Front Row Fashion PR features insights from successful Fashion PR pro’s on a variety of topics relevant to the marketing professional and fashion designer.
It’s no secret that the end goal that justifies PR budgets is sales. As a result, what’s happening on the editorial side needs to echo and be informed by what’s happening on the sales side, and vice versa. DMD Lab, originally launched as pro bono project for independent designers through integrated marketing agency DMD Insight, has since brought the two aspects in-house.
For an up-and-coming designer, bringing on outside help is also a significant investment, so it’s a huge leg up to open the door for support on both PR and sales – because most often times they need BOTH!
Melanie Bender, Partner at DMD Lab, walks us through the art of combining the two service offerings and how it is working for client Australian swimwear client We Are Handsome.
About DMD Lab
The Miami, We Are Handsome
We Are Handsome
DMD Lab is all about the new – new designers, and new approach for the new market and We Are Handsome is a great example of how there IS room from new brands. They came to us back in March, brand spanking new, in a few boutiques in Australia, and knowing they wanted to break into the US market but didn’t know how/where to start. For them, it was important to make them relevant to not just swimwear but the greater fashion conversation, allowing for growth beyond that category and longevity as a designer. It’s also a higher-end, really unique product, so it was important that they were well-placed – the *right* retailers and the *right* press to get visibility with the *right* consumers and tastemakers while maintaining that specialness. In their first few months they’ve been featured on Style.com, WWD, Refinery29, Fashionista, had editor face time with Vogue, Marie Claire, The New York Times, and will be entering a phenomenal set of Tier A boutiques in July and opening up to a contemporary ‘major’ for Resort 2011!
Combining Sales + PR
PR and sales are intimately connected: one drives the other and vice versa. It’s not just getting press, it’s getting the right press; and it’s not just making sales, it’s elevating the brand. Together, PR and sales form your brand’s reach and engagement with consumers, working in sync to communicate your target message and work towards your brand goals. More and more emerging fashion brands – as well as agencies like DMD Lab that cater to them – are finding the link between sales and PR, and recognizing the importance of crafting a holistic approach. Here’s how we approach it:
Know your audience
A customer walks into a boutique and notices your brand on a rack, or opens a magazine and sees your product on the page. Whether through sales or PR, you’re reaching an audience – make sure it’s the right one. For each brand, we think about: Who’s your target customer? Where do they shop and what do they read? What other brands do they wear and how do they interact with them? Who do they follow and where do they frequent online? We us that information to nail down who your audience is and how you can really engage with them through both PR and sales channels.
Have a plan
Whether your brand is found in Store A or Magazine B will determine not only who the brand reaches but also how the brand is perceived. In this reality of a crowded marketplace, who and what your brand is needs to be clear and consistent across sales and PR channels so your consumer can recognize and relate to the brand. Under one approach we think about the retailers and publications you’re targeting and why: sales channels should echo PR channels – high-end, exclusive, mass, junior, editorial, trend-driven, etc – should take into account where the opportunity is in the market, and should be consistent across regions – it is a global editor/buyer/consumer, after all.
PR isn’t limited to media
By approaching PR and sales as one we uncover new opportunities to engage with consumers. Explore what’s possible working alongside retailer marketing efforts – these could be in-store branding around your range, a newsletter mailout or e-commerce homepage banner, or driving media placement readers to a certain retailer that’s been supportive of the brand. Be creative about your ideas and approach, bounce potential ideas off the retailer, and a great way to start the conversation is to offer an exclusive design or colorway. In-store PR opportunities not only ensure both channels are giving the same message, but also reach the consumer at the point of sale – a timely and relevant context for a fashion brand!
Feedback is your friend
What editors are saying will be relevant to your approach with buyers, and vice versa. For example, letting a potential retailer know that Magazine A will be running a feature in the September issue may secure that first order, or giving an editor the scoop on what styles your buyers are gravitating towards for the next season may give them the idea for a new trend story. Take the good with the bad – where is the line being successful and where are your challenges – and refer back to your strategy to think about what might need to be tweaked. Do buyers/editors want to see more in a certain category or pricepoint? Was one style overwhelming popular and could be brought back next season? Is what you’re doing too close to a competitor? Handling PR and sales as one allows us to seek and evaluate feedback more readily, uncovering new opportunities and insight into creating a successful brand.
Play on the same team
Sales and PR do not operate in a vacuum, so neither should those teams. With DMD Lab, our brands find it a huge value to combine support for both under one house, allowing development and execution of the sales and PR strategy to happen in sync and iteratively. However, a great way to start is putting measures in place to keep your PR/sales team in tune to what the other party is doing, and plugged into the larger strategy – maybe that’s a bi-weekly call or in-person meeting to foster partnership and get ideas flowing. Whatever fits for your company, approaching sales and PR as one will cultivate consistent messaging, new opportunities, and the sharing of critical feedback, and ultimately help build a successful brand.
About Crosby
OMG this was an amazingly informative post…its so ironic because I have been searching for sound info. on this topic recently & am grateful that Melanie was so candid with her information. I am so happy that I found this post, thanks!
-EBONY