Larger brands already know who to work with and they usually go for the most in-demand PR agency, but smaller designers aren’t always clued in when it comes to choosing someone new to help with public relations. Learning the ropes of the fashion world is difficult, then add PR to the ingredients and it becomes a frustrating recipe. But it doesn’t have to be a recipe of disaster. As someone who has been in the fashion industry, I know what it’s like to search for a good, but affordable public relations agency; I’d like to pass on a few, albeit brief, tips. So please read below.

 

Nimble

 

When choosing a fashion public relations agency, see how nimble they seem. What do I mean by nimble? You want to work with an agency who can easily turn out work in a short amount of time. If you introduce a new shoe collection, your agency should be able to put a pitch together easily and email it to editors within hours of receiving your line sheets. I’ve worked with freelance PR that would take days to write a several line pitch; that’s not nimble.

 

Open to New Ideas

 

The worst type of PR agency to work with is one with tunnel vision that doesn’t include communicating well with the client and implementing their ideas. Often, the client has worked with previous public relations and they know what works and what doesn’t. It’s important to find an agency that takes your past press mentions and PR strategy into consideration.

 

Honesty

 

Be leery of any fashion public relations agency that promises to land your fashion company press. Unless they have a family member that is on the receiving end of their pitches, they cannot make any sort of blatant promises. And even if they claim to be close friends with an editor, don’t get your hopes up because layouts in magazines are often scraped at last minute. Public relations agencies have been known to promise the moon along with a glittery unicorn before you sign a contract- don’t fall for phony statements. Before signing a contract, if you notice the person or public relations agency is phony or overly nice (comments dripping in honey) then that is a red flag.

 

Monthly Retainer

 

Many larger fashion public relations agencies catering to the fashion industry require a large monthly beauty public relations retainer fee. A $5,000 monthly PR simply isn’t possible for smaller brands. Moreover, the ROI isn’t noticeable each month. It’s best to look for a smaller, boutique PR firm or a freelancer who can easily pitch your products to the media without requiring a hefty monthly fee. Many in the public relations industry start off at the big agencies and then after a few years begin a freelance career where they help grow and nurture smaller fashion brands. It takes some searching, but look for a freelancer with good contacts and an even better work ethic. Don’t think you have to go into debt working with a public relations agency.

 

If you are in the fashion industry, you can see that it’s important to find the right PR agency to work with. These are a few of our tips when searching for new PR. It may take working with a few people or agencies to find the right fit; that’s completely normal.