When Vania Jewellery, a start-up contemporary artisan brand appeared on the front cover of Viva magazine and the owner, Vania Truchsess, scooped a prestigious collab with Karen Walker, you can bet competitors were abuzz with, “How did she do it?”
It’s a secret that lifestyle brand PR professional Amanda McConchie of The Business of Influence is happy to share. Amanda doesn’t take full credit for Vania’s profile-raising success. But she can divulge that her client had good advice and knew the right steps, which gave her the confidence to pursue her dream.
“She’d already had success with a pop-up store at The Bloc and she’d worked with some cool influencers who were wearing her designs, something I proposed.” Amanda put together a media database for Vania and advised her how to approach the right people, making sure she tailored her angle as sharply as possible.
“I gave her some media coaching. It was a step-by-step of how you get noticed so she could go out and DIY with ease.” Vania is just one of Amanda’s many brand success stories.
She has numerous different ways of working with people, depending on the product, who they want to influence and how much they want to spend. Through public relations, marketing and brand awareness strategies, The Business of Influence helps clients to raise their profile and monetise their output to become successful brands in their own right. The end result is transforming clients into full-fledged entrepreneurs in New Zealand.
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It starts with a complimentary consultation to scope out what they’re about.
“From there I work on a briefing document with their objectives. Sometimes there’s a lot of hand holding to arrive at a social strategy. Or they want a mission statement, help determining brand values and communications pillars. I have retainer clients that ask me to get the brand up and running. Then I have ad hoc projects where I put together a deck of ideas to roll out.
“We also look to partner with other brands that share the same values because we need others to shout about them as well.”
Surprisingly, she does it all online from her new home in Tokyo where she arrived with her husband, who had been seconded by the dairy industry to work in the Tokyo office, just as Covid hit in 2020.
The plan was to return to New Zealand every few months. That couldn’t happen. But it didn’t phase the girl from Pukekohe who established her own business in 2018 after having worked in the media and PR for 10 years.
She’d been responsible for two of Pead PR’s biggest accounts including My Food Bag and L’Oreal, among others. Initially, when she left, she wanted to help influencers and digital entrepreneurs that she’d encountered at Pead PR.
“There wasn’t a lot of mentoring support for them. Often, they fell into the industry by accident. I thought, someone needs to get on board to help these people whose innovation and objectives often didn’t mesh with traditional agency methods and lengthy, costly campaigns.”
But when business slowed during the early Covid lockdowns, she expanded her focus more widely, targeting small businesses. Many clients now track her down through Instagram and social media channels. And she’s pleased to report she’s at full capacity. Business has taken off since January 2021 as a variety of new brands have sought out her more affordable, personalised service.
Amanda has definitely found a niche, particularly with lifestyle and fashion brands. And she’s helping clients to unlock their potential so they can compete with the best in their industries.
Follow Amanda at thebusinessofinfluence.co.nz to keep up to date with her next ventures.
