IAM162- News Booker and Producer Helps Clients Grow From Zero Exposure to Household Names

Veteran news booker and producer Ashley Bernardi created Nardi Media, LLC, in 2015, a culmination of over a decade of booking and producing experience, television broadcasting, satellite media tours, radio tours, media strategy, and logistics. More important than her lengthy list of accolades—which include serving as a top booker for The Early Show on CBS News, the Senior Booker and Producer for energyNOW! on Bloomberg TV, Washington Post Live, and hosting a cooking show—is her passion for publicity. Her experience is steeped in journalism, which means research is a second language and creating connections with audiences is a close third. Ashley Bernardi has helped clients grow from zero exposure to household names on the New York Times Best Sellers list.

She enjoys helping book authors, celebrities, non-profit organizations, and national brands increase their exposure, credibility, and potential for new opportunities. Ashley adds, “There’s nothing like having a client with a message that could change hearts, change lives, or change the world—and giving them a microphone.

• CEO Hack:  (1) Waking up early (2) Insight Timer meditation app
• CEO Nugget: Find your superpower
• CEO Defined: Visionary, creator and there are no limits

Website: http://nardimedia.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nardimedia/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/search?q=nardi%20media&src=typd

Check out one of our favorite CEO Hack’s Audible. Get your free audiobook and check out more of our favorite CEO Hacks HERE.

Transcription:

The full transcription is only available to CBNation Library Members. Sign up today!

Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:27

Hello, hello hello, this is Gresh from the I AM CEO Podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I've Ashley Bernardi of Nardi Media, LLC. Ashley, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Ashley Bernardi 0:37

Thanks so much for having me, Gresh. I'm excited to join you.

Gresham Harkless 0:41

I'm excited to have you on as well too. And what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Ashley, so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. And Veteran news booker and producer Ashley Bernardi created Nardi Media, LLC, in 2015 as a culmination of over a decade of booking and producing experience, television broadcasting, satellite media tours, radio tours, media strategy, and logistics. More importantly than her long list of accolades, which includes serving as a top booker for The Early Show on CBS News, the Senior Booker and Producer for energyNOW! on Bloomberg TV, Washington Post Live, and hosting a cooking show is her passion for publicity. Her experience is steeped in journalism, which means research is a second language, and creating connections with audiences is a close third.

Ashley Bernardi has helped clients grow from zero exposure to household names on the New York Times Best Seller List. She enjoys helping book authors, celebrities, nonprofit organizations, and national brands increase their exposure, credibility, and potential for new opportunities. Ashley adds, “There’s nothing like having a client with a message that could change hearts, change lives, or change the world—and giving them a microphone. Ashley, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

[restrict paid=”true”]

Ashley Bernardi 1:53

I am so ready, Gresh let's do it.

Gresham Harkless 1:56

Let's do it. So first question I had was just to hear a little bit more about your CEO story. And what led you to start your business?

Ashley Bernardi 2:03

Yes. So my story my CEO story actually began when I was a journalist. So as you noted, I was a producer for CBS News. That's where I launched my career here in DC. But then I was promoted up to New York City where I spent four years traveling the country producing breaking news stories for the early show on CBS News. And then from there, I took a job as a senior Booker and producer on energy now, which was an environmental energy and environmental show that aired on Bloomberg TV. So before my CEO story really started with the experience that I needed to do what I wanted to do as an entrepreneur and as a CEO.

So it was after my parents had spent, let's say, I think about a decade almost a decade in journalism when I decided to cross over and publicity and I was always interested in publicity because I had a lot of journalists, friends cross over to the other side. For whatever reason, people get really burnt out as journalists were working all the time. It's a 24-hour news cycle. And I became one of them.

But I was really interested in keeping my hand in the newsroom somehow. And I knew that being a publicist was a way to do that. And that I could write pitches, have awesome clients, and pitch them to the media. And I knew exactly how to do that. So I started off working at a small PR firm in DC.

And I found that I absolutely loved publicity, I had so much fun doing it, I got to keep my hand in the newsroom, I still got to work with my news folks, I still had got to produce or help produce new stories. But I was on the other side.

So about a year into doing that I decided to try my hand at it on my own. And what I did was I took on one client, I took on a book author, and I said I worked with him for three months. And within those three months, I had him booked for over 50 broadcast interviews, and we were only doing broadcast interviews at that point.

And so I mean, we I had them everywhere from CNN, to Fox News to local TV to NPR 50 interviews in three months. And from there, that's when the referral started rolling in. And I founded my company Nardi Media in 2015. And I will be coming up in my fourth year in early 2019.

So that is my story of how I started my business. And my why is because I one I think I had that entrepreneurial bug in me from the very start. I've always liked to kind of march to the beat of my own drum and I love just doing my own thing.

So being a CEO, I got the flexibility that I'd always craved I get to make up the rules, I get to intuitively do what I think is best for my clients and usually, that is best because I have the experience I know exactly what it's going to take to get them placed in the media. So part of my why am I just wanted the freedom and flexibility to make my own choices while also doing something that I love which was publicity I married the two and here I am today.

Gresham Harkless 5:00

Yeah, definitely sounds like you're rocking and rolling, which is something that's definitely awesome. And me being a journalism nut. I've always looked at the industry and it always needs, you know, definitely fresh ideas. So it's great that you've been able to have that experience, but you have also been able to come up with sounds like the kind of creative perspective on how you can kind of execute and help out the clients that you're working with.

So I definitely, you know, give you kudos for being able to create that balance, but also being able to execute on that balance for your clients as well.

Ashley Bernardi 5:27

Thank you. Yeah, it's great fun. I have so much fun doing it.

Gresham Harkless 5:29

Yeah, definitely sounds like an, and now wanted to drill down a little bit deeper. I know you touched on it a little bit. But could you tell us how you're serving the clients and the things that you're doing to help support those clients?

Ashley Bernardi 5:37

Sure. So from you know, like a big like umbrella view, I specialize in media relations. But what that means is people come to me so it can be a book author, a CEO, it could be corporate clients, startups, nonprofits, national brands, you name it, anyone who is looking, who has a message that they want to take it to an audience to the masses, I help them get there by getting them placed in the media.

And what that means is I have maybe it's a spokesperson or a CEO or a book author, I have them do interviews on TV, radio, podcast print online, they'll have mentioned product placements, you name it, we focus on getting earned media. And what earned media means is that they don't pay, it's not advertising, they don't pay to get placed on Good Morning America or NPR, they are featured as an expert along with their book or their product. So my firm specializes in placing clients for earned media placements, and they pay me to do that. I also specialize in media training.

So someone will come to me and say, I want to get on TV, or I want to improve my speaking, I'm not sure how to do it, I need to practice and I help them with media and message training. So what I do is I help them drill down on what their message is that they want to get across to the media, I train them on how to do that and get them comfortable in front of the camera. So two things that I specialize in one media relations, I would say that's probably about 80% of it. And then the other 20% is media training clients.

Gresham Harkless 7:00

That's awesome. And I know, as you mentioned, like your book authors or whoever those potential clients are, they're trying to be known for their expertise of trying to be seen as an expert. So one of the ways to do that is, as you said, The Earned Media Avenue where you're actually being seen on, you know, CNN, The Washington Post, CBS News, all those places that you work, and that gives them the opportunity to be seen as the expert as the go-to person it kind of sounds like.

Ashley Bernardi 7:21

And I mean, the payoff is huge. It builds their credibility, you know, so when a potential customer comes to them, and they're considering them versus someone else, I'd rather go for someone who's been featured in Entrepreneur in today's show and Fast Company, and you name it versus somebody who doesn't have any press credibility. But I also have so many stories of my clients who've been placed in the media.

And from that, they have gotten booked deals and speaking engagements and have built new connections. So getting placed in the media has huge payoffs that I have seen for all of my clients. And so from a business standpoint, it's necessary, I think everyone should be investing in some sort of media relations if they really want to grow their businesses.

Gresham Harkless 7:58

Yeah. And like I always say the name of the game a lot of times is visibility. So if you have that visibility on some of those great media platforms that you mentioned, then that, of course, will allow people to be able to call you to reach out to you whether it be speaking or whatever opportunities that might be out there.

Ashley Bernardi 8:12

Yeah, that's it. You're right.

Gresham Harkless 8:14

Awesome, awesome, awesome. And now I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. And this could be for you or your organization. But what do you feel kind of distinguishes you or sets you apart?

Ashley Bernardi 8:22

I love this question. And there are two. So like, I'm going to use me but I'm also going to use my organization. So Nardi Media, here's the one thing that's unique about us, I only hire former journalists. So every single one of my staff members is a former journalist, most of them former network news producers. Why do I do this? Because I found that there is a huge difference between someone who has worked on the other side and has become a publicist versus someone who's just a publicist and has never been a journalist.

So for anyone that's ever looking for a media relations firm, ask them who on your staff are who has worked in the news, because somebody who works in the news has an understanding of the news. They know how the newsroom works. They know how stories and coverage are decided they know how to talk to journalists. So that's the secret sauce of my organization. For me, personally, my secret sauce, I don't take no for an answer. And here's what I mean by that. I am told no, all day long. I am passed all day long by journalists. I mean, I'm unaffected by the word no.

So I am told no. And I say okay, but for me, no means okay, not today, or maybe not right now. But it still means a potential yes, sometimes. And I'm gonna give you a perfect example of that. I was pitching a client to national news show a couple of years ago, and I received a pass from a producer. She said, no, this isn't for us. So I was like what, I'm going to pitch another producer who works on a different hour of that show. And I pitched him and they ended up doing a six-minute piece on national TV. This is a national network news show on that just because I had tried something else. I got creative with my nose and my secret sauce is that I'm unaffected by the word no, and I'm really creative when it comes to people telling me no.

Gresham Harkless 10:01

I love it, I love it, I love and that's very necessary to be an entrepreneur and business owner also obviously love your secret sauce for Nardi Media, because a lot of times you have to know what the people that you're trying to pitch know and be able to say that they have that experience and they've worked in those specific industries that help give you that overall perspective on how to pitch them how to basically, you know, make those pitches to those clients that you're trying to get.

Ashley Bernardi 10:23

That's it. If you want to work with me, you have to have a background in the news.

Gresham Harkless 10:27

Absolutely. I love it. And now I wanted to switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack. And this might be an app or book or a habit that you have, but it's something that makes you more effective and efficient as a business owner.

Ashley Bernardi 10:38

Awesome. I love this question as well. And I think it's something that I could talk about all day. So I have a habit, but also an app that goes along with it. My habit is and I know a lot of CEOs do this, I wake up early, I mean, super early, I usually wake up around five 5:30 am. Because I want to start my day on the right foot. As entrepreneurs and business owners, I'm sure that anyone can relate, I have something called what I call a monkey mind, and I can't turn it off.

So I wake up early, and I have a morning routine, I wake up and immediately use my meditation app called Insight Timer, and I meditate every single day for 10-15 minutes, but I can do up to 20 if I find that I have the time that day, but that really sets my mind in the right place. Before I go, go go all day long. In my personal life, I have three kids.

So I'm managing a household along with managing a business. And waking up early has helped me set my tone for the day, it helps me define how I want my day to run, and then meditate the second part of this really gets my mindset and my health and my mental state in the right place to thrive personally and professionally.

Gresham Harkless 11:42

Awesome, awesome, awesome. I definitely agree with those. And I use both of those in my daily morning routine. So I definitely can echo that as well, too. And now I wanted to ask you for a CEO nugget. And this is a word of wisdom or piece of advice. Or if you can happen to a time machine. What would you tell your younger business self?

Ashley Bernardi 11:57

Oh my gosh, I love this. So my nugget for anyone that's an aspiring CEO or current CEO is to think about what your superpower is like, what do you absolutely love doing for me? I found my superpower. It's booking people on TV, radio print online, and people have called me a magician for doing that. But I want everyone to steal that the way that I feel like you can be a magician, just find your superpower, find out what it is it brings you joy and follow that.

And if you're not sure what it is, I've been told to do this. Think about what you did as a child and what brought you joy as a child. And for me, this is so simple. When I was a kid, I was I mean my mom can tell you, I was producing new stories by age eight. I would take my dad's video camera and I would produce news stories, I would be the anchor I would produce them and I spent hours and hours and hours doing that, then, you know, it's no surprise that I became a national network TV producer, turn publicist who now places people in the media. So figure out what your superpower is what brings you joy, what you're amazing at that nobody else can do, and do that.

Gresham Harkless 13:04

I love it. And I love the idea of how you're able to do that as well, too. Because often you can look at yourself as a kid where you don't really care about money. You don't care about prestige and all of those things. You're just doing it just because it's the pure essence of who you are. And you tap into that it sounds like and you've been doing that from the beginning, it sounds.

Ashley Bernardi 13:19

Yeah, I'm very lucky to have tapped into that from the very beginning. And I had parents who told me, Don't just take a job to take a job, find work that doesn't feel like you work a day in your life. And I can honestly say that I wake up and I don't feel like I'm actually working because it brings me so much joy.

Gresham Harkless 13:37

I love that great reminder for all of us. And now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is a definition of what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping to have different quote-unquote, CEOs on the show. But Ashley, I want to ask you what being a CEO means to you.

Ashley Bernardi 13:49

This is I think, my this is the best question. I love this to me, it means that you are for me, I am a visionary and a creator. And there are no limits. Anything is possible. So any problem that a CEO comes across anything that happens, you have an opportunity to create change. So being a CEO is a very creative process for me. And that's what it means. It means that you're a visionary, your creator, you see beyond you have no limits, and anything is solvable.

And that's what it means to me. But also it means flexibility. I work on my terms, not someone else's, I am not a 9 to 5 type of person, I am an I'm going to work till the job gets done. I'm going to work my hard as I can. I'm going to work my hardest, but I'm not going to let hours define me like 9 to 5. But if there are some days that I work a six-hour day, that's great. If there are other days that I work an eight-hour day, that's also great as long as I'm doing my best work, and doing that it helps me be the creator and visionary that I want to be and just reminds me that anything is possible when you're a CEO.

Gresham Harkless 14:53

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And like you said often when you're in alignment with what your passion is and what your gifts are it never feels like work anyway. So it's great to have the opportunity to be able to do that.

Ashley Bernardi 15:03

That's exactly what it's, it's really fun almost every day. I mean, there are always challenges as CEOs and business owners and I face challenges every day. But I learned from those it's a growing process. And I think it's a very creative process too.

Gresham Harkless 15:17

Yeah, and sometimes that's what makes it very, very exciting. So Ashley, I truly appreciate you for taking some time out of your schedule. What I wanted to do is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional, you want to let our readers and our listeners know and then also how best they can get a hold of you.

Ashley Bernardi 15:30

Oh, yeah, well, it's common to find me My website is nardimedia.com. And I would love to hear from you. You can email me at ashley@nardimedia.com. And definitely check me out on Facebook as well. I'm on Instagram @bookerbernardi and Twitter on BookerBernardi, too. So come and reach out. I would love to hear from you and have a conversation.

Gresham Harkless 15:52

Awesome, awesome, awesome. We'll make sure to have those links in the show notes. But Ashley, I truly appreciate you for following your path and taking some time out of your schedule and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Ashley Bernardi 16:01

Thank you, Gresh, you too.

Outro 16:03

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co

I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

[/restrict]