TUD graduate is living the New York marketing dream

Irish people are no strangers to living the New York dream, and for Technological University Dublin graduate Emma Collins, swapping Dublin for the hustle and bustle of New York was a no-brainer.

Having worked as a Press Assistant for the Dublin International Film Festival and as a Marketing and Publicity consultant for The Walt Disney Company, Collins channelled her vast experience in the marketing sphere and passion for film into a Mad Men-style career in Public Relations in New York.

“I was in Dublin for 6 years, but I noticed more and more of my friends were leaving. I loved my time in Dublin, but I felt it was time to spread my wings a bit,” she said.

Originally from Tipperary, Collins said that there is a strong Irish contingent in New York, noting that the owner of her company is Irish and often meets college friends on the bustling subway.

“I do miss the Dublin thing of everyone being very close, but the trade-off is that New York is always on, all of the time.”

With New York serving as one of the main cultural hubs of the world, there is plenty for Collins to market, and more recently, was instrumental in marketing a campaign starring Hollywood icon Keanu Reeves, and directed by the Oscar-winning Sofia Coppola.

Coppola’s landmark film, Lost In Translation, turns 20 years old this year, and the film prominently features Bill Murray’s character advertising The House of Suntory’s Japanese whisky.

With the film still lingering in the public consciousness, Collins and the team created a campaign that saw Reeves, in his effortlessly cool yet earnest style, extol the virtues of the whisky and how it has evolved through the ages, and Collins, who is no stranger to working alongside celebrities thanks her time with Disney, for playing a pivotal part in making sure the project came together.

Shows and films such as Call My Agent, Day For Night, and All About Eve show that there is always an army of hard-working people keeping the movie star engine running, and Collins’ and the team’s job was ensuring that the biggest outlets got time with the talent.

Setting up interviews with media outlets, and making sure events run smoothly seems like an exhaustive amount of work, but Collins discusses it in a manner that makes it all appear seamless.
This particular campaign involved two pinnacle events in London and New York that both Coppola and Reeves attended, and Collins’ task was to make sure that everything went smoothly.

The campaign saw industry bibles such as Rolling Stone and Harper’s Bazar sit down with Keanu Reeves as they discussed their fondness of the whisky and The House of Suntory, and Collins said she never would have gotten this kind of opportunity in Dublin.

Having worked on the press campaign in Ireland for last year’s box office hit and eventual Oscar nominee The Banshees Of Inisherin, working with big talent does not phase Collins, and said her time in Dublin has served her well in the frantic, almost military-like pace of New York.

“Here in New York, you are really in the thick of the action.”

“Life in New York is more experiential than it is in Dublin; everyone looks out for each other and there is a sense that people will do anything for anyone.”

The Irish attraction towards a fast-paced life in the United States has dominated Ireland’s cultural history, and Collins said that Ireland, as a nation, was always destined to travel.

“It’s in our heritage, I think, that we’ve always been on a plane or boat, going to some far-flung place to make something of ourselves.”

“With that said, I do see myself coming back to Dublin some day, but for now, going to New York to challenge myself was just something I had to do.”