Bloggers and Brands 3

[CookingUpAStormTonight]

New thread I hope.

Interestingly, @castlepark, people reprimanded by the ASA for not disclosing social media ads include Millie Mackintosh (who was in MIC I believe - I don't watch it ), Stephanie Davis (soap??) and some other random Geordie Shore "celebrity". These complaints all appear to have stemmed from consumer complaints. Maybe the mum and style bloggers have actually got away with a lot more in the past because their followers are less likely to put in an official complaint.

Pupsie Dress Like A Mum.

These thread were intended to highlight transparency and MOD has been very upfront about her paid partnership. It is another matter entirely if people start to find these bloggers unrelatable because of the non-stop commercialisation of their feeds. I guess no-one believes the old "only recommending products I genuinely love" chestnut so it will be interesting to see how it all evolves.

Just scrolled through the comments on cerealgate. Gosh, quite a heated debate going on there. Wouldn't be the same without Anna Hart making a guest appearance to give everyone a lecture on the history of marketing and saying how stupid everyone is though .

The thing is if I follow someone, for fashion or beauty and they are then trying to flog me cereal or fabric softener, then it just pisses me off!
I know they get sent the items and if it's relevant then I can make a decision but cereal. Please 🙄

I actually feel a little sorry for MOD. People complained that she wasn’t transparent enough, and now that she is (in part because of these discussions), people are now complaining about the frequency of the ads. She can’t win.

I agree it's unfair that those who champion transparency (which is for the good of all, except maybe brands but that's not who blogs were/are made for) get punished in this way.

Only, actually as a model of transparency I think I would prefer it if they flogged cereals and Lenore if that meant their core content was financed in that way rather than those being the freebies/ads so they are free to speak about those things in an open and honest way without fear of repercussions. When they do both, obviously it feels a bit have your cake and eat it too.

I actually feel a little sorry for MOD. People complained that she wasn’t transparent enough, and now that she is (in part because of these discussions), people are now complaining about the frequency of the ads. She can’t win

I agree. She's really trying and she's getting a lot of shit for it. I mentioned I unfollowed Ruth Crilly for the amount of ads, but she doesn't get anything like this level of snottiness.

I have never actually followed MOD (because I perceived it as being too advertorial an account for me, nothing personal) but I can go over and see the comments. And the amount of finger wagging and downright shaming on it is ridiculous. As if they would turn down a free holiday to Disneyland and a loaned car! I fucking wouldn't.

Whether they're getting the balance wrong is another thing, and that's entirely their problem and not ours in my book, as long as they're being transparent.

I also feel sorry for her because I really do think she has been very clear (recently) about her ads. I don’t think its particularly helpful in terms of getting other bloggers to be more transparent because the less brave will be even less inclined to put their head over the parapet and disclose now. That’s the problem with social media though, opinions become polarised and magnified. The vast majority of comments are making the same points. Over, and over, and over again.

I do think she has been badly advised by her agent though in terms of timing, or maybe it’s a learning for her in terms of pushing back on the brand as to when is a good time to run an ad. The brand may well happy because everyone is talking about Dorset cereals (any publicity is good publicity?!) but it can’t be a great thing for the MOD and FOD brands overall.

We have discussed on this thread before though that when disclosure started being more transparent then some people would probably be surprised by the amount of ads on Instagram. I think some of the comments are a natural evolution of that. People going from “oh you got paid for that” to “oh you get paid for a lot of things on your feed, this isn’t what I thought it was”

I think part of the problem is the reliance on IG Stories for the day to day detail of an IG account, meaning that paid for content seems to make up a disproportionate amount of the actual IG squares.

If everyone uses IG in the same way I do, then I only bother watching the stories of about 5 -10 IGers that I actually (mostly) enjoy - meaning that the overiding impression of an account I get is from flicking through the squares.

That's exactly it Ithasbeen - the increased transparency has raised awareness about what Instagram is and seemingly not everyone likes it.

I think some of the lifestyle influencers need calling out next (well some have already been mentioned in this thread). Seems like because you can't wear a hotel room and walk down the street with it on your person, #gifted or #sponsored or #ad doesn't apply. Why not? Why should the gift of a hotel room or a weekend break or a holiday be disclosed any differently from a physical item received in the mail. "Thanks for hosting us"....."We were guests of".....nope sorry doesn't cut it. Tell us in clear terms whether you paid for it or not and what the nature of the commercial relationship is and make sure that messaging is consistent across all your platforms.

Also, does anyone else have a vision of some poor social media / marketing manager over at Dorset Cereals wondering what on earth they've got themselves into.

Ha ha yes @its5oclock I also did have that vision but then I looked it up and it’s a Saatchi campaign so that illusion was shattered and now I’m left wondering whether some of the controversy (and hence lots of chatter about cereal) wasn’t entirely accidental 🤔

marcommnews.com/mc-saatchi-launches-breakfast-on-the-slow-with-dorset-cereals/

I have been following the mod post on insta all day.

Do i think mod and fod would be type to buy Dorset cereals probably yes they live south east,fairly affluent middle class couple who probably dont worry about grocery budget they buy what they like.
So a luxury cereal brand is not totally unbelievable.

But i cant imagine my kids or most kids eating it.

Also school mornings as mine back from half term this week are stressful no time leisurely breakfast on weekday whwre we all sit together weekend possibly.

The ads also given high end brand stokke some positive publicity.
Lots asking whats the high chair.
They been around for years so maybe they reaching a new demographic and increasing brand awareness.

I think the timing is bad so soon after Disney.
Im unsure how this publicity will translate into increased sales.

I hate all the Huns calling everyone jealous haters

Some.of the fans on insta can be sickening with complements and very defensive of anything negative said.
Mrs meldrums insta followers are the same.

I think a lot of people are dissilusiined with insta.

And the increased transparency has made it clear how commercial insta is and feels like brands and ad agencies have taken over abd manipulated and changed so many accounts we used to like.

In fairness everyone I know has / had Tripp Trap chairs - my children are teens but both had them for years. I don’t think they’re a brand which needs publicity are they?

Shame I missed Anna Harts contribution to the debate but she’s blocked me - never mind.

I do love Dorset Cereals but would rather keep them all to me

MOD is, I think really trying to be open about what is paid so I felt for her a bit today.

It’s a question of getting the balance right though - the bloggers whose stories I watch, I do so because I like them - their personalities, opinions etc (tbf I only watch ED, CLTS, DMBL40, MOD, Stylememos and Esther Coren) - when you look at Inthefrow she has no opinions and no personality at all - she’s purely an advert and loves whatever brand is paying her that day. MOD is fun and has personality so I hope will avoid that trap.

Esther Coren is ace though - slightly scarily crazy - can’t help thinking she’d be great fun to go out for cocktails with

Would just like to clarify that I wasn't alluding to MOD having intentionally created any controversy, but I would have thought that Saatchi would (or should) have looked at the timing of the post and whether it worked in terms of other ads on her feed.

I don't think the Tripp Trapps are product placement either, at all. I had one for years as too. They are pretty ubiquitous amongst the "young urban families" demographic that Saatchi are trying to reach, I would have thought.

Saatchi's campaign is actually designed to place more guilt on mums really isn't I? I'm now feeling bad that my son ate weetos in front of the TV this morning.

Ladylazarus40 i agree eldest is 12 and had one but trip traps be less popular these days maybe because more on the market and stokke released a different type of high chair.
I was surprised so many people on mod thread didnet recognise the brand or classic quite old design of the trip trap as in affluent middle class circles its quite iconic .i was the saddo who used to biy junior magazine with my pfb and always had trip trap.
I since had 2more kids and ikea high chair wins in early stages as easy to clean.
I imagine dorset cereals would weld itself like cement to a wooden trip trap if not cleaned straight away or said toddler is not enjoying the over priced muesli.

Lol i agree the expensive cereal is for adults kids not you.
I get annoyed when my daughter eats all the special k red berries.

Yes balance important
There was another blogger talking about this on insta stories name escapes me.

Susiejverill was saying on her insta stories people being mean and mod is lovely lady.
Im sure she is lovely but again missed the point of some negative comments.
Jurys out i guess but i dont think this is a great ad campaign by Saatchi as just is not realistic for so many families to a have the time or b have the budget to feed larger family happy spend a lot on cereal.
I have 3 kids i can justify spending more on meat and wine but cereals not a high up priority as kids each so much and they happy with aldis.

I don’t feel sorry for MOD. ‘You’re not being transparent enough’ And ‘ there are too many ads’ are both genuine complaints. Yes, we wouldn’t know there were too many ads ifnshe weren’t being more transparent but thems the breaks.

At least now people can make and informed choice on whether they want to continue following.

This is such an interesting thread to read-I’m a blogger although I’m small fry compared to the names being banded about here. I don’t tend to do sponsored/paid/advertorial instagram stuff mine is mostly blog posts and I star the title (so *x restaurant review) then the first paragraph says ‘I was invited to come and review X restaurant’ and the final paragraph says ‘I was paid to write this post’ or ‘I was given a meal free in return for this review’ or ‘I was sent X product to try so I could write this post’

My aim has always been to be as honest as I can about what I’ve got out of the post

MOD probably didn't have much say about the timing of the #ad so it's just unfortunate it's so close to the America trip b

Susiejverill was saying on her insta stories people being mean and mod is lovely lady

I really like susie but all that "people are just being mean" stuff is such a load of inane crap. People are allowed to criticise.

I did as Susie and others have suggested and decided to unfollow both MOD and FOD following the Disney holiday. The lack of transparency has bothered me in the past but to be honest it's more that I just find them a bit boring now almost every post is an advert. I know this sounds a bit nasty too but I could forgive the poor grammar and spelling mistakes before, but now they're going professional I do think they ought to proofread their copy before posting. There, I said it.

I do still follow other bloggers that accept gifts etc., but I think others have managed to strike more of a balance without looking like they've sold out.