the brief

If yoga, spin and strength training isn’t challenging enough, try finding an editor or blogger that hasn’t encountered a rogue publicist. The kind that emails pitches by the thousands and insists Groupon is the best growth platform for any luxury brand.

Most publicists strive to maintain pristine reputations and strong relationships. However, even those in the spin business would have to agree that not even a “bad press is good press” mantra can fix a publicist gone wild. When it’s done right, PR can help grow awareness and drive sales, but if your brand is in the wrong hands, your PR efforts may be hurting you.

It seems fairly obvious that you wouldn’t pitch electronics to a beauty blogger, but it happens. “It’s an email epidemic,” says Lara Eurdolian, blogger and founder of Pretty Connected. “My inbox is regularly flooded with worthless content I'd never feature and it feels like my name is on every press list. Even worse is the lack of research and poor email etiquette—text in all caps, careless misspellings and unprofessional, mass distribution.”

Skilled community managers are strategic in their engagement efforts and target specific bloggers and editors that align well with the brand they are representing. These are often long-term efforts and cannot risk being harmed by an aggressive or vagrant publicist. On the other hand, if your social media team isn’t strategic with their outreach and habitually spams editors, bloggers and even publicists, they’ll be harming your brand’s image faster than your PR team can run damage control.

Your brand is your most valuable asset, so it’s important to be aware of how it is represented in the media and ensure a strategic, unified presentation throughout all channels. Engagement truly is king, especially among collaborative marketing teams where traditional communication lines have clearly blurred.

Photo by Spaightwood Galleries, Inc

Today’s consumers are smarter than they were ten years ago. In fact, you could even say they’re smarter than they were just one year ago. They continually endeavor to stay ahead of the digital curve by learning more about their favorite brands through new and evolving technology platforms before making a purchase.

The innovative marketing minds behind today’s top brands are leveraging sales potential through a combination of email, social media and mobile. They are creating real-time, multi-channel brand enhancements to stay current with the modern consumer, where demand remains at an all-time high.

Brands who really know and understand their target customers, and keep in touch with their needs and wants, have a greater chance creating long-term brand loyalty. A strategic, methodical approach is vital for creating a campaign that will engage consumers, where customer sensitivity is key. With so many ways in which customers can quickly and easily access product information, ratings and reviews, videos and discounts, expectations are already high.

Exclusive brand concepts help establish an emotional connection between the consumer and brand and empower customers to connect—through exclusive offers, promotions, in-store events and online discounts. By using mobile and social to stream content, brands can meet with the consumer at any moment, anytime, anywhere. By providing customers unique, smarter ways to shop, brands create a dialogue where they can listen, learn and improve their relationship with customers. As brands cultivate relationships across multiple platforms, they acquire more value and insight, which is imperative for understanding what tomorrow’s consumer will want.

In Oracle’s March 2011 report, Cross-Channel Commerce: A Consumer Research Study, one of the research highlights found that “on average, more than three-quarters of consumers are using two or more channels to browse, research and purchase products.” Emails, promotions and push notifications are effective for connecting with shoppers to inform them about real-time, exclusive brand information. Social media and mobile provide significant engagement opportunities, as well. Platforms that allow customers sharing opportunities help lead to increased brand awareness, new customer acquisition and higher conversion rates. However, in order to fully leverage multi-channel platforms, all channels must be strategically connected so consumers can easily locate information and purchase from any touchpoint.

It’s a shopper’s market. Consumers know what they want and expect excellent relationships with brands and the experiences they have with them. While the technology revolution continues to change the rules for both the shopper and the brand, multiple touchpoints create interest and convenience for today’s modern shopper seeking options, access and rewards. The brands that will succeed in the future understand—and meet—these needs.

Holly Krenek is a social strategist based in Austin, Texas. Connect with her on Twitter
or LinkedIn.

Founded in 2006 by Beauty Expert Lianne Farbes, The Makeup Girl, is one of the most popular beauty blogs on the web. Named a Top 50 Beauty Blog, the website was also featured in InStyle’s 2009 Best of Web issue and has been listed among the best beauty blogs by Glamour.com and Woman’s Day.

Why did you decide to rebrand The Makeup Girl?
I wanted a fresher look that more closely reflected my personality and the voice of the site.

How does the new look better reflect your blog’s vision?
I love the bright colors! The shades are some of my personal favorites. I think the new look is more reflective of the conversational nature of the site. People always say that reading my blog is like hanging out with a girlfriend and overindulging in all things beauty.

In true blogger form, you asked your readers to vote between two logo designs and announced the winning design by way of an updated website. In what other ways do your readers help define The Makeup Girl brand?
My readers are the best! They always ask the smart questions (which I try to answer as quickly and concisely as possible!) and are so supportive. When I collaborated with MAC Cosmetics, some of them suggested that I launch an entire line! Reader loyalty and support pushes me to make The Makeup Girl as informative and useful as possible.

You were one of ten bloggers selected to participate in MAC Cosmetics Bloggers’ Obsessions Collection. Given their purchase influence, are bloggers the new celebrities?
Oh wow. I don’t know about that, but I do feel the collection broke down some barriers— especially in demonstrating the influence bloggers can have on a product or brand launch.

What other initiatives have you launched to broaden your community?
I always like to have my hands in the cookie jar! Getting my name out there has been incredibly helpful in cultivating community, while also helping establish The Makeup Girl as a beauty authority. Two years ago, I launched Cocktails & Couture, a beauty networking event held twice a year during New York Fashion Week. This past year, I was also fortunate to attend the Independent Spirit Awards in Los Angeles as an Aveeno brand ambassador. Appearing in television segments and aligning myself with select beauty brands has also helped enhance community growth.

The blogosphere has grown exponentially since you launched in 2006. What do you feel sets your blog apart from other beauty blogs?
That’s a really great question because I think a lot of people (including bloggers) minimize the amount of work that goes into writing a blog. That being said, The Makeup Girl is a blog that people can come to for real advice, real experiences and honest and insightful product reviews. In a sea of blogs that just copy and paste press releases, I think it’s important to have both a point of view that real women can relate to.

For those who know me well, you know that I’m not terribly fond of writing. It’s easier for me to show you — to sketch something or mock something up within the safety and comfort of gridlines. But this is a post that I’ve been meaning to write for some time. And now the time feels right.

As a designer and confessed minimalist, it never ceases to amaze me when we are approached for a project indifferently described as “simple”.  The implication is obvious. That simple is easy, it’s fast and it better be cheap.

Now, as the world mourns the loss of a creative visionary, design enjoys a rare, celebrated moment. Simplicity is being recognized.

My design career began in 1998 on a beige Power Mac 6500. Compared to my current MacBook Pro, it was clunky and lacked sophistication. Sadly, my design skills at that time could be described much the same. Through the years, I’ve been fortunate to work with some really smart, talented people. I’ve actively sought opportunities that would challenge me professionally. I’ve asked a lot of questions. In the process, I’ve been handed my fair share of criticism — some constructive, some humiliating — but I’ve learned. A lot. And after 13 years of “practice,” I've come to realize that while we generally associate evolution with a growing complexity, in design, the most evolved is the simplest presentation possible. And no brand embodies this belief more than Apple. Steve Jobs’ primary design principle held that it’s "not what you can add, but what you can remove."

Simplicity is a concept often underestimated. In his book, The Laws of Simplicity, John Maeda, President, Rhode Island School of Design, states, "The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction."

What most people don’t understand is that it’s not that simple. It’s strategic, thoughtful and intelligent and requires a strong understanding of both design and marketing. An understanding that comes from experience. And that takes time, mentors, inspiration and dedication to your discipline.

Good design is in the details. Good designers think different.

Dedicated to Steve Jobs.