Author Archive

No Spanx…No Thanks

October 31st, 2007 Ralinda Harvey

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketI was traveling to Paris last week with a very good and very very curvaceous friend of mine who’d left something very very crucial at home.

I left my “Spanxs!” she frantically exclaimed. Huh? Well of course I’d heard of them they’re the footless pantyhose that have been so impeccably branded and promoted they’re in a league of their own. Certainly my dear friend had enough sense to realize they are just pantyhose…they could easily be replaced.

Well unfortunately the long flight may have shaken some of her marbles a loose. My friend explained she wears Spanx every single day and they were the only things that put her hips “under control.” She wouldn’t think of spending her European vacation without them. Knowing the power of branding the way I do…my reaction “You couldn’t be serious?” but at the same time “You probably are.”

So we hit the road…not to see the Eifle Tower, The Louve or to stroll the Champs Elysees…. we were on a hunt for Spanx. Many stores…. confused salespeople and evil looks from me later she reluctantly purchased a “tummy control,” girdle…the kind that have been around forever. As far as I could see they controlled her hips more than enough.

Spanxs essentially created a category of one. They transcend control top footless pantyhose into the only “real Spanks,” you could buy. Was it the fun name…the cute packaging….or the clever tagline of “power panties.” (more…)

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Desperate for Product Placement

October 31st, 2007 Ralinda Harvey

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketI had a chance meeting in Atlanta with the director of Business Development for Compulsion.

Compulsion what? The guy claimed it was revolutionary. Whatever…everything’s revolutionary these days. I’ve been known as a hard nut to crack but once I watched the Compulsion demo on his laptop I knew…right then…right there. These folks were about change the world of Ecommerce.

Well, everyone knows the sexy stepsister of advertising has always been product placement. However the biggest problem with product placement is the frustration it presents. Yeah, I’ve wondered what type of blackberry McDreamy was using or what lip gloss Gabby had on the last episode of Desparate Housewives. I mean we all think about those things….Don’t we?? But what are you supposed to do…Google it and hope it comes up? That’s so 2006. (more…)

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Getting to the Top…Search Engine Optimization

October 31st, 2007 Ralinda Harvey

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The topic of Search Engine Optimization was the big buzz at my online marketing seminar last night.

“How can I get to the top!” the attendees clamored…banged on the tables and shot daggers at me that resembled bic pens. Aghhhhhhhhhh…the expert has been exposed. Let’s give everyone a refund and I’m going to try to get home to watch the series premier of Hero’s. Cool?

Ok, seriously sometimes I am prone to exaggerate…however if I had the formula to get anyone any term they want at the top of the Google search listings I’d be hosting seminars on the rooftop of my Malibu mansion instead of the LA Mart and my refreshments would change from bottled water to bottles of Moet & Chandon . Really.
The exact Google algorithm for getting to the top is the best kept secret since McDonald’s secret sauce. Many firms can give you their “guarantees,” for certain words in the organic listings….for typically a certain very high price.

Attention folks….There really aren’t any true guarantees! Which probably explains the use of the term search engine “optimization” instead of Search Engine Placement firms. This slight mince of words serves as the loophole that illustrates the inherent limitations in “cracking the code.” (more…)

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Pressed for Press

July 12th, 2007 Ralinda Harvey

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketEvery designer wants press. It’s exciting. I remember when I saw my first client’s editorial in Lucky Magazine. So exciting…and ironically it was of a bathing suit she happened to name after me. However, even though it was a pretty big picture with her name and website as big as day, I don’t remember an influx of orders after that publication hit. Or really a difference at all.

Hmmm….what happened? Lucky is read by thousands and thousands of potential customers but it seemed like only about 5 had even taken notice. One of which was the designers mother….but I digress.
So it made me wonder. Press is really great…but at the end of the day what does a feature in Elle or a product mention in Marie Claire really mean?
Financially that is….?

Over the years I’ve learned that editorial mentions don’t necessarily equal cash dividends. You have to make them work, and a big part of that work happens long before the magazine even hits the newsstand.
Here are a few tips on making editorial mentions work for you…..
Build Customer Relationships….

If you’re a designer instead of giving editorial credit to your website, why not give your biggest selling retailer a call.
Tell them you’d like to use their name or website address to send customers to their stores from an upcoming editorial piece. They’ll be thrilled!! (more…)

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Inspired to Buy

July 12th, 2007 Ralinda Harvey

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketOk marketing the iphone is not the exact same as marketing fashion. But I admit but do have to take a second to tip my hat to the amazing marketing job those folks have done over there at Apple. Our industry, for the most part isn’t about week long lines and switching networks or the general fiasco that preceded the iphone launch. However one thing that fashion can take from this nifty little gadget and the Apple company in general is the lengths people will go to once they are inspired.

I thought about it a while ago when I was working with one client on how they could gain more business from their existing retailers. I sat there dreaming up incentives, planning a media calendar, magazines they could advertise in, even an itemized budget…. then it occurred to me that for the most part customers don’t really don’t really need all that. People don’t really need a $500 dress, a designer yoga mat or a handbag that is equivalent to the down payment of a Midwestern home.

People just want to be happy…they want to be inspired to find the necessity to buy your product. This is not to say they don’t appreciate quality or a designer’s style acumen and attention to detail. It’s just to say that people are typically looking for a return on investment that is much more emotional than financial.

So no you definitely don’t have to be a self help guru to know you can’t buy happiness…however the average company who aspires for long term success needs to pay attention to the psychological focus of their customers. (more…)

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Branding Fashion

June 25th, 2007 Ralinda Harvey

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The hands down most exciting part of launching a fashion business is creating the brand.

In creating your brand you are essentially giving birth to its personality and character plus building brand equity you’ll be able to cash in on for years to come. If everything goes according to plan you’re able to establish a strong emotional connection that makes your
consumers feel as if they can substitute if necessary you but never replace you.

One reoccurring theme I’ve noticed amongst branding experts has been the dire importance of positioning as the first step in creating a dynamic brand. (more…)

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Give em’ What They Want, Understanding Your Merchandising Strategy

May 31st, 2007 Ralinda Harvey

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I had a client not too long ago that hadn’t realized what made her business go left. She owned a stylish super chic accessory company specializing in handbags.

Her “star” item was always her signature clutch….it was $125 wholesale and it sold and sold and sold. Every season it was reinvented in some way or another and it kept selling. Well one day I guess Jessica Simpson–Sienna Miller– Lindsay Lohan or one of them had too much to carry one night and she pulled out this huge bag… and sent the clutch and the clutch business straight to hell.

So it downtrended….died…played out whatever you want to call it. Being the businesswoman that she was she started doing these gorgeous Italian leather boho bags but her business stumbled or chocked…or stumbled and chocked would probably be the most accurate. So let’s take a look at this…what’s really going on? (more…)

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Designers Get Ready for Your First Trade Show, Part 2

May 31st, 2007 Ralinda Harvey

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Now that you’ve got your goals in place it’s time to develop a strategy. In other words you need a step by step game plan to get to where you want to be. If you’re a new line common belief is that buyers are naturally hesitant about you. Some stores just don’t want to be a part of your suspected growing pains. They want to see you in the game for a few seasons to make sure you’re in it for the long haul. Given this, instead of bombarding retailers and hoping “Barney’s” or “Fred Segal” stop by you may want to opt for a change in your focus.

While buyers are naturally hesitant, the press will conversely be naturally curious about hot new designers. New lines with an interesting perspective are fresh pickings for the market editors scouring the shows. In this instance you may allot a portion of your budget to hiring a publicist to help you promote the launch of your line. You could also take steps to contacting the press yourself which I’ll cover in a moment.

Focusing on the press may seem like a longer route when you ultimately want generate sales. However, it’s important to take advantage of this opportunity while you’re new and fresh. So instead of Stores—Press–Buzz. Your scenario may go Press—Buzz –Stores. Either way you’re working in a strategic direction towards your goals.
(more…)

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Tricks of the Trade Designers, Get Ready for Your First Trade Show

May 31st, 2007 Ralinda Harvey

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketLet’s face it. Trade shows are expensive. By the time you’ve finishedmaking samples, shipping product, building and decorating the booth you could have purchased a Mini Cooper. If it’s your first trade show be advised that just because you build it they will not come. You have to put a marketing push behind this special event to attract the types of visitors your want. We’ll start with the basics. It’s been said that in most trade show traffic is from appointments of existing accounts. So what if you’re new in the game is the only option just “not to go?” You have to start somewhere and if you’ve been to the show and it has good traffic and comparable product you should seriously consider attending.

As a designer creating and producing samples it’s easy to become overwhelmed as you prepare for your first show. You want the stitching to be flawless and the draping to be just so. The samples have to look as good as humanly possible so the buyers can fall head over heels for your product. On top of that the booth must be beautiful, “where should we get the flowers from? What will we put on the walls?”

Decisions… Decisions. Although booth presentation is extremely time consuming there’s only one problem with getting consumed with these details. If the buyers don’t know about you they won’t be there to fall head over heels, and in turn their heels will be clicking to the next designers’ booth. (more…)

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