A Day in the Life of an NBCU Brand Ambassador

by Lynne Wisnefski, NBC Universal

I am TIRED, man.  My feet HURT.  I mean these dogs are BAR-KING.  Why is this carpet so squishy? I feel like I've been walking around a house of bounce for the past 8 hours.  But I should know that this comes with the territory.  Such ailments are the repercussions of ambassadoring the HECK out of NBC Universal at CES '09. I'm an NBCU brand ambassador.  And foot blisters and lower back pain aside, I'm stoked to be here.

What does a "brand ambassador" do, you ask?  Well! I am one of 12 trained NBCU professionals that were asked to be representatives on the floor of the NBCU booth to tell the CES attendees about NBCU's many many many many many sources of content and even show them how they can take some of that content home for themselves and check it out.  Try as I might I don't think I will ever be able to Identify all of NBCU's brands and even if I could, it all seems to be growing so rapidly that I'd have to study every day to keep up. (And if my boss is reading this, clearly I DO do that everyday...I was just being dramatic.)  But, I still think I was able to field the numerous questions directed at me relatively well.  I mean, visitors to the booth asked me everything from "Can you tell me about the DRM encoded on these WMV files I've downloaded from the kiosk into this Micro SD chip inside the USB adapter?" to "Where can we see Jeopardy?  (Just in case you didn't know... We are NOT filming Jeopardy in our booth.) to "What do I do with myself?". That one was a toughie.

While I wasn't exactly sure what the gentlemen asking the last question should do, I think the coolest thing WE do (and the thing of most interest to CES attendees) is that we give away the free 2GB drives that people can load content to as well as show everyone how to use the Microsoft Surfaces located throughout the booth.  All and all people have been very receptive.  Sometimes they have been very very receptive to the point of around 20 - 30 people surrounding me and reaching out open hands to get free drives.  People's excitement about NBCU content is so great!

When I haven't been handing out drives, showing Microsoft Surface technology, or helping people find direction in their lives,  I've gotten to take in all the neat stuff going on around the booth.  I was FREAKED OUT big time by the super spooky Unborn and The Last House on the Left trailers in the Universal screening area.  I hope I'm never ever possessed by my identical twin that unexpectedly died in utero or that I never have to deal with a band of homicidal maniacs on a rampage in my family's guest house because, clearly, that would be scary.  Thankfully, the Duplicity trailer ran right after and a trim looking Clive Owen turned my thoughts to other things.

Other things, like the USA Character Arcade!  How great are those games?  I have a special love in my heart for "Find Bunny".  Man, that bunny is good at hiding in tricky places like the noodle shop of Manhattan's Chinatown.  Vice Cream and Character Sudoku are other favorites.  I could spend hours of life on characterarcade.com. Hours that are outside of the office, of course.

 
Most of all, the TV and podcast production has been amazing.  It's so cool to see Live TV happening before your eyes.  I love to see the monitors show what is happening in real life just a few feet away from me.  I'm not gonna lie, the thought of what would happen if I ran in front of a camera and waved has crossed my mind...I mean, I could be broadcast across the country!  That and I could be tackled by security guards.
 
The so called "fish bowl" that shows how the directors and production crew are making the TV magic happen is great too. It's basically a Plexiglass room  housing the switcher and production computers. I'm not sure how much the crew enjoys the animal inside the zoo feeling that comes with people pressing their faces up against the glass to stare at them but I have enjoyed the staring. Only a few poor souls have actually face planted into the glass thinking it was open space.  I was ready to bust out the Windex to clear up face grease when needed.

 
I can't believe how quickly the show has gone.  I mean here we are heading into the final day already!  Time flies when you're ambassing a great brand.  Looking forward to day 4 tomorrow.  I'm sure I'll discover something new and yet to be explored in the booth.  For instance, how GREAT is this Sharp NBC Universal blogger lounge?  I love the "sitting down" aspect of it.  That and the dashing young blogger lounge host.  Thank you, Mr. Accarrino!