photo courtesy jak&jilThe more articles we read about the fashion industry accepting bloggers, the more notes and invitations we get like this:
Exclusive Blogger Preview!
Come take a sneak peek at ______’s Summer 2010 Collection before anyone else! Bloggers who attend will receive a special gift and those who post coverage from the event will be entered in a mystery gift card drawing where you can win up to $500 at _____!
Please Note: All bloggers must post coverage from our event to their blog within 24 hours in order to be eligible.
We appreciate the sentiment, but no thank you.
Sure, it’s condescending to speak to online writers and bloggers as though they’re second class citizens, but it’s worse to assume we don’t get it. There aren’t separate realms for online editors and print editors, we co-exist at the same shows, the same parties (at least in New York City) and some of us are real life friends which means we know we’re not the first to see anything.
However, we’re more than often the first to share with the public – especially when it comes to new products, new collections, etc. Which means the company who sent out the above invite, and the few who continue to differentiate between online and print in this specific way, need a new game plan.
Most Popular Stories
Comments [11]
Popular Stories
The 10 Best YouTube Hair Tutorials
The 10 Best YouTube Makeup Tutorials 
Fashion's Most Stylish Guys Give Mark Zuckerberg an (Almost!) Hoodie-Free Makeover for Facebook's IPO
Style and Substance: 10 Ladies Who Have Proven You Can Have Both
10 Beauty Boards You Should Be Following on Pinterest
Fashion prefers print. Look at the story you did a few days ago as an example…advertisers shit themselves when they saw the leaks online…..they want to premiere in print, NOT online.
I like glossies, but I also realize what a waste of natural resources they are. Hopefully others will realize this, but then again we live in a world where people still farm raise animals to wear their carcasses, instead of using synthetics. SO it’s hard to assume this eco craze will hit more than just the educated market.
your time will come fashionista…but not yet. New media will be welcomed sooner or later.
It kind of sounds like you’re on a high horse, but I can get what you’re saying. PR reps do value bloggers, trust me if you even knew, but you have to understand from our end as well. A lot of fashion brands (clients) have to grasp the idea of the blogger, so we still have to wrangle you in as an added value/category. From the client’s view, there will always be 2 types of press placements that they’re paying for; online and print. Hope this helps, because in my opinion, I like what bloggers have done for fashion week (NYC to Milan).
Print pays cash upfront but blogging pays through bringing fashion to the masses in a way that magazine’s can’t do anymore.
Anyway, brilliant piece Britt.
http://layersandswathes.wordpress.com/
an alternate theory…
maybe the company knows that they’re not going to get much coverage in more “traditional” outlets so they’re trying to drum up press via the web. i’m obvs not as well versed in these things as you guys are, but it seems odd that they would tie in so many promos to get people to attend and post coverage about their show.
Great post Britt!
Great piece Britt. It shows how things are changing and it reinforces how online editors and print editors are one in the same. Although they may seem different their obligation and responsibilities to alert the public is still the same.
Goodluck with the $500 giftcard! ^_^
It’s so true!! great post!! Here in Brazil happens the same thing, I felt like stopping already several times
Thank you for calling out the trainwreck PR efforts of Ann Taylor.
I think it’s a good post and interesting way to look at it, but I also think it comes from a little bit of a defensive stand point. I’m a print editor and I absolutely love and respect what you guys do, but I still feel like you have to acknowledge that they’re not equal (print and web). This is not to say that one is better or more valuable than the other in terms of content, prestige, etc. just that they ARE different types of media and different types of coverage. Print editors attend previews to view the clothes for shoots and shopping pages and that is pretty much it. Buyers have a different role all together as well. Bloggers, however, cover in more of a relatable way to readers I feel… you cover the event, the people, the scene, whether the new creative director has done a good job, etc….. you paint the picture of the brand and the new collection and the business strategy,–all of it– to the reader and it’s immediate, rather than just an image of an item and a page credit months later. So my point is maybe they realize this and just wanted to ensure bloggers attended and give them their own just time to cover the event.. in an effort to show their respect and their value for your time and coverage… not the opposite. I respect what you guys do, so you know better how the industry is treating you, but the way I read it, I wonder if sometimes your fight to be considered an equal may cloud your focus on the overall picture and your ultimate purpose
a great post…
Long live the fashion bloggers of the world!