iSpin

It's 3:18 and I'm anxiously awaiting the 6 o'clock news. After a whirlwind of activity last night and this morning, I was able to secure Del Padre Digital, for which I'm a part-time publicist when not toiling away in business and travel writing, a spot on an ABC affiliate, talking up a project they're working on.

I guessed and was correct that the daily media was salivating yesterday for anything and everything with a whiff of eau d'iPhone, so after a full day at my full-time gig alternately working and following the frantic tweets of Twitter-folk standing in line waiting for their iPhones, trying to activate their iPhones, failing to activate their iPhones, and finally playing with their iPhones with the glee of a kid on a Big Wheel, I called the Del Padre dudes.

Actually, first I posted on Twitter that the company was working on a project with an extremely tight deadline to promote MODE for iPhone, an audio interface made by SpeakerCraft that allows a home audio system to be controlled by the iPhone or up to six different iPhones (like in a geek bachelor pad). Then I called and said they should try to get some press. Details.

At that point, it was already 5 p.m. and my hopes weren't high for CNN or MSNBC (they wouldn't have been high at noon on a Tuesday either, however). So, I pinged HARO in the off chance that there was a sudden demand for newsbits on interactive media companies pulling an all-nighter to get a marketing vehicle out for a non-Apple iPhone product. Then, I sent a quick press release to the regional t.v. stations and the dailies, and threw a short version thereof up here, at The Jump, where all technology journalists are sure to stop by. Snort.

At 8 o'clock, however, the Doink Fairy - the sprite that makes stories fall through in newsrooms everywhere, struck. A producer from the ABC station called and asked if he could send a crew in a half an hour, and The Machine went into Spin Cycle.

NDP had to finish a host of tasks for the project last night including design, animation, HD video shoots, and plenty of editing. The original plan was to meet with a reporter for a quick spot to include with their iPhone coverge, have the usual suspects say a few words about the product they're promoting and the tight deadline influenced by iPhone 3G craze, slip in a bit about MODE and what it does, and get back to the nitty-gritty.

Instead, the whole thing turned into a two-day affair, though not an unwelcome one. A first crew came out last night - not to Del Padre headquarters, but to NDP's house, where he'd been working before the media blitz. They asked a few questions and shot some B-roll, and asked if they could return in the morning to shoot sort of the aftermath portion of an all-night multimedia brew-haha and conduct interviews at that time.

Poor NDP. After working through the night, we propped him up in front of the camera late this morning to expound on the intricacies of 3D rendering. The crew LOVED that he was wearing the same clothes as the night before - I can't say he was as thrilled. It did help, however that Shannon, the reporter, was great. She asked a lot of smart questions and seemed genuinely interested in the story, and hopeful that Del Padre Digital would finish in time and that NDP could change his shirt.

In a couple of hours, we'll be able to see the fruits of our labor, so I'm glad I had a burst of energy yesterday and took a shot. Ah, the joys of Apple. They're even makin' me look good.

tags: iphone  digital  dvp  padre  nino  del  

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