Olivia Malmsten
An event to provide student-owned companies an opportunity to interact with student-run public relations firms will be held Friday.
Amplified Communication, a student-run PR firm, and Lana Lip Care, a student-owned company, have teamed up to host #OHIOConnect, which will be held Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Academic and Research Center.
Amplified Communication was formed in 2013 to give representation to student-owned companies and give students interested in public relations experience working with clients, said Ashley Osborne, co-founder and president of the organization.
“There was no outlet (at Ohio University) to have actual clients and work on forming a brand,” Osborne said.
This is the first year the event will be held, but Osborne said she hopes to hold another in the Spring Semester and again next year.
“I want #OHIOConnect to allow students at Ohio University to learn about student businesses and to allow student businesses to reach out to the community,” said Osborne, a junior studying strategic communication.
Lana Lip Care, owned by OU student Ihlana Mumford, will be officially re-launched at Friday’s event. It was originally started in August, but shut its doors soon after.
“I went out one night and put lipstick on. I looked in the mirror and thought, I could make this,” said Mumford, a junior studying media and social change.
From there, Mumford started making all natural lipsticks in her kitchen.
“When I launched in August, I had nine lipsticks,” Mumford said. “I wanted to change directions and try to appeal to men and women by creating a whole range of lip care products instead of just lipstick. So, I decided to stop everything and rebrand myself.”
Now, after a few months of creating a new product line that includes a range of lip balms, scrubs and lipsticks, the company is ready to re-launch.
Other student organizations in attendance include Krave It!, Manuel Photography, OU Delivery, Get Out! Studios, Creative Now and OU Gourmet Popcorn.
“I am excited to be meeting other entrepreneurs like myself and finding ways to offer my support in exchange for theirs,” said Karris Barclay, owner of Krave It! bakery, an undeclared sophomore. “I believe networking is one of the most vital keys to success as a business and I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity.”
The event is free, but VIP tickets are available for $5 and include a VIP gift bag that will be filled with samples from the companies.
om@ohiou.edu
@olivia_malmsten
