How Fashion PR Agencies Are Adapting To Social Distancing
ICA CEO Adee Drexler
A version of this story first appeared on Forbes.com
Desk sides, showroom visits, and influencer events are all staples of the public relations game, and with good reason. We’ve always found that an in-person experience helps us remember a brand’s story and offerings. However, with social distancing becoming the norm in our country for the foreseeable future, PR firms and editors alike are wondering how our industry can adapt to these new circumstances and find success in a world where in-person meetings are impossible.
Adee Drexler, CEO of PR firm Infinity Creative Agency, knew she and her team had to take the lead. “We can’t just sit back and wait for things to change; we need to change them ourselves,” she explained.
Infinity Creative Agency (ICA for short), which represents brands like Pretty Little Thing, Quay Australia, P.E. Nation, and countless other chic brands, has never considered itself a traditional PR firm. Always thinking of unique ways to pair A-list talent with some of the biggest fashion and accessories brands around, ICA is known to pave new paths for clients. For them, large-scale quarantining presented a new challenge to innovate.
ICA was one of the first agencies to start the #homecontent movement, encouraging their strong network of celebrities and social media influencers to keep the conversation going between brands and influencers from within their homes. While the country is facing uncertain times, maintaining lighthearted and engaging content helps add some sense of normalcy and excitement to everyone’s day.
“We only know one way of doing things: with hustle, heart, and hard work.”
One important initiative that the agency is promoting is bringing together brands and industry leaders to have conversations about their businesses, how they are navigating the new normal, and how they can support each other to get through this unprecedented time.
Drexler notes, “While it has never been a competition between our brands, we are aligning industry leaders with a different mindset. For the first time ever we have synced up brands that play in the same space, to unite them and help build them up through strategy and brainstorm. Brands are leaning in, embracing the changing landscape together.”
For example, ICA has facilitated Instagram Live chats with like-minded CEOs such as sustainable denim leaders Sarah Ahmed of Warp + Weft and Adam Taubenfligel of Triarchy, as well as tapping into their retail community to pair REVOLVE with Koral Activewear and celebrity trainer Shannon Nadj for a live stream workout. Using social media to connect with the fashion community has helped bring people together digitally, even when we cannot physically be all together at the moment.
“We only know one way of doing things: with hustle, heart, and hard work,” says Drexler. “We have never worked harder connecting with our community, communicating, and taking care of our clients.” Thanks to the widespread use of social media as well as e-commerce capabilities, brands still have plenty of avenues to interact with and engage their audiences.
Will we return to the typical desk side meetings and influencer events once social distancing is a thing of the past? We have a feeling brands will still see the value of in-person activations. Rather, these new ways of connecting with audiences via social media will become another tool in ICA’s arsenal, and allow public relations agencies to present a 360-degree strategy to their clients. Until then, We are excited to see how agencies like ICA continue to innovate.