkedIn Articles
Creating a well-designed event is a balancing act. Tapping industry leaders and controversial renegades, orchestrating brilliant panels, and throwing awesome after-parties all help draw people in, but a well-informed celebrity speaker can elevate your event to “can’t-miss” status with real punch and energy.
Read the entire article here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140908165516-9638-star-struck-tapping-into-the-power-of-a-celebrity-speaker/
Sometimes there are people who touch our lives in brief glimpses – and those encounters are so magical that we hold onto them and look forward to the next one over and over. They’re friends of friends or colleagues we bump into at events or meetings or random connections where it seems serendipity is at work.
Robin Williams was one of those people for me. I was the talent producer of the BAMMIES (Awards) in San Francisco for nearly 20 years, and was fortunate to have the chance to work with Robin as a presenter a couple of times during my tenure. Each time without fail, as tensions ran high in production (which they do at live events, no matter how well prepared you are), Robin would be there, working his magic backstage, making everyone laugh and lightening things up for us – as well as for the other presenters and performers.
And our paths would cross that way for many years through different circumstances. When he was shooting, “What Dreams May Come,” I’d hear regular stories of his antics from my good friends Michael Van Himbergen and Jeff Diamond, who were part of the visual effects team. (The film won numerous awards for visual effects by the way, including an Oscar.)
And the connections continued. As recently as last year, I was approached by Robin’s team to lend my “super-connector” expertise to help source potential buyers for his home in Napa from within my network. Unfortunately we weren’t successful, but the home is a real stunner.
There have been other modest and even indirect glimpses of Robin too – someone recently showed me where Thomas Kincaid, the artist, had painted Robin into a corner of one of his San Francisco paintings; something few would notice or realize was him if no one pointed it out. He was everywhere it seems. But again, these are only flashes… the off-stage Robin was probably known only to a handful of very close friends, to his children… for the rest of us, it’s like how a comet flies past us through space. Like Robin’s work, a fast-moving comet leaves trails everywhere in its wake, timeless. Nothing really ever fades away completely, does it?
The point I’m making here,ultimately, is to pay attention. To be sure that we stop and notice the people who whiz past us with comet-like brilliance. To recognize how much they mean to us, even in brief glimpses. And to BE that comet whenever we have that opportunity. In the immortal words of Robin, “You’re only given one little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.”
Here’s to Robin … and the rest of his magical journey.
Kelli
PS: Please read my LinkedIn article on Robin Williams here: https://bit.ly/OnlyTheGoodDieYoung
I’ll never forget the first time I met Robin Williams. I was a teenager attending a taping of “Mork & Mindy” on the Paramount Pictures lot. He was incredibly gracious and encouraging to my 16-year-old self with aspirations of working in the entertainment business and making my dent in the universe.
Many years later, I crossed paths with him again when I was driving entertainment initiatives at Apple. He accepted our invitation to participate in a few marketing campaigns, and he even performed for our employees. He was always a delight to work with — no exceptions.
In 2003, Williams supported a fundraiser I helped organize. Through the Chairs That Care initiative, we asked celebrities to design a dining room chair that would be raffled off to support the Habitot Children’s Museum. Appropriately, Williams and his kids designed a chair entitled “Peace.”……….
Read the full article published in LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/KRRWTribute
And if we’re lucky, we will inspire and change the lives of those we reach, or at least make their days a little brighter along the way. I’m so grateful that we got to experience Williams’ magic and gifts; they touched many of us deeply. Honestly, it feels like losing a dear friend.
Until next time,
Kelli Richards is the CEO of The All Access Group. A highly sought-after consultant, mentor, speaker, producer, coach, and author,
I facilitate strategic business opportunities in digital distribution between technology companies, established artists and celebrities, film studios, record labels, and consumer brand companies in order to foster new revenue streams and deliver compelling consumer experiences. I’m also the author of the bestselling e-book, “The Magic & Moxie of Apple – An Insider’s View.”
August 16, 2014,
LinkedIn Articles
I’ll never forget the first time I met Robin Williams. I was a teenager attending a taping of “Mork & Mindy” on the Paramount Pictures lot.
Read the entire article here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140816040437-9638-only-the-good-die-young-robin-williams-other-creative-geniuses-taken-too-soon/
June 29, 2014,
LinkedIn Articles
It’s no surprise that artists and entrepreneurs alike frequently turn to crowdfunding — it works.
The most talked-about “secret” of 2014 was Apple’s $3 billion acquisition of Beats. Although it wasn’t officially announced until May 28, rumors swirled around the Internet for weeks.
Apple now owns Beats Electronics (the makers of the headphones and speakers) and Beats Music, a streaming service similar to Pandora and Spotify. Apple has also added Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine to its executive roster, though their roles have not yet been clarified publicly.
To read the rest of this article on my LinkedIn Influencers Page, please go to: https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140609013728-9638-why-apple-s-beats-acquisition-may-be-its-smartest-move-yet?trk=prof-post
June 9, 2014,
LinkedIn Articles
The most talked-about “secret” of 2014 was Apple’s $3 billion acquisition of Beats. Although it wasn’t officially announced until May 28, rumors swirled around the Internet for weeks.
May 21, 2014,
LinkedIn Articles
The most talked-about “secret” of 2014 was Apple’s $3 billion acquisition of Beats. Although it wasn’t officially announced until May 28, rumors swirled around the Internet for weeks.
For insights on industry trends, and for details on special projects/events. We respect your time and your privacy.