Show Me The Pretty is a two-part interview series between hand-selected indie fashion labels and fashion PR/marketing experts, this time with Fischer Clothing. Sound like fun? Email info[at]prcouture.com for consideration.
Start Here: Part 1: Show Me The Pretty – Men’s and Women’s Fischer Clothing
I’ve had a lot of luck with word of mouth and what little ‘pitching’ I do myself, but I’m terrified to approach people the wrong way. What are the best ‘first steps’ when reaching out to editors, bloggers, etc?
PR Couture says…
If you have had luck already, you’re probably doing it right! I think the key is to take some time to learn a bit about the person your are reaching out to, identify that you have done so in your pitch and succinctly explain to the person exactly how you think Fischer is a fit for their needs.
RESEARCH! It’s great that you’re not jumping in without a well-planned approach. Before you begin approaching the media, get to know them inside and out. Read the blogs daily, follow reporters and the various columns they contribute to and try to understand their style and interest. Figure out who your top-tier most relevant potential contacts are and then wait to pitch them until you absolutely know you have the perfect story for them. Your first pitch sets the tone for the future of your relationship working together.
- Danielle Gano, Owner, Elle Communications
Know their needs. Most blogs have a policy on how they work on their site, so best to read up on their needs prior to reaching out to them. When approaching editors in the print medium (daily, weekly, and monthly), make sure whichever styles you are pitching them you have multiple (at least two) samples of, as well as clean, clear, hi-res product shots, and that you are capable of sending them out immediately need be (deadlines are half the battle). Also, make sure you when you contact the fashion publications, the price point and look of the line is inline with their reader’s.
– Shannon Cavanagh-Estrada. Partner, Pitch! Press
The first step should be to get familiar with that reporter or blogger. That means paying attention to what they cover and their preferences. You can do this by not only reading past articles, but follow them on social networks and engage in conversation with them. You don’t need to respond to everything they post, but if something is relevant or interesting, don’t be afraid to RT (retweet) or chime in with a comment. If you show a real interest in their work and it comes across as genuine, it will really help develop the relationship.
- Alyson Rybar, Program Manager, Stalwart Communications
The menswear portion of the line is just as important to me as the women’s. I get really great feedback (directly) from men on the clothing. The press, however seems to only mention the men’s portion of the line as a small sidebar to a women’s feature. Any tips for gaining interest in what seems to be a pretty tough arena? Do men even pay attention to fashion press or just buy what they like at the store?
PR Couture says…
Head to your favorite magazine stand and take a look at the type of stories being published in the glossies you are targeting to get a feel for where your line would be a fit and make note of seasons and events that make for a smart tie-in with your aesthetic. In terms of online, look for sites that might not be explicitly about fashion, but inclusive of it – like The Art of Manliness
There are far fewer men’s publications than women’s obviously, but they still need samples. Create pitches, look books, or line sheets that highlight exclusively your men’s collection and send those materials out to the editors at GQ, Maxim, Details, Rolling Stone etc. Dividing the collection into two might accelerate the editorial success of one or both of the lines.
- Shannon Estrada, Partner, Pitch! Press
We do PR for a men’s brand and it’s certainly more challenging simply because there is not as much reporting on men’s fashion as there is on women’s. However, there are still a ton of opportunities. Rather than talking about your brand as a whole, you need to pitch specific stories about your men’s line to male-focused media and the stories about the women’s line to female-focused media. Sometimes you’ll have opportunities to talk about the brand as a whole, but it’s important to break it down to smaller stories and target reporters who are relevant for each.
- Danielle Gano, Owner, Elle Communications
When gaining coverage for menswear within the mainstream press becomes tricky, head towards niche outlets, such as blogs and online publications; you’ll find many dedicated to male fashion and many general fashion blogs are happy to cover menswear lines. To get larger publications to bite, try affiliating your line with a male celebrity, band or interesting event. The male press market may be smaller on the surface, but don’t be fooled into thinking that men don’t take notice of trends and fashion journalism… coverage is still important to bring your line to their attention and to give your pieces media weight!
– Sarah-Jane Adams, Fashion editor, www.sarahjaneadams.com
I love learning more about my customers, and would love to get more direct feedback on what they like, don’t like, how is the fit, etc. The shops I work with don’t go into a lot of detail aside from what’s selling- any ideas how to engage people a little more?
PR Couture Says…
Usertesting.com is a great way to inexpensively testing your website. Pay attention to the words people use when they talk about your line in addition to recommendations they have on how to improve your web presence. Do you have an email address on your hangtags? This is another opportunity to ask for feedback.
Engage your consumer through social media. It’s the most effective way to get immediate feedback. You can ask your consumer what they like, don’t like, areas of improvement and as an incentive to respond, you can offer a small discount or some sort of small perk (that won’t break the bank) to those who respond.
- Jordanna Stephen, Touch of Pink PR
My client, Livie & Luca shoes, have used social media for customer feedback- they have an active Facebook page where customers/fans routinely offer their opinions on new styles, designs they’d like to see return, art direction, sizing, and what they’d like to see (such as expanded sizes and special promotions). Their customers are very frank about what they like and don’t like, and appreciate that the designers personally answer their questions and respond to their feedback. With their feedback, we’ve been able to address their needs while earning their trust and repeat business.
- Adrienne Dorsey, Magnolia PR
Editors are great at giving feedback – holding a press presentation or preview gives them a chance not only to take in the entire concept but to touch and feel the product and give notes on individual styles, colors, fabrics/metals etc.
- Liz Anthony, President, Mariposa Communications
Competitions are a great way to engage customer participation… why not be entered into a draw win an item or discount by providing feedback on a recent purchase or ideas on what they’d like to see next in the range? You could also try setting up a blog, posting regularly on new lines, campaigns, offers etc, and encouraging customers to comment and interact, or even to send in images of themselves in items they’ve bought, or interviewing regular readers on their style tips and what they like about the brand and the items they own! And don’t forget social networking is the most accessible way to reach your consumer base, so keep the lines of communication open and chat directly with members of your pages as often as possible.
– Sarah-Jane Adams, Fashion editor, www.sarahjaneadams.com
Get out and start doing events. We handle the PR for an event called THREAD Show, which is a consumer shopping event that travels around the country. Aside from being a great place to sell your clothes, events like this provide an invaluable opportunity to watch people touch, feel and try on your clothing. It’s a chance to get their feedback face-to-face about what they do and don’t like.
- Danielle Gano, Owner, Elle Communications
When pitching ideas for different angles of coverage (the lookbook works really hard for the line, but I would love to give more variation so people don’t get sick of the same images) is it typically the PR person who comes up with the concept?
PR Couture Says…
Typically yes, you want to work with a publicist who can come up with several potential story angles. For future photo shoots, consider shooting the same look against varied backgrounds to augment photos you can send to different media. Encourage your customers to post or send in their images, this can be a treasure trove of additional content.
Absolutely, yes. It’s great to keep an open dialog with your publicist or PR agency, and feel free to give them your ideas and ask for theirs, but they are experts at pitching the media and should know what types of angles/stories would work for each outlet and why. If they don’t, maybe you should look into another agency.
- Melissa Davis, Founder and Co-Owner Ruby Press
Publicist’s typically require clean, clear images that can be dropped into a layout. More and more publications (especially weeklies) are using images over samples, so hi-quality, professional product shots are a must. Though most of the monthlies are still calling in samples, there are some (Marie Claire) that do insert images in the 11th hour. As for pitching a publicist should have a pulse on what’s being called in, what the key seasonal trends are, and how to spin a color, fabric, or style to get more mileage out a collection. We create pitches daily whether they include all of our clients, or focus only on one.
– Shannon Cavanagh-Estrada. Partner, Pitch! Press
Coming up with different angles for pitches is definitely a job for your publicist. One of our main focuses, if not THE focus, is to come up with creative, relevant, and tailored pitches for our clients. A good publicist will always listen to the client’s needs, goals, and visions in order to best create an effective pitch. The client and the publicist can work together to make sure that both are satisfied with the pitch before sending out, but ultimately it is the publicist’s job to come up with an angle that will give the media what they need to be interested.
- Jordanna Stephen, Touch of Pink PR
I know gifting is common in the industry, are there any guidelines on when and with whom it’s appropriate?
PR Couture says…
Work with either a gifting agency or a PR agency that specializes in celebrity gifting. When it comes to bloggers, gifts are always appreciated, but I think it often works well to surprise them with a gift after they have written the post.
We are very selective when it comes to celebrity outreach/gifting. Whether our client is a small business, like yours, or a large corporation, it never makes sense to just send gifts out willy-nilly. We always talk to our clients about how many products they are comfortable sending out- and we typically recommend a small number- less than 25 (but of course it varies according to the cost of the products and size of client) and create a list of celebrities that fit their brand image. You don’t want just any celebrity photographed wearing your clothing…not ‘all press is good press’ in my opinion. Protect your brand.
- Melissa Davis, Founder and Co-Owner Ruby Press
1. Do you have a budget for participating, giving away product, travel if required for a gifting suite? 2. What is it you want to accomplish by gifting? 3. Will gifting translate into sales? 4. Remember, celebrities have the money to buy the things they love, so gifting on a photo shoot, great; gifting when called in by a stylist or agent, great; throwing product out at gifting suites to the B, C, and D list celebs and their entourage, not so great.
– Shannon Cavanagh-Estrada. Partner, Pitch! Press
Well, when it comes to gifting it’s important that you gift the right person. For online media (e.g. blogs, online magazines, etc.), you should always get their stats: find out how many readers they have, look to see if they have comments posted on the site (good indicator of readership and reader interaction), read their previous reviews to get a feel of their writing style, and make sure their site fits with your brand. For celebrities, their stylists and publicists need to be your friends because ultimately in this relationship, you want/need photos of the celebs wearing your brand, or some sort of testimonial to tie the celebrity to your collection. Make sure the details for the gifting are worked out in advance. Be friendly, yet professional. For events, in case you want to do a giveaway or be a part of a gift bag, learn who will attend (specifically the media), ask if you will get press photos, signage, or some sort of public acknowledgment that you are a part of the event. Ultimately, for gifting, you always want to make sure it works to your benefit and that you can get some sort of press out of it. Gifting doesn’t always result in an increase of sales, but it should always result in an increase of awareness and buzz.
- Jordanna Stephen, Touch of Pink PR
The best time to do it is right before you launch a season so that you have the images to use to market your collection throughout the season. However, don’t let yourself get too caught up in this tactic. I’ve watched designers devote all their time to celebrity placements and, while their product might be on every Hollywood A-lister, they’re struggling to make ends meet because, at the end of the day, those aren’t sales. We have a master list of the people we want to see dressed in our clients because they’re strongly aligned with the target market and they’re in the public eye so we can get the photos run. We get a big batch of photos taken at the beginning of the season and slowly trickle them out over the course of a few months.
- Danielle Gano, Owner, Elle Communications
About Crosby
RSS
Wow!! Thanks so much to everyone who contributed!! This has been amazingly insightful, Crosby!!
Wow!! Thanks so much to everyone who contributed!! This has been amazingly insightful, Crosby!!