NYFW marketing: Creating an Essential Video Toolkit for Emerging Designers…and how much it costs
As a young designer marketing budgets are tight. Every dollar counts and you have to make it stretch. Video is one of the best ways to grow your business, especially if you’re able to make it work for you well after the show is over. Adriana Kaegi, founder of StyleCulture.tv and Addy Media has worked with up and coming talent and shares her insights for creating a marketing tool kit that gets the attention of press, retailers, influencers, vendors, and other people that matter. She also isn’t afraid to share how much you should be spending.
Your Marketing Toolkit 101
1) Where to start. Of course, the minute you get your show date, you’ll send out an invitation to the VIPs on your list. You’ll post on social media. and then what? PR people can be expensive and you might not have one. That’s okay. Although you’re busy, every day, follow at least 5 fashion reporters on IG and make a list with their name, outlet, and email. You would be surprised at how you can find email addresses by just googling their names and the word “contact”. There are also several sites like rocketreach.io that give you five free email look-ups. Once you have a few key press people on your list, send them the invite. The process might seem time consuming at first, but know that you’re making those contacts for this show and the ones ahead.
2) Let’s talk about the importance of video. Find a team that takes care of everything. One vendor for all of your needs including video of the red carpet, designer interview, photography, video editing. This will be the most cost effective and if you have any challenges, you can reach out to one person and they can take care of it! 3) Optics are important. You have a fashion show that needs to feel energized. There’s nothing like the camera rolling, the lights are on, a fashion host is asking you questions, and all of your guests are there to see it happen. There’s something magical and that magic should be captured by someone so that it can be posted on your social media.
3) Make sure the video team is also going to edit the footage. A few minute video might look like it was easy to put together, but it can take hours. Literally. You don’t want to be sending a video editor to start the process even 24 hours after the show.
4) Let’s put that video footage and those photos to work! Make sure that the video team that you’re working with has the right distribution. Addy Media for example, has worldwide distribution with places like MSN, Amazon, Roku, and loads of others. Founder Adriana Kaegi is also a Getty Contributor. What does that mean? It means that you’re getting amazing press hits. if you want to know what to do with those press hits — keep reading.
5) What to do with video and photos from your show. Believe it or not, some designers get the footage, use it on their website, and then that’s it. Here’s a list of six ways you can put that video footage to good use:
- Social media — put it in several different lengths on all of your channels. Create a longer and shorter version for YouTube
- Press page — start a press page and make sure you have all of those great logos from the sites that ran your footage
- Use it as a follow-up with retailers. If you’ve been speaking with buyers, your video footage is a great way to follow-up with something new.
- Add a link to your email signature. Think about how many people you email in a typical month. Adding the link to your video from your email signature is a great way to get more views.
- Share it with press. Larger press outlets have their own photo and video teams, but smaller (and high quality ones) might not. Share the link with them and some information about the show. You might be surprised at where your video is used.
- Start making friends. Young designers who focus on apparel also need their models to walk down the runway in footwear and accessories. It’s great when you can team up with a like minded brand in those categories. Use the video as part of your pitch and show off your talent.
How much does it cost?
Getting all this value costs less than you think. Starting at $1,800 young designers can expect:
- Runway video
- Designer interview
- Broll from backstage and front row.
- Royalty free music
- Editorial video 1–2min distributed
- Reels up to 3
When asked for a comment, Adriana explained, “I have been doing this for long enough that I know exactly what needs to be done, how it will help brands the most, and how to be efficient so that we all win. It’s so important to support talent, especially new designers, and this is one way to do it.”
