StefaniStyle – digital marketing media

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I have been friend with Monica German-Prestia, who is founder of StefaniStyle, for at least 10 years. Monica is a woman, a lovely mother, a caring wife, a business woman, a traveller and a hard worker. She lives in New York, I live in Italy and we have never met in person but almost everyday we share ideas, thoughts, business projects or simply “hello, how are you today?” And I am delighted to feature her story on my blog as the first post of 2021.

Q.: Who is Stefani Style? Stefani Style is a digital marketing boutique agency I started in 2008.

Q.: What’s your background? I worked in corporate media, advertising sales for many years at Bloomberg TV & Radio where I traveled to Europe and South America representing & Managing Bloomberg TV in sales for their different news feeds + Local and Network Radio Shows. I also worked at The NY Post (Newspaper) representing the newspaper selling ad space to retail, national and travel advertisers including fashion, hotels, restaurants and special sections. I worked with The Howard Stern Show selling air time for the number one radio show in the US.

Q.: Is PR still important for a brand/company? Whether large or small, Public Relations is crucial to all companies survival. More than ever, when people shop they want to know about the company they are buying from. Their belief system, carbon footprint and what values they have and stand for-before spending money with them they want to feel their $/Euros are being well spent. Many are buying local in order to help their local economies, or shopping from companies that align with their belief system. What ever that might be. When we buy products and services we want to know how they treat their employees, how committed they are to nature/Planet earth, some personal details about the employees, etc so consumers literally become a part of the brand. Let’s face it even before COVID, business was and is tough and competitive. Companies need to attract, interact and maintain customers on many levels so public relations, marketing and social media combined really help with the overall bottom line for today’s global commerce.

Q.: How is Covid changing the relationship with your clients? During Covid it has been very challenging for my clients, and in turn for me, and my company. Overall, We will prevail because we are too stubborn to quit!! LOL, joking aside it’s a difficult time for everyone but I am confident better times are ahead. I am even closer with them – due to this crisis we are all more connected and perhaps talk even more than usual. It’s all about survival.

Q.: Is social media replacing the role of PR?  Social media is playing a part within  the public relations category. I don’t think social media is replacing PR.

Q.: What are your clients looking for when they contact you? Bottom line, many times companies don’t know. What companies do know is that they need and want to reach new and more people, exposure, engagement and sales. As budgets become smaller, sometimes we have to do more for less.

Q.: You worked in both fashion and food fields, would you like to experience something else? I also really enjoy art and am working and collaborating with artists. I enjoy anything creative within the arts and business and currently represent Daniel Papaleo, an Argentine sculptor.

Q.: Can you tells about your Bloomberg experience? I worked at Bloomberg for 10 years in different divisions and started at Bloomberg Radio selling for the local radio station. I also worked for their trade publication Bloomberg Wealth Manager and Bloomberg Network Radio. Then, I moved on to Bloomberg TV as Manager of TV Sales for Latin America. It was a great experience – I traveled a lot for the company and met many wonderful, successful and very intelligent, motivated people.

Q.: What are your future plans or challenges? COVID has been extremely challenging – Waiting for it to go away hasn’t worked! So, I have to pivot ( a word that’s getting a lot of use these days) which  means change as change comes my way. So if a client has different needs for services and don’t know how to do it, I do my best to learn as fast as possible!! My plans are to diversify and do different things to earn a living and grow wealth. Whether its learning new skills or adding other businesses like real estate and passive revenue streams, my plan is add new income opportunities to my repertoire. The most important aspect though is to always enjoy what I’m doing and I always enjoy learning new things.

Q.: Are physical stores still important or not? Yes, people still want to see beautiful things, products, foods & people First Hand!!

Q.: You were born in Argentina, have you ever thought about moving back? No, as much as I love Buenos Aires where I was born, my life is in New York and in US – at least for now.

Q.: What’s popular/trendy now in the US? Unfortunately, sweat pants, and joggers is what everyone is living in!

Q.: Best advice ever received – Wake up early and be the first! If you want to win at anything, get up as early as you can and get most of your work done by 12pm. The rest will make you successful because in the morning you handle the basics (to do list) , the rest of the day is for new projects, calls….Also, double check and proof read your work at least 2 times.

Q.: Who would you like to collaborate with? and why? You of course, Italianist and Leo Messi… You, Federica,  because you are so charming and chic and Leo because perhaps with his global reach we can help some people in need.

Q.: What is your mantra? Live BIG today and go hard because tomorrow may not come.

Q.: What piece of advice would you give to new designers? I like the idea of producing on demand so there is less waste and less  investment for the designers and consumer. We manufacture way too much disposable apparel and by creating an on-demand culture perhaps we can, as a society respect our wardrobe, the fabrics and people who make them.

Q.: What’s your favorite garment? Jeans and boots are my favorite go-to. Very strong, sexy and not trying too hard – it’s such a cool look anywhere in the world. Jeans and boots have global sex appeal and I love it!

Q.: You are based in NY, what do you like and do not like about the city? New York City has an energy and beauty that cannot be duplicated. The people and vibes are like no other. People are from all over the world and it really is a melting pot. We love NYC and it shows when times are the hardest like now. I don’t like what is happening now in NYC to our restaurants. The industry is practically shut down due to very strict COVID guidelines.. We can only eat outside in the SNOW!! Goodbye 2020…

Q.: 3 adjectives to describe your company/service – Creative Digital Marketer

For more info visit www.stefanistyle.com

1 Comments

  1. Celebrating 10 years of my blog – Italianist says:

    […] were featured on my blog throughout this decade and especially those from this year and they are: Stefany Style, Bettina Vermillon, Francesca Marchisio, Greta Costantine, Alessandro Enriquez, KseniaSchnaider, […]

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