Vouchers used to be the way forward in terms of discounts. Everyone likes to get something for nothing, and Pizza Express has made a killing in recent years with their 2 for 1 voucher offers, and buy one get one for a £1. True, the waiters there may have HATED this (I have this on good authority) but the public loved it, and the Pizza Express chains have been very successful. Money off coupons also prospered, and in a much more high profile way than the ’10p off next washing powder‘ purchase. Websites such as MyVoucherCodes and Quidco prospered, and magazines printed 10% and 20% money off coupons. Everyone was happy- the retailers, the public, and the economy flourished. In the last year or so, we have seen a change in this market, as vouchers are now taking a backseat and the Mobdeal is king.
What is a Mobdeal? A Mobdeal is a deal that relies on a certain number of people to sign up to it, in order for it to be followed through. Regualr viewers of shopping channels on TV will have no problem in understanding the concept, as it’s a popular selling tool. X number of items are offered for x price- but only if 100/200/2000 people sign up to buy it. Once that ‘tipping point’ has been reached, everyone who has registered that they would like to buy the deal gets charged. This selling method is gaining popularity, and could potentially be seen as killing the discount code market. In a sense, it’s even more beneficial, as the deals only get used when they’ve reached x amount of people, which helps showcase new brands and clients, and allows people to experience good value deals, which they can then relay onto their friends. It’s a switch towards collective buying and purchasing, away from the more individualistic model that vouchers offer.
The first major push towards this way of selling online (with the mobdeal branding) in the UK came in January 2010, with the launch of the Wahanda Mobdeals. They specialize in offering discounted beauty and spa treatments and packages, which allow the consumer access to a wider range of options that might have been out their price limit- plus get them on the site, where they can buy extra items. It offers brands the exposure they need to get themselves more clients, and searches and offers are tailored by region. Since Wahanda got on board with this selling model, this idea has reached other industries, and you can now get gadgets, homeware and activity days for less. The Mobdeal is a USA selling method, which the British have been keen to embrace, as many sites have since sprung up which follow this structure. Read more…
Fashion Week is meant to be a dazzling display of creativity and ingenuity and showcase the best and the brightest that we have on the planet. Clothes that make it down the runway will inspire new trends and fashion statements, and ensure that the Primarks of the world get to work at creating cheap knock offs very quickly. Amongst all the loveliness, there are some questionable choices, and none moreso than in the world of beauty. We’ve seen trends that are meant to inspire, but I’d say avoid at all costs. Here’s my rundown of the Fashion Week Beauty Trends that are a total fail.
The Double eyebrow look, as seen at Pam Hogg S/S 2011 (pictured above)
This show featured fierce looking models, with fiery eyes and slick hair.. but all anyone could notice was the strange twig like eyebrow they were all sporting. Beauty fail alert.
The Black Eye Chic look as seen at Bora Aksu S/S 2011 at London Fashion Week
This show featured models in cool printed tunics with flowing locks.. and what looked like a black eye. I can’t see the ‘Punched in the face’ look ever working as a style statement, so go easy on that eyeliner. Read more…
The UK may have a thriving art scene, endless museums, and a monarchy that makes most of us cringe (but draws in the tourists), but when it comes to theatre we’re wofeully behind the USA in terms of output and creativity. We recently acquired the Legally Blonde Musical- a show which has been playing in Broadway for years, and unsurprisingly it was a resounding success. But why did we have to wait so long fro this import? Whyyyyy? I don’t have the answer, but I can share with you some other equally exciting shows that we will be getting.. well, some time this century.
The Addams family Musical
This sounds amazing.. I can just imagine Fester’s rumbling tones as he watches the kids do a ghoulish dance, and watching Wednesday rhyme words with boiled heads in song should truly be something. Currently on Broadway now, with no UK date set.
Shrek the Musical
The jolly green Ogre is coming to our shores, with the pallid faced Amanda Holden taking upon the role of his lovely Princess Fiona. Richard Blackwood will be playing Donkey and this fantastical event is scheduled for May 2011. I’m counting down the days… Read more…
Society today places a hell of a lot of importance on the physical appearance. Airbrushing runs rampant in the media, celebrity bikini pictures are a surefire way of selling magazines, and everywhere the notion that attractiveness equals happiness is forced upon us- perhaps most obviously displayed in the TV show Next Top Model. As well as the ‘slim is pretty’ line, we’re also fed the one that ‘it’s about being healthy and happy with who you are’. This one may seem more responsible, if it weren’t for the fact that this can be interpreted with many shades of grey.
Sure, it’s good to be healthy, eat well and cut down on saturated fats. The problem is that this lifestyle gets confused with the variety of conflicting messages we receive from varying sources. There’s a constant barrage of misinformation from people purporting to advocate this lifestyle, such as ’eat healthy breakfast cereals’ (to lose weight) or snack on high sugar cereal bars to stay trim, so it’s no wonder people are confused and anxious. In the last couple of years we’ve seen a huge rise in eating disorders amongst young people, with kids as young as five years old starting to become obsessed with their appearance and suffer from anorexia and bulimia.
Considering these statistics I think it’s very irresponsible for FitFlop to create footwear targeting the youth market, especially considering all their advertising features leggy looking models with impossibly slender thighs, the kind of images that will have impressionable tweens running to the mirror in tears. Read more…
Every summer it happens. With minimum warning and fanfare, TV suddenly becomes a ‘blokes only zone’, matches are played with pomp and honour, and silence must reign in case one was to miss an all important stumble or kick. Of course, this tends to only apply to the non football fan, as it is fine for the fan themselves to groan, grasp and burp their way through unseasonabley long games. There are banners in every pub, glowing footballs in the supermarkets and dubious songs on the radio.
People speak in hushed tones about ‘football widows’ those poor aimless creatures who are left on the shelf and have to retire from any partner based activity till the season is over. A widow refers to anyone partnered with fan, so it can equally go the other way (and yes, I agree that’s a sexist term, but that’s not the point I’m making now).
These poor pathetic football widows must spend the football time crawling through ASOS online and trying to find outfits that will entice their no good halves away from the screen, for just a short while.
Really? Like, really? I understand that if you’re ACTUALLY A PLAYER then yes, your partner will get short shrift in the season, but as for all the fans, uh uh. If you’re into the game enough to forgo any sort of fun with your partner, then what the hell are you doing with them? You shouldn’t absolve yourself of all priorities when you get in a relationship, but putting TV over them, c’mon? Read more…
I’ve been sitting on this post for a while for fear of offending any of my friends in the beauty PR world* but a recent rise in particularly impressive events has lead me to believe that a post like this could only be viewed as constructive. I’ve worked online for many years now in a variety of sectors, and whilst ‘meetups’ in other areas such as technology have been widely accepted for years now (probably due to the fact that the web is a technological phenomenon) other sectors have been less than ready to accept the blogosphere as a reputable form of journalism. To ease confusion I will say that by blogs I encapsulate EVERYTHING from company run websites such as Cosmopolitan.com and Handbag.com to smaller sites such as www.Cultbeauty.co.uk, www.Kissandmakeup.tv and people who blog personally- every bit as professional, but not necessarily full time, such as British Beauty Blogger or Lipglossiping. To an extent one could even argue that those who blog personally are less restricted by advertising demands and the requirements of their companies, and are therefore either more honest or more in depth (due to no time constraints) but that’s a whole other post.
Suffice to say, PR companies are now getting on board with bloggers and are hosting more and more events tailored specifically to this domain. I can’t applaud this more, it shows creativity, innovation and suggest that companies are embracing rather than being scared of new media. Just because you have an idea though, doesn’t always mean it’s implemented right, no matter how good the intention may have been. Here is my short guide on the things that companies are doing right and a couple of points on what they could do better.
Good things to Do.
Number One: Think about the Timing of The Event- and the Location
A meetup is all well and good, and a really nice way for the PR’s to get to know bloggers, and bloggers to meet each other in person. However many bloggers do NOT work full time andscheduling an event in the middle of the day means you’re automatically ruling out a majority of attendees. It’s a lovely plan, but you have to think realistically, and if it’s the bedroom bloggers you want to reach, and evening, or dare I say it-weekend- would be much more ideal. How are you planning for people who live out of town? Whilst major media outlets may be primarily based in London, for an event you’ll be bringing together from all over the country, so be prepared to offer travel expenses, or miss out on some high profile attendees
Number Two: Give them Images..of EVERYTHING!
Bloggers and web editors have one major thing in common- we work online. C’mon, that should be simple enough to figure out! So help us help you- give us IMAGES in JPEGs, CD’s, USB drives, we don’t mind, just give them to us NOW and don’t fill our bags with paper releases. Don’t promise to send us emails later, and then forget, hand us a USB stick with all the pics we could ever need. Make sure everything you say is there is ACTUALLY there, and if it’s not tell us why. If a product is an exclusive to someone, tell us why we don’t have the image, don’t let us run all the way home and then be infuriated when we load up our computer. Read more…
A year has passed since I officially started this site, and a lot has changed for me. I’ve moved accommodation 4 times, participated as a judge in three awards, and read a startling number of books on a wide variety of topics. I’ve been to Thailand, and Australia, experienced three weddings and suffered through the mortgage discussions of four of my friends. The statistics on this site have risen from a measly 200 per week to an average of 16000 uniques a month, and the search terms aren’t just pornography (though Peter Andre does come up a fair amount).
Looking back over the year, I realize how far I’ve come, and how my tastes have changed. I’m more ebook obsessed than ever, I’ve become a convert to the Android mobile interface, and I’ve discovered what it feels like to have a fish pedicure (more on that later). I’ve laughed, cried, and lived, and have somehow made it through all the confusing pathways to end up where I am now.
Perusing last years resolutions here I’m happy to realize I’ve completed a fair amount of them, and have decided that this year I’m going to work even harder to accomplish the following list! Annoyingly, some are repeats, as I managed 5 out of the 15, but this year I intend to receive top marks.
1. Work on my novel, and finish first draft by September. I have a title, I have a plot, and I have a vague idea of where it’s all going. More to come when I reach 50,000 words.
2. Visit the gym 150 times. That sounds like a lot, but if you think that the year is 365 days, that’s only around 3 times a week. Everytime I set a fitness goal I tend to fail it, so maybe doing it this way means I can tick it off. For the record, by gym I mean any physical activity that involves sweat (not bowling/ sex obv)and lasts over 40 minutes- so cardio classes/tennis etc can all count as a session.
3. Visit a country I’ve never been to. This was last years resolution and though it was fulfilled, I still want to explore- there are so many places to see and do. On that note, my next point- Read more…
