Fashion Marketing - ''Defining Your Brand'' -

''Colorize'' You - ''Colorize'' Your Brand

When it comes to our personal and company brands, people and companies often have an have identity crisis at some point in their growth. When that happens, we have to pause and ask ourselves:

• Who am I/we?
• What do I/we do best?
• Who’s my target client? Or – What do I want to do with my life?
• What are my/our long term goals for my/our company?
• What do I want to be known for?

If you don’t have answers to these questions, then it’s time to do a brand audit and put your personal or company brand into context by defining your identity. You’ve got to know what makes you, your clients and their customers tick — even if you’re an individual person!

Agencies With Identities and Focus

Last week, Ad Age published their “Agency – A-List,” a guide of the best large scale advertising agencies in the world. Coming in at number four was women-owned and run Resource Interactive. What caught my attention was that this Ohio-based agency is setting itself apart because they know exactly who they and what they do.

Regularly employed by Victoria’s Secret, Limited Brands, Proactiv, Diesel and Kohls, the agency’s core competency is e-commerce solutions for clients in the retail, package goods and technology sectors. As you can see, they’re very FOCUSED in the services they provide clients. “Focus is a big part of what we’re about,” CEO Kelly Mooney told Ad Age. “We’re going to focus on the areas we can bring the most value.”

Strength Comes From Knowing Who You Are And Are Not

Last week, I had dinner with a woman I consider a friend and would go to the ends of the earth for, Erica Domesek of PS…I Made This. Erica and I are currently working on project for Teen Vogue and WWDMAGIC to bring 30 (now close to 45) fashion bloggers to Las Vegas to experience their first industry tradeshow.  For this event, we’re adding a laundry list of consumer focused activities that have one goal:  to create an unforgettable experience that connects 45 people that may never have met in their lives unless we’d done this.

During our planning, Erica said one of the most powerful things I’ve heard in all of 2010 and 2011 regarding herself as an entrepreneur and her brand, she said:

“I am a digital platform with a DIY media brand. My brand is aspirational, inspirational and educational for the people that follow me.”

She said this without the power of the statement she’d just uttered. I quickly scribbled them on a cocktail napkin with my purple P.S. I MADE THIS Sharpie she’d given me. Erica clearly doesn’t have an identity crisis. She knows who she is, what she wants and how she’s going to get it. This will be clearly brought to life when she graces the pages of Vogue Italia soon.

If you’re having an identity crisis, after market and fashion weeks, add a brand assessment to your spring to-do list along with the Blueprint Cleanse you’ve been considering.

by Macala Wright

11 - Steps For Fashionable Success In 20-11

Fashionable Success

        ''This has been a week for catching up, checking in and coordinating.  After reviewing all of the emails I saved six months ago to follow up on, I  realized that the most common question I’ve been asked in 2010 is: “How do I become a success in the fashion industry?” The question came from bloggers, designers, students and professionals — individuals who wanted to become social media consultants, start an agency or become the next top blogger — they all had voices that wanted to be heard.

Here are my 11 insights for moving towards a more successful existence in the fashion industry in 2011 — in no particular order:

1. LOVE: You have to LOVE the what you do. You have to LOVE your business, your blog, your company and your talents. LOVE is the only constant through the ups and downs you’re going to experience as your move forward in your life and career.

2. LOYALTY: A successful business is built on LOYALTY.  If someone helps you move forward, seize the opportunity to help him or her when you’re in the position to return the favor; do it no questions asked! Be cautious about burning bridges; as you grow older, you’ll find that rebuilding those bridges becomes harder and harder to do.  But remember, never allow kindness and LOYALTY to be mistaken for weakness. Stay away from relationships that contain one way streets, no reciprocity and parties who think your kind intentions make you a door mat.

3. GUT: You’ve got to trust your GUT — the inner core of your being that contributes to your success.  Unfortunately, we sometimes give our LOYALTY to the wrong person or alliance.  Learn from these mistakes; if your GUT tells you no, stirring those familiar feelings of deceit or anxiety, move gracefully and swiftly away.  This is a necessary art to master in your personal and professional worlds.

4. PASSION: Closely interwoven with LOVE, you need PASSION. Do you know how Margiela was inspired by 17th century Japanese footwear? Do you find that website code creates fashionable, poetic haiku? Do you Tumblr towards ecstasy in search of fashionable online content?  That PASSION is fueled by your LOVE of fashion. That PASSION enables you to stop following trends in fashion and business and become an expert — a person who is a trendsetter and adviser within a specific  niche.

5. SELF: Can you remove yourself and analyze a problem from a non-biased point of view?  Do you follow the latest trends that the Internet and magazines are raving about, or are the trends they’re introducing already old in your mind by the time they’ve reached your ears? Learn to transcend the now — stop living your life in perpetual beta or real-time; take some time to focus on teaching your SELF to transcend being reactionary and become a visionary. The evolution of SELF is something that only you can do.

6. MARCH: You have to MARCH to the beat of your own drum.  It’s important to cultivate this practice, as opposed to mindlessly marching along with the masses.  Working on SELF will help you MARCH with confidence on your path. I would also recommend taking up a Yoga practice of your choice.

7. RISE: A few years ago, I experienced career epiphanies through slight intoxication with a well known figure in technology (It was SXSW – you kinda have to drink in Texas). Not realizing the impact and truthfulness of the conversation until later, I’d like to share it now.

This person told me, “Macala, cream rises to the top. Stop paying attention to your perceived competition, because you know what? It’s exactly what I said, it’s your perception. Go create your own world through the content you produce. Tell your story and your industry’s story from your perspective. If you’re right, you’ll RISE. The people you can’t get to to will come to you.”

8. INVEST: I’ve always said that FashionablyMarketing.Me and my other properties were companies or ideas built on Open Source and Broken Dreams. There’s a commonality in everyone that works for any media property or company of mine. They love fashion and they’re hungry.  Their PASSION drives them to work for what they ultimately want. What’s more, open source software and social platforms enabled me to find them.

Once I found them, I got to know them, and interestingly enough, found that each of us had a story that had caused our lives to shatter in some way; leaving us with broken dreams and hearts. But our PASSION and sense of SELF caused us to rebuild and MARCH towards our dreams. I’ve INVESTED in every partner or employee related to my business. I’m a firm believer in the “hire for attitude, train for skill” approach. All that glitters is not gold; it’s better to mold what you need than to find a pre-made, perfect (or what seems to be perfect) person to fill a role. 

9. RELIEVE: Sometimes after we’ve INVESTED, we realize we’ve made the wrong choices. It’s okay — to err is human, to forgive is divine. But once you realize that you’ve made an error, you have to RELIEVE that situation. In order to grow the right way, hire  people and partner with other companies slowly and smartly. Build long term relationships instead of one night stands. If you make a mistake, dissolve the relationship quickly and tactfully.

10. RISK: Sometimes you have to trust your GUT and take a RISK — whether calculated or simply crazy. If you don’t investigate or implement those ideas you just have a hunch about or that idea that took you from your sleep at 2AM on Tuesday, you can miss valuable opportunities! The Internet is a digital experimentation playground. Go for broke – why do you think VCs invest in so many technologies?

11. FREE: I hate the model of FREE, but in paying your dues, you are going to do things for FREE. But here’s the key to FREE:  always do things for FREE or for profit, but never do them for cheap. After you’ve paid your dues, make sure you get your value. ''

by Macala Wright

Myra's Human Genetic Evolution

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