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The media landscape used to be simple for fashion PR. We focused largely on fashion editors, stylists, celebrities and wardrobe sponsorship. These days, fashion PR process has evolved as fashion brands started showing their collections in-season, launching digital and prints ads instantly and allowing consumers to buy runway items in real-time. Street style, fashion zeitgeist and taste making are simultaneously shared and formed. Social objects such as hashtags gather micro-communities. So if you are launching a social media advertisement, think about what relevant hashtags you can use. 

Just last week, some of our PR gladiators were part of helping one of our client’s blogger engagements with Lian Mei Ting, Yina Goh, Zoe Raymond and Jessica Tham. Well, let’s allow the pictures below speak a few words.

(Lian Mei Ting)

(Yina Goh)

(Zoe Raymond)

(Jessica Tham)

So how is blogger engagement done? Here are 3 Tips to help you manage and ensure effective blogger engagement!

1.Communication is Key

(Credits: http://yosrasaleh.tumblr.com/)

When a relationship is built, there would be more possibilities for future collaborations. Engaging a blogger for collaboration is not about contacting them only when you need their service.

Be friendly and enagage in small talk, asking them how was their day, etc. This would allow both parties to be comfortable with each other, making the collaboration more enjoyable.

Here is Yina posing for a casual photo. Collaborations can be serious but fun at the same time!

By building a stable and open relationship between the blogger and yourself, it would make it easier for you to contact the blogger for meet ups or work-related matters in order to publish the best coverage possible.

2. Be Interested 

(Credits: https://drawception.com/viewgame/1KwFs3Nw5N/spam-spam-spam-spam-spammity-spaam/)

It is important to take interest in what the bloggers are attracted to. You would not want a fashion blogger to be doing food collaborations when your goals is to advertise a fashion product. Just like how Mei Ting, Yina, Zoe and Jessica have high passion for fashion, fashion collaborations would be of high interest to them. We would be assured that desirable fashion advertisements would be produced for the client we are representing for.

3.Ask politely to take more pictures

Remember, bloggers are there to help gain more coverage for your clients. They are the ones that are able to get more viewership from their fans and followers. Feel free to ask the bloggers to pose for more photos to help you get the best shot.

All in all, it is relatively easy to execute blogger engagements. Just keep the 3 tips in mind and you would be good to go! 

For starters, how do we pitch to magazine editors? We share some pointers that may help you in reaching out to magazine editors effectively for your next pitch! 

Credit: www.designmaz.net

Know Your Audience

Of course, the first most important point is to identify your main target audience you want to reach out to. From there, you'll know which magazines to target. We have to ensure we match our pitch to the magazine and their target audience for it to be relevant!

Know Their Interest

For starters, how do we pitch to magazine editors? We share some pointers that may help you in reaching out to magazine editors effectively for your next pitch! 

Know Your Audience

Of course, the first most important point is to identify your main target audience you want to reach out to. From there, you'll know which magazines to target. We have to ensure we match our pitch to the magazine and their target audience for it to be relevant!

Read Their Magazine

How to garner the attention of the editors? By understanding what their point of interest is. By showing that you have read and understood where their publication’s interest lies in, it would then be easier to craft a pitch that would interest them.

Know Their Timeline

Magazines have a cycle that you would need to know in order to pitch them in a timely manner. For monthly publications, you would have to pitch 2 months in advance. For example, for a story to appear in the November issue, you would have to start pitching in September.

Answer Promptly

Do not keep the editors waiting for days for your reply as it shows that you have no respect for their time. Do remember that they are very busy people, so don’t keep them waiting!

Call & Be Friendly

Pick up the phone to follow up with them. It is all about the personal touch and building a relationship. By calling the editors, it shows that you are sincere enough to make an effort to connect with the editors.

Keep It Short & Interesting

No body has the time to read a really long proposal at one glance. Your pitch should be personalized, interesting but short enough to pique the interest of the editors. Have the necessary information in your pitch but keep it short and sweet because the longer your email is, the higher chance it would be ignored. 

Those familiar with managing an event would understand the difficulties in handling the logistics on all sides, especially when you are liaising with someone over an email, and hard as you press, you are never able to get a reply from them.

Before getting to the glam and glamour of the actual event, the behind-the-scenes of handling an event is the way to ensure a good show.

Here, I have 3 important tips to take note of when managing an event, especially when it’s one that includes external attendees.

1. Write everything down

It can be a challenge managing an event for the first time.

The best way I have learned is to always plan ahead and stay on top of things by writing everything down. I don’t mean just your typical bullet point, one-word notes -- at the end of a long and busy day, you’d look back on your notes and confuse yourself even more.

Write specifically in the list the items that needs to be done, or anything that needs to be taken care of. This is especially important when you are at a meeting.

Once you have that, everything will be clearer, and you won’t have a hard time trying to remember everything that you need to do.

2. Multi-tasking -- the smart way

Multi-tasking is an important skill especially if you need to organize catering and other logistics.

The magic to multi-tasking is time management.

That being said, if you feel like you cannot handle too many things at once, always prioritise the work. Urgent matters should always be handled first.

To get the maximal outcome from this point, follow the first pointer and you’re halfway there to making it.

3. Communication is very important

When it comes to managing an event, you will definitely be liaising back and forth with caterers and client so with all the back and forth, it is important to check that nothing is being lost but double checking everything twice.

One way to ensure that everyone will be on the same page is to ensure that updates to any issue or discussion is passed on to the appropriate person. Hold regular meetings to update everyone on the things that you are doing.

When you get an unexpected hiccup from one aspect of the management, always keep those involved in the loop.

Another thing to note is that, if you are making changes, always inform the other party so that they don’t get a surprise.

Now to get into the actual planning of the event. To create an event with the perfect setting, the planning of it has to be done right. Here is a list of things needed to ensure that your attendees will be able to feel the vibe that you want them to feel. 

1. Thematic setting

To create the right mood that you want to achieve for your event, the first thing to think about is the theme of the event that you want. 

To find a suitable theme, consider the tone of the event that you want before deciding on the theme. 

Some examples are, rose theme, garden chic, Spanish lifestyle, and more. 

2. Decor / food 

Of course, once you have settled on the theme of the event, the next step is to ensure that the decoration and food matches the theme. 

If your theme is a Spanish lifestyle, you would then ensure that the food is Spanish cuisine, and not, chinese.

3. Who to invite

At the end of the day, the reason why you are organising an event is because you want to showcase, or impress others. 

That said, the people that you invite has to be people that you want to impress. If you are having an event that you want to be publicized, you should then also invite the relevant people from the media. If it is a food event, invite food writers, if it’s a beauty event, invite beauty writers, and so on and so forth, you get the idea.  

With these important tips in mind, organizing an event will be smooth and successful. 

We’re all guilty of being preoccupied with our own concerns - what to have for lunch, where to go on holiday, our kids and so on. So much so that we take for granted that our surroundings are clean, green and safe.

Green, Clean and Safe Singapore

We often forget the discreet army of cleaners, landscape workers and security officers who make all this a reality, and who earn low wages.

They deserve our thanks for their ceaseless labour which makes our lives pleasant, and keeps our city liveable.

Being gracious by saying thank-you with a smile costs nothing, but it can make the day of the ones who clear tables and sweep the streets.

So, the next time you’re in a food court, stop chatting with your companion or fiddling with your phone. Make eye contact with the person cleaning your table, and say thank-you. Greet the security personnel at your work place or shopping mall with a “Good Morning”. Humanise your interaction with the many workers you will encounter in the course of your day.

Remember that a smile removes the cloak of invisibility that they wear. A friendly gesture acknowledges the importance of their roles in the smooth running of our city state.

Make a difference. Be a part of the ‘Appreciating U’ movement launched by U Care Centre (UCC). UCC is an organisation set up by the National Trade Union Council (NTUC) to support low-wage workers.

With the ‘Appreciating U’ movement set in motion in April this year, UCC hopes to garner the support of Singaporeans to come together and show our appreciation to the low wage workers of Singapore.

Share with us how you show appreciation to the low-wage workers with a photo! Upload it on Facebook or Instagram and include the #thumbsuptribute. Don't forget to mention UCC!

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