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In business, relationships are equally important and having a mutual beneficial relationship could go a long way to help your brand especially in times when you need it most. From your direct customers or clients to vendors, employees to anyone who is either directly or indirectly connected to your business, building a good relationship with them serves as a bedrock upon which your product can flourish.

For many startups and young businesses, it is important to start building your relationship early in order to gain trust and credibility which could serve as an extra advantage for you in this competitive and saturated market. Be it through good customer service, personal engagement, proactive communication, good relationship should be established at all levels.

Be it internal or external stakeholders, their role to the growth of your business varies and as such they all play a unique role that needs to be solidly built for the benefit of your business. Same way, any dent on these relationships could adversely affect all efforts put into it.

Building relationship also means establishing good communication lines between your company and these various stakeholders or publics.

Here are 4 ways why building relationships are important to fashion brands.

Helps you achieve your goals

Every company no matter how young the business is has company goals and objectives. By building good relationship with your publics for instance your employees, you are more likely to achieve your desired goal as they are able to work hard and bring on board their best ways which becomes beneficial to your business. You must work in harmony with everyone including the community within which you operate, that way they there is goodwill which is transferred onto the work and its growth.

Helps you reach the right target

As a fashion designer, your target markets are usually those who are interested in your buying and wearing your clothes. In order to reach such people, you need to communicate effectively using the right channels to reach them. With the good relationship with editors, bloggers, journalists, marketers etc you are able to create strategic visibility for your brand using the right channels thereby reaching your targeted market.

Puts you in a strong position when customers are making buying decision

In an age where social media is king, word of mouth is key. The kind of relationship you have with your customers influence what they say about you. Good relationships, loyalty and referrals are the order of the day. Many people buy products because of what they have heard about it. With that achieved, work at building a strong relationship with them such that they become loyal to the brand and then end up referring their friends to purchase as well.

Easier access to funding

For startups looking to attract investors and some funding for their young fashion businesses, having a good relationship with the various stakeholders opens up opportunities for growth. With clarity on the company’s vision statement and mission, investors become confident of your business and possibly will want to invest in them.

The important thing to remember is that the earlier you build good relationships with the right publics for your brand, the better your chances at positioning your brand for opportunities that will further leap the fortunes of your company.

Through a mix of effective communications, good customer service and appreciation, feedback mechanisms and proactive engagements, you’ll be well on your way to being able to accomplish more as a strong fashion brand.

Faith Senam Ocloo

Fashion Public Relations

Fashion I Beauty I Lifestyle I Arts

Emerging designers always have a way of breathing some freshness onto the fashion scene. They bring on board lots of energy and new creative direction that gets us yearning to see what is next for these designers.

Without a doubt there is still a lot of work to be done after you debuted your brand and made quite a great impression on many, the expectations become high and designers can only work harder to keep the momentum alive. With each year serving us some new entrants of young talented designers, we certainly are looking forward to what their next collections will be and how they will keep being top of mind.

In no particular order, here are my 5 emerging Ghanaian fashion brands who have made great entry onto the scene and ones you should by now know about them too.

Larry Jay Couture

Anyone at Accra Men’s Fashion Week held earlier this year, will affirm that Larry Jay’s collection was one of the best for the entire show. Timeless legacy which happens to be his debut collection introduces clothing and accessories for both men and women. The brand brought some new feeling to urban wear through oversized wax print shirts and fitting pants/joggers, oversized silky tunics, shorts, open front cardigans, shawls, infinity scarves, etc He also showcased at the 2017 Edition of Style Lounge and the Flower and Garden Fashion Show. This brand is certainly one to look out for in the coming year.

Quophi Akotuah

This designer is becoming a strong one on the Ghanaian fashion scene and obviously have had a great year already having won the Emerging Designer Award at this year’s Glitz Style Awards and nominated for the Creative Designer of the Year at Men’s Fashion Week Nigeria. He has also collaborated with GTP in producing his collections which have been spotted on some top celebrities in Ghana. Quophi Akotuah opened this year’s Glitz Africa Fashion Week held at the Kempinski Hotel. He brings a lot of energy and vibrancy onto the fashion scene, one which has caught our eyes and interest and looking forward to seeing more.

Akua Asante

I fell in love with this brand the first time I saw it. It was full of life and had bold colors and playful look that attracted my interest. Her pieces draws inspiration from her Ghanaian heritage interspersed with influences from cultures across the globe. The bold signature and unique craftsmanship of her pieces coupled with vibrant colors makes her designs stand out. Akua Asante made her debut appearance during her graduate show at the Marangoni Graduate Fashion Show in 2016 and has since then made a great impression with each piece she makes.

Qwame Owusu

Quame Owusu came into prominence in 2015, when he won the much coveted Vlisco Students Awards at Joyce Ababio College of Creative and Design (JACCD). He has since then been working and producing great designs for Vlisco and GTP fashion campaigns. Few months back he was adjudged with the Best African Collection after debuting his Perfect Ashlar collection in GTP Fabrics at the #DFF2017 ramp at the Durban Fashion Fair in South Africa. This designer is certainly one to watch in the coming years.

Lakopue

This young designer has had a good year so far after introducing his debut collection “The Atelier by Lakopue”. A collection which emphasizes on craft and the idea of every profession being an art. Prior to debuting his collection, he has worked with Woodin for some of their fashion campaigns and shows. Lakopue showcased at the recently held Glitz Africa Fashion Week 2017 where he had a presentation alongside other talented designers. As they say, the future is bright for Lakopue and we can only wish him the best.

I wrote this article originally for Debonair Afrik Creative Issue

Faith Senam Ocloo
Fashion Public Relations
Fashion I Beauty I Lifestyle I Arts

Officially the New Year has kick started and we are all back to work. Many of us have already written down our personal goals for the year as well as our professional goals with the hope that we will begin to do things different and eventually achieve our goals by the end of the year.

That said, it is important to renew or set new goals and work towards achieving them. Just like last year, new companies in fashion, beauty and lifestyle will emerge and competition will become tougher as we all compete for the same space and clients, It is important to be ready to position your brand advantageously for opportunities that will not just create visibility for your brand but drive sales as well.

Here are few PR goals to guide you through the year as we set out to grow our business.

Invest in knowing your market

Whether it’s a startup or an established one, you need to keep investing in knowing your market in and out. This way you know how to package your product to meet the demands of your target market. What makes your product or service unique and then craft messages that will convey exactly what you intend communicating. Your messages should be clear and straight forward such that you are able to grab the attention of your target. Improve your customer experience by taking feedback and working on it to maintain your client base as well as get new ones.

Use social media wisely

The use of Social Media is not going away any time yet so make sure to jump on it this time round if you are not already making use of it. It is the best channels to promote your brand to your target market without a third party. You can begin managing it yourself and seek for assistance as your brand grows. It is evident that there are enormous advantages that abound on the internet as a result of technology which plays a major role in helping brands stay relevant all time. There will continue to be an increased usage of these platforms by several other competing brands. Bear in mind that not all the platforms are useful for your brand. Carefully select which best resonates with your product and can better reach your target. Maximize your selected platforms to engage your potential and existing clients to gain some traction for your brand.

Build Mutual Relationships

Relationships are important in business. If you didn’t do that last year, take another look at it this year. Build and maintain relationship with your clients, employees, vendors, stakeholders, influencers etc as they can become very useful to your business at one point in time. Going into 2018, engage them in a series of events that will make them feel important and thereby be willing to support and assist you when there is the need to.

Your brand image is everything

This year, spend time to work on both your personal image and that of your fashion, beauty and lifestyle business. What people say or perceive about your brand is crucial for your brand and as such you need to invest in nurturing a good and positive image both online and offline. Be mindful of the content you put online and how you manage your relationships especially with regards to your product. Manage every issue that arises diligently to avoid it escalating into a crisis.

Be media friendly

Getting media features in which ever form could serve a great deal for your brand in 2018. Pitch your new products, events, initiatives to the right fashion editors and bloggers in order to gain publicity and press coverage for your event. Several mentions in the media can serve as a leverage point to gain and access several new and potential clients. Earn your spot by engaging in activities or initiatives that are newsworthy.

There is no doubt businesses are going to get competitive this year. It will be in your own interest and that of your business to position your brand in a way that will optimize opportunities for growth. With the above in place, I am confident your brand will experience growth both in value and sales. Let’s have a fashionably prosperous New Year.

Photo Credit: Vine Imagery for GAFW2017

Faith Senam Ocloo
Fashion Public Relations
Fashion I Beauty I Lifestyle I Arts

Last week, I was invited by my very good friend Nana Mensah, founder of Accra Mens Fashion Week and Mr. Model Africa to speak to aspiring Models on the "Secrets to becoming a successful Model".

I shared the platform with 2 known faces within the Ghanaian Modeling Industry Prince IB and Shirley Selase Anku and Mrs. Mabel Adu, CEO of Alloette Africa.

It was a pleasure to do so because as a Fashion PR Specialist for fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands, I had the opportunity to also speak to them on building a brand on Social Media as a Model. I advised them not to overlook Visual Branding and storytelling by creating unique contents on social media. Additionally, I told them to carve a niche for themselves by truly understanding who they are as a model and learning to live what they portray by being consistent with their brand offerings and thriving to build strong relationships both online and offline.

Here is what the other speakers shared:

Speakers at the event included Mrs. Mabel Adu, CEO of Alloette Africa. As a beauty and Skincare Expert, Mrs Adu highlighted the need for models to take very good care of their skin by eating healthy, drinking lots of water, eating fruits daily and keeping a good lifestyle. She emphasized that the skin is essential to the success of models and as such models need to know their skin type and know what kinds of products they apply on them.

Prince IB a renowned model and CEO of TM Model Management who has worked for many brands in Ghana and walked many runways also advised attendees first to keep to time if they really want to succeed in this industry. He added that there is a place for any aspiring model who is invests in researching and learning about the industry and attend auditions well prepared with the right requirements and willing to take up challenges when no one dares to do it.

Shirley Selase Anku, a Ghanaian beauty who has starred in many commercials and editorials for international brands admonished aspiring models to have a thick skin if they want to survive in the fashion industry. She added that models need to know their worth and their body inside out in order to deliver on the job when contracted. Shirley also told models to sign up with the right agencies in order to get in-house trainings who will equally manage their client relationship and prospect for jobs on their behalf.

233 Models Summit promises to be a yearly event as part of Mr. Model Africa Competition to search for the ideal Male Model which is taking place on Saturday 28th October, 2017 at the Providence Event Place, Trade Fair.