Bloggers and brands

[homebythesea]

I love blogs, YouTube, Instagram etc but sometimes do wonder what's in it for the brands especially regarding blogger events.

Straight up reviews of things they get sent I totally get- they try things on/ use a face cream, wax lyrical about how great the thing is, people click through and buy said item. Straightforward advertising. No problem with that at all.

But when a blogger is invited to a dinner, or night away at a hotel, or a movie premiere by a brand I just don't get what is worth the expense? From the blogger perspective they get a night out and a goodie bag and maybe even paid to attend. But what does the brand get in return? A brief tag on an Instagram pic, some photos of beautiful place settings at dinner......but not necessarily sales?? These events must cost thousands to put on.

Hopefully someone with some knowledge about these things will enlighten us!

I actually don’t mind the bloggers who say “I was sent x” then review it, or “this post is sponsored by y”. No-one is under any illusions what is going on, readers will like (or not) the item under discussion.

Where it becomes woolly is where the blogger goes to an event then at some later date casually refers to an item or refers to it in a photo. Ain’t no such thing as a free lunch as they say, there must always be a quid pro quo. What that is is unclear unless the blogger is reasonably clear that their photo or whatever is done in compliance with some sort of arrangement with the brand.

It's getting quite hysterical on IG. I wouldnt want to be associated if I was a brand .....

Catwalkschoolgates talks a lot of sense. I can't access the Brand Ambassador website. Feel a bit put off Air & Grace now though.

I am actually shocked by the twats comment from the brand ambassadors agency - how depressing ! I actually like the blog and followed her on insta but not convinced now because of how she handles any form of questioning or criticism .

I love catwalkschoolgates, mostly for her bonkers Stories. It's a bit Acorn Antiques, they often start with her staring at the camera like she doesn't know its filming, they nearly always cut off mid sentence and you can feel a bit sick the speed at which she pans around a room or wherever. Also everything is a "top tip" and she talks at lightning speed.

I know that sounds like I'm giving her a pasting but I genuinely love her for it, combined with the fact she comes across as a very genuine and honest person. She has a legit preloved business and I get the impression the blog and Instagram are an offshoot of that but I may be wrong. As a result she doesn't have to accept freebies and can say what she honestly means about the whole blogging business.

I had a quick scroll through the IG comments and couldn't finish. I'm not jealous at all, and I still love to follow Kat. I actually like her style and love her Stories.

I just wish she would take a leaf out of Erica Davies' book and start to put a G after all the items she has received as a gift. And not on the day it was gifted and never again to be mentioned. Each time it is used/worn. It would make her whole account so much more transparent.

What bothers me is the public whinging they do. Caroline Huron’s and The Frugality are often complaining vaguely about PR agencies that apparently don’t show them due respect or people PMing questions they could google, or this type of thread etc.

I find it unprofessional and makes me feel stupid for following them - like I’m overhearing a private conversation of what they really think of their job and therefore their followers.

The outrage just gets a bit wearing too.

*Hirons

I’ve only ever heard The Frugality complain about people not paying her - which is reasonable!

I just assume everything they bang on about on their blogs has been a freebie.

hence why probably 20% of all bloggers are truly genuine with a honest desire to promote and work on things they love.

Heathersmall123 just because said blogger is out with Nadine Baggot does not mean that she is a hypocrite.

They probably mix in the same circles and become friends. Just because she doesn’t love beauty doesn’t mean she can’t be friends with someone that does.

I don’t know whether anyone has seen but DMBL40 is now being very transparent and although previously I didn’t mind whether she chose to tell us what was gifted I think it is admirable that she has taken on the comments here.

penny I just came to this thread to say the same. I also noticed another blogger I follow who is of the “I got these lovely xyz from abc company”woolly disclosure had a #ad ona post directly below.

Good on her! That’s all anyone wanted,transparency. However...the way she has gone about it is still fuelling the hatred isn’t it. "Bellends, haters, moaners, dumplings”

I find this whole thing so odd. Why is questioning something jealousy? There are literally hundreds of "jealous” replies. I’m embarrassed at the sheer sycophancy of some of the replies. I’ll stick to reading the blog, which I do enjoy. And steer clear of insta.

Well yes Penny I have seen her most recent post and I have also noticed some of her fellow blogger mates have also taken a more transparent approach (luludumas and the fashion lift have also now made it clear in posts that certain bags were gifted), so credit for her/them for doing that. I don't know why she had to do it in such a pointed way though, such that nearly every comment on that post is now viciously slagging off everyone who has posted on here. Nice.

Great thread.

I used to follow a few fashion bloggers including the aforementioned DMBL40.

I think it’s worth pointing out that a huge majority of her followers will have initially been introduced to her via Mumsnet and similar forums so it’s a bit rich of her and her followers to accuse us of ‘hating on her’. If you are a blogger getting paid for it then you are a business and you have to take criticism of that business on the chin and, like PPs have said, respond in a business-like way to that criticism.

I think blogs in general have jumped the shark, thanks to mass monetisation and agents like Gleam. It’s like the amazing first series of Big Brother was on and the housemates had no idea of what the hysteria was like on the outside so they were themselves and it was brilliantly authentic. By series two it was all about people who wanted to be famous because they’d seen the pot at the end of the rainbow. 5e audience didn’t really cotton on for a while but a few years later it tailed off and became a huge self-parody. Similarly, series like Towie. Series one: watch your favourite, relatable, character go to work and chat to her mates about boys and makeup. Series two: watch your favourite character talk about her life as a person on a reality show.

Bloggers should absolutely point out any products that are gifted, subsidised, or handed to them in any other way.

I’m a journalist. If we review something that’s been gifted, we have the words ‘Advertorial’ across the top of the page, or we make it massively clear that the product or trip has been paid for. And we are absolutely honest in our review. I was given a meal at a fancy place a year ago. I went, it was shit, I said so (not in so many words) in the paper. The place called me and couldn’t understand why I’d not been nicer given it had been free. My integrity as a journalist rests on being honest. Why would I lie? Our readers are going to go to that restaurant and discover it’s shit for themselves and see straight through my review if it’s not honest.

Bloggers don’t seem to worry so much about this and I think that’s why people are becoming turned off. I mean, how many times can one person say ‘I just happened to stumble across these boots in Seven Boot Lane’ before followers start mentioning that they don’t know where or what Seven Boot Lane actually is?

And when you’vembeen slagging off M&S for years then you’re suddenly their best customer, readers notice that and are annoyed because they’re being treated like they are too thick to notice.

The second you stop being relatable is the second you should stop blogging and just start your own fashion magazine or something. Blogs were so popular because they offered a unique snapshot into the thoughts of real people who didn’t have the luxury of expressing those thoughts on a wider paltform. Once you’ve got that wider platform, the blog starts to become irrelevant,

Kat Farmer could have been a lot more gracious in her announcement that she’s going to state if something has been gifted.

She’s let herself down with her handling of this.

...well, i guess at least the narrative has changed from "i can't please everyone" to admitting the need for transparency (albeit somewhat begrudgingly!).

this thread was always about bloggers and brands, not about preferences

Maybe the bloggers should be flattered that their readers value their judgment sufficiently to want to know whether that judgment has been "bought" in any way. I suspect for the vast majority it won't really matter if something was gifted / the post was paid for if they like it, wouldn't have seen it other than on a blog/IG and go on to buy it (and in the interest of full disclosure I recently bought a jumper featured on DMBL40 😉).

And I suppose (in their defence) they are not likely to write about or photograph things they really don't like and/or they don't think will appeal to their readership, hence everything is described in an upbeat, enthusiastic way.

The IG comments are laughable though- depressingly pathetic even. However, if some "influencers" comply better with the "rules" as a result of this little chat then everyone's a winner 😀

The second you stop being relatable is the second you should stop blogging and just start your own fashion magazine or something. Blogs were so popular because they offered a unique snapshot into the thoughts of real people who didn’t have the luxury of expressing those thoughts on a wider paltform. Once you’ve got that wider platform, the blog starts to become irrelevant

This ^^
Thank you Janice, brilliantly articulated. I don't read fashion blogs any more and I've just realized that this is the reason why.

I have read the instafurore caused by DMBL40's post and feel really uncomfortable about the comments - the sheer vitrol of the responses and the vituperative abuse expressed towards people who might dare to have a different opinion to you and your 'gang'. Swearing at people who don't agree with you and describing them as 'bellends', 'twats' and 'haters'. This is the mob mentality in action. The fawning sycophancy is equally repugnant.

I find the responses on instagram fascinating. Fashion bloggers are not saving lives, adding value in any meaningful way or doing anything beyond wearing some clothes. The responses would have you believe otherwise. Look, I love clothes, I buy (too many) clothes, I think the way we present ourselves is really fundamental to our happiness in a way which goes beyond any shallow accusations.

I work with teenagers every day of the school term, I see the impact of Instagram every single day. Lots of commenters have the same blind loyalty to someone who is wearing some clothes or doing their make-up that teenagers exhibit. It is gutting that these are the idols that women worship.

In this instance, I imagine KF particularly annoys me because of my encounter with her. I can’t help but feel she is a huge con artist.

I would love to see the rampant consumerism being used for some kind of good. Donate your old working wardrobe to charities who help women get back into the workplace. Do a clothes sale and give the money to a charity. Or something. Encourage people to vote, not buy a thousand starry scarves, hun. One starry scarf is fine (I might have two).

I find the assumption that all Mumsnet users on this thread must be frumpy and jealous really hilarious. I like to engage in open debate and intelligent discussion, alongside spending too
much money on clothes and am fairly confident that a lot of bloggers will
too have used Mumsnet for the same reason - these are intelligent women after all. I no longer use Instagram regularly as I felt a bit tragic trying to encourage teenagers to pick up more books and not following the same advice, but there were many women there who really got the balance right - Mother Pukka is ace amongst others, using a platform to show you can love clothes, be feisty, be intelligent and have a myriad of interests beyond a jumpsuit.

LeOrange that's why I like Midlifechic - she donates her blogger sale proceeds to charity (which sale includes items gifted to her) and her blog sometimes deals with issues other than fashion, creating a great debate amongst her readers. She is always upfront about gifted items and collaborations with brands (including the ubiquitous Hush)