kenna mcleod 👸 ; montrose magpies (pickle) wrote in neeps, @ 2018-03-14 20:25:00
Who: Kenna McLeod & Alex Winters. What: Our heroine wants to make sure makeup endorsements are 👍. When: Wednesday, March 14th in the late afternoon. Where: Montrose training facility. Warnings: N/A.
With the letter clutched tightly in her small hands, Kenna (complete with a full face of glam makeup) bounded down the hallway towards Alex’s office. She was incredibly excited at the opportunity that had presented itself, though she wasn’t sure if it was something she could actually take part in given her position as a professional Quidditch player. Thankfully, she knew just the person who would have the answer to that and all the other million questions she had concerning the idea of a possible endorsement.
“Alex! Are you home?” Kenna asked as she knocked on the door to his office.
It was hard to work out when might have been the best time to start this gig: the beginning of the season, when all the work would have been ahead of him; the middle, where he would have had to play catch up and set up the back half; or the towards the end, where all he had to contend with was the feverish schedule of the last couple of games, the Neep (regionally) and the championship run (nationally).
These were the thoughts that had gone through his head during those increasingly rare moments when he had the spare seconds to reflect on them. Alex was just going over some of the things that Gwen-from-Portree had sent over regarding Friday’s book launch when he heard someone at his door. He knew before looking up that it was the team’s young reserve Seeker, so his smile was already in place by the time he looked up. “Home away from home, yes. Come in, please!”
He stood and came from around his desk, and indicated the seating area with a wave of his hand. “Have a seat, if you want. Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee? Water?”
“Nope! I’m good on the beverage front. Had two cups of coffee at home.” Not that Alex could even tell when it came to Kenna as she skipped to the offered seat and quickly lowered herself onto it. “But what you can get me is some advice! Or give me advice rather. I have something that could potentially be really huge for me, but I figured I should come and get your opinion and perhaps you could help me decide if it’s legitimate and if it is if I should do it. Or if I’m even allowed to do it. I’m not actually sure how these things work.”
Smiling, she thrust the piece of paper in her hands towards Alex.
“My kind of breakfast,” Alex said as he came over and also had a seat. He took the proffered letter and gave it a read-through. By the end, he was trying not to let the delight show on his face- first Roger and his boots, and now this?- so he handed the letter back to her.
“I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know here,” he said slowly, “but I was in your shoes, my first order of business would be to thoroughly research and vet this company and its products before even agreeing to the ‘free samples’-” he used air quotes- “let alone any kind of sponsorship or endorsement deal. If you’d like, that’s something I can either help you with or do for you, but it may take a few days. Also, ask around- friends, teammates, family- see if they’ve heard anything about the company or products. Sometimes word-of-mouth is just as important as the company’s factsheet.”
“Oh, the makeup is fine. I checked it over myself and it applies beautifully,” Kenna answered as she pointed to her face as if it would drive the point home with Alex that the mascara on her eyelids was legitimate. “And I am almost certain that Thomasina was the face for Coverwitch when I was younger, but I would have to ask my Mum about that just to make sure. So I am two hundred percent sure the company is indeed what they say they are and I would definitely put it to the test to make sure their claims are factual. After all, make up that says it will last all day and doesn’t is extremely frustrating. What I’m most concerned about is am I actually allowed to do this? I know it isn’t Quidditch related, but I would really love to be part of this if everything checks out just fine.”
Alex smiled again, glad that she was doing the legwork on this. “Everyone’s contracts are usually a little different, but there isn’t usually much in the way of barring product endorsements if said product doesn’t reflect badly on the team, management or ownership, or in direct conflict with any of their interests. This is another reason why I would suggest digging deeply into the company, to make sure there aren’t any parent company affiliations that might come back and bite you in the… face.”
Kenna grinned. “Trust me, Alex. I know the magical beauty community like the back of my hand. Knowing what products and companies to avoid is a piece of cake for me!” Standing up, she held out her hand to indicate that she wanted the letter back in her possession. “And I’ll ask my Dad to help me look through my contract just in case. He helped me negotiate it, so I’m sure there’s room for endorsements and such, but I’ll make double sure before I commit to anything!”
He stood as well and handed back the letter. “Sounds good. Who knows, maybe we can work out a sponsorship deal or something. You’ll let me know if I can do anything for you in the meantime?”
“I will put these products to the test and once I’ve made my decision, I will let you know!” Kenna exclaimed as she clutched the letter to her chest. “And who knows. Maybe I will help bring a little bit of glam to the Quidditch pitch in the process.”
“If there’s anyone in the League who could do it, it’s definitely you, Kenna.”