Meet Marielle Gelber | Brand Communications Expert

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marielle Gelber and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marielle, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
Hi there, I am originally from Long Island, NY. Born and raised there with very outgoing and social parents, I quickly became a little social butterfly myself. I was what you might call a “floater” – friends with many different groups of friends. A natural connector and someone who wants to enjoy where they are at all times. I would always find some common ground with a new person and try to relate to them – whether it was our favorite thing to do, a food we both liked or our favorite movie. I think finding that common ground is a canvas for a publicist. My mother also put me in some type of class every day after school, gymnastics, dance, piano, etc. That broadened my “network” of people and culturally shaped my mind in “what could be.” I think growing up with a lot of opportunities that way – helped me connect with people and excel at creating great stories for brands.

What should our readers know about your business?
As a brand communications leader, publicist, PR person, etc – people don’t ever really “know” what we do – my parents still ask me every day. It’s the persistence, determination, hustle behind the scenes that people don’t get to witness The 50 emails, the 15 phone calls, the 78 txts of details all to make sure a brand/client/personality gets the story right and is positive and resonates with the reader. I am very proud of my past successes, some that stand out are: Lovevery getting on Times 50 best inventions, an NPR story about why Hot Wheels is still the number one toy, launching a baby food brand called Nurture Life and seeding the right influencers to get the word out there, working with NBA star Paul George X Nike to create an awesome Hot Wheels, having KylIe Jenner celebrate her daughters birthday with LOL (a past client). Most recently I just launched a Chia Pet X Ice Spice with my client NECA and that was a great fun. All of these programs, wouldn’t have been a success without a great team. Collaboration with great, smart, people is the key to brand comm success. You also have to be passionate about your work – if you don’t have that – it shows.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend was visiting the area, I would want to show them multiple parts of LA. I would of course take them to Malibu, because what’s a trip to LA without going to the beach! I love Malibu sea food and then we would go on that little hike nearby, hopefully check out some surfers. I would hit up a museum, LACMA is a great spot for out of towners. The Venice boardwalk is always a trip and watching the skateboarders is great, you know never what you are going to witness. My good friend just opened the coolest place to get your nails done called Toolbox in Santa Monica so we’d go there for sure. For food, some of my favorite spots are Sugarfish, Gjelina, Scopa, Republique and Casita is fun Mexican with great ambiance (in the Valley, I am a Valley girl now). I think a good balance of beach and city life in LA is a great way to experience Cali! As long as there is a hike, beach, good food and shopping involved, I would call that a success!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would love to dedicate my shoutout out to a few people that have helped me in my efforts to become a successful brand communications leader. Without them, I would not be where I am today. First, Celia Visconti – there are second moms and then there are professional second moms – Celia was definitely that for me. She was my boss at New York & Company and took me under her wing, gave me the tools to soar and was always in support of my efforts, pushing me and advising along the way. I would also love to thank Jessica Rolph and Rod Morris who took a chance on me when they first started their now super successful brand, Lovevery. They were dream clients who have become friends and after we went our seperate ways, they continued to be my cheerleaders and refer me to other clients – real mensch’s! (Yiddish for a person of integrity and honor). Jessica and Rod are ridiculously smart business people and creative geniuses and I feel so lucky to have worked with them. A big shoutout to my former boss at Mattel, Julia Jenson – our time together was cut too short but was very impactful and I enjoyed every minute!

Instagram: @gelbergirl

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariellegelber/