Fashion can shape visibility, influence and reputation in ways that go far beyond appearance. That was the core message at the 5th Nigeria Digital PR Summit Quarterly Webinar, where Efe Obiomah, CEO of Brand Spark, delivered a presentation titled Dressed for the Algorithm: Fashion, Visibility and Digital Influence.

Obiomah examined how clothing and presentation can be used strategically to attract attention, reposition public image and build digital influence in an age where online visibility is increasingly shaped by audience engagement and algorithmic reach.

She anchored her presentation on three connected ideas: fashion as a tool for visibility, fashion as a tool for repositioning and fashion as a tool for building influence. Through examples drawn from celebrity culture and public life, she showed how intentional style choices can affect how people are perceived and remembered.

According to her, the criteria for newsworthiness remain the same whether content appears offline or online. “The criteria for newsworthiness remain unchanged,” she said, listing “prominence,” “change,” “novelty,” “oddity,” “controversy” and “proximity” as the factors that continue to shape public attention.

Obiomah said fashion often becomes the vehicle through which these qualities are expressed. She pointed to public figures who have used distinct style choices to attract attention and reshape the way audiences see them. In her view, the power of fashion lies not only in aesthetics, but in its ability to signal identity, creativity and intent.

she noted that fashion can help public figures attract attention and stand out in crowded media spaces, citing examples such as Queen Mercy Abang and Big Brother Naija personalities who used distinct style choices to gain audience notice at the just concluded AMVCA. She also pointed to Mercy Aigbe, Iyabo Ojo, Temi Otedola and Osas Ighodaro as examples of personalities whose fashion choices helped reshape how audiences viewed them.

Speaking on influence, she said fashion can amplify existing talent and help individuals build stronger public identities. She cited Derele Edun, Denola Grey, and Enioluwa, as examples of a creative professional who used fashion to highlight their work and strengthen his presence.

“These men knew they were talented, but they used fashion to amplify their talent and gained influence,” she said, explaining how style can help strengthen a public brand. She added that visibility is not accidental, but often the result of deliberate choices about how one is seen, heard and remembered.

She also stressed the role of community and engagement in digital visibility. “Every piece of content that trends begins with the first like,” she said, noting that audience response plays a major role in determining how far content travels online. “The algorithm doesn’t decide what trends. People decide, and the algorithm responds,” she added.

For Obiomah, reputation is built through a mix of actions, words and public perception. “Reputation is a combination of what you do, what you say and what others say about you,” she said, urging individuals who use fashion as a branding tool to ensure that “what you do be different” and “what you say be authentic.”

She warned, however, that visibility comes with risks. In the digital era, she said, public figures face loss of privacy, heightened scrutiny, misinterpretation, misrepresentation and the growing threat of deepfakes. She noted that the more visible a person becomes, the more exposed they are to commentary, criticism and distortion.

Obiomah argued that the best response to these risks is narrative control. “Don’t leave others to tell your story; tell it yourself and control the narrative,” she said. She also advised that people should not be discouraged by mistakes, but should treat them as opportunities for growth. “If you make a mistake, give yourself grace, apologise, but don’t cower,” she said.

On misinformation and disinformation, she urged people to respond with facts and context rather than silence. “Correct it with FACTS,” she said, stressing that additional information can help restore clarity when public conversation becomes distorted.

She closed by returning to the importance of meaningful work and integrity, drawing from Charles Mackay’s poem No Enemies. The poem, she said, reflects the value of doing work that matters, because prominence often comes with opposition, scrutiny and public judgment. Her final charge was simple and direct: “Do great work.”

In all, the session framed fashion as more than personal style. It presented it as a communication tool, a reputation-building instrument and a means of managing visibility in a digital world where attention is both an opportunity and a risk.

Obiomah concluded by noting that public relations and digital influence are shaped by what people do, what they say and what others say about them, urging individuals to use fashion in a way that is different, authentic and media-worthy.