Press
LOCAL STORIES
Meet Karen Lustgarten
Today, we ’d like to introduce you to Karen Lustgarten.
Hi Karen, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
You’ve heard the trendy advice about finding your life’s work, “Follow your bliss.” Or the commonsense career advice, “Do what you’re good at.”
Ideally, if the two match (not always), you will be traveling on a rewarding and successful career path. And to get there fast, “Find a mentor who can save you years of mistakes.” Great advice.
That’s not my story.
I followed my gut to meet my bliss minus the mentor. Gut led me down meandering, manifold paths to three universities and eight diverse careers in three states before becoming a video writer/producer/director with my own production company in South Florida.
MULTI-MEDIA WORKS CREATIVE DIRECTOR KAREN LUSTGARTEN
FEATURED IN NEW BUSINESS MAGAZINE
April 25, 2022, South Florida— Karen Lustgarten, Creative Director of Multi-Media Works, LLC, is featured as a risk-taking creative in the newly launched business magazine CanvasRebel: conversations with entrepreneurs, artists and creatives. The online magazine’s mission is “to create a space for artists, creatives and entrepreneurs to be able to learn from their peers through the magic and power of storytelling.”
“Since Multi-Media Works is all about video storytelling, we were happy to be approached for an interview,” said Ms. Lustgarten. The interview appears HERE.
Three questions guided the conversation with Ms. Lustgarten:
1. Risks: What’s it like taking risks, why you do it, how did they turn out?
2. Creative Insights: Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
3. Creative Mission: What’s the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
CanvasRebel’s aim is to share the journey stories of creative entrepreneurs and how they got to where they are today. The hope is that their stories will inspire readers to pursue their passions with insights gained from conversations with the featured interviewee.
MULTI-MEDIA WORKS WINS AWARD
FOR BEST MARKETING VIDEO
South Florida, June 20, 2021—Multi-Media Works, Inc. won the 2021 Bernays Award for Best Digital/Video Marketing Material (Internal or External) created in 2020. The award was for the production of a 3 ½-minute event highlights video and a still photography album about the First Annual ParkFest Family Music Day in Broward County. This marks the ninth award and the first Bernays Award for Multi-Media Works, winner of Telly and Palm Awards previously.
The nonprofit Parks Foundation of Broward County created a day-long community entertainment event for families to raise funds for park maintenance and services and to raise public awareness and appreciation for what the Broward County Parks and Recreation Division offers. The event was held at Plantation Heritage Park on February 9, 2020. Multi-Media Works was commissioned to produce the marketing video and still photography to excite the original sponsors and recruit prospective sponsors and donors for subsequent annual ParkFest fundraising events in Broward County and beyond.
The award was presented by the Gold Coast Public Relations Council (GCPRC) at its 15th Annual Bernays Awards held on Zoom this year. The Council is South Florida’s largest independent organization of PR and marketing professionals. Named after PR pioneer Edward Bernays, the Bernays Award recognizes outstanding public relations and marketing campaigns by its members. The Council presented awards in 10 categories.
“I am delighted that Multi-Media Works is the recipient of a Bernays Award for video production and digital marketing,” said Karen Lustgarten, the president and creative director and a GCPRC member. “My team enjoyed producing this marketing media project with Parks Foundation Chair Teri Goldsmith and the Broward County Parks staff. Thank you to GCPRC for this prestigious award.”
Multi-Media Works, Inc. is a multiple award-winning media company with offices in Palm Beach and Broward Counties, South Florida. The company is CBE and SBE certified and is approved on the Preferred Vendors List for Video Production in Broward County. In addition to the GCPRC, it is a Trustee member of the Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Brazilian Business Group. Contact: [email protected]
MULTI-MEDIA WORKS PRESIDENT KAREN LUSTGARTEN FEATURED
IN NEW MAGAZINE AS BUSINESS PERSON TO KNOW
May, 2020— Karen Lustgarten, President and Creative Director of Multi-Media Works, Inc., is featured in the new online magazine Shoutout Miami as a local creative and business person to know.
“Shoutout Miami is designed to get the word out about locals in South Florida that our readers would want to know,” said Erica Smith, an editor who reached out to Ms. Lustgarten for a feature article.
“We want people to spend more money with small businesses, independent artists and creatives. We think one of the most powerful ways to do that is by putting them at the center of discussions designed to spark meaningful conversations within the community,” wrote the editors.
Among the discussion topics to get to know her better as a local both professionally and personally:
- Technology: the role it plays in the business
- Your shoutout: the person (s) responsible for your success
- Your Work: what the world should know about your brand that sets you apart from others
- Your favorite spots in the city
The interview appears HERE.
NEW BUSINESS COLUMN BY MULTI-MEDIA WORKS PRESIDENT
COVERS LOCAL COMMUNITIES
July, 2019–Multi-Media Works, Inc. President Karen Lustgarten introduced a new business column entitled Business Beat, published in the Observer newspaper and BizBrazil magazine. The monthly business round-up column with photos covers companies located in the Florida cities of Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach and Lighthouse Point.
The column addresses a variety of business topics that give readers insight into what the local public/private partnerships and individual businesses are doing to improve our communities. Each column introduces a business topic from revitalization to companies that care.
Observer Editor Rachel Galvin said, “Karen’s in-depth coverage and unique vision are a welcome addition to our pages and we look forward to seeing her column every month. She provides our readers with a behind the scenes look at the business world that they might normally not be able to see.”
For Business Beat columns, CLICK HERE
MULTI-MEDIA WORKS PRESIDENT FEATURED AS “INSPIRING
ENTREPRENEUR” IN VOYAGE MIA MAGAZINE
June, 2018— Karen Lustgarten, President of Multi-Media Works, Inc., is featured as an “Inspiring Entrepreneur” and “Boca Raton’s Rising Stars” in VoyageMIA magazine. The article in the online magazine resulted from an anonymous tip recommending Karen’s entrepreneurial journey as a story that would inspire readers.
To read the interview in “Inspiring Stories” CLICK HERE.
and in the section “Boca Raton’s Rising Stars” CLICK HERE.
MULTI-MEDIA WORKS WINS AWARD FOR ORIGINAL VIDEO SERIES
CREATED FOR CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
July 27, 2017, Palm Beach County—Multi-Media Works, Inc. received the Award of Merit from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)/Palm Beach Chapter for a series of 30 mobile videos produced for the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce. The video concept was created by company President Karen Lustgarten in partnership with the Boca Chamber to be used monthly as a PR/marketing perk for a limited number of new Chamber members. The award was presented at the PRSA annual awards luncheon with entries submitted from PR professionals throughout the Palm Beaches.
The original video series entitled “Business Grand Openings” ranges from 1:45 to 3:00 minutes each in length. It has received accolades from new members and Chamber staff.
“The sales department of the Boca Chamber is so proud to offer these videos to members as another way of saying thanks for joining and congratulations on your grand opening,” said Alison Miuccio, Boca Chamber’s Sales & Member Relations Manager. “Karen is an absolute delight to work with and is one of the most professional people I know. Her turnaround time is fast and the quality is perfect! These videos are such a great tool for us to use in selling and we couldn’t do it without her.”
Multi-Media Works, Inc. is a multiple award-winning media company in South Florida—Palm Beach and Broward Counties–specializing in video branding, PR, print and social media. The award-winning series for the Chamber can be viewed on the YouTube channel www.youtube.com/klustgarten For more information, visit www.multimediaworks.com
WE WON 2 AWARDS!
Multi-Media Works won two Palm Awards in different categories from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Palm Beach Chapter. They were presented at the chapter’s annual luncheon and awards ceremony on August 21, 2015.
One award was for best Audio-Visual Production (video);
the other was Award of Excellence for Website Design & Rewriting.
The video winner we produced for the City of Delray Beach documented the rusted condition of the city’s renowned 100-foot Christmas tree. Goal of the video: Persuade city officials to provide funding to either replace the tree or allow an annual line item in the budget to repair it. The video also served as a persuasive visual account of the tree’s rusted foundation to accompany a detailed and dry engineering report. The decision: city commissioners voted to replace the Christmas tree in 2017 rather than make annual repairs.
Delray Beach’s Christmas Tree video
The Website award was for American contemporary artist Betsy Stewart’s site. The challenge: to brand her work and the site in style, color and text consistently and complementary to her colorful paintings, but not overdo it to distract from the artwork. We also organized the site to better navigate the rich content of visuals and information.
www.betsystewart.com
Multi-Media Works won two Telly Awards and three Palm Awards between 2010 -14.
www.multi-mediaworks.com
–Karen [email protected] Let us make media work for you!
VIDEO ON “THE SENIOR TALK” WINS PALM AWARD
Baby Boomers are notorious for defying aging or even admitting it’s happening. The fastest growing senior demographic is in denial about being the new senior generation. So how do you start a conversation about caretaking with a whole generation that doesn’t want to face their golden years?
How to start “the senior talk” is the subject of a video we produced for the American Health Care Association (AHCA). Noticing the great national reluctance to talk about and plan for caretaking among seniors and their families, the AHCA created a Website called Care Conversations. The goal of the site is to help families get this important conversation started before it’s too late to make a plan, to provide comprehensive resources and options nationwide and to offer families the opportunity to talk with expert caretakers about their concerns 24/7 online.
The AHCA also conducted extensive research on the reasons families avoid “the senior talk ,” misconceptions about professional caretakers and fears about facilities. All this valuable information is on the Care Conversations Website, where people realize they are not alone in their discomfort and avoidance of the topic.
I am proud to announce that the video won a 2014 Palm Award from the Public Relations Society of America/Palm Beach
and the video was aired at the organization’s annual awards luncheon and professional development day.
To view the award-winning video on this important subject of Care Conversations, click here
If your company or organization created a solution to a problem in society, why not show your important solution with a video? Let’s start that conversation, too: [email protected]