I know I’ve been MIA but between speed dating and our HSN launch, I’ve done nothing but eat, sleep, and breathe Purple Lab. Luckily, I love my job. It has been exciting to watch Karen and Todd grow the business. What an honor to be a part of it! (Next stop: real office!)

Anyway, here’s what I was doing while Karen was in Florida for HSN. For those of you who attended the Purple Lab HSN launch party at Meet in NYC last Thursday, whether in person or on Skype or Twitter, you know it was a blast.

I was given the duty to not only plan this soiree, but host it. This was all new to me, as I’m a behind-the-scenes type. I had no experience hosting something for 200 people, not counting the party I had senior year of high school when my parents were on vacation (this time, it was nice to not worry about the fate of my mother’s antique vase!).

Booking the space, ordering food, finding drink sponsors and makeup artists? Par for the course for a PR girl. The frightening part: I was going to be on HSN (LIVE TV!) via Skype as the “Roaming Correspondent” (the fancy title that HSN gave me – I can’t lie, I felt pretty cool sharing it with friends).

For Karen, a natural, this is nothing, but for me? Put it this way… if someone was in my body, they would’ve called 911!

Being a nerd, I actually wrote talking points for my 10 second spot. Better to be prepared than to stutter!

The party, however, was a hit! 200 guests reveled in Purple Lab makeovers at glam stations, purchased goodies, and sipped Skinnytini cocktails of Figenza vodka and Skinny Water (heart you Sara Press who does PR for Skinny Water and is my other half for Purple Lab events).

We even had some “Be A Purple Lab Star on HSN” contest participants (who I met for the first time) on hand to root Karen on! Thanks Suzanne and Amanda (and her fab fam!).

At 7:55pm, a very nice producer named Melanie called with my five minute warning. I patiently waited in front of the web cam for my cue. I was about to go on television! Internal freak outs began.

8:03p.m.,the Skyping was on! I was shaky. Plus, there was a 5 second delay (who knew five seconds could feel like forever?). I hardly heard Karen, so I repeated myself twice as I told viewers about la fiesta.

Embarrassing! But everyone said I was so smiley and happy that I pulled it off. The next Skype session was smooth – testimonials from the gorgeous Kimmie of Kitten Lounge and Suzanne, the aforementioned model contest entrant (she donned one of our purple boas for the occasion!).

smooth sailing...

We sold out of Red Sole and one foundation shade. Woo hoo! So where could you find me, your host, at 10:15p.m.?

This says it all…

Mwah!

Sharon

Purple Lab Communications Queen

You may think Crisis Management PR is only relevant to publicists who represent celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, politicians like Elliot Spitzer and models like Kate Moss (our favorite who always comes out on top). Well, think again! Beauty publicists need to be schooled in Crisis Management PR too, right alongside Paris Hilton’s peeps.

Not sure who was hanging out on YouTube last Saturday night at 10pm, but I can tell you who was…me!

Purple Lab ran into a bit of a PR crisis two week ago after posting what we thought to be a successful Dayton, Ohio news segment featuring Huge Lips Skinny Hips.

The segment was a publicist’s dream – five minutes, brand exclusivity, visuals galore, and all positive reviews from credible sources. (Now if only the Today Show would catch on!)

Because the segment only aired locally, we decided to share it with a larger audience by posting it on our social media outlets, one of them being YouTube.

Immediately, multiple viewers watched. An hour later, hundreds. By evening, thousands. P.S. with all of our fun, crazy antics – burlesque, pole dancing, runway lessons – THIS is the one that caught on! I mean… sumo… come on… our bloggess friend Michelle Joni Lapidos took to the mat in hot pink Jimmy Choos!

Check out her “Sumo Choos”!

As the viewership continued to grow, so did the comments – and they weren’t all positive. The Dayton Ohio ABC News decided to feature Huge Lips Skinny Hips after coming across a video review from the popular – and absolutely adorable - beauty guru, JuicyStar07 (a.k.a. Blair), who also happens to a friend of Purple Lab’s.

We saw her channel a few months ago and fell in love with her – her in that all-pink bedroom in Tennessee. She did the most amazing video. We never asked her to do it. It was totally organic; she didn’t HAVE make a vid just because we sent her a gloss. A million brands send her (and online influencers) products in the hopes that they’re cover it, no different than journalist/beauty editors/fashion editors, really.

Anyway, her seven minute video on us was just about the best thing I have ever seen!

Karen and I reached out to her to say thank you – how could we not show our appreciation? And when she mentioned she’d be in NYC soon, we offered to take her for a mani pedi (we met her mom and sister, Elle, too… they couldn’t be lovelier).

JuicyStar07 has become insanely popular over the past few months, which has caused some controversy amongst the YouTube community. Just like any celebrity, the more popular you become, the more people want to know about you. Think about it – no one cared who Kim Kardashian was until she was photographed all over the place with celebutante Paris Hilton.

Now, she has her own reality show and her career is booming. So are the tabloids over her on-again off-again relationship with Reggie Bush, her curves and the debate of whether she really dyed her hair platinum for that short stint over the summer (I totally think it was a wig).

So, as Blair’s career grew at full force, her fans wanted to know more about her. And everyone has opinions… no different than celebrities you read about in US. Fact is, she is smart and savvy and already making a career for herself. It’s sad that there are nay-sayers out there, but they’re out there all the time, so it’s part of life… and the media.

That is where crisis management comes in.

As mentioned earlier, the comments began to roll in, in large amounts and our YouTube page became an open forum for JuicyStar07 haters, which is so not the place because A) Purple Lab has a great relationship with her and we don’t want anyone bashing our friends and B) No brand wants to see negative comments on their page.

As the backlash grew, the comments grew deeper and I have to say meaner! Comments about Huge Lips Skinny Hips and our relationship with JuicyStar07 were expressed, and they weren’t pretty. People wanted to know, “Did we send her product for free,” “Why are we promoting weight loss,” “Do we bribe the media…” The list goes on…

1. We did send her a gloss

2. We did not pay or bribe her

3. We met her in person and took her for mani pedi

4. There was all sorts of comments about whether we did or did not buy her a Coach bag because she received one as a gift when we met… we did NOT purchase a Coach bag for her

About our brand:

1. We are NOT promoting weight loss or defining skinny

2. We are being fun and cheeky

3. Huge Lips Skinny Hips is meant to be a reminder – because of the Hoodia ingredient – to be healthy and mindful; appetite is often about the head, not the stomach (i.e. I’m eating now and I am full from lunch)

How did we handle the situation?

First of all, this is what I looked like:

We replied to everyone. We expressed our perspective to clear up the confusion. And we never deleted a comment – it’s not natural for everyone to only have glowing things to say and we’re so passionate about what we do here that we don’t feel like we should manipulate anything.

That said, I want to outline the Do’s and Don’t of Crisis Management PR so you can learn how we handled the situation and what you can do if you find your brand (even if your brand is YOU) in a similar one.

• Do have an open dialogue. When someone posts a comment, whether positive or negative, respond to them. If the comment is positive, thank them for their support and make sure to personalize the comment each time, you don’t want it to come off like an automated response. If the comment is negative, again thank them for visiting your site (even though you don’t want to!) and attempt to clear the air – maybe they were misinformed about your brand, the situation, etc. A simple explanation could turn them into a supporter. Also, encourage them to learn more about your brand by visiting your website, Facebook page, etc. this way they will become well versed and educated about your brand and hopefully debunk any other rumors that are out their amongst consumers. Turn these people into brand advocates.

• Don’t erase comments. This is a BIG don’t. By erasing comments, you quickly will lose credibility. As long as you follow the instructions above, it is ok for consumers to speak negatively about your product, because if you respond properly, you may change their opinion. In addition to losing credibility, consumers will become less trustworthy of your brand. They will know when comments are erased and will most likely call you out on it, which lets face it, is embarrassing!

• Don’t let consumers bully you. Although you still want to be polite and treat each and every consumer with respect, stand up for your brand and your philosophy. But don’t engage in so much back and forth if what you’re saying is not putting someone at ease – sometimes, there’s just nothing you can do. But showing consumers how much you believe in what you’re about could encourage them to learn more about you and the brand, hopefully evoking an emotional connection.

• Don’t get defensive. As I mentioned earlier, don’t let consumers bully you, but don’t bully them either! Remember these are the people who evidently control your brand’s destiny (and sales). The last thing you want to do is leave a bad taste in their mouth. Do not respond to consumers with an attitude and do not ever tell them they are wrong. To avoid coming off as defensive, be selective with your wording (i.e. don’t reply when you’re all worked up!). For example, instead of, “You are wrong,” respond with, “I am afraid you may be misinformed.”

• Don’t change your story. And if you’re telling the truth, you won’t have to change your story (unless you’re a dirty politician – they put a whole new spin on things). Lay out the entire story from the beginning. Don’t leave anything out because most likely, those tiny, unmentioned details will surface eventually and that will only provoke more questions from consumers.

• Do craft a statement. As mentioned above, once you have your response, share it with consumers! After our fiasco, Karen filmed a video response that viewers could watch to get the story straight. Keep it short and sweet. The longer you speak the guiltier you may seem!

• Do act in a timely manner. Stay on top of the negative comments and respond as quickly as possibly. It may not always be at the most convenient time (i.e. Saturday night at 10am – did I mention I was at my Grandfather’s 90^th birthday?) but it is so important. Don’t let more than an hour or so go by because the longer you let consumers rant and rave, the more gossip will appear. The last thing you want is supporters of your brand to read negative comments ignored by the brand, because they may start believing them! The sooner you address the negatives comments, the sooner you will clear up the misconceptions.

In case you are wondering, our crisis has, at the moment, been averted. But, if you have any Crisis PR situations of our own and need advice, please email me at Sharon@PurpleLabNYC.com

Mwah!

Sharon

Communications Queen

Today we are going to jump into PR – and what the F it is. If you read my last post, you learned about one component of public relations, event planning. As the Communications Director, that is just one of the many hats I wear. So if you are thinking about getting into PR or just want do know what PR is (trust me, don’t be embarrassed I have been in the field for years and my parents still don’t really get it), today is your lucky day. Here’s the scoop:

First, let’s address the biggest question out there:

What is the different between PR and Advertising?

Public Relations is free publicity and media exposure. In order to generate buzz you need to break through the clutter and get the media’s attention (i.e editors, reporters, bloggers, producers, etc.) You need to be able to spin your angle so it’s timely and newsworthy. This will hopefully result in media coverage.

I send out pitches (see below for definition) almost every day to the media – it may involve stalking (but you have to be charming about it – a little more than persistent and less than restraining order). Sometimes they cover it and sometimes they don’t. If they do, once the information is sent to them, you have no control over how the media will present it (hard for me – control freak that I am). They’re totally not obligated to feature the news you send them. In fact, most of the time they probably won’t. Once you send out information to the media, you can’t send them the same info again. And if one publication does your story, another one won’t do the same angle which means you need something else. Key: You have to keep your angles fresh and new.

Consumers read magazines and newspaper because they trust the information they are reading. They see editors and reporters as influencers. So if their trusted source is recommending a product, they know it must be good. But, remember this can work both ways. If the editors or reporters hate the product, they can write that too.

An example of PR:

Advertising is space the company pays for (print, online, on air, radio, etc.). A brand knows exactly when the ad will be aired or published. If a company is going to advertise, they need to shell out some serious bank. Most magazine ads start at $60k!!! Because you’re paying for the space, you have creative control and decide what the ad says and how it looks. Also, the same ads run over and over again.

Consumers know that an ad is paid for and they are trying to be sold a product. The good part is they have controlled messaging so they always present their product in a positive light, which may not always happen in PR.

An example of advertising:

Next, let’s go into some of the PR lingo…

Public Relations Agency: Hired by a company to do the work for them! Some big ones in NYC are Marina Maher Communications, Edelman and Ogilvy!

In-house Public Relations: Like Purple Lab, the PR is handled by a team that works directly for the company.

Press kit: A packaged set of promotional materials, like photographs and background information for a product that will be given to the media. The more eye catching it looks, the more likely the media will pay attention to it – the people who decide who gets through the velvet rope (i.e. magazine pages) are sent thousands a week. If you don’t stand out, you may as well not send it. It’ll get relegated to a pile that eventually resides in the garbage. (Purple Lab’s is glam, sexy, delish… who could resist?).

Press Release: An announcement of an event, performance, or other newsworthy story that is sent to the media, sometimes in a press kit.

Fact Sheet: A page in a press kit that gives the media fast facts about products, like benefits, features, images, price points, where it’s sold etc. FYI: If you cannot point to where a product is sold – if you’re pitching a product – you will not get press. So you need a retailer before you can do any of this. See ours, below.

Pitch: A persuasive conversation, letter or email that grabs the attention of the media (i.e. Celebs everywhere are sporting plump, juicy lips. To achieve this look, wear Huge Lips Skinny Hips).

Feature: A media story that features your product and your product alone. Ideal!

Round-up: A media story that features your product along with other similar ones. (i.e. lip plumper story that features Huge Lips Skinny Hips along side a few other plumpers on the market). Golden rule in journalism: three = a trend.

Media list: I am all about organization. It is important to put all of your media contacts’ information into an excel sheet. Your media list will need to be updated constantly as editors and reporters are always moving around within the industry. Alphabetize.

Long-lead media: Your favorite magazines, Glamour, Elle, Vogue, etc. It is called long-lead because there is a 3-5 month lead time of when they need the information to print in the mag.

Long-lead event: You guessed it, an event for the long-loads, a.k.a. magazine editors.

Desk side: Editors are so busy, so sometimes we bring the news to them. We will go into their office. The Hearst and Conde Nast building are to die for – and the home of many a magazine! We bring them product, press materials and present the information. Best to do this with the face of the brand. In this case, Karen. We usually will bring something sweet, (like Crumbs cupcakes) as a gift to thank them for their time.

Short-lead media: Newspapers, internet, TV. News can run immediate through these media outlets. For the celeb “books,” which is what magazines are called in the industry, you need to tie the pitch to a star. The more A-List the better. How to get to the stars? Read Karen’s post!

Short-lead event: These events are usually consumer focused (i.e. Purple Lab’s speed dating event next year – more to come on that).

B-Roll: Pre-recorded television footage. Usually taken at short-lead events and then pitched to broadcast media that couldn’t attend. Used for TV segments, when you see the action after it happens or watch a scene with a voice over.

So there you have the basics to PR. Still confused? Have any other questions you want me to answer?

Email me sharon@purplelabnyc.com

MWAH!!!

Sharon

Communications Queen

Just want to pause for a minute to tell you about Sharon Hirsch.

She is Purple Lab’s Communications Director and she kicks ass!

She didn’t technically come into the picture on staff until late June, but I have known her – and been wanting to hire her – for over two years.

As we were YouTubing for some new vlogs, I took a call and Sharon jumped in (BTW, she currently works in the living room at my mother-in-law’s bridge table, sandwiched between the back of the sofa and the pole! Oh, the joy of a start-up!).

And she told her story of how we met – we’re like a happily married couple!

She’s so cute!

And we will live happily ever after!

Side note: We are now in the Bliss catalog (as of a few days ago!). This has nothing to do with the blog and where we are in the story, but I had to share. Soooooo excited, I could die!

Mwah!

Karen

Purple Lab Creatrix

At a later date, I must come back to Space.NK – it’s a loooong story, sort of like dating the guy you always, always had a crush on only to find out he’s a terrible kisser!

But now we’re back on the press kit. I was finally able to nip, tuck, finish.

PR 101: Editors, writers, journalists, media types, bloggers… they get hundreds of press kits and product samples every week. When you’re in their position, everyone wants you to cover them so they drench you in product.

I still have 37 hand creams, 46 conditioners, 7 eye creams, 18 toners, 3 foot creams, and an entire shelf of SPF and self tanner left over from the good ‘ole days of my swag-a-licious life as a reporter (and that was about five years ago so imagine what I had back then! It was mayhem, I tell you. Mayhem. My friends constantly came over to pilfer my stash).

The Purple Lab press kit folder. Chic right? Worth the $5!

The problem when you get so much loot? You get jaded. The more you see, the more discerning you become, the harder it is for brands to stand out. 90% of the products I received went to interns, my housekeeper, friends, the cab driver on the way home from an event. Brands need to cut through the clutter. They must stand out at every touch point.

A strong visual impact for our press kit was vital. No product of mine was to be relegated to the trash bin, i.e. no plain white folders, please!

JD showed me a rendering of a custom $5 folder, about 6×10″, in a gradient purple with fuchsia metallic hot stamping (the official color – Crown 750 foil). I melted. I would need 1,000. Yes, that is 5k on folders.

Todd raised his eyebrow in suspicion. “You’re spending how much…???”

“Baby, we need it. We’re new. We need to pop,” I explained, some how convincing him. It was not an option for me to go any other way. I’m kind of stubborn when it comes to design and imaging.

The first thing you see when you open the folder - this sexy mouth! So Marilyn Minter!

To fill the folder, we used super duper cardstock – printed on both sides, one with info, the other with repeated logo graphics and lip print marks a la Murakami/Louis Vuitton (dare I compare myself!). The point was that as we had new press releases and info to send out, we could just send cards and everyone would have the folders and just insert them. It was actually saving money in the long run, I justified to myself.

Side note: the other self justification I love when buying something beyond my price range – I divide the number of times I’ll wear it by the price and then convince myself that that is really the price! Works every time.

In went a cover page – a Marilyn Minter (my fave photographer – Tom Ford collects her work which is very sexy and raw) inspired close up of a mouth with the Huge Lips Skinny Hips logo inside.

It was followed by the press release, about Purple Lab, my bio, the product sheet about star ingredients, a page for each color and its inspiration, and lastly, a contact page for PR.

The inserts I'm talking about. Fab!

When all was said and done, it was a $15 press kit. Doesn’t sound like it’s that bad when you look at the price for one. But need I remind you that there were 1,000?

Remember that savings I was dipping into? It was near gone.

I didn’t even mention that there was the little issue of what these things would be in when they’re sent.  God forbid, a brown paper bag with a label on it. The bags I really wanted were out of our price range – and Todd put his foot down, rightfully so! But they were pretty amazing – glossy white. Instead of string handles, the handles were cut out in a triangle shape at the top of the bag.

Alas, I could not have them. So we customzied white bags and hot stamped them with our logo and what would become our signature lip print mark (Mwah!) in the crown 750 foil we used on our box and component. Consistency is key. Then we added tissue paper of a hot pink shade to match. See below.

Cute bags, no?

All of this culminates into the business plan and money. We needed both and the real stuff hadn’t even begun yet.  The topic for next week. Catch up then!

Mwah!

Karen

Purple Lab Creatrix