Public Relations
(PR) has become very important not just to large corporations but also to
fashion startups and fashion businesses. Fashion is a business and must be
treated as such if you wish to position your fashion brand to match global
brands.
I have in recent
times applied to international fashion shows and events for some fashion
clients, and as part of the application process you are asked to fill in your
PR Representative or PR agency.
This has become necessary because the efforts
and support that PR provides to a fashion business cannot be ignored or downgraded.
Many have asked at
what stage of your fashion business you need a fashion PR expert’s support. Is
it when you can afford or when your business exists after a number of years? I will say the very
day you start your fashion business, you need to start applying PR efforts and
then tag along the expert as your business grows and is able to afford an
expert’s service. In other instances, the expert can come in right from your
product development and messaging before the launch of your fashion label.
A fashion PR specialist
would be responsible for liaising with fashion media and bloggers, write-ups, overseeing
product launches, co-branding and placing products with retailers, collaborations
among other duties as follows:
PR
manages your overall communication
Public Relations as
it is known manages communication between an organization and its publics. It
helps you better manage the kind of information you want to communicate to the
various publics you deal with. As a fashion business, you work with customers,
bloggers, fashion media, buyers, stockists, influencers/celebrities etc. It’s
the PR specialist’s responsibility to ensure that your messaging is consistent with
your offerings. They would advise what you communicate, which channel/medium is
the most effective and reaches your target. Managing your overall communication
also means pitching your brand to fashion media and bloggers to keep you
constantly talked about in the media and within the fashion space. With social
media as a driving tool for many successful businesses, PR assists with
managing both your online and offline presence.
PR
helps to build mutual relationship
In the business of
fashion, you engage with different kinds of people and you need to establish mutual
beneficial relationship with them. People such us Bloggers, Celebrities, Buyers,
Customers, Media, Stylists etc. Fashion PR specialists help you to establish
and strengthen your relationship with these people as you grow and expand your
brand through creative promotions and collaborations. For instance, advise on
the kind of collaborations that will be appropriate for your brand and which
ones will conflict the image of the brand.
PR
manages the image of your brand
One of the most
important tasks of a fashion PR specialist is to ensure that your company’s
name remains on customers’ shopping lists. The brand must be managed to be positioned
as a top of mind brand to heighten its appeal among its target market. This can
be achieved through constant features in print and electronic media,
participation in trade shows, product placements, blogger/influencer
collaborations, fashion shows etc. This will maximize visibility for your brand
and make your company known.
Your fashion
business needs PR in order to create and execute effective communication
strategies that will grow and strengthen your brand identity.
Photo Credit: Elle Lokko Store
Faith Senam Ocloo
Fashion Public Relations
Fashion I Beauty I Lifestyle I Arts
