Living the Bustling Fashion World with the Nokia 5 Smartphone

Loving my new Nokia 5 Smartphone

Just a few years back, fashionistas had to wait a day or two before seeing official photos from fashion photographers and event organizers. With the smartphone now more of a fashion statement and a lifestyle, guests at fashion events can share real time fashion moments in high-quality visuals on social media all by themselves. No more waiting!

As a fashion PR Specialist representing fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands and a columnist, I usually find myself bustling through one event or the other. Using a device that is solid and able to capture fashion moments while keeping me sane throughout is necessary.

The newly launched Nokia Smartphone range that run on Android and look very smart with neat designs intrigued me. The Nokia phones deliver a ‘pure Android’ experience which means I have the choice to pick the kind of applications I need with monthly security updates that keep my device safe and up to date. Having looked at the Nokia 2, 3, 5, 6 and 8 range of phones, I opted for the Nokia 5, which is mid-range, compact, affordable and has the power and essentials I need. 

Most people may have heard of how crazy and fast-paced the fashion world is especially during fashion weeks. Having clients showcasing could be pretty hectic from running backstage to the red carpet and cocktail sessions and to capture every moment means you can’t miss a thing.

Events happen fast so I need a device that is cool to the touch, isn't slippery and can capture fashion moments the best possible way.

There is a lot to like about Nokia's mid-range Nokia 5 handset and I was surprised to find out since I was not sure what to expect.

A Great Camera

It is often said, a picture is worth a thousand words. I love photos and love taking photos. The Nokia 5 camera can capture much better shots with stronger colors. The 13-megapixel rear camera takes sharp shots with a good exposure balance. Though the colors aren't very bold, it suits fine when I want to take quick snaps to look back on and most times share on my social media pages. Its 8-megapixel front camera with an HDR mode gives sharp, well-balanced selfies for us selfie lovers.

With many fashion events happening at night, the Nokia 5’s automatic scene detection and wide aperture helps me to get great night-time shots, while colors look natural thanks to the dual-tone flash.

A Sleek Curved Design

This phone is simply gorgeous. It has a 5.2in display within a compact smooth body that feels incredibly premium with sleek rounded edges that make it comfortable to hold. It comes in various colors such as the Matte Black, Silver, Tempered Blue or Copper. These colors are exciting for those of us in the fashion world because you do not have to sacrifice design for quality. The Nokia 5 is fashionable.

The phone also has a clean, pure back without antenna lines, which are now at the top and bottom of the phone. Together with the display sculpted fancy Corning Gorilla Glass, this makes for a clean look unspoilt by seams or lines. Quite impressive. 

Especially since I’m able to navigate seamlessly with a fingerprint sensor that doubles as a home button for that extra convenience.

A Strong Battery

A day in the life of a fashion publicist could look like an un-ending one. With a non-removable 3000mAh battery that charges via Micro USB, the Nokia 5 lasts a full day on one charge with reasonably heavy use, and two days or more with light use. An ideal balance of performance and battery life to keep me updated and alive all through the day coordinating and at photoshoots and night at fashion events.

With a great camera, awesome performance and a stunning design, the Nokia 5 delivers a reasonably competitive android experience as I get to re-live my storytelling life any day.

This post was originally published in the Business and Financial Times 23/2/2018

Faith Senam Ocloo 
Fashion Public Relations 
Fashion I Beauty I Lifestyle I Arts

Celebrating Love with Carol’s Daughter

It is often said that when it comes to hair, all women can relate. From the kinky to the perm and agonizing over how to wear it, long or short, colored or black, straight or curls, there is always a constant battle. The struggle even deepens in the search for the right product to keep your hair in its natural state and still have the feel and texture that you want.

On our own individual hair journey, we are often in search of organic beauty products that have natural ingredients blended with benefits that our hair needs above all one that is “made with love”.

Carol’s Daughter is made with love by Lisa Price who was encouraged by her mother Carol to begin making hair and body products from home.  It all started in her Brooklyn kitchen in 1993 where she began creating these products and selling them in the local markets and at festivals.

After successfully selling off her homemade recipes at various places in New York and receiving positive feedback because it worked for her family and friends, Lisa transformed the natural haircare world making major moves out of the kitchen which began with directly selling the products to customers in its own boutique and later through her newly launched website.

One of the major moves Carol’s Daughter made in 2014 was to joining the L’Oreal family; the world’s largest cosmetics company with high profile brands to its name.

With February being the month of love, Carol’s Daughter a pioneer of the Natural Hair Renaissance born in Brooklyn, made with love is now in Africa, Ghana making history by being the first country in West Africa to officially launch its two new collections: Hair Milk and Black Vanilla.

Built on values relatable to the African Woman, Carol’s Daughter shares an inspirational story of a Mother and Daughter’s love and beautiful relationship; an aspirational woman; an entrepreneurship story, a celebration of love and heritage; following your passion, women supporting women and success.

At the tea and conversations event held with fellow beauty and fashion bloggers and influencers at the Luxury Living in Accra, Carol’s Daughter was officially introduced with sample testing.

Category Brand Manager at L’Oreal, Adeline Esi Asante-Antwi, introduced the newly launched products while sharing the journey of Carol’s Daughter from her founder’s kitchen in Brooklyn to Accra Ghana. On why L’Oreal decided to include Carol’s Daughter to its product, she explained that “Carol’s Daughter satisfies an ethnic community of women looking to have quality and organic beauty products for their hair need as that is what this brand serves” She added that Carol’s Daughter was able to meet the standards in terms of the quality.

Carol’s Daughter’s ingredients are carefully selected and cautiously tested by experts with a strict formula charter to ensure that it is rich in texture and delivers on its brand promise. Excitingly these products have no sulfate, no parabens, no mineral oil and no artificial colors.

The products launched for the Ghanaian market are the Hair Milk and Black Vanilla. The Hair Milk is made up of blended Agave Nectar, Cocoa, Shea and Sweet Almond Oil which adds deep moisture texture for all curl types.

And the Black Vanilla is a mix of blended Vanilla, Sweet Clover extract, Aloe Leaf Juice and Shea butter all of which together softens and revives dry and brittle hair.

For all textures, all types and all your beauty needs, there is certainly a Carol’s Daughter for you.

Lisa Price

Carol & Lisa

This post was originally published in the Business and Financial Times Newspaper 16/2/2018

Faith Senam Ocloo 
Fashion Public Relations 
Fashion I Beauty I Lifestyle I Arts

Collaborate to Stay Relevant in the Fashion Industry

Collaboration as a practice within the fashion industry has become an important value creating concept. Many times we have read and heard people talk about the power of collaboration and how important it is for fashion brands to collaborate yet have wondered how and why one should collaborate.  Most collaborations are business-driven pairings while some are friends teaming up and others are a group of creatives trying to be disruptive to a cause while expanding their reach. 

The fashion industry in Ghana is yet to fully witness exciting collaborations from brands even though we have witnessed a number of them from Designers, Makeup Artists, Creative Directors, Photographers and many other parties with the wedding space leading quite strongly. 

In recent times, we saw collaborations from Vlisco & Co made up of young and emerging designers and creatives such as Ushie, House of Paon and Kelvincent. Another remarkable collaboration was between Papa Oppong & Lawdin and host of other creatives in the For the Birds Presentation.

We also have Cross-brand which looks at collaboration across other industries and these collaborations have become an ideal way to speak to the visual and cultural complexity of today’s consumer who has so much options to choose from. With the fashion industry getting saturated all the time, collaboration could help you build greater ideas, strengthen relationships for future gains, serve as a win-win for all collaborators and also offer opportunities to share ideas and cost.

Builds Greater Ideas

When people come together with different areas of strength and expertise, they are able to create more ideas and work better. Once all parties are on the same page with regards to clear objectives and goals and dedicated towards the ultimate vision of the collaboration, they are most likely to build on initial ideas. That said, ideas can often get bigger than what is initially laid out which means as a collaborator one must be ready to create room for expansion and incorporation of bigger ideas when the need arises in order to achieve a much desired result.

Strengthens Relationship

Collaboration among brands cutting across different areas helps to build mutual relationship for a common goal. The period within which the campaign or project is being worked on provides room to learn from each other and better still build good relationships valuable for the future. When collaborations turn out well, brands are able to enjoy leads to future deals and referrals even when the same parties may not be part of it going forward.

Win-win for Collaborators

When brands collaborate, they transform a creative vision into something tangible and profitable for all parties. It becomes a win-win for each party involved to optimize the opportunity and tap into each other’s respective creative pool, client base and following.  Depending on the overall goal for the collaboration, it could drive sales action, generate buzz or create awareness for the project or campaign.

Exchange of Ideas and Cost Sharing

A lot of times when brands collaborate, there is the exchange of ideas across board which allows for collaborators to share their creativity, emotions and vision while learning from each other. It also offers the benefits of sharing the cost of production on the project or campaign as well as the risks associated with working alone.

For many designers and creatives looking to try out something new, explore collaborating with brands in other areas such as décor, furniture, music, lifestyle, technology etc. That said, ensure that you collaborate with individuals or companies whose brand image and target market matches yours and one you can work with to bring out the concept and vision just the way you intend to or possibly even better.

Faith Senam Ocloo
Fashion Public Relations
Fashion I Beauty I Lifestyle I Arts

Designers Checklist to Maximize Media Coverage

Securing a feature in the media is an important goal to attain. While this is could be an achievement, many designers forget that gaining press attention, precisely positive stories can support your brand growth when strategically prepared for.

There are points to note in order to properly prepare in the event that your PR efforts play out well and your product gets featured and triggers all the good things such as increased in enquiries of your product, more clicks on your website, increase in sales amongst others.

Make sure you have available pieces

I have had an instance where a designer I once worked with to secure a placement have had to lose out on several sales opportunities because she did not have the specific dress which had been featured. So it is advisable to have a good inventory of pieces readily available before the feature even it means having them in different colors as a way of options that way you can cash in on these opportunities when they bring themselves.

Encourage your Employees to share

Employees are ambassadors of any company. When well informed about a company and its operations, they can well serve as good ambassadors. With a major hit in the media for your brand, share the news internally with your team and employees so they can also share with their network. If your employees support in amplifying it on social media, you will be able to maximize the coverage.

Keep your social media accounts active

Social Media continues to play a very significant role for many fashion brands. It could serve as an amplifying platform to reach a wider audience. Make sure that once you secure that media feature, you share them across your social media platforms. Share the links or image of the feature and leverage on that to get more reach.

Keep track of your new clients

Once you begin to hit that point where people are asking for the product that has been featured, you should be able to capture their contact. The reality is that, not all of them will buy immediately. Some may buy immediately and some may do that later. It is advisable to still take the contact details of those who enquire but are unable to purchase immediately as you can follow up with them at a later date. Also for those who may want specifics but you are unable to offer them.

Tap into your client list

Once your article goes live, you could share the good news with your clientele. These are people who have been with your brand and have been following your journey all this while. If they're proud enough to be associated with your brand after a big feature, some may take it upon themselves to share the good news as well among their personal networks.

The bottom line is that, when a positive piece of press gets published, the kind of activities you undertake could make all the difference in simply getting a media hit and turning them into a remarkable funnel to generate sales. Promote and circulate them to as many people as you can.

                                      

Faith Senam Ocloo 
Fashion Public Relations 
Fashion I Beauty I Lifestyle I Arts