California Apparel News

Buzzflikr is spreading the message digitally with its own brand of online-only public-relations services at www.buzzflikr.com.

Buzzflikr was founded by Debra Stevenson, an apparel-industry veteran with more than 20 years of product development, sales, branding, marketing and consulting experience under her belt. Buzzflikr is setting out to become the fashion industry’s first online publicity company, according to Stevenson.

Using strictly the power of the Internet, Buzzflikr offers clients such features as paperless media kits, search-engine optimization and tagged images.

The public-relations agency also offers various packaged services to serve both emerging and established brands alike.

Rates range from $1,000 a month for emerging brands to $1,799 a month for breakout brands and $2,500 a month for premium brands, complete with customized e-marketing strategies. All members get featured in the “Style Stinger” monthly newsletter, which is sent to Buzzflikr’s entire media list, and receive a roundup of news tidbits and pictures. All brands also receive their dedicated online profile with capabilities to upload paperless media kits. Premium members get to enjoy the perks of customized plans, newswire services, feature article pitches, and presentations at market weeks and trade shows.

Brands also receive a monthly check-in meeting in which Buzzflikr provides a summary of its work, including click-through stats on Web sites, details on linking and e-blasts viewing. Buzzflikr also assists in services such as dedicated blogging and site development.

Stevenson’s PR experience stems from teaching and learning directly from what brands were looking for in an agency. She serves on the board of directors of Fashion Business Inc. and heads its marketing committee. She also teaches various FBI classes such as “Do Your Own PR Like the Pros.” She used the class as a research tool in launching Buzzflikr with question-and-answer sessions to learn about the goals of her attendees. “I have learned a lot from what emerging brands are needing and what established brands are looking for in a PR service,” Stevenson said.

The beta site launched in April, and Stevenson gave attendees of her seminars a free membership to beta-test the site. Members tested the functionality, helped to refine the tagging and search components, and tested the function of the media kits.

Stevenson said her experience led her to take the online route when creating her own PR firm and that it couldn’t have come at a better time. “We realized the fashion industry is just now understanding the Web’s importance rather than as a secondary or tertiary function,” Stevenson said. “Marketing and promoting brands online is a much more cost-effective way to jumpstart a business or regain lost revenue through new channels.”

Stevenson said she sees the shift toward Web marketing as a natural extension of global-trend analysis, and it may be a new direction for the fashion industry. “Traditional PR was about who you know; today, I really feel it’s about what you know,” Stevenson said. “What Buzzflikr understands about the Web, we use to help our client base to tell their story more effectively. We believe a presence on the Web is just as important as a presence in the real world.” —Connie Cho