Faith Senam Ocloo is a Young and Beautiful Fashion PR Consultant and Founder of E’april Public Relations; A Boutique Agency with Specialization in Fashion, Beauty, Lifestyle and Events.
She is also the Content Developer/PR Specialist for Evangel Magazine, Accra Men’s Fashion Week and Totally Ethnik. Faith is also a Weekly Columnist with the Business and Financial Times Newspaper (BFT). She tells us a bit About Herself and her Career.
A little introduction?
I am Faith Senam Ocloo, I am Fashion PR Specialist and founder of E’april Public Relations; a boutique PR firm dedicated to developing and executing PR and brand strategies for emerging and established brands within the fashion, beauty and lifestyle industry.
What led you into starting a career in PR in Fashion?
Knowing the potential of the fashion industry and the role PR can play in it, I realized the need for many businesses in fashion to include public relations in their overall brand/business development strategies in order to build successful brands. Something that is lacking in the fashion industry in Ghana hence my decision to start a career in fashion as a PR professional.
How has it been so far in Ghana?
Not easy at all. This is because fashion PR is still yet to gain any meaning to designers here in Ghana. Since I started freelancing in 2012 it’s been a roller coaster ride. However, I have managed to keep working at it and I know hopefully soon, things will change. People within the fashion industry still find it difficult to pay for the services of a PR representative like they will pay for their fabric or any other thing needed to make their designs or collection. I am optimistic things will change soon and designers will be interested in engaging a PR professional to develop and promote their brand.
What is the role of PR in fashion and why do you think designers should include PR in their overall brand strategy?
A Public Relations representative for your brand will be responsible for your brand image both online and offline. They will also see to it that you gain adequate exposure through brand mentions, features, events, collaborations, brand/product placements all in an effort to keep your brand constantly talked about while maintaining a positive image. Having a PR representative or including PR in your brand strategy will support all the efforts being put into growing your brand and keeping it being talked about.
What informs your decision to handle PR for one brand over another?
First, I need to believe in your brand. Meaning, I need to be confident about the brand I represent. That way I can be able to create a lovable brand out of it. Also, having a fashion brand means you should be talented, creative and passionate about what you do. I love to work with people who have the urge to still learn and push to greater heights. Once I am convinced about the prospects of your product, we are good to go.
What kinds of brand/products do you represent?
As a fashion publicist, I represent brands within the fashion, beauty and lifestyle industry. Currently, I handle PR for Totally Ethnik, Accra Men’s Fashion Week, Evangel Christian Magazine and the new addition to the bill is an accessory brand called Egudzi.
Aside PR what other activities do you engage in to promote fashion and designers?
Aside being a fashion PR Specialist, I run a blog called Fashion and Public Relations where I blog about my day to day life as a fashion publicist. I am also a weekly columnist with the Business and Financial Times Newspaper called “Fashion & More with Faith Senam” where I write on diverse topics relating to fashion such as features, events and articles all geared towards promoting and supporting brands and fashion. In other instances, I support events and brands to gain more visibility for their products or brands.
What has been some of the challenges working with designers in Ghana?
Running a fashion business is already a challenge here in Ghana. However, there are some designers who barely even have time to respond to emails or opportunities to feature. This is as a result of doubling in other roles.So there are instances where I contact a designer to feature their latest collection or profile them in my column, they may either take forever to respond or never respond at all. By these, they miss out on several opportunities.
Additionally, most people are still yet to grasp the importance of PR to their brand development and growth hence hesitant to engage the services of a PR professional.
What are your final words to designers who wish to promote and grow from local brands into global ones?
I will say, they should never stop learning. They should not limit themselves as knowing so much. They should research and learn more from other designers and not just see them as competitors. They can take inspiration from them to build a much stronger brand.
Also, they should not try to do everything by themselves. If they want to grow and expand they should engage the right resources to support them to attain that.
