One of the most interesting jobs of my year was working alongside a PR agency while they were pitching for business with a fashion brand.
Apart from gleaning the rather comforting truth that agencies work as much to the deadline wire as journalists do, another interesting thing I picked up was just how difficult it is for someone who doesn’t deal with fashion journalists on a daily basis to understand who does what on the editorial teams.
When you’ve got a masthead (and lots of titles don’t even have a mast-head) full of Fashion Directors, Fashion Features Editors, Senior Stylists, Fashion Executives etc, who the heck should you be pitching to?
While sending the same email to everyone on the team and hoping it sticks is one strategy (and honestly, sometimes it’s your safest bet ), if you want to find the right person to be excited about your product or campaign, and if actually want to get a bum on seat at an event, it helps to be more targeted.
Seniority and decades long relationships between journalists and PRs matter, yes, but if you’re a more junior member of a team you have to start somewhere. So start with a call or an email and be honest. Ask: who is the right person to talk to about this? Your efficiency won’t go unappreciated.
