PR Couture: The Fashion PR Book – Ready to Launch

It’s been a long time coming, but I’m finally able to post about my friend and colleague Crosby Noricks’s, founder of PR Couture,  “Ready to Launch,” a book filled with the knowledge and support needed for fashion PR interns and entry-level practitioners to successfully break into this media-rich career. The book also features a contribution from yours truly on starting your own blog!

The success of popular reality TV shows like “Project Runway,” “Kell on Earth” and “The City,” have inspired many public relations students and recent graduates to break into the world of fashion PR. However, undergraduate public relations programs rarely focus with any depth into the realities of working in this industry and top agencies are highly competitive at even the internship level. For five years, students and industry practitioners have solved this problem by turning to PRCouture, a top destination to discover and discuss the ever-evolving role of public relations, marketing and social media in the fashion industry.

This insider’s guide is the first of its kind, and pulls back the curtain on the catwalk with an information-dense, fun-to-read adventure through the fast-paced world of fashion PR. Highlights include contributions from more than two dozen fashion PR pro’s working with brands like Betsey Johnson, Elie Tihari, Coach, Tom’s and Nine West, as well as top agencies Edelman Digital , Style House PR, and Regan Communications. Topics covered in this insider’s guide to fashion PR include:

•  The difference between PR, marketing and advertising
• What to expect from a career in public relations
•  Title and salary breakdown
• How to position yourself to get noticed for the job you want
• Actual job interview questions from top fashion PR agencies
• Contact information for 20 of the top New York-based fashion PR agencies
• How to use Twitter as a job search tool
• Identifying personal goals and a career vision to carry you into the future

 

“Ready to Launch: The PR Couture Guide to Breaking into Fashion PR” is available in print for $17.99 or digital format for $14.99 on Amazon.com.

PR Couture: The Rise of Instablogging: Tumblr, Instagram & Pinterest Offer a Quick Click Fashion Feast

Recently, I wrote an article for PR Couture on, what I like to call, “instablogging.” Check out the intro below:

In the beginning, when we had to walk uphill both ways to get to the mall, the elite fashion publishing houses provided monthly print magazines to be devoured on the couch, in the bath, under the hair dryer and on the elliptical. Then fashion bloggers established a new way of experiencing and connecting to like-minded readers through style, outfit photos and DIY, carving out places online that made fashion personal and discoverable through weekly posts.

And the industry took note, eventually moving to partner with bloggers and supplement traditional media coverage by becoming publishers themselves. Then with Twitter and Facebook, access to content became greater and the act of sharing this content became a measurement of business success.

Instablogging, the term we use to describe sites like Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest are the latest publishing platforms to satiate the industry and fashion public’s growing demand for quick-fix content creation and dissemination. Instablogging enables brands to build and strengthen communities at a rapid pace with a snap of a camera, a pin or a click… 

To read the complete article, check it out on PR Couture.

And, for more on Pinterest, check out my mention in this MediaPost piece:

http://twitter.com/#!/ConsumingPR/status/101117781344399360

Wall Street Journal Targets Women

I will never forget the early mornings before school when my father would pour a cup of coffee and open the Wall Street Journal. After he would finish reading the newspaper from front to back I would have free reign. As a little girl, I would add my personal “touch” to the illustrated faces of prominent figures like Alan Greenspan. For example, carefully drawing mustaches on any person featured on the front page.

I’m happy to say that I am currently pursuing a career in public relations and an avid reader, surely not a graffiti artist, of the Wall Street Journal. The Lifestyle and Personal Journal sections are my usual go-to because it features stories that appeal to female readers. After reading PR Couture‘s top PR fashion links on May 23, I’m super excited to read the new “Journal Women” section online.

“Journal Women” targets professional women in the work force and includes “Style and Dress” and “Theory and Practice” sections. In a recent article titled “Bare-Legged Ladies: Hosiery Reveals Office Divide,” Christina Binkley discusses whether or not to wear hosiery at the office.

I loved reading this article because I usually never wear hosiery and it looks like I’m not alone! “Journal Women” is a great resource for career women and I encourage my female classmates to check it out!