The Love Month Can't Be Over; Lets Continue!

Photo Credit: Shotbyese

All too soon the "Love month" is just over. No more Reds? But I love the color Red!(Don't say I am no. 9...lol)

Red means energy, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. It also means danger and war. It is a very emotionally intense color. One I can identify my daily struggles with.

I have had pretty interesting month. 

First off, I hosted the #PRChatAfrica week 2 for season 2. If you still don't know what PRChatAfrica is then on Thursdays at 6pm GMT log on to Twitter with the Hashtag and hopefully, you will understand what happens there  or better still click here to read and know more.

Same month I got 2 features; first I decided to elaborate further on the topic which got featured on Modern Ghana  or Livefmghana after I hosted on PRChatAfrica on "Role of PR in Shaping our own Image" urging PR Professionals to spend some efforts at building their own image as well as that of the organisation or client they represent. This topic I am very passionate about.

The other feature was sharing my journey so far after leaving Global Media Alliance mid 2016 as an Account Manager; the Why's, the What's and the Where to's. If you missed it, read on GhOnetv.com

Now March!I am very much excited about the month of March not just because its a Women's Month but also I believe amazing things happen in the month of March. If you believe it, join me say AMEN!

Don't be surprised what you see, read and hear in March. As I once said, If you find me somewhere, don’t be surprised, it's been a journey and we have already taken the first step. It didn't promise to be easy but we will survive it and trust we will!

#FierceFaith

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

Targeting the right customer for your fashion brand

Photo Credit: Shotbyese

There are many fashion businesses in Ghana that are still yet to define which segment of the fashion market they belong or target. Be it a luxury or mass consumer brands, knowing who your customers are sets the tone for success of your fashion business.

Understanding your customers means knowing their interests, needs, demographics, lifestyle and purchasing power amongst others. Every aspect of your brand’s marketing has to correlate with your ideal customer. Your brand identity, positioning, attributes and brand building process are better developed and guided by what you know about your potential customers.

This implies that, knowing your target market helps you right from the start till you are able to achieve your overall brand and business goal. Once a decision is made to launch your own fashion brand, this should be clearly answered; who is your target market?

For many entrepreneurs, they think it’s best to target as many as possible. But the truth is that you will be spending lots of money producing and sending your designs to everywhere and most probably the wrong places. Especially because you have failed to know who your customers are and how to get to them. When the right targeting is done, you are able to position your brand advantageously to sell and eventually grow your business.

The ultimate goal of every business is to sell and make money. No matter how you could be producing the best collections or designs that could look good on almost any fashionable woman or man, when you fail to know how to match your designs and brand to the right customers, you could definitely be missing the ultimate goal. 

As a Fashion PR representative for one of the leading fashion brands in Ghana, we have had several invitations to participate at trade shows or pop up events. Being a high-end to mid class brand, we carefully analyze the event and anticipate the kind of people the event is targeting. Are they the kind of people we want to reach? Will they be interested in our designs when they attend the event?  Will people be able to afford or buy our pieces when they come there? These are some of the questions we try to answer before accepting or declining the invitation. You don’t need to be everywhere just because you have been invited. 

Be it a luxury brand or mass market brand, carefully analyze where you want your brand to be and decide what is best for your brand. For instance exhibitions, pop up events, sales events are best for mass market brands whereas, private sales, presentations are best of luxury brands.

The success of any business is knowing where and how to get your product to your customers and the best part is they being willing to pay to get that product because it meets their needs. This means that knowing and understanding your customer’s needs helps you to plan your marketing and sales strategy to your advantage and grows your fashion business into new markets and territories.

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

Engaging Influencers for your brand

Selinabeb

Many marketing experts have predicted influencer marketing to skyrocket in 2017. This trend which scaled up in 2016 is tipped to be the next big thing for many brands as social media is growing a new breed of influencers whose following across several media platforms have become useful for Public Relations and marketing campaigns. Ghanaian fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands should consider exploring this trend this year if it hasn’t been started yet.

Firstly, understand what influencer marketing is and how useful it will be to your brand strategy. Social media influencers have come about as a result of individuals taking advantage of the enormous opportunities abound on the social media to position themselves as influencers or thought leaders in their niche area. While some may start off as just posting and creating personal profiles online, others have activated business opportunities for such achievements.

Based on a brand’s marketing and PR strategy, these social media influencers have become very useful in fulfilling their campaign goals. In a recent survey by Schlesinger Associates for Augure, 84% of marketing and communications professionals worldwide said they plan on launching at least one influencer campaign within the next 12 months. Marketers and PR experts are taking advantage of this trend to give their brands utmost mileage for their products and campaigns.

So the next guiding questions are; which influencers will they be targeting? Why will they be targeting them? What do these influencers bring on board to these brands?

Who will they be targeting?

Depending on which industry you are in, brands look out for personalities that don’t just have huge following based on numbers on their social media pages. What they look out for is the extent of engagement they gain on their posts. Personalities whose following and exposure is targeted at their very same kind of consumer; one they intend to reach with their product or service.

For instance, a clothing brand could engage the likes of a style and fashion blogger, similarly, sports brands could also engage footballers with good social media following. Social media influencers are known to have created personal brand profiles in their niche or area of expertise and are using various techniques, tools and platforms on social media to gain advantage over many million others. Once an influencer is identified, the terms of engagement are agreed upon to get the influencer to incorporate the brands value and offerings into their own social media strategy.

Why will they be targeting them?

In recent times, such personalities have proven to have the kind of target market that PR professionals and marketers are looking to reach with their product or services. Companies engage these known personalities who have lovely personalities that they can tap into for their product or services and who have become influencers/thought leaders in their specific field or industry. It is believed that when consumers see their favorite personalities with such brands, it resonates better with them and they are able to identify with these products.

The good thing with this is that, it is done subtly without it looking like an advertising. Brands have gain significant inroads to their target consumers as a result of influencer marketing campaigns.

What do these influencers bring on board?

This trend is gaining grounds and as such fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands should be ready to maximize these engagements they make with their influencers and thought leaders. They need to adopt strategies that organically feeds their products or services into the influencer’s way of doing things on their platforms. They just need to ensure that the right messaging is shared with the influencers in order to properly and effectively communicate the product’s proposition.  In the end, companies can benefit by reaching specific consumers and add some practicality to how consumers see their product or service.

Engaging influencers and thought leaders for campaigns are going to get more popular, more profitable and more competitive hence there is the need to join in and cash in for your brand.

Faith Senam Ocloo 

Fashion Public Relations 
Fashion I Beauty I Lifestyle I Arts

The Power of Collaboration - Papa Oppong x Lawdin “For the Birds” Collection

Collaboration among business ventures have yielded great rewards and influence. The fashion space here in Ghana rarely see collaborations among designers and other creatives however the concept store at Untamed Empire recently saw one of the remarkable fashion event when a team of young talented designers and artistes came together to produce “For the Birds” Collection presentation.

Papa Oppong, a fashion designer and illustrator saw his illustrations come to live when he teamed up with Lawdin (Nathaniel Adjei Bio and Shim Ziorkley) both designers and visual artists respectively to showcase one of the beautiful fashion presentations event to have hit our city.

The concept which was extracted from the warped mind of visionary Papa Oppong in collaboration with Lawdin was written by Gene Adu and had Mikey Ashkar and Princess Nkrumah as narrators.

Called “For the Birds”, the concept was presented in a theatrical and poetic fashion where the narrators (male and female) voices portrayed the collection in a representation of one crime, 6 feathered suspects (birds) and a vindictive witness.

The 6 birds were each distinctively described as they stepped out one after the other from the bird cage designed by Kojo Kagyah. The birds portrayed each iconic coat made in Robin (Nylla), Dove (Gifty Sackey), Sparrow (Karen Abiba), Flamingo (Herty), Canary (Fame), and Raven (Julee).  

The result of this presentation is offering fashion enthusiasts an experience of a collision of fashion, cinema, design and technology in “For The birds”, an indelible collection accompanied by a breathtakingly creative presentation.

The show ended with all the 6 birds representing the 6 iconic coats stepping out of the cage in a high fashion regal and commandeering manner amidst beautiful lighting, architecture and great music. The artistic scenery created by all these elements was one outstanding one.

Photo Credit: Vine Imagery

Having attended the event myself, I was proud and excited to watch how these young team have challenged the status quo of what we typically see at fashion shows and presentations. From the venue, which was the iconic concept store, Untamed Empire to the concept of playing with visuals, sound, architecture, art and theatre, the team indeed showed the essence of working together.

They have re-echoed the agenda of encouraging collaborations among the creative industry. One that clearly spells out the possibility of exploring each other’s uniqueness while at the same time showing their strength. Papa Oppong explicitly explains this goal when he said that “collaboration is everything, It’s such a necessary part of creativity that simply cannot be ignored… the process of sharing ideas and getting into each other’s minds is so fascinating to me because it creates room for the discovery of more and more”. The message was clear “collaboration means unity and Unity is Strength”.

Other team members worth noting for this amazing presentation are Hamid Vijay, who styled the girls up to look strikingly purposeful for the concept, IAmAdinkra for providing the lights with the smashing effects around the cage and on the venue ground and the art direction by Wilhelm Hesse and Phoebe Yoda.

I applaud “For the Birds” collection concept and presentation and look forward to seeing more collaborations from designers and other disciplines within the creative industry. This will definitely see a new growth and d that we will all gladly benefit from.

                                                                                                                       

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

New Year Trends in repositioning your Fashion Brand

It is a new year and I know many of us have already written down our personal goals for the year. It is also important to renew or set new goals to build and expand our fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands. This year will see more new brands emerging in the industry to match up existing and established ones. It is prudent to position your brand advantageously for opportunities that will not just create visibility for your brand but drive sales as well. Here are few trends to guide us in the New Year as we set out to grow and expand our brand.

Invest in developing your brand

Whether it’s a new business or an existing one, you need to start investing in developing the brand from its current state. One of the many challenges our Ghanaian fashion brands have had is the likes of new and emerging brands churning out every day and stay up only for a few number of years and then suddenly disappear. If you want to see your brand grow, then you should start growing your customer base and improving your customer experience, your brand presence both online and offline, improve the quality and finishing of your garments and expanding to other markets. This will position your brand advantageously against your competitors.

Take advantage of social media opportunities

Social media has become one of the ideal platforms to promote multiple brands to a wide a varied customer base. In this era, it is evident that there are enormous advantages that abound on the internet as a result of technology which plays a major role in helping brands stay relevant all time. There will continue to be an increased usage of these platforms by several other competing brands. Identify which of these platforms better works for your brand be it Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube etc. See how you can maximize these platforms to engage your potential and existing clients to gain some traction for your brand.

Engage your stakeholders

Every individual your product or brand comes into contact with is very important to how your brand will be perceived. Going into 2017, try as much as possible not to be laid back in your dealings with your existing and potential clients, staff, vendors, influencers etc. Engage them in the best way to maintain mutual relationships and obtain feedback. Also, their encounter with your brand should give them an experience that they can relate to and one that resonates their emotional connection with your brand.

Earn your spot in the media

Media placement in whichever form could serve a great deal for your brand in 2017. Pitch your new products, events, initiatives to the right fashion editors and bloggers in order to gain publicity and press coverage for your event. Several mentions in the media can serve as a leverage point to gain and access several new and potential clients. Earn your spot by engaging in activities or initiatives that are newsworthy.

Just like previous years, this year will see several other new and emerging brands and names entering the market targeting the same clients as you are. Fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands are going to get very aggressive this year. It will serve your own interest and that of your business to position your brand in a position that will offer maximum opportunities for your brand growth and advancement.  With all these in place, I know 2017 will see significant growth in your brand. Let’s have a fashionably prosperous New Year.

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

Better Late Than Never -Happy New Year!

Well, yeah it's a New Year again. 

I haven't shared my New Year wishes yet. First, I am thankful to God for seeing me through 2016 and I wish this year will bring good tidings and achievements and fulfilment to us all.

In 2017, I see the projects I manage/handle PR for soar to greater heights. From Totally Ethnik, Evangel Magazine, Accra Men's Fashion Week, Daily PR Africa and Women in PR Ghana. I am looking forward to signing up new brands this year as well. So don't forget to contact me for all your PR and communication needs (for a cool fee) J

I am also glad to have 2 new enthusiastic individuals (Martin and Etornam) joining me and supporting my projects throughout the year. Glad to have you guys!

I feel it within me that this year is gonna be a good year.

Let's make it together. Happy New Year! 

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

#Fiercely walking my journey through 2016

Just like many others, we start the year off with very high energy and listing all the New Year resolutions. As a personal conviction, I stopped writing New Year resolutions about 2 years ago. My simple reason was because I realized it’s not about just writing the things to do but eventually doing them. I don’t need to wait till New Years before I start doing what I ought to do. I note them down, and start planning for them. (My simple principle though).

I started 2016 with very little energy as I have had many disappointments in the previous years and had most of my aspirations quashed hence a bit of uncertainty because I did not know how the decisions I take will eventually affect my life. I was geared for many things and wasn’t ready to get pulled down by anything or anyone. “Fiercely face” them was my mantra.

In April, I turned 30. I summed up my 30 years with a blogpost here It was a mixed feeling turning that age but what can I say. It came anyway and I had fun, partied hard and fiercely took off like a speed jet.

In May, I made a tough decision to leave my job as an account manager at Global Media Alliance to join a young fashion brand called Totally Ethnik while I re-build my boutique PR company, E'April PR. It was also to re-strategize my career path and have enough time to learn and build a much stronger foundation as a Fashion PR Girl.

In April-May, I handled PR for the first ever Accra Mens Fashion Week. PR efforts garnered gave the event several media reach and attention on both Traditional and social media even weeks after the event. I am certainly looking forward to the 2017 edition. Nana Mensah and your team, you guys were simply amazing.

In June-July, we launched Evangel Magazine Beta Edition in partnership with Royalhouse Chapel International. This was a successful launch and we thank God we managed to expand our readership with the word of God.

Evangel Mag Team/Royalhouse Chapel

In July, I had the opportunity to write for the Business and Financial Times Newspaper as a Columnist. I shared my weekly thoughts on fashion brands and events in my little corner called “Fashion and More with Faith Senam”. It’s been an exciting journey combing every little corner for content to share on a weekly basis. I am glad I pulled through 6 months and I am looking forward to the many opportunities that awaits in 2017 with it.

In October, i joined six (6) other PR ladies of African Descent across the globe to begin a weekly PR Chat called #PRChatAfrica hosted by each lady every week. I have learnt and made many contacts through this chat platform. 

In October- November, I attended the Lagos Fashion and Design Week and really learnt a lot from that event. Hopefully, our fashion events in Ghana could get better in the coming years.

All year through, I managed to attend most of the major fashion events such as the Glitz Style Awards, Ghana Fashion Awards (Judge), Ghana Fashion and Design Week (Took over their twitter Handle), Glitz Africa Fashion Week among others.

I also had the opportunity within the year to speak to young students from my former school University African University College of Communications (AUCC) and 2nd Image Beauty College. It was such a pleasure.

Career

I became certain of what I wanted to do in 2011; “Fashion PR”. Since then, all I have gradually done was to position myself in that field. It’s not been an easy one knowing it’s not a popular profession here in Ghana. But I am glad how people attempt to describe what I do when they see me. Bits by bits I know we will get there.

I found my niche in PR and that is Fashion PR. Expect more of my journey in 2017. I know it won’t be easy, but I know I will surpass them.

To the brands I handled PR for and manged; Totally Ethnik, Evangel Magazine, Accra Mens Fashion Week, Daily PR Africa, Women in PR Ghana, I  know 2017 will be a bigger platform we will step on.  

Personal Life

I rarely talk about my personal life on my blog. This time, I will share a little and few happenings in 2016. As I mentioned earlier, this year was uncertain for me. I wasn’t sure what will happen. One of the hardest thing one could easily get over is finally ending a nine (9) years relationship. Starting all over again is no small joke. But society, family and friends who are not privy to this info won’t let you be.

I remember the countless voices that whispered into my ears and asked when I was getting married. Knowing the society in which we live in and the family we have, I know I am never going to get away until I present them with the parcel of a man they have wanted. They don’t care who or what kind of person one ends up with. As I said on my 30^th birthday blogpost, until love finds me again, I will be busy pursuing other goals in life. My life won’t be at a standstill because it’s time to get married and the ‘guy’ hasn’t popped up yet. I won’t be cajoled into societal pressure. Not to say it doesn't bother me but I have faith in God’s appointed time.

Hopefully in 2017, I will have more “Me” time, know myself better, more hobbies, more money, execute those “Ideas” that have lingered on for a long while, do things that will make me happy, eliminate negativity, read and learn more and take up more challenges.

Friends of 2016

Special thanks to you Catherine (Kate). You have been this girl who has been the shoulder I cry on. All the long hours you have to stay up to listen to what is keeping me awake at night, I can only thank God for your friendship and pray we stay closer in the coming years. Fifteen (15) years of friendship and counting. I appreciate your love and wish 2017 bring smiles to you too.

Klenam, as I said on your birthday on facebook, I don’t know how our friendship started but the fact that we shared many commonalities is enough to bring us together. I am grateful for your friendship, time and strength you have.

Ese, Sadat, Bridget  and myself

Ese, my big sister in disguise. My pillar. She gives me the push. Looks out for me; physically and everything. I know I have you and can wish you same dear. Sadat, the first guy I can call a best friend.  You have been there with me throughout this year. Your time to listen and share with me, your advice, your push has brought me here. Millicent, I know I have your love as a sister and thank you for this year. Even if I have never mention it to you, I am fond of you and really glad to be your friend. I have just been stubborn J Gertrude, you have been awesome this year. Bridget, you know you are a darling. Yayra, thanks for cheering on all year through.

Evangel Team: Solomon, Randy, Peniel, Yayra, Klenam, you guys have been amazing. I want to thank you for all the support. We really had a blast in 2016. 2017 can only be better.

Thanks to you Bernard Ashiadey (Business and Financial Times) Gameli Hamelo (Livefmghana), Ebenezer Anangfio(Ghanagist) for the support all year through. 

And to you all for reading my blog and for every like, retweet, reshare and repost.

I wish I can mention all the names but I remember each one of you who have given me all the feedback and support in 2016. Those who were unable to, I understand because I wasn’t been there for you too. When God gives us another chance, let’s make it better in 2017.

Its been obvious I have had a very busy year. Packed with one thing or the other. But there have been challenging, sad and lonely moments where I wished things were a little different too. Where I stayed in bed to shed a tear. All these also gave me strength, hope, faith and love to still move on. I thank God for his mercies and pray 2017 will be a fresh start to a new story.

Thank you all for being wonderful. I love you and pray for you.

#FierceFaith 2016

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