Ask a Former Assistant: Vinca Calvi (Senior Publicist, SMITHHOUSE)

Vince Calvi

Senior Publicist, SMITHHOUSE

- Interviewed by: Alexandra Pica, (newly promoted!) coordinator at Scout Productions -

Hi Vince! It is such a joy to speak with you today! Can you tell us more about your day-to-day as a Senior Publicist at SMITHHOUSE, one of the best boutique PR firms in the country, specializing in Entertainment PR for a multitude of incredible clients, bolstering shows like The Marvelous Mrs. Masel, Genius: MLK/ X, Living for the Dead and the new upcoming Julia Fox series OMG Fashun…to name a few.

What’s funny is whenever I’m asked to describe a typical day-to-day at work, I always have a hard time answering since the nature of our work can be unpredictable. On the less exciting end of things, it’s a lot of emails and Zoom meetings working with our team and clients to build strong campaigns from start to finish and set up the proper cadence of communication, which is beyond important. But along that road, there will likely be at least one fire (and only one if we’re lucky!) that we need to put out, so perfecting the art of the ‘pivot’ is essential. Whether it’s breaking news or there’s wind of a pending crisis for a client, we stay ready to solve the problem head-on. Some of the days with the biggest crises and tightest deadlines have been the most typical – and rewarding.

One of SMITHHOUSE’s missions is to craft narratives that are both timely and timeless. What kind of narratives are you drawn to?

Personally, I’m drawn most to authentic storytelling that doesn’t care about being too serious or too silly, just honest. I think that’s why I like unscripted television so much. When it’s done right, it’s the perfect window into the psyche of its subject and either an endorsement or indictment of the zeitgeist of the moment. Even the trashiest of television has something important to say about where we are as a society and, from an anthropological perspective, it’s fascinating to watch and to understand where we were, are, and are going.

SMITHHOUSE has established communications across multiple offices in LA, NY and Miami.  How does your team decide who to delegate specific clients/projects to? Are you able to voice your individual consumer interests/ fandom and pitch yourself to be attached to a specific campaign?

SMITHHOUSE does a great job at building teams that will best represent our clients. While bandwidth, location, and experience play a role in who joins an account, it ultimately comes down to who will best serve the needs of the client. We’re encouraged to voice our interest if we’d like to join a new account, but the senior team has done an excellent job curating the combinations of colleagues that best serve the client.  For example, if there’s anything fashion-related, I’m generally selected to be on those accounts as that’s where I started my career before jumping ship to the entertainment world.

What is the most exciting part of your job?

There are so many exciting things about this work that it’s hard to settle on one. What I can say though, as the little kid still in me who grew up obsessed with Hollywood, it’s hard to bury the excitement whenever it’s time to work a red carpet or work events with celebrities I’ve admired all my life (being able to help art direct a photo shoot with Alex Borstein for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, who will forever be Ms. Ungermeier from The Lizzie McGuire Movie to me, is a core memory).

With your experience in the fashion sector as the Director of Communications for French sustainable luxury brand Amédée Paris, and expertise in Social Media, I can’t help but ask, are you Emily in Paris? Or maybe you were the original. But in all seriousness, how often do you feel you have the opportunity to put on your creative thinking cap?

You wouldn’t be the first person to make that joke to me since that show came out – and I’m still waiting for the episode where Emily takes the metro! But to answer your question, the creative thinking cap never comes off. Of course, when we’re planning a campaign, we have to think big, but even down to the most straightforward pitch, I’m always creatively and critically thinking about the best way to communicate our clients’ message.

As part of the SMITHHOUSE team, you are experienced in PR across a wide range of industries — from scripted series to groundbreaking documentaries  — helping create and execute custom strategies for success. What strategy would you suggest to someone wanting to break into the world of Entertainment PR?

I think a lot of it has to do with what you know and who you know. Get the education, build the foundation, and have the passion for the work and your network will appear naturally! Even if you’re not fully ready. I have so many stories where I used my network to get myself in the room and it didn’t work out.  But I kept going, kept networking, and kept my head up. All you need to do is convince one person to take a chance on you and show them what you can do.

In undergrad, when applying for jobs, I found that my alumni connections were valuable when leveraging our personal backgrounds. You never know who has a similar story to you and they may be that one person who will be willing to take a chance on you. But it’s not just who you know, but what you can bring to the table to stay and flourish for yourself and your company.

I went to Paris for my masters degree and met a fellow American and we became fast friends, bonding through our love for fashion and television. When I came back to the States she ended up being my connection to my current company because we never stopped supporting each other. It's always better to have people from the outside looking in who can cheer for you and support you on their own similar journeys. Making genuine friendships and connections to people who support you will be your most valuable network.