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The advice show for creators that tells it like it is. Host Stephanie Woodin takes calls from web creators grappling with the big questions: burnout, branding, revenue, and keeping up with AI and SEO changes. Each episode, an expert guest or fellow creator joins Stephanie to answer your questions with research-backed, practical advice you can put to work in your own business.
Brought to you by Raptive, the full-service creator media company that empowers creators to turn their passions into thriving, profitable brands.
Do you have a question? Record yourself on video or audio, or write it up and email it to ctrlaltask@raptive.com. Anonymous questions are welcome!
Emily Robinson:
When do you need to start planning? Write that in your timeline. When do you need to have your first post up? Write that in your timeline. I think think about everything you're approaching as a campaign and really get specific about your plan.
Stephanie Woodin:
Hi, guys. Thank you all so much for being our guinea pigs on our first live recording of Ctrl Alt Ask. So I'm so happy to be here today with Emily. But I wanted to start with asking you all a question before we get into our Q&A with Emily. Who here feels like they're vertical, whether it's gaming, entertainment, sports, food, is crowded and competitive? Just a show of hands. Seems like pretty much everybody has felt that way. And then, who here has felt like it's hard to stand out and you've had questions about how to do that with your brand? Yeah. It's a common question. So that's why we're here today with Emily to really answer that question. How do we stand out and make our brand noticeable, whether it's by press, partners, or new audiences? So I'm so excited to have my friend and former colleague at Netflix, Emily Robinson, here to really unpack that.
Emily Robinson:
Hey everyone.
Stephanie Woodin:
So Emily heads up a consulting firm, RobComms PR. Prior to that, she was the head of drama series publicity at Netflix. She has worked with shows and launching talent out of Stranger Things, Orange Is The New Black, The Crown, and now, in her consultancy, is working with brands like As Ever from Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. So she is an incredible storyteller, someone who is able to connect the dots between brand, audience, and story, whether it's for a global streaming network or awesome web creators like yourself. So we're just so happy to have you, Emily.
Emily Robinson:
Thank you.
Stephanie Woodin:
So, we always start our podcast off with a little icebreaker, just to get to know our guests as it's related to the topic. So, you've come in from LA today and have worked in entertainment for years. So, what would be your movie tagline of your life? Just to put you on the spot.
Emily Robinson:
Yeah. That's a good question. It would probably be something like, "Always has a plan, usually involves a dog."
Stephanie Woodin:
I love that.
Emily Robinson:
Yeah. Or dogs since I have three.
Stephanie Woodin:
Yes.
Emily Robinson:
Yeah. Plural.
Stephanie Woodin:
I feel like your movie would be Must Love Dogs.
Emily Robinson:
Yeah, something like that.
Stephanie Woodin:
Those are great. So, let's dive right in. So, we worked together, as I mentioned, at Netflix and in the entertainment industry for years. And now, I'm on the creator side of things, and I see so many parallels between the creator economy, what's happening in that universe, and the entertainment industry. What would you say right now is the universal idea or concept about building a brand in 2025?
Emily Robinson:
I think that we all are feeling the pain that you brought up at the top of asking people to raise their hands if they felt that frustration of trying to figure out how to break out or how to get noticed. Right now, there's so much content everywhere and audiences are so fragmented between different platforms that you're really competing for people's time at an all-time high.
Stephanie Woodin:
Yeah.
Emily Robinson:
I've been doing PR for 20 years and there was just such a small pool of journalists that we used to pitch back in the early 2000s, and there was really only one or two ways to reach your audience. And now, there's so many ways and there's so much competition, that whether you're launching a new product or you're launching a TV show or a film, it's just a challenge to really break out and feel different and resonate with your audience, and have that zeitgeist moment.
Stephanie Woodin:
Yeah, it is. It feels like attention spans are so short, too, and people are really just clamoring to make those connections. So, if that's the universal, I guess, challenge, what do you feel like could be the universal solution to that? I mean, I know that's a big question, but what, from where you sit, could creators think about in terms of solving that?
Emily Robinson:
Well, across every role that I've had, whether, again, it is launching a series that's in its season one or a series that's in its sixth season, or a film that is having a theatrical launch, or a product, a consumer product like a jam or a Rosé, something that I have found universally to set you up for success is having a plan. I think gone are the days of throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. And now, it's about being so precise and thoughtful about what your strategy is for that specific campaign or brand launch or channel that you're running, that it's really about taking the time to sit down and make a plan for yourself.
Stephanie Woodin:
Have you in your career... I know you mentioned jam, which I think is a sold-out jam. You can't even get anymore from Meghan's brand. Have you found... Maybe in your work at Netflix, was there a time a show that you worked on where that plan really came into play and was super helpful in mapping something out ahead of time? If you could talk about that.
Emily Robinson:
Yes. I mean, I would say, and you know this, anytime we had a series launch at Netflix, we had a strategy document that we would write down, no matter the priority level. Every show was a priority, of course, but sometimes there was... The way you're going to approach Stranger Things could be very different than, say, The Crown, that's a totally different show. So it was always really important. And the way that I think our teams were able to be so successful in our campaigns and get those zeitgeist moments was by sitting down to craft a strategy. And the first thing that you do when setting that plan or strategy is, what are your goals?
Stephanie Woodin:
Yeah.
Emily Robinson:
And so, take a show like The Crown, for example. That was a show that, in season one, we knew, from the get-go, this show is going to have six seasons, it's going to span basically 10 years every two seasons, and we're going to change cast members every two seasons. So, it was a unique premise for a very well-known family, the Royal Family. So, we knew early in that season one when we were announcing the show. We knew that we wanted to really... The goal was to set the groundwork for the series, so people understood, from that get-go, you are going to be seeing different actors change every two years.
So, the goals for season one were very different than, say, goal for season three. But had we not taken the time to really identify those goals when we were mapping out our plan for the entire show's longevity, probably would have made decisions in promoting season one that could have felt contradictory to what we wanted to do in three and four, or even in five and six. So, that's why it was so important to really set those goals from the get-go as a starting place.
Stephanie Woodin:
Yeah. I think that's a really great lesson for creators to think about, which is your framework and your foundation, set that and make that really solid, so that you can pivot easily, but you're staying true to the foundation that you've set and the goals that you've set, whether it's short-term or long-term. So, I think that's really applicable, even when talking about TV versus being a web creator.
So, I think this is a great time, if you haven't busted out a pen and paper, to maybe do that, because we're going to talk through a little bit more of what she means when she's talking about strategy and putting pen to paper. So, we talked about goals. If I were a web creator and I came to you, and I said, "Look, you're a consultant, you're launching these brands. I'm really wanting to break out my brand and get more audience engagement, more press attention," what would be that first step? You mentioned goals. Is that the first step? And maybe let's talk through some of those steps. I think that could be really helpful.
Emily Robinson:
Great. So, yes, like I said, goals, number one. What are you setting out to do? What is important to you? Number one. Number two, identifying your audience, and really understanding who your audience is. You, like I mentioned, throwing spaghetti at the wall, that I think is a yesteryear tactic, that now it's about being really precise and speaking directly to your audience in a way that you know is going to resonate with them. And the only way that you can do that is understanding who your audience is. And there are so many ways to approach audience work. I'm going to give an example of a show like Stranger Things. Working on a show like Stranger Things was one of those shows that we knew we had an opportunity to reach a broad audience. It's different than a show like The Crown, right? Where it might skew a little bit older, people who are into history, people who have a fascination with royals, or a retelling of-
Stephanie Woodin:
Gossip.
Emily Robinson:
Yeah, gossip. Where Stranger Things was a show that was much more family friendly. It could reach an audience who maybe loved the show because they love the '80s nostalgia. So, we could talk to boomers or Gen Z with that angle, and millennials. And then, we had a much younger cast and we were really breaking out. If we were trying to reach a younger audience, of course, we would lead with the kids. If we were trying to reach a sci-fi audience, because this show also has amazing VFX and it has the action and adventure that the genre audience just eats up, if I'm trying to reach that audience, I'm going to lead with clips of the Demogorgon or showing photos of the action and adventure aspect.
If I'm trying to talk to the boomers about Winona Ryder making a comeback, and she's this '80s movie icon, I'm going to probably book her on The Today Show or The View, a spot where I know women who are familiar with her work are probably watching. So, I think it's just really important to sit down and think about who is your audience and what are the different platforms that they exist on, and how do you tailor your message or positioning, which we'll talk about next, to really be specific to meet them. You want to meet them where they are, but infusing the authenticity of your brand through the lens to each of those different platforms.
Stephanie Woodin:
I think that's a really good call-out, which is like don't go too off of your North Star of who you are.
Emily Robinson:
Absolutely.
Stephanie Woodin:
So, you mentioned positioning, which I think is a really powerful thing to nail down when you're thinking about your brand voice. Can you go into that a little bit, and really maybe what is positioning? Because I think that word can be thrown out in PR speak, but maybe some people here don't know exactly what it is. If you could just explain.
Emily Robinson:
Yes. So, recapping really quick, you have your goals, then you're identifying your audience. Now, we're going to go into thinking about your positioning, which is how do you describe yourself or your brand, or whatever product you're selling? This is going to be your elevator pitch. This is going to be the way you would envision or want a press person to write about you or your product. Think about how am I wanting people to talk about me? What is the way that I would describe myself or this product?
When I worked on As Ever, that is a brand that the values are very tied to joy curation, taking small, everyday moments and making them special, fun, like bespoke. When I would think about that positioning and was writing whether it was a press release or a new product coming out, we wouldn't stray from that type of language. You'd find that joyful tone or why this product will elevate those special little moments. Everything from the newsletter to the social copy to the press releases are all singing from that same playbook to make sure that there's a consistency in the way consumers or press are absorbing and thinking about the product that we're selling. That's a way to really have your message cut through.
If you have positioning all over the place and you can't say your elevator pitch of what it is that you're wanting people to take away from your product or your content, how can you expect to ever really cut through that noise and the cluttered marketplace if you're saying 25 different things? So, try to really focus on just a few positioning points that you can always go back to when you're talking about your brand, so everybody else is saying similar things.
Stephanie Woodin:
Yeah. I love that, because you can't be everything to everyone and you have to find out what is unique about you, and make sure you're highlighting that. Okay, so we have the who and the why, but what is the actual pen-to-paper how? When we talk about accomplishing some of this, putting this message out into the world, what can creators do to really start that process?
Emily Robinson:
So, after we have the goals, we have our audience, we have our positioning, and then I would make a section that is called strategy. And this is going to be, how are you going to reach your goals? How are you going to take your positioning to reach your goals? It's the tactics. It's that this is what I'm going to do. And when you're making this plan, I would think about, what is this plan for? Is this a plan for your brand over the next five years? Is it a plan for your brand for just the next six months?
Obviously, your strategy is going to be bespoke and specific to what that plan is that you're writing in the moment. So, when you're writing your strategy, you're going to be writing out, "This is how I plan to have a seasonal product launch. Every Thanksgiving, I'm going to do 10 recipes, leading up to the 10 days of Thanksgiving. I'm going to [inaudible 00:16:04]." It's getting really into the nitty-gritty. It's getting into the how, the where you're going, the who you're targeting. Actually, get specific and nail down what you are going to do.
Stephanie Woodin:
Yeah. I think, like you said, it's different for everyone, but just being able to wrap your head around, where is my audience win at different points in the year, and what are those tentpole moments that stand out for my brand that my audience comes to expect, and delivering that.
Emily Robinson:
And to add to that, something we couldn't live without in our plan document or strategy document, you could call it either, is a timeline.
Stephanie Woodin:
Yes. Yeah.
Emily Robinson:
And having a calendar view of what are the moments for the campaign? What are moments in pop culture that are happening that I should be aware of, to watch if a trend's come up? Are the Oscars airing this night? Is there a big football game on? Is Taylor Swift performing or dropping a new album? Whatever you know might be happening in that month around your campaign or your product launch. Think about and map out what is going on in the world. Write that on your timeline. When do you need to start planning? Write that in your timeline. When do you need to have your first post up? Write that in your timeline. I think think about everything you're approaching as a campaign and really get specific about your plan.
Stephanie Woodin:
Yeah, I think that's great. And do you think, as you're building this plan, is it important to check yourself and have those moments of pause, of like, "Is this working? Is this not?" Even going out on a limb to talk to your audience about that. What would you suggest? What's that sweet spot of checking in and seeing if things are working?
Emily Robinson:
Yeah. I think... I'm not sure how familiar this group is with the Netflix culture, but one thing that Netflix prides itself on in the culture is having direct feedback, a transparent culture, and being really open with giving feedback and talking about what's working and is not working. And we would often do check-ins on a campaign, or even postmortems after a campaign, to talk about what we would call wells and not wells.
And I think the best way to improve and get better and... I mean, you guys are all here in this room, investing your time into this. I can tell this is a group of people who are invested in your success and your business, and that's phenomenal. And a part of that is just giving the time to make a plan and think about what is working and what isn't, and then reflect on that and think about what would I have done differently, being honest with yourself and celebrating what worked. What part of even writing this plan was helpful?
By the way, this is just a blueprint for how you could write a plan. Maybe you think, "I actually hate the goal section, and I don't want to write it like that. I want to write it this way instead." You should really do what works for you and is going to make you excited and get the best work out of you. But I think reflecting and just taking time to pause and think, "What would I have done differently, or what did I find successful in this?" will only help you do that next campaign or that next beat that you have coming up.
Stephanie Woodin:
That's great advice. Yes, the feedback culture at Netflix is real, but it is very helpful. So, this is so great, and I think it's tangible, actionable things that you can think about and write down, pen to paper. I think the thing that I have learned from working with creators and thinking about approaching PR is that it can be a little bit isolating, especially if you don't have a PR person on retainer. That's a very expensive prospect and not everyone can do that, especially when building a brand or building a project. So, what do you feel is the role of community when you're thinking about strategy work and long-term goals?
Emily Robinson:
One of my favorite sayings that I think I overused when we worked together, but I will say again now, is a rising tide lifts all boats.
Stephanie Woodin:
I have it crocheted on a pillow. [inaudible 00:20:51].
Emily Robinson:
Amazing. I need one too. And what a rising tide lifts all boats means is community, I think. It's about using your network to learn from and to be an advocate for you and you for them. In publicity, and whether it's working with other reps who rep actors, who are agents, managers, publicists, or it's working with a press person, or it's working with talent or a showrunner or an EP, all of these people in entertainment publicity are part of our community, and the stronger your relationships are, the better the work is. And there is constantly times where I'm picking up a phone and phoning a friend, whether that's a fellow publicist at another network or a press person, asking them, "Hey, did you like the way we sent that press release out? Did that work?"
Stephanie Woodin:
Right.
Emily Robinson:
So even in times where I'm unsure, picking up the phone and calling a trusted press person to say, "Hey, on background, want to just talk this through with you. How would you like to see all this content coming to you?" I think just be curious and nosy in your community. Again, just being here, I think, is such a great first step in this, but lean into community and how can you make connections at things like this, and find organic ways to work together with other people that can help your channel or theirs or brand, and just really investing in getting to know who the players are that you can either reach to to work together with or just to pick their brain.
Stephanie Woodin:
Yeah.
Emily Robinson:
It can work either way.
Stephanie Woodin:
Exactly. And not being afraid. I think having some courage to reach out. And if you have a great idea of something that you're like, "Oh, I'm seeing my audience is really engaging with this content, or they're really engaging with this video. It's actually going viral," maybe you DM it over to a booker at The Today Show and take a chance. You just never really know until you try. Or ask a fellow creator, "Hey, would you like to collab on this video? I'm seeing you're having success. I would love to learn from you. Can we do a collab?" and see where that goes, because you never know where it could lead. And taking some risks, I think, is good in that way.
Emily Robinson:
Or who knows who.
Stephanie Woodin:
Exactly.
Emily Robinson:
I have found the industry, the world's so big, but it's also so small in so many ways, and you just never know who knows who. And when you share what your goals are, or you're looking to get into, with a friend or a fellow creator, networking over drinks, you just never know when they might be talking to someone down the road and go, "Oh, wait, I just met somebody who's doing that. I'm going to connect you."
Stephanie Woodin:
Yep.
Emily Robinson:
It just can be way more powerful than I think we give it credit for, so just keep that in mind. And I have to remind myself this when I want to not attend some networking events, like, "No, it could pay off in the long run," because being at home with my dogs usually wins my time.
Stephanie Woodin:
Must Love Dogs.
Emily Robinson:
Yes, exactly.
Stephanie Woodin:
Well, this is a great note to end on: the power of connection and community, and, of course, being true to yourself through it all. Emily, I cannot thank you enough for coming all the way-
Emily Robinson:
Of course.
Stephanie Woodin:
... from LA-
Emily Robinson:
Thank you for having me.
Stephanie Woodin:
... in your busy life and sitting down with us, because I think these are really actionable tips. And we will be around a little while longer, so please feel free to ask some questions if you see us, and thank you again. And thank you, guys, for being here.
Emily Robinson:
Thank you.
Stephanie Woodin:
Awesome.
Emily Robinson:
Thank you.