PR Crush: Aliza Licht

I used to think it was funny when people told me about how they would meet a celebrity and get so starstruck that they literally couldn't form coherent sentences or stop shaking. I've even met Macklemore a few times and just thought that he was a normal guy doing what he loved- didn't even get an ounce of nerves. All of those calm fan thoughts came to a screeching halt last Saturday when I met the one and only Aliza Licht.

I would hope that if you're interested in PR (or fashion, or fierce women to look up to, or fellow red-lipstick aficionados) you know Aliza Licht, but here's a quick bio on her: She is the Senior Vice President of Communications at DKNY and Donna Karan in New York. She is responsible for planning the fashion shows, getting press for the clothing and accessories and dressing today's top celebrities for appearances, events, and red carpets. Sounds like a doozy, right? Well then there's the social media!
She started tweeting from the Twitter handle @DKNY back in 2009 and kept her identity a secret (xoxo, DKNYPRGirl) until deciding to "come out of the Twitter closet" in 2011. Watch her genius reveal video here. Through this account, she not only shares promotional videos and shares news about DKNY, but she also delivers her witty, sarcastic commentary on everything from difficult celebrities, hilarious television livetweets and other musings of a fashion insider. She also has a Tumblr account that she uses to share her to-do list, videos, quotes, and #showrequests (a hashtag she created to share all of the cringe-worthy emails she receives from anonymous people regarding show requests during fashion week.) She basically created the DKNYPRGirl brand for herself. Aliza works hard to create and maintain relationships with her audience through social media- I feel like she truly understands how it works and knows how to use it as a valuable PR tool.

Her majesty.

I had the opportunity to meet her through Tyson Galleria's 25th Anniversary celebration. She had an appearance scheduled there (her old stomping grounds- she went to University of Maryland!) to talk PR, life advice, her upcoming book and of course a meet-and-greet. She was just as engaging and fierce as I expected her to be. Decked out in her DKNY leopard print dress and red lipstick, she talked about her job as DKNY's PR Girl and answered questions from the audience.

Then came the meet-and-greet. Ohhhhhh man. I used to be proud of the fact that very few people actually made me nervous, but that pride is long-gone. However, as soon as I started talking to her the nerves went away! Talking to Aliza is like talking to one of your girlfriends- she maintains eye contact and has that intense look in her eyes, yet is so fun and engaged in the conversation.

Selfie! Of course.

One thing I really wanted to express to Aliza in my time with her was that I really admire her for the fact that not only did she create a whole brand for DKNYPRGirl, but she did this without having to tone down or sacrifice who she is. She is sassy and says what is on her mind, but is still extremely professional and really shows her audience who she is through each tweet. I personally have been having a love-hate with doing social media for internships because I believe interns should not be in charge of social media due to the fact that they simply haven't had enough exposure to the brand itself from an internal standpoint. That being said, its frustrating when you're trying to create a voice for your brand without fully understanding every aspect of said brand. She told me that for every tweet, something you say is going to piss somebody off, but it will inspire the others. A-freaking-men.

Aliza uses the phrase "Mind your personal brand" a lot, and if you've read some of my earlier blog posts, you'll know that I am ALL about the personal brand. She told me to know my audience, and its obvious she knows hers. She knows who she is, what she's doing, and does it all while looking fierce and being insanely confident. If you ever get the chance to see her speak, regardless of if you're doing PR or not, I HIGHLY encourage it. Its truly an amazing experience to see how she just lights up and grabs her audience. Check out her TEDx Conference talk in Times Square here!

So if you couldn't tell, I think Aliza is the bee's knees. In the few hours we had with her, I learned so much, which you'll see in upcoming posts. Being at this event completely re-invigorated my spirit and gave me the kick in the ass I needed. I highly recommend going to meet ups and events with people who inspire you- there are more benefits than you even realize! In the meantime, do yourself a favor and follow @DKNY on Twitter. You'll wonder how you ever watched Scandal or a red carpet telecast without her commentary.


xxx