CE Pro December 2023 - 41

agency of record for Paradigm
- and then Anthem
and MartinLogan - for
13 years. Mark and I were
lifelong friends. "
Regarding Jacobson's
influence, Lancaster says,
" Julie was highly respected,
intelligent, and an
endless source of inside
knowledge across the
custom channel. That
made executives demand
a lot of prep for those
interviews, and in turn,
made me a much better
PR person. "
Recalling her most challenging
and most rewarding
account, Lancaster
says that Control4, which
she handled from 2009
until 2020, allowed her to
strengthen her company
and build lasting media
relationships. She points
out that as the lead for the
account it enabled her to
serve as a trusted consultant
through the formative
years of the company's
growth, which included
expansion into categories
such as hospitality, its IPO,
its many acquisitions, and
its acquisition by Snap One.
" There is nothing more
gratifying than working
with people you respect
and enjoy, and Control4
did more than just build
my career. It brought people
I treasure into my life, "
she comments.
Some of Lancaster's
career highlights read like a
timeline of important home
electronic developments,
including the first DVD and
plasma TV demonstration
in the U.S. market, and
helping to launch many
important smart home
technologies such as remote
monitoring.
COURTESY OF CASTER COMMUNICATIONS
Lucy Lentini, Totem Acoustic
be successful is an idea.
" Despite music being
CANADA'S LOVE of music
is just as strong as its
love for hockey, and the
country is home to famous
artists that include Rush,
Neil Young, Alanis Morrisette
and Joni Mitchell.
America's northern
neighbors are also home
to many respected audio
manufacturers, including
Totem Acoustic.
Leading the Montreal-based
company's
efforts to bring quality
audio into the homes of
music and home entertainment
enthusiasts is
Lucy Lentini, vice president
of sales and marketing.
Initially, Lentini's
education focused on pursuits
that weren't related
to music and audio, but
cepro.com
my passion, the education
I pursued was in graphic
design, and my prior work
experience focused primarily
on business management, "
she admits. " I'm
a music lover, and music
has always been an integral
part of my life. Whether a
concert experience that
creates a profound, emotional
bond with the artist
or [delivered by] other
mediums, music intrinsically
sent a feeling that the
artist was sharing something
intimate with me, in
its purest form. "
Drawing inspiration
from outside the electronics
industry, the 25-year
home audio veteran says
Lee Iacocca demonstrated
to her that all it takes to
Thinking outside-of-thebox,
she says it was important
to the beginning
of her electronics career
to bring a different sense
of style in not only the
way she presented herself,
but also in the way
Totem's products were
conceptualized.
Some of the benefits of
her role with Totem working
alongside owner Vince
Bruzzese building the
brand for a global audience
include world travel. Lentini
notes that through her
travels evangelizing of the
brand she's also been able
to develop partnerships
with a variety of businesses
through the power of
music across the U.S. and
European markets.
Taking on the challenges
of the modern home
entertainment landscape
that is largely driven by
the self-professed music
lover ultimately found
her way into a career that
centered on music.
streaming media, Lentini
says the onus is on home
AV manufacturers is to develop
products that push the
boundaries of performance.
" The changes [in the
home AV market] have
been continuous over the
last 15 years. The fragmentation
of the traditional
retail spaces has led to an
upheaval that exponentially
accelerated uncertainty
within the buyer/
consumer as to where,
how, and what to buy, "
she emphasizes.
" Further evolution and
cyclical rebirths of performance
on-walls, as an example,
are hope that the
industry can reinvent itself
and focus on a correct
avenue. The key remains
cutting-edge technologies
that aren't cookie-cutter
copies just for the sake of
following a trend. "
COURTESY OF TOTEM ACOUSTIC
December 2023 CE Pro | 41
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