Wow! I have to say that answers on these questions exceeded all my expectations as I haven't expected brands to be so willing to reveal their thoughts to me, but in fact- they did and they told me more than I could wish for!
I have received the answers from 5 different PR agents of 5 different brands. Since the answers were extremely open and wordy, I have included all of them inside this post.
a. There are a lot of brand partnerships in today's market, when companies send out free things to bloggers. What do you think of this practice? (e.g. Is it mutually beneficial? Does one side benefit more than another? Please explain)
b. How effective are blog collaborations compared to magazines/printed editions?
b. How effective are blog collaborations compared to magazines/printed editions?
1. Inga Braukylaite, Website Manager of LOVE (www.inlovewithfashion.com)
a. LOVE brand absolutely loves working with the bloggers! We have been working with fashion bloggers from all over the world for a long time now, and we have to say: it’s definitely beneficial to the brand!!! First of all bloggers’ opinions are highly valued by their readers. As well as a lot of people are inspired and influenced by them! A lot of readers choose to copy bloggers styles or dress just like them! Collaborations definitely benefit both: the brand and the bloggers. Bloggers get their hands on their favourite pieces from the brands they like, and brands get an honest opinion about their products/services! We as the company have noticed a huge difference in terms of sales after started working with the bloggers. Also we have noticed that other competitors started doing exactly the same.
b. Both are definitely important for the brand! In terms of the brand awareness printed editions are definitely essential! However the collaborations with the bloggers are as important as it offers honest opinion. We strongly believe that this is the way to go, especially in this highly competitive market! At LOVE we believe that both printed editions and bloggers collaborations are very important and none of them should be ignored!
2. Andrew McAllister, Creative Director of Pray for Paris (www.prayforparis.com)
a. I think brands sending products to bloggers is going to be the way forward, and it is definitely the best option for small upcoming brands who have little or no money to spend on advertising as this gets them instant press and lets a vast amount of stylish people see their clothing. I think it can be beneficial for both the brand and blogger, as the blogger will be associated with the brand and this can help their reputation. However I do feel it is moslty beneficial for the brand as it usually rises their profile and generates sales.
b. In terms of money, blogging is the much cheaper option to magazine advertisements. However depending on the size of the magazine, you could get a lot more attention from the ad in the magazine. However I feel blogging is better as it's basically free, it can definitely hit your target consumer group and you get your feedback pretty instant.
a. I think over all it is mutually beneficial. For the blogger, the readers get a ‘treat’ which would hopefully keep them loyal as such. If you are interested in what the blogger is saying and there is a chance you could receive a gift, you would definitely carry on reading. As for the brands side, the most important thing for a new company is exposure. Getting your brand name out there. Blog exposure is a great way to drive traffic to a website and to create a little hype around the brand.
b. Obviously editorials in a magazine are great for a brand but normally they cost. Usually the cost a magazine wants is more than a new brand can afford. An established brand on the other hand would more likely be able to afford to pay for the exposure. So it really all depends on the size of the brand. Bigger brands need the magazine exposure but smaller brands definitely get a lot from blog exposure.
4. Nhuc Tran, Owner of ChinaDoll Boutique (www.chinadollboutique.com)
a. I don’t have a problem with it, a lot of press & celebrities get given items free of charge all the time and no one blinks an eye at it. I think bloggers work just as hard at maintaining their sites, spend time out of their day to write for the enjoyment of others, invest time and money into taking great pictures so I see bloggers gifting as a form of payment for the hours they take out of their week, and it also helps them with new content for their sites which is to the benefit of their readers.
b. I think benefits both parties, the blogger is given a
form of payment for their hard work and the company will get some exposure. I
think the status of bloggers are on the rise, so companies need to adapt their
traditional pr/marketing methods and embrace bloggers as a new form of media
who can be just as influential as magazines/celebrities. There will be some
newer bloggers who are not as well known as other, so in that case I guess it
would be more beneficial to the blogger to start with but if the company
continued to work with them then it could change.
a. From our point of view at jones + jones, the practice of brands providing bloggers with free samples is definitely mutually beneficial. The brand can increase their awareness - bloggers can also drive huge amounts of traffic to a website, which may lead to sales. The brand also has the opportunity to receive feedback about their product/s indirectly and especially for us, we enjoy seeing how different bloggers style garments. As we are a brand that can sometimes be viewed as providing occasion dresses and skirts, we like to be able to show the versatility of our garments through the bloggers and their personal styling. It also provides content to drive interest on the brand's social networking. In return the blogger will receive a garment, generally of their choice, free of charge and apart from knowing they are expected to blog about it, generally have no other expectations on them unless discussed. The blogger is also provided with inspiration for a blog, which we know, like any other creative output, can be quite tough to find sometimes and if viewed successful from the brand's point of view, may lead to future collaborations including competitions, which tend to increase interest in a blog. Depending on the brand and blogger, a collaboration like this can also be mutually beneficial in terms of brand association - the brand's name on a blog may lead to other brand's being interested in collaborating and if the brand and blog are a good match in terms of market, this can drive the readership of the blog to increase, which has many benefits for the blogger. If the blogger is well known, respected and has a strong following, a brand could really benefit from association.
b. In terms of effectiveness of collaborations with bloggers vs editorials and advertising in magazines, it can really depend on the blogger. As sales and website views from printed media cannot generally be tracked online conclusively it is hard to pin point exactly how effective they are other than seeing a rise or fall in direct website hits when published. However, if for example, we have a garment in a magazine feature, we do find that if we share this feature on our blog/social networking sites, it does drive sales extremely well and is trackable. A collaboration with a blogger can be a risk at times, as depending on the blogger themselves as well as their site stats and reader market, the garment may not be well received or showcased or may not be viewed by many potential customers at all, whereas with printed media, the magazine's readership and market would be known or discussed at length before committing any expense for advertising, etc and so there will always be a large amount of views. However if a blogger is particularly successful (in some countries we have found that they can sometimes have a celebrity-like status), they can equally drive huge amounts of interest. Both marketing tools have their risks and their advantages and there are many factors that would given their effectiveness.
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