Friday, October 22, 2010

Fashion Beauty Friend Friday - Product Placement

So today i bring you a new weekly feature Fashion Beauty Friend Friday. This is a group of fashion and beauty bloggers started by Modly Chic who each week publish a set of questions and answer them in the hopes of getting to know other bloggers better. Its a really close knit group of bloggers who are there to support and help each other and i am really happy to be a part of it :) So this weeks question is about product placement which as all bloggers know is an issue a lot of us contend with via our blogs.

1. As we watched the Chilean Miners being rescued last week, there were many things to take note of - the amazing faith of these people, the joy of life, love and family, and - interestingly enough - product placement. As you watched the rescue efforts did you  notice the products? What were your thoughts?

I watched the coverage of the miners being rescued with joy in my heart. The reunions of family members, hugs a plenty. After 2 months underground with limited contact with their families they were finally free. But I didn't not any products. Was it because i was so focused on the reunions. What i did notice though was the PR spin the Chilean president put on it. He was there to greet and praise the miners and he often said how much this incident had shown the world the country of Chile in a positive light.

2. Product placement is all around us today, what do you think makes it such a marketing gold mine?

I think its the fact that sometimes your not even aware your being advertised to. It also allows the advertiser to target their advertising to a targeted audience. Its a subtle way of advertising often seeping into your subconscious without you even realising. More and more advertisers are using this method. Not just via news programmes but also through TV shows and Movies.

3. On your blog, either now or in the future, what is/will be your stance on highlighting specific products?

I would only ever highlight products that i liked to use myself and that fitted in with the theme of my blog. I won't highlight anything that goes against my morals either. So for example if i knew a product was tested on animals or made using child labour I would steadfastly refuse to highlight it on my blog. I think its important as bloggers to stick to our morals and also to not get taken over by advertisements or product placement. Its also vital that all sponsored posts are clearly marked so that readers are awared. I would always issue a disclaimer letting my readers know this.

4. If the opportunity arose would you give a bad review of a product?

Yes. If the product warranted a bad review then that's what it would get. I always give my honest opinion when reviewing products. I would never falsely claim a product was good if it wasn't. I would always give reasons for why a product is bad though. I think readers rely on bloggers to be completely honest when reviewing a product. I know that i often trust other bloggers opinions when reading reviews and would be very disappointed if i later discovered they had been dishonest. I think honesty with your readers is paramount.

5. Do you view your blog as a product? Where have you or do you hope to place it?

In some respects I see my blog as a product but primarily i see it as a way of connecting with people. I love the interaction with my readers. Apart from sharing my posts with social networks and promoting it via IFB I don't really place it anywhere and i'm happy with the direction my blog is going in. I don't like to think of it as a product I prefer to see it as my brainchild and hope that people find it interesting. I get a strange sense of excitement when i get a nice comment or a new follower. Just knowing that my readers like my content is enough for me. I'm not in it for monetary gain or anything like that i'm in it for the interaction.

If any of you blogers wanna take part visit http://modlychic.blogspot.com to sign up!

4 comments:

  1. I agree, honesty is the best policy when it comes to product reviews.

    Kendra
    http://closetconfections.com

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  2. I'm with you on the product reviews - they are products after all not people and if the product is not up to scratch it is in the company's interest to know that as well as it could cost them business in the future. Bloggers can be like Beta testers! It's a bit pointless not to point out flaws if there are some because it could lead to product improvement in the future.

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  3. That's a really cool idea, it was good to read your answers to each of the questions.

    www.arashmazinani.com

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  4. Hey great answers. I did this too, I love Friend Friday posts. It is always something more interesting than the normal fashion blog posts we all do.

    Daisy Dayz Home
    Cross-Jones-Photography Home

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i love comments i check out all your blogs :)