31 Millon Viewers See fa'shae Flip Sweater in Deperate Housewives, Success Story for Fa'shae's Augustavia Turner and Her PR. Consultant, Deborah Danker - By Phil Sweetland Country music and Radio contributor, The New York Times
(PRWEB) June 3, 2005 -- No new show created as much buzz this TV season as ABCs Sunday night blockbuster, Desperate Housewives, and when 31 million viewers tuned into the season finale May 22, they saw the character of Mary Alice Young proudly wearing a FaShae Flip Sweater.
The sweater can be seen on the Desperate Housewives Web site, www.desperatehousewives.com, on photos 23-25 of the Gallery section.
The remarkable story of how Mary Alice (played by Brenda Strong) came to wear that over-the-shoulder mock sweater is a testament to two remarkable female entrepreneurs, FaShaes Chicago-based founder Augustavia Turner and the companys Nashville-based PR, marketing, and merchandising wizard, Deborah Danker of International Sourcing Plus.
I sent the sweater into the Wardrobe Department of Desperate Housewives, then I didnt hear back from them for awhile," Danker says in a conversation at her Music Row office. When I saw Mary Alice wearing it as she arrived on Wisteria Lane in a flashback scene, I was screaming!"
At that same instant, 31 million other viewers around the USA were getting their first look at the fabulous FaShae Flip Sweater. The showbiz trade paper Variety reported that this cliffhanger season finale racked up the best young-adult rating for a drama episode on any network in three years and the best rating for an ABC-TV hour show in more than 10 years."
Phew. Talk about instant credibility for a surprise product placement, and millions of dollars worth of free advertising. Its a remarkable success story for two women who have overachieved their whole lives.
Turner went to Chicagos Martin Luther King High School, then earned her Bachelors in accounting at Roosevelt University and a Masters in finance at Lewis University. After spending 15 very successful years in the corporate world as an accountant, Augustavia says in a phone conversation from Chicago, I love crunching numbers, but the one thing I was missing was the communication between people and the connection between fashion and business."
Style, fashion, and glamour have always been components in her life. This business came to me because I love fashion, from the perfect outfit all the way to the perfect accessories," Augustavia says. I love looking nice."
The idea for the Flip Sweater came because she loved wearing the garment tied around her neck, but the problem was the bulking. I decided to find a way to make the sweater lie better," she says.
Augustavia needed someone to publicize and promote her work, so she did a great deal of research and found Deborah Danker, who had the perfect expertise both in fashion and PR that Turner sought. Deborahs remarkable gift of vision and persistence led to the crucial product placement for the FaShae Flip Sweater on Desperate Housewives.
Its a hot item now," Augustavia says. Any time you see something on TV, its almost setting a trend," especially on a program that 31 million Americans – primarily women – watched.
Meanwhile, Turner and Danker are working on making FaShae a national and global brand. Their success on Desperate Housewives might attract the attention of other TV programs that deal with womens empowerment – notably The Opray Winfrey Show, which originates in Augustavias hometown of Chicago.
Contact: Deborah Danker, DCDanker@aol.com, 615 467 6208
www.InternationalSourcingPlus.com :: www.FaShae.com
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