Karen’s Public Relations Blog

Fashion is always fabulous – whether you are working in Fashion PR or you are styling yourself to best represent your own personal brand.  It appears that fashion brands are really getting involved with using social media strategically in their campaigns, especially implementing the use of bloggers to get the word across about a particular campaign.  Coach is doing exactly this with their “Poppy Project,” which is focused on promoting their Poppy line which is still luxurious, but affordable.  It has definitely been a huge success for the Coach fashion brand, and has gotten a lot of attention in terms of engaging with the customers and fans of the brand through various social media sites.  It really has given people to express their own creativity while still feeling that their voice and opinion is being recognized by the corporation – as well as giving them part of the spotlight by showcasing their work on their leaderboard site.  Very cutting edge!

In addition, just last year Forbes published an article that discussed how fashion labels need to get on board with social media in communicating, sharing, and giving their audience members a voice in the online fashion community.  This was very good suggestions – especially about making sure to go where the audience members are in terms of social media and to be consistent with communication with individuals online – this is absolutely key.

On a personal note, I remember my time as a PR intern in Cape Town, South Africa working for Total Media on their fashion accounts.  Even though Facebook was still in its early stages and no one really had even thought of Twitter yet, we were still actively engaged and communicating with others through social media.  Fashion bloggers and food critics / bloggers were definitely individuals that we wanted to make sure that we had a good relationship with and made sure that they knew what we were doing in terms of the upcoming fashion and consumer events for our clients.  We also utilized our website and the website of our main fashion events to make sure that they were the ultimate hub of information for people to go to about the designers appearing at the fashion week event, where the event was to take place, and updates on media features about fashion week.  It was a great learning experience for me both professionally and personally – it really helped me grow to the PR professional and researcher I am today.

Hope you all are having a wonderful day!

Best Wishes,

Karen

During my free time in the PhD program when I am not researching, teaching, or consulting in public relations and social media, one of the things that I love to do is read about fashion.  Fashion has always been something that I have really enjoyed ever since I was little, and has continued along with me as I have gotten older.  When I was working in Cape Town, South Africa – I was working on several fashion accounts such as the Cape Town Fashion Week, Joburg Fashion Week, and with several South African designers.  It was a great learning experience for me in PR, but also in what it takes to be in the fashion and PR industry.  I would have to say that one of my favorite movies about fashion has to be “The Devil Wears Prada” – it seems like everything that Meryl Streep wears in that movie is just absolutely fabulous!

But this comes to my main point in this blog post – even though I am not working in the fashion industry in a place like Vogue or Prada, I still try to make sure that I dress professionally and appropriate that best represents my reputation as a public relations scholar and professional. I did notice at the AEJMC conference that there were several students and professors that were dressed very chic, but there were others you would wonder if they were part of the conference, or not.  Presenting yourself professionally with style is absolutely essential, especially in today’s economy.  People have to spend the time and resources to make sure that they are looking their best and make sure that it is appropriate for the event.   For example, when you are interviewing, it is not a good idea to be wearing jeans and a t-shirt, because employers are going to ask themselves – does this person really want this position and if this is how they dress for an interview, how do they dress on a regular day?  Another favorite movie of mine is the “The Incredibles” because of the character of Edna – she is so amazing and her lines are classic.  I seem to quote her at least several times a day when I am talking with my friends about fashion.  As Edna would say, some things you can not be seen with!

So, with the current status of the economy and graduate students are currently looking a position either in industry or academia, how do you dress accordingly and professionally that best represents your brand?  Here are a few tips that I have in this regard in terms of fashion and dressing to fit your personal brand:

Invest in style that fits your personal brand: I would say that the basic suits are always a good bet for professional functions and events such as conferences, interviews, and other receptions.  Make sure that you have a solid color suit, and then you can add a dash of color with either a bright color shirt or a very chic scarf.  You want to make sure that it looks clean and proper, but also the little color can represent your own personality.  For example, I always tend to go for the colors of purple, blue, or green – they seem to work best for me in terms of my skin tone.  I would say that the designers that are very professional in their business attire includes Jones New York and Kenneth Cole.  In terms of shoes, I would have to say that my favorites are definitely Kenneth Cole and Antonio Milani – they are very fashionable and cute shoes, but they are also comfortable (which is key!)  Dillards does have good prices on these shoes too – you might want to check them out.

First impressions are absolutely key: People make their judgments about you pretty quickly, so you need to make sure that your appearance is perfect.  This not only means that your style has to be there, but you also want to invest in other aspects of your appearance such as your hair, eyebrows, nails, and shoes.  Taking the time to invest in these elements not only helps your overall image, but you feel fabulous about your appearance, and this could change your overall attitude and presence at the event you are at.

Technology is always chic: Having a new form of technology is the latest fashion trend – I noticed this when I was at AEJMC this past week and I saw that the professionally dressed individuals did not have the big huge purse or bag with them as their main accessory, but they had their iPad along with them.  It completed their look with a professional touch that showed people that not only were they professional, but innovative with technology as well.

In summary, people today are concerned about what is going on in the job market.  Employers today have the advantage to decide who they are going to hire, and I do believe that we are going to see more of a professionally-oriented dress attire in the professional and academic field due to this.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but I personally believe that if you dress well and invest in your overall presence, you are giving those at the event you are at (ex. interviews, presentations, conferences, etc) the respect that is deserved.  If you take the time and resources to invest in yourself in terms of fashion, it will definitely pay off in the long run.

Hope you all are having a wonderful day!

Best Wishes,

Karen

McDonald’s is another corporation and highly recognized brand that is not only taking the world by storm with its hamburger product and iconic Golden Arches, but they are also bringing the world of Ronald McDonald to a whole new arena:  New York Fashion Week.  Yes, McDonald’s will be present at one of the most recognizable and famous fashion events in the world.

How are they being represented?  Well, McDonald’s has recently implemented a social media and PR campaign in which they have designed some of Ronald McDonald’s signature cloves to be showcased at New York Fashion Week.  The gloves cost $50 and can only be purchased through Twitter.  McDonald’s is also using the microblog site to promote interactivety with their stakeholders with their employees. Like Best Buy and Twelpforce, McDonald’s has implemented StationM, which is a specific social media site where people can take tours of the site,  an employee-written blog, employee profiles, photos and corporate news to name a few.  This new site is to increase communication between McDonald’s employees and other key stakeholders and to create a proactive environment that is positive and encouraging for all parties involved.

When I first saw this case study, I thought that it was unique in the sense since I don’t necessarily think of McDonald’s with Fashion.  However, McDonald’s is strategic in highlighting the fact that revenue generated from sales of these gloves will benefit  the  Ronald McDonald House – their noteworthy charity.  This is a good move to make for the corporation to gain exposure in these select environment and present themselves accordingly.

Plus, it is interesting to see how the corporation is using social media in advocating their brand through their employees.  This is similar in a sense to what Best Buy is doing – but McDonald’s is not only present on Twitter with this, but they have their own social networking site that features videos, blogs, and other platforms.  It will be interesting to see how people react to this campaign and to McDonald’s – and if this campaign will be a success of not.  However, I believe that this case shows a strategic insight into a great opportunity to reach out to new audiences and manage how people see a corporation in a different light.

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen

One of the best decisions that our family made two years ago was to join Jenny Craig.  I have posted many times about my experience with JC, and I have to say that it was one of the smartest things that I have done in my life.  The first reason of course was the health benefits.  I feel SO much better and able to do activities that I thought would have been impossible (ex. walking up the Great Wall, running a 5k race, etc).  It’s been liberating and I feel like I can do anything!

The second reason is that the weight loss has allowed me to explore more fashionable options.  For public relations professionals, we are not only promoting our research and ideas for campaigns to our clients, but we are basically selling our own personal brand.  Some professions invest in technology equipment like computer science while others invest in art supplies like artists.

For public relations professionals– we have to invest in a lot:  Education, Art supplies, technology, research… and fashion.  We have a certain image and presence to uphold, and people are very quick to make a judgment about you based on how you look.  It ranges from what you wear, what makeup you use, and how you present yourself.

Here I am wearing my new Michael Kors boots

This Christmas, Mom and Dad have really outdid themselves by getting me one thing that I have always wanted but never was able to wear until now– and that was a pair of boots.  I have always thought that boots were very fashionable and very chic– but the problem was that my legs were always too big when I was throwing.  Now that I have lost weight due to being on JC, my parents got me a pair of boots for Christmas.  These were not just any pair of boots, but Michael Kors (one of my favorite designers).  I was VERY excited to put them on, and I have to say– they look fabulous!   I am reminded of one of my favorite movies “The Devil Wears Prada”– and how people reacted to Anne Hathaway’s character when she comes into the office with her Chanel boots.  Certain classy fashion pieces do draw attention to your own personal brand, which then enhances your own personal reputation.  Thanks again Mom and Dad for the wonderful Christmas present!

Hope you all are having a fabulous day!

Best Wishes,

Karen

In public relations, we are all about crossing over and working with researchers and professionals in various fields.  We work with business, advertising, marketing, psychology, and other fields to integrate our theories and practices, and learn from each other. Plus, it is all about working together to make it a positive situation for all parties involved.

The same can go with athletes as well.  There are several athletes presently that are crossing over from the sports field into other industries (ex. broadcasting), or using their high profile status to showcase themselves and rebrand themselves.  One example is Olympic swimmer Dara Torres.  Torres, who was the oldest swimmer at the Olympics at 41 and has won 12 Olympic medals, walked the catwalk at New York Fashion Week. Torres was part of Charles Nolan’s spring collection, and said that she had to get used to wearing heels because she usually wears just flats or flip flops.

It is interesting to see athletes like Torres in different industries like fashion, but this is one way to rebrand themselves and attract notice to not only themselves, but their relative sports.  By being in a fashion show, there may be people that will follow swimming when they otherwise may not have.  Plus, it also helps the designer as well because they can market their line as showcasing women wearing their clothes that do not wear a size 00. Also, by having Torres wear his design, swimmers and other athletes might be interested in Charles Nolan’s collection and be influenced to purchase a few pieces from him.  It’s a win-win situation for the fashion and athletic industries.

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen