Each month, industry news media organization XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives.
Taking the reigns on a variety of marketing duties, ranging from copy writing and PR to producing fashion shows and catalogs, Lar Hovsepian says it’s with the support of her “rock star” colleagues that Dreamgirl International continues to create magic for lingerie lovers. In the spotlight this month for Women In Adult, Dreamgirl Director of Marketing Lar Hovsepian discusses her greatest achievements since joining the company in 2007, and her goals and motivation for succeeding in her role.
Creating brand recognition on tight localized budgets can seem daunting, but with the Internet and social media being true beacons of information, it becomes easier to pave in-roads to brand loyalty.
What is your role and responsibility at Dreamgirl?
My current title at Dreamgirl is director of marketing. Everyone at Dreamgirl is pretty much a rock star, so we all take on numerous roles in our positions and really hustle and help each other to create some magic. Some of my responsibilities include: producing four yearly catalogs from start to finish, copywriting and PR, producing our annual preseason costume fashion show and yearly tradeshows, managing our department budget, developing packaging and POS material, social media and website management and more.
How (and when) did you get into the lingerie business?
I entered the lingerie industry in 2007 as a marketing manager for Dreamgirl after switching gears from a brand management position in the Sunkist licensing department. I was determined to jump into this industry and simply applied from a job ad online! I often grin and tell people that I went from an industry of “oranges” to and industry of “melons.” It’s important to keep a spirit of sense of humor alive not only in this business, but also in life in general! I adore the lingerie and costume industries because I can see some creative geniuses at play.
What challenges have you confronted in your career and how have you overcome them?
The biggest challenge becomes driving new business when the economy reaches a low point. Lingerie, to some extent, has a little more economy “padding” than other industries of its size; alas it’s not always a rosy path to success. Creating brand recognition on tight localized budgets can seem daunting, but with the Internet and social media being true beacons of information, it becomes easier to pave in-roads to brand loyalty. When you have limited resources as a marketer, you get forced to act more creatively and to develop both conventional and unconventional resources through your environment.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
The most rewarding part of my job is when people tell me how much they love our brand or our products. I also love passing by a store and seeing a great presence of our posters, packaging and POS material because it tells me that our retailers are responding well to our development! Also, after dedicating months and countless hours at photo shoots, printer press checks and the graphic design studio, seeing the final product of our catalog always makes me twinkle!
What is your personal motto or mantra that you live by?
My personal and professional motto to live by is, “You were born an original. Don’t die a copy.” Too often in the marketing realm, we apply formulas and techniques that we feel work for competitors or even for other industries that won’t always apply to our own products, services or campaigns. While it is important to stay current on marketing trends and on competitor strategies, I am ultimately more focused on how Dreamgirl runs its business and what will work well for our own target market.
