2007 February | PR Couture: Fashion PR, Marketing & Social Media

Fashion PR Reviews From New York Fashion Week

February 12, 2007 0 Comment written by PR Couture

It’s not just the models and ensembles coming down the catwalk that are being judged, the Fashion PR companies behind New York Fashion Week’s runway shows receive their fair share of scrutiny. With New York Fashion Week at a close, enjoy two examples of the best and the worst Fashion PR hot from the online fashion presses.

Via New York Magazine, Fugly girls take aim at People’s Revolution for being more concerned with favors to friends than frenzied media waiting to get in at the Heatherette show.

PFSK’s Orli Sharaby gives Mao PR a gold star for embodying the three Fashion PR must-haves:

1. Deliver a Great Product
2. Extend Your Brand
3. Be Nice

(buh-bye fashion week: photo Mao PR client Jason Wu, thanks to Shopstyle via Coutorture)

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Dressing up the Mortgage: When PR Pitching Misses The Point

February 9, 2007 0 Comment written by PR Couture

I was excited this morning to see in my email that I had received a PR pitch. As someone who does a lot of media pitching, it felt deliciously deviant to see how the other half lives, put the shoe on the other foot, see how green the grass was, etc. As I scanned the poorly written, poorly organized pitch for a handbag company, I realized that I had fallen victim to something I hear a lot of media complain about, but had never experienced myself – the blasting out of a press release with no thought about its relevance to the receiver. This bugs. It is hard enough to break through a journalists’ inbox clutter without unecessary, poorly written, innapropriately targeted pitches – no wonder PR gets a bad rap.

What NOT to do:

As I sat down to blog about this experience, I noticed that Strumpette’s Phil Hall had just posted about being pitched at his mortgage trading magazine for a fleece women’s-wear line. Do you see the connection? Me either. At least my pitch was in the same industry.

Phil goes on to list 5 PR Super Uh-Oh Oopsies – a great reminder/refresher that pitching only works when it is relevant and helpful and, shock, includes contact information.

Here’s the first:

1. Media lists that are wildly incorrect. Our friends at Wooly Bully Wear (who, in fairness, have a very nice product line) learned that the harsh way. But in all seriousness, this is the easiest mistake to avoid. Building and maintaining an up-to-date media list is PR 101. It is not difficult to determine which person at what media outlet is going to receive press releases. It is a good idea to update the list at least three times a year, given that the media industry has an uncommonly high turnover rate and last week’s editorial contact might have skedaddled to a better-paying opportunity elsewhere. Thus, do an easy fact check to make sure everyone on the list is still at their job. (I am reminded by a real dum-dum PR person who proudly showed me a media mailing list that included 15 people who were no longer employed at the companies on the list plus one who passed away three years earlier!)

…read the rest of Phil’s post

Filed Under: Tips & Strategy

Plus Size SKORCH Mag Divas Heat Things Up with PR Couture in Celebration of their 2nd Issue

February 8, 2007 1 Comment written by PR Couture

“We just do what we do, and we happen to be plus size” – The Glamazons, interviewed in the February issue of Skorch Magazine.

The second issue of SKORCH Magazine launched online Feb. 1 with even more fun, flip-through content, from fashion to foundation to food. It’s really worth scrolling through all 80+ pages.

Highlights from this issue:

So much fashion media coverage ignores the complex relationships women have regarding fashion, clothing, and body image in favor of a more limiting debate regarding the skinny runway model, or focusing solely on eating disorders. Special contributor Christianne Covington’s interviews with four distinct, plus size women about body-image presents a refreshing, valid, real-woman perspective.

In addition, 10 quick profiles/interviews with plus-size industry players like Liria Mersini, editor of plussize.about.com, model, photographer, and activist Victoria Leigh, paint a diverse and powerful picture of the plus-size fashion community, and speaks volumnes about the need for magazines like SKORCH to exist and succeed.

Finally, the shopping guide is a great added value to the editorial fashion spreads, and a plus-size shopper and gifter’s dream.

However, Plus size mags fight an uphill battle. I blogged about the launch of Skorch back in Janurary, noting their unique e-zine style online layout – looks like a mag, nav’s like a half pdf/half webpage – and was curious to learn more about the process and the goals of these two plus-size fashionistas.

Amidst all the buzz, a second launch party, and holding down two jobs, editors Jessica Reese and Carrie Woomer sat down to share their thoughts and experiences with PR Couture.

PR Couture: Why did you chose to call the magazine SKORCH – what does that word mean to you?

Jessica: Carrie mentioned it as we tossed around names like “Hot” and “Diva” etc…then she said “SKORCH” — we sat for a few pondering that name and instantly knew that was IT!

Carrie: Actually, it’s funny. I was brainstorming ideas in the shower, thinking of words that described the feel of this magazine. The line of thinking was something like, passion, red, fiery, crimson, scorch, SKORCH!!!! SKORCH! It’s what we do! Later that day, Jessica and I had our first meeting to discuss our plans for this magazine. Thankfully, that name was just as hot to her as it was to me! Skorch! It describes what everyone should do.

PR Couture: Can you give an example of how working with PR helps make your lives easier?

Carrie: Jessica and I are very open to ideas being pitched to us! We do have some Skorch Guidelines, but if it fits in, absolutely! PR is important for building relationships. You never know you’re you’re going to need to know in the future!

Jessica: It helps to know how to find the right people to talk to and know how to market yourself.

PR Couture: About how much of your current editorial content is the result of a sucessful PR Pitch – what made it sucessful?

Jessica: Honestly, 50%. Our editorial comes from amazing contributors that believe in us and they found out about us because of our PR skills. The other 50% is contributed by [the editors].

PR Couture: What kinds of products are you looking for? What are you not looking for?

Carrie: If it’s new, hip and never before, we want it yesterday! Everything beautiful, gadgety, smart, witty, sexy. We want our readers to drool all over their screens when they read Skorch Magazine. I think that’s one of the definitions of Skorch, right Jess? Actually, we do have 2 main themes that define what Skorch IS . 1. Does it make our female readers feel like a 4 year old going through a jewelry box? (Ooooo Pretty!!) 2. Does it make our female readers feel like “their world is a catwalk”? If the answer is yes, it’s Skorch Material!

Jessica: We want to review products of all natures that would be appealing to women…obviously a crank shaft isn’t too exciting to a woman.
PR Couture: What is the best way/time to reach you to pitch a product idea?

Jessica: Via email. Carrie at carrie[at]skorchmagazine[dot]com and Jessica at jessica[at]skorchmagazine[dot]com.

Carrie: We’re both pretty much flexible. Any time is fine for me.

PR Couture: It’s 8 AM, and you only have time to spend 15 minutes to catch up on online content – where do you go/what do you do?

Carrie: In my first window I log onto my outlook express first to check my e-mail. While that is updating, I open a second window log onto myspace (Both my personal and skorch account). On a third window I check my model mayhem account. In a fourth window I read Yahoo! news. On a fifth window (Yes, I have internet ADHD! Haha) I check AOL News. Next I Google the words Skorch Magazine (haha, narcissistic, I know) to see if any PR updates are being said. I research all of the latest fashion news, then check IGN for all of the latest techy stuff, music reviews, gaming stuff and more! I LOVE this site!

Jessica: MSN and Myspace

(In-depth interview continues below the click)

Filed Under: Interviews