YCB Speaks To Aliza Licht, The Voice Behind DKNY PR GIRL
With over 450,000 followers on twitter, Aliza Licht is the woman behind the social media sensation @DKNY PR Girl
Ever wonder who the woman is behind DKNY PR Girl? The internet fashion sensation, guilty of never going a day without tweeting, is none other than DKNY’s Senior Vice President of Global Communications Aliza Licht. DKNY PR GIRL originally began as a way to give Twitter users an inside look at the company, but it quickly evolved into a full blown brand. Licht, who has been working at Donna Karan for 15 years, was actually the first to refer to herself as a “PR girl,” a name she chose because of her unadulterated love for Gossip Girl. As a brand, DKNY PR girl is open, direct, friendly and real. Simply put, she is Aliza, with her personality, her style and her views.
“DKNY PR GIRL puts her own spin and view on the world of Donna Karan. It’s not about her being a filter for content, it’s about her creating new content based on what she likes from the brands,” says Aliza Licht. “She’s the girlfriend you ask ‘do I look fat in this?’, because she will tell you to change.”
Although Aliza Licht’s typical day focuses primarily on traditional public relations activities, including planning fashion shows, writing press releases and befriending editors, she does dedicate some time for social media, mainly by having one monitor specifically for Twitter. This is where she reads tweets from some of her favorite twitter handles including @TomandLorenzo @Fuggirls for celebrity dressing and gossip, and for news with a dash of snark and humor, she prefers @TheCut and @Fashionista_com.
With one of the most popular social media accounts in the fashion world, Aliza Licht knows a thing or two about navigating the digital world. However, DKNY has a different social media approach than most brands. She tweets with 100% stream of consciousness. “I have no content calendars whatsoever- not even for my blog, dknyprgirl.com. I post on a whim- whatever is on my mind at the moment.” the beautiful redhead tells Your Coffee Break. In fact, she even thinks in 140 characters, although according to Aliza, she has always been very succinct, making the transition to Twitter very easy.
“The funny thing is, even long before Twitter my emails were extremely brief and to the point,” explains Aliza. “Sometimes, only one word. I’m pretty well known in the office for brevity.”
But she makes sure to choose her words carefully, saying that “a tweet lasts forever. The screen shot is more powerful than the delete button.”
After being anonymous for two years, DKNY decided to pull back the curtain and reveal Aliza Licht as voice behind DKNY PR GIRL, having felt that followers already knew her so well from her tweets alone. A true bond had been formed between Aliza and members of the social media world. Aliza is very friendly and open, which is demonstrated by her ability to cultivate true friendships with her followers, especially through her use of Twitter parties.
“I invite people to join me in activities that I like to do,” says Licht. “When you start doing that you realize how much you have in common with people all over the world.”
But despite her connections with the Twitter community, it is clear that Aliza Licht’s life is anything but ordinary, especially with a senior level job with one of the world’s most popular fashion brands. She originally intended on becoming a plastic surgeon, but quickly realized she could not wear scrubs every day, due to her love of fashion. Aliza began her career with an internship at Harper’s Bazaar, followed by two years as the Assistant Accessories Editor at Marie Claire. Fifteen years ago, she began working at DKNY and hasn’t looked back. With her job as SVP of Global Communications, every day is a new challenge, especially emails, but she tries to make her personal life a priority. Luckily, this is easy for her because of her extreme efficiency in other areas.
“After getting the little humans up, dressed and off to school, I get to the office around 9:30 ready to do battle. I don’t miss a beat because I’ve been on my Blackberry since waking,” says Aliza. “Sure, sometimes I’m up at 11:00 pm checking emails, but that’s because I’ve spent the evening with my family. If you can manage sacrificing sleep, you can make it work.”
Her final piece of advice? “When in doubt, caffeinate.”
