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Of Celebrities, PR, and One Savvy Jeweler Who Tells How She Gets A Lot Of Exposure From Both | March 30, 2016 (0 comments)
El Paso, TX—Every jeweler wants (and needs) more good publicity, but few actually go after it and get the good P.R. One notable exception to the rule is jeweler Susan Eisen of Susan Eisen Fine Jewelry and Watches, who always seems to have a good media presence, especially recently.
Eisen’s latest PR story is about great product placement. Caila Quinn, star of ABC’s The Bachelor, wore a pair of one-of-a-kind diamond dangle earrings from the Diamond Vine Collection designed by Susan Eisen on the show that aired on ABC Primetime on March 8. Photos and videos of Quinn wearing Eisen’s earrings have appeared in Glamour and US Weekly magazines, on E! Online and Access Hollywood television programs, and other major fashion magazines and sites that have reached millions of viewers around the world during the weeks after her interview with Bachelor host Chris Harrison.
But as strong a story is that is, it’s not the only one. Did you see this story about Eisen’s jewelry at the Emmy’s? Or this one about her jewelry at the Screen Actor’s Guild Awards (SAG)? Or this one at the recent Oscars? That’s just a small sample of stories about Eisen and her jewels, garnering national, not just local, interest.
The Centurion spoke with Eisen about how she manages her public relations and how her work with celebrities began.
“Before I ever opened my store, I took a photography class. It was instrumental in teaching me about press releases and how to write them. It was taught by a writer for local newspaper. She taught me how to do that. Never took those types of classes in school, only art and jewelry,” explained Eisen.
As Eisen founded her store and her business grew, she had little money for advertising. “Instead, I used public relations (PR) and I did my own. I do a lot of reading on PR and how it works.” She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and reads, listens, and views everything they publish.
One of Eisen’s most often used books is one by marketing gurus Reis & Trout, The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of P.R. “I read that book when it came out and it convinced me that PR was more important than advertising.
“It’s not free!” continues Eisen, of the perception that one does not need to pay for PR as one would with marketing or advertising. “You’ve got to have (or find) the time to spend on it and sometimes pay people to do research. You pay services to get your press releases out. Because of all this, we do it in-house and have a mini-advertising and PR firm within our business.”
Eisen does much of the writing herself and her business has a part time “PR/web/social media/graphics/assistant position, usually filled by a student, at all times. I’ve had that since 1990,” says Eisen. She also has a Pinterest page dedicated to celebs wearing her jewels and created a separate website (from her business website) devoted to her Couture Jewelry, Susan Eisen Designs.
Eisen’s foray into the world of celebrity jewelry is another story. “I bid for Jacqueline Kennedy’s pearls at the Christie’s auction,” she says. “I had never bought at an auction before. The pearls were fake and I figured they were worth about $300. I thought it was outrageous, but I bid $3,000. Instead they went for $30,000!” Since then, Eisen been fascinated with the value of things that are associated with high profile people. “As master gem appraiser, it’s interesting about provenance. About how much something is worth because of who owned it or who wore it.”
When Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry went on auction at Christies, Eisen had a plan. “I had an event where I invited top customers and we all flew to LA for the day. Very fun. The pieces were exhibited in LA, and then sold in New York. I was fascinated with Taylor. When her auction came up, I was still inexperienced as an auction buyer. I bid on a lot of things—and they all went (to someone else) for a fortune. I was only able to buy a few things. I bought her cowboy boots, a purse, and four or five wild, crazy costume jewelry pieces.” Those pieces are on display in Eisen’s store today.
From there Eisen began to research how to get the stars to wear her jewelry. “I read some articles and designed some far out things and wanted to see if that would work. I researched magazines and award shows to see what people were wearing. Some of the designs that I came out with were chosen by celebrities to wear.” Eisen says she had lot of help connecting the jewelry with the stars; industry insider and style guru Michael O’Connor worked with Eisen. and the two are now good friends.
Eisen says there are some negatives that come out of doing jewelry for the stars. “They think everything you do is expensive for one,” says Eisen. “Also, you don’t get publicity unless something is very valuable or had many carats in it. And then it may or may not sell.” Eisen says she also has to make sure her local market still sees her as a place to shop for jewelry, not just a store where the stars would shop.
However, when it works, Eisen gets her own personal rewards. “For me, I love doing it because of the satisfaction I get from seeing my jewelry designs worn by the stars on TV. Like an award, celebs wearing my designs means I’m being recognized by people that know fashion and know design. It’s the ultimate feeling that you are good at what you do. There’s a lot of value in that.”
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