Seasoned beauty industry expert, Snezna Kerekovic's career has spanned far and wide. From publishing, she went to running her own successful PR agency for over a decade before creating a skin care range for tweens and successfully launching it in the notoriously tricky US market. Most recently she has been working for a global PR agency. BEAUTYDIRECTORY chatted to Kerekovic about her decades in the industry and how there’s no such thing as not taking the chance to ensure you do what you love.
Your career has truly been 360 – working as a journalist, then publisher, then as a beauty brand creator and marketer and more recently a marketing communications executive. What has made you take the chances you have taken?
I truly believe in living a life of no regrets and that means if you think you want to do something you should just do it. Whether that is leaving a job you no longer feel the mojo for or turning those dreams of your own business into reality. Just do it. If it works - amazing. If it doesn’t you have learnt so much on the journey and that will only serve you in any future endeavours.
What career incarnation have you loved the most?
Each and everyone. I love journalism. The thrill of the chase to land that story, the crafting of that story in a way that inspires, creates an emotional response or makes you laugh out loud. With PR, I love taking a business challenge and tackling it from a strategic and creative perspective and then seeing the magic come to life in the form of incredible coverage. I still love picking up the phone and pitching and getting that thrill of nailing that coverage. And creating your own brand? Well, that’s a whole other high. Taking a germ of an idea and seeing it come to life, first as a product in your hand, then on the retail shelves of such incredible retailers such as ULTA Beauty and Bed, Bath & Beyond.
What’s been your biggest career challenge?
Definitely creating my own brand. Major fist pumping when we got it into these mass retailers but then realising the level of investment required to keep it there. We were competing with global beauty giants as a small family business and that definitely kept me awake many a night! The experience taught me so much about brand development, manufacturing, marketing and retail and that is something I am so grateful for.
You’ve worked in the beauty and health and wellness industry for your entire career – what is it you love about it?
It’s really gratifying to work in an industry that is all about making people look and feel better. It’s also a wonderful industry full of incredible people. I have made so many great friends and have been inspired by so many great people. What is there not to love?
What are you planning next?
Moving onto the next incarnation of my career, which I am hoping will be in the beauty industry in an in-house comms/marketing role. In the meantime I’m doing some consulting and contract work spanning publishing, PR and brand marketing.
