Lisa Sharon Goldberg is the head of LSG Public Relations that represents clients from NYC, LA and London. They represent actors who have starred in shows like Good Trouble, Billions, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Fosters, Marvelous Mrs Maisel, House of Cards, 30 Rock, The Good Wife, Smash and more as well as actors in features from Dreamworks, Lionsgate, Universal, Fox, and more. LSG has been fortunate enough to have clients win/nominated for Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, SAG Awards, Grammy Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, Tony Awards as well as co-star in numerous Oscar nominated films with multiple wins and nominations in all awards. They represent across the board in acting, writing, directing, choreography, producing and distribution. I was able to talk with Lisa Goldberg via email to talk about what it means to be a PR rep.
What got you started in Public Relations?
I actually fell into it. I was on the other side and worked as a professional dancer in musical theater.... I became sick for a while and unfortunately could not physically dance any longer. When I became well again, I was no longer in the same dancing shape, had turned 30 and thought it was probably time to re-invent. A friend of a friend had opened a restaurant in the city and I went in thinking I’d wait tables while I figured out what I wanted to be when I grew up and he ended up hiring me to run the in house PR with no experience. Thankfully I turned out to be good at it and my business grew quickly from there. I’ll always be grateful to him for seeing something in me that started me on a whole new career path.
For those who don’t know can you give a short explanation of what it means to be in PR and your job specifically?
My most simple explanation is anytime you see an interview, photo, promotion on any platform about a person, product, event etc - there’s usually a publicist behind it. They used to call publicists, “publicity agents”.
What is the process for an actor when they are trying to get you to represent them?
An actor may call or email me or their agent or manager reaches out. The show, network and or studio reps recommend me to the actor and their team.
The process for me is simple. It’s about whether the project interests me and if the person interests me. Is it a story I want to tell? We take a meeting and see if we are on the same page and hit it off.
Why do actors need PR reps?
That’s a really complicated and long answer. Ha! It really depends on the actor and the project on whether they need a publicist. They need to be at a certain level in their career for it to be worthwhile in my opinion. I’m not one to waste someone’s money or time and if I don’t think there’s a lot I can do for you, I will always say that upfront. I’m very honest with my clients and potential clients.
In the most general terms, the goals of PR for an actor is to bring up their visibility. Which in turn can up their quote, open up new roles for them, run award show campaigns etc.
Is there anything else that the viewers should know about public relations or LSG Public Relations?
That we believe in the miracle of festivus! Haha. You can follow @lisagoldbergpr on IG & twitter
Happy holidays and thx for reaching out!