BBC Radio 1 Breakfast

Do listening figures matter in the age of the influencer?

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The Radio 1 Breakfast Show, currently hosted by Nick Grimshaw, has dropped to its lowest listening figures since records began. With just 4.93 million weekly listeners in the third quarter of 2017, the show is a long way from its Chris Moyles heyday of nearly 8 million.

But with YouTube, and other social media platforms, so prevalent among Radio 1’s core under-25 audience, do traditional listening figures tell the full story or even matter anymore?

BBC Radio 1 has 4 million subscribers on YouTube, 3 million followers on Twitter, 2.8 million likes on Facebook, and 677K followers on Instagram.

Station Controller Ben Cooper points to these figures when defending the latest Rajar listening stats and called Radio 1, ‘the most relevant youth brand in the UK today’.

The BBC also reported a source as saying ‘Grimmy is the number one breakfast show in the UK for young audiences and that’s all they really care about.

‘Teens are addicted to their phones so you can see why Radio 1 does so well on YouTube and Facebook.’

The first part is true enough, close ‘rivals’ come nowhere near, with Roman Kemp’s Capital London breakfast only managing 1.11 million listeners in the third quarter. But it’s much closer on social media – Capital has 1.8m on YouTube, 2.2m on Facebook, 1m on Twitter and 319K on Instagram.

Should Radio 1 be worried?

With so much exclusive access to celebrities and stars, it is perhaps surprising that Radio 1 hasn’t performed better on social media. While it still leads the pack, that lead is not insurmountable.

LBC successfully changed the way it created digital content to make ‘facebook moments’ – perhaps there are lessons to be learnt for Radio 1 to ensure the falling listener figures don’t damage the brand. And to do something before its rivals start to catch up.

What’s clear is that for now, Grimmy’s numbers aren’t (outwardly) concerning bosses as he continues to engage the youth market on multiple platforms and ‘scare off over 30s’.

 

All the details for Radio 1, Nick Grimshaw and all the youth market breakfast shows are available on the Vuelio Media Database.  

BakingQueen74

Blogger Spotlight: Lucy Allen, BakingQueen74

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Lucy Allen is the author of BakingQueen74, which recently came first in the Top 10 UK Baking Blogs. Lucy’s blog documents her love of baking as well as her love of her slow cooker, which she uses to make a variety of recipes. We spoke to Lucy about pinnable content, the Great British Bake Off and working with PRs.

How would you describe your blog?
On my blog I share baking recipes, as I love to bake and try out new baking techniques, and also slow cooker dishes that I make for my family. I love to develop recipes based on what I have in my cupboards but with loads of flavour.

BakingQueen74What’s the best thing about being a baking blogger?
Sharing what I make with my family and friends at work, and seeing that people have made and loved my recipes (through comments on Facebook or Pinterest) is lovely.

How much does Great British Bake Off affect your blog?
In the past two or three years, I baked along every week with the themes of the show but this year I am having building done at home and haven’t had a kitchen for a while and haven’t been able to follow along which is a shame. It has been good for my waistline though!

What’s your favourite bake to make?
I really love simple oat-based bakes like flapjacks, and my blackberry oaty traybake cake is a real favourite.

What’s the best bake you’ve ever eaten?
I’m really not sure, but it was probably a souffle I had at La Trompette in Chiswick, which was amazing!

What makes your blog successful?
I find that creating content that others will want to share and save for future reference is the key, and making great pinnable content for Pinterest.

How do you like to work with PRs?
By developing recipes for brands using their products and ingredients, it means I try new things and am always planning different kinds of recipes.

What’s a memorable campaign you’ve worked on?
I particularly liked making a caramel apple roulade recipe to showcase a stand mixer for ao.com.

What one thing should PRs know about you?
I blog in my free time alongside my work as a translation project manager and as a mum of two, so I am often not able to respond to emails immediately during the working day.

What other blogs do you read?
Loads of the top UK food blogs, particular favourites in baking include Domestic Gothess, Supergolden Bakes, Patisserie Makes Perfect and Veggie Desserts. I really admire their photography and food styling and am lucky enough to be friends with them all.

 

Lucy Allen and BakingQueen74 feature on the leading Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other bloggers, influencers and journalists.

Blogger Spotlight: Michael Hawkes, The Bearded Bakery

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Michael Hawkes is the author of Top 10 Baking Blog The Bearded Bakery. A digital marketer in the day and blogger by night, Mike bakes once a week – sharing his creations through his blog. We caught up with Mike to talk about blogging, his advice for PRs to do more with bakers and his favourite Crack Pie.

How would you describe your blog?
My blog started out as a place to document everything I baked so that my friends could bake the things I was posting on my other social media platforms. Over time it’s evolved into something that encapsulates two of the most important things in my life; food and travel (and traveling to eat food). Still primarily baking, it has little off-shoots into other things I love and enjoy, with food always at the centre. It shows how I bake, eat and explore.

What’s the best thing about being a baking blogger?
Getting to share everything I make with the people I care about. I only ever really eat a small portion of what I make myself. The main joy comes with sharing the love. Whether that’s my housemate or girlfriend getting to tuck into a slice of lemon meringue pie, my workmates enjoying my peanut butter cookies or someone receiving one of my Cake Care Packages filled with brownies.

The Bearded Bakery

How much does Great British Bake Off affect your blog?
Every year I intend to try and bake along each week, but it never really happens as I get side-tracked with other things from my ever-growing ‘to bake’ list. I started baking, and blogging, before I even really got in to bake off so I’ve always seen it as quite separate.

What’s your favourite bake to make?
That’s a question I get asked a lot, and I always struggle to answer it. The nature of blogging means you’re always striving to make new content, and for a food blog, that often means baking or cooking new things regularly. The best things get revisited from time to time though. I’m a big fan of my brownie recipe, as well as the giant bread ‘wreath’ I made last Christmas, but I think my favourite thing isn’t even something that’s currently on the blog: Crack Pie. I first made it after getting back from NYC last summer and while I’ve made it a couple of times, I’ve never managed to get good enough photos to warrant putting it up on the blog.

What’s the best bake you’ve ever eaten?
I’m a big fan of the cinnamon buns from London’s Nordic Bakery. They’re heavy, practically a meal, but the dough is so soft and full of cinnamon and cardamom. Similarly, the cinnamon buns from WB Samson in Oslo were so good that we had to re-visit them in the short visit we made to the city last year. I also love the humble doughnut, and I’m thoroughly enjoying the number of places popping up across the UK selling some excellent ones, from sourdough through to brioche.

The Bearded BakeryWhat makes your blog successful?
I’ve never really viewed it as overly successful, but from the off I’ve always tried to keep it as genuine as possible. This means turning down a lot of the PR ‘opportunities’ I get in my inbox and focusing on content which I truly believe in. I think the main thing has been the support from my friends and family straight from the off, even if they didn’t necessarily understand it. Other than that, I’m just lucky that so many people love food as much as I do.

How do you like to work with PRs?
I’m fairly open to working with PRs in different ways, but the best ones are the ones where I get to actually do something creative and work a brand to create something completely new or different. A lot of PRs don’t really approach food & baking bloggers with much other than samples, and there’s a lot more that can be done. Email me, pick my brain and work together with me to create something special.

What’s a memorable campaign you’ve worked on?
This one isn’t even something that directly ties into the baking, as a lot of the baking campaigns are quite basic. It ties into my love of food and travel. OpenTable organised a chef’s table meal at Grain Store in Kings Cross. At the same time, they did something similar in New York, and after talking through an evening of seasonal produce we were tasked with writing an open letter about why the food scene in London is so good. This ended up being one of my favourite posts, as I could combine my passion for food and travel into one cohesive narrative. It also culminated with OpenTable sending me to NYC.

What one thing should PRs know about you?
I don’t accept guest content on my site, but aside from that, I put a lot of time, effort & money into every post I create. From developing a recipe through to actually making it and photographing it, it takes a lot of hard work. Going back to a previous point, it’s when I get to work with people that things get really interesting.

What other blogs do you read?
Primarily I actually get a lot of food and cooking inspiration from actual books like Meera Sodha’s Fresh India or Anna Jones A Modern Way to Cook for instance. But in terms of other bloggers/online people I love Noisette Bakehouse’s Instagram and blog, Hannah at The Dinner Bell, Charlie at Charlie Distracted (for travel) and a bunch of others.

Michael Hawkes and The Bearded Bakery feature on the leading Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other bloggers, influencers and journalists.

Teresa and Belinha

Blogger Spotlight: Teresa Keohane, The Dogvine

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The Dogvine was recently ranked in the Top 10 UK Pet Blogs. Written by Teresa Keohane, the blog is about Belinha, Moleque and Nina – three street dogs rescued by Teresa from Brazil. Here we spoke to Teresa about writing the dog-friendly guide to London, her favourite dog products and working with PRs on successful campaigns.

How would you describe your blog?
I would describe The Dogvine as a community for London dog lovers and owners where they can find out about dog events and dog-friendly businesses e.g. coffee shops & restaurants and pet products. I also work with local charities to help promote pet adoption.

Why did you start your blog?
I’m from the UK but had been living overseas in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil for several years where I adopted my dogs (who were abandoned street dogs). When I moved back to the UK a few years ago with my dogs, I noticed that a lot of the ‘insider’ information was hard to come by and often only talked about between dog owners at the park. So, I decided to create my blog and feature the kind of things I would want to hear about and that other people seemed interested in and would find useful.

What’s it like having a famous pet?
One of my dogs, Belinha is the face of the blog and I have to say it’s her ears that are the most famous – they get commented on wherever she goes! I always say she’s come a long way from the bedraggled dog I found on the streets of Rio and I’m grateful that a little unwanted street dog has had that opportunity.

Rescue dog

How does your pet cope with the pressure?
She gets lots of extra fuss and treats so seems to like it. It’s really important to make sure that anything we do, feature or review for the blog is something that Belinha (or Moleque or Nina) would enjoy.

What’s your favourite pet product?
That’s hard to pick just one! How about one from my perspective and one from Belinha’s? Mine would be the Furbo, which is a treat tossing interactive pet cam. When I do have to leave my dogs at home it means I not only can see what’s going on, but interact also with them.

Belinha’s would be Beautiful Joe’s Ethical Dog Treats which are low fat air-dried liver treats, she goes crazy for them. I also photograph a lot of dogs at events for the blog and have never had a dog turn these down, quite the opposite. Plus, for every bag purchased, Beautiful Joes’s donate a bag to an animal shelter. More on Beautiful Joe’s in my post here.

What’s your favourite post?
Again, hard to pick just one! I recently collaborated with City Paws Club, (the UK’s first activity centre for dogs) and Belinha and I joined one of their Dog & Human Paddle Boarding experiences on the Thames. It was an incredible experience and honestly probably not something I would have known about or done had I not started the blog. Other people that came along had done so after hearing about it on The Dogvine so that was really rewarding too.

How do you like to work with PRs?
I like to understand what the brand is trying to achieve, then I try and find a unique way of presenting this so I can simultaneously deliver value to my audience as well as the brand. As the request has often gone out to several bloggers at the same time, it’s important to find ways to differentiate. I find it works best when PRs take the time to make sure the ethos of the brand is understood as well as what the brand is looking for. That helps me then focus on how I can creatively deliver that in way that is useful and makes sense to for my readers.

Moleque the dog

What’s one thing should PRs know about you?
I’ve spent a lot of my professional life living and working in different countries of which seven years was spent living in Rio de Janeiro. I rescued and brought back three street dogs from Brazil to the UK – two are my dogs Belinha (the face of the blog) and Moleque and the third, Nina, has been adopted by a friend but still helps out with pet product reviews on the blog.

What’s a memorable campaign you’ve worked on?
That would have to be when I was asked to work with Airbnb on creating an Insider’s Guidebook to Dog Friendly London. Not only was creating the guidebook a lot of fun but I got to help raise the profile of some great local businesses and give readers exactly the kind of content I wanted to create when I started the blog.

What other blogs do you read?
Too many to list so here’s a few I read regularly: Dog Milk, Wag Wear Repeat, My Dog Likes, A Beautiful Mess and Woof and Walls (not strictly a blog but they have an amazing instagram feed)!

The Dogvine and Teresa Keohane feature on the leading Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other bloggers, influencers and journalists.

Five Things You Shouldn’t Have Missed – 20 October 2017

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This week’s big stories of the week from the world of PR, media and communications, including PRWeek Awards, Crimewatch, a white paper, McDonald’s and parenting bloggers.

1. 30 years of PRWeek Awards

PRWeek Awards

Vuelio were delighted to join the 80s-themed celebrations for 30 years of the PRWeek Awards. With Alan Edwards’ induction into PRWeek’s Hall of Fame presented by The Who’s Roger Daltrey; Katherine Ryan delighting the 1,000-strong crowd with her hosting; and 32 awards given to the PR industry’s brightest and best, the PRWeek Awards proved themselves a highlight of 2017. Vuelio has created a Canvas of all the best posts from the night – check it out here.

 

2. Crimewatch axed after 33 years

Jeremy Vine presenter

One of the UK’s longest continuously running TV programmes has been cancelled, after 33 years on air. Crimewatch, seen by many as a public service for solving crime, has suffered from dwindling ratings even after it was revamped with Jeremy Vine and Tina Deheley at the helm.

Former presenter Nick Ross explained the demise: ‘If you get 15 million people watching a programme and you have an appeal, the chance of finding somebody, that one witness who saw something they had no idea was connected with the crime… they can ring in. Once your audience starts plummeting, you go back to two million, one million, your chances of finding that person are so remote.’

The show is famous for helping to solve high-profile cases including the murder of James Bulger. It also featured the murder of Jill Dando, a presenter on the programme up until her death in 1999.

 

3. Disruptive business and destructive PR

Disruptive PR

When isn’t a bad reputation bad for business? Traditional media often has a less than favourable relationship with the big disruptors of this world, but does that matter? After Uber’s licensing issues with TFL, it became apparent how different their reputation with their customers was from their reputation with the press. Our latest whitepaper – The Filth and the Fury: Disruptive Businesses & Destructive PR – explores how to rip up the rulebook and still come out on top.

 

4. Szechuan Sauce and the great PR “disaster”

JustinRoiland on twitter

McDonald’s made headlines around the world for a “botched” limited edition dipping sauce. Made famous by cult cartoon series Rick & Morty, the 1998 Mulan-linked Szechuan sauce was released by McDonald’s for one day only. When it didn’t provide enough, the media picked it up as PR fail – but with international headlines and thousands of fans desperate to get their hands on a McDonald’s product, it’s clear this PR strategy was nothing short of genius. Maybe even Rick-level genius.

McDonald’s wasn’t the only fast-food restaurant winning on social media this week – KFC has impressed Twitter for only following eleven people – the five Spice Girls and six guys named herb. That’s right, 11 herbs and spices.

 

5. The UK’s top parenting blogs

Parenting blogs

One of the most influential rankings Vuelio compiles, the Top 10 UK Parenting Blogs has this week been topped by Jo Middleton of Slummy Single Mummy. Jo has regained the top spot from Mum in the Mad House’s Jen Walshaw, who fell to second. The top three was completed by Donna Wishart’s What the Redhead said – one of a whopping six new entries to this ranking. Parenting bloggers famously have one of the most engaged communities in the blogosphere and the best relationship with PR professionals.

 

Think we’ve missed something? Let us know in the comment below.

Clare Nicholas

Blogger Spotlight: Emmy’s Mummy and Harry’s Too!

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Clare Nicholas is the author of Emmy’s Mummy and Harry’s Too!, which recently ranked in the Top 10 UK Parenting Blogs. Clare was a nanny for 14 years and she draws on her wealth of childcare knowledge to provide expert advice and suggest child-friendly activities. We spoke to Clare about her regular nanny feature, finding your own voice and collaborating with brands to give the children an experience. 

How would you describe your blog?
A parenting and lifestyle blog which shares helpful tips using my nanny experience to help other parents under the popular ‘Top Tips from a Former Nanny’ series.

Why did you start your blog?
As a way to share Emmy’s milestones with family members who didn’t get to see her often as they would have liked. The idea was to print off into a book for her when she was older, six years down the road the book idea may now not be possible but both children have EVERY milestone recorded so they can read for themselves when they are older.

What’s the best thing about being a parent?
Every single moment. It may sound cheesy but having spent many years believing I would never fulfil my dream I really do cherish every moment. Having children of my own was always my dream but after three miscarriages I almost gave up hope of that ever happening. Emmy was my miracle baby as was Harry after suffering another two miscarriages before he came along.

What advice would you give new parents?
Take ALL the help offered. Sleep when you can and housework really can wait for another day – you are no good to anyone if you are sleep deprived and too frazzled to do anything.

What advice would you give new bloggers?
Be yourself, don’t try to copy your favourite bloggers as you need to find your own voice. You are at the beginning of your journey so don’t worry about their stats and following, just do what works for you.

What makes your blog successful?
I’m not sure I would say it’s successful, what is success anyway? My most popular posts are ones written from the heart, my personal posts and of course those rants where I’ve written about something/someone who’s annoyed me, and my Top Tips from a Former Nanny are rather popular and I really love writing those.

How do you like to work with PRs?
I like to mix it up, I am happy to have a brief to follow but prefer to put my own unique spin on these projects.

What’s one of your favourite collaborations?
That would have to be working with Merlin Annual Pass, it was a year of family fun which we could all enjoy!

What one thing should PRs know about you?
That’s a really hard one, I think it would be that family is everything to me – they were the reason for starting this blog in the first place and I like to ensure they have lots of fun… and mummy at home to enjoy that fun with them.

What other blogs do you read?
There are loads I regularly read, a few favourites are PODcast, Mum in the Mad House, The Oliver’s Madhouse, Five Little Doves and Eats Amazing. 

Clare Nicholas and Emmy’s Mummy and Harry’s Too! feature on the market-leading Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other bloggers, influencers and journalists.

Donna Wishart

Blogger Spotlight: Donna Wishart, What the Redhead said

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Donna Wishart is a new entry to the Top 10 UK Parenting Blogs with What the Redhead said. A full time blogger, Donna follows her family of four, documenting important milestones and family adventures. We caught up with the Redhead to chat all things parenting, spending time with the kids and working with PRs who understand.

How would you describe your blog?
My blog is pretty much a typical family lifestyle blog. It follows our adventures – days out and holidays, documents the children growing up and talks about our home and day to day family life. It’s full of nice photos, our family fun and the highs and lows of parenting – although more highs than lows thankfully!

Why did you start your blog?
I started the blog when my first child was seven months old to document her weaning journey. We did baby led weaning and back then there wasn’t much information online about it – mainly just traditional weaning – and so I thought it might help other people to write about it. But, since then the blog has grown massively and, over five years later the blog is now my full time job. It’s something I never imagined when I first started writing.

What’s the best thing about being a parent?
I thought I had quite a busy, full life before having children but becoming a parent for the first time, and then having a second child has totally changed my life. It’s made me appreciate things more, notice every small detail and try so hard to commit every moment to memory. So, the best thing for me is how much more meaning life has since having Athena and Troy – they have taught me what life is really all about.

Donna Wishart

What advice would you give new parents?
I think the best advice really is to listen to all the advice you get given – mostly unrequested – and then do what works for you. Go with your instincts and do whatever you need to do to get through. Being a parent for the first time is hard. There will be ups and downs and there will be so much change. Do whatever works for you.

What advice would you give new bloggers?
I would tell new bloggers to think about why they are starting to blog. If it’s just to get free stuff and easy money then it’s best to stop writing now. Blogging is not an easy choice of self employment. It takes such a long time to build and grow a blog and there is so much behind the scenes that takes hours of work and you will only ever get out of your blog what you are prepared to put in. Likewise, if you start a blog to document your children’s milestones and your family’s adventures, never lose sight of that. In years to come when you’re paid to write and getting sent things to review try to always keep that underlying focus. Your readers will engage with it and you will always be glad that your blog never lost its roots.

What makes your blog successful?
I think that really depends on how you define success. My blog isn’t the ‘biggest’ blog, it doesn’t have the most followers or the best photos and shiniest videos but, it allows me to stay at home with my children and work around them – something I never imagined possible. I think my blog has had that kind of success because I have never really focused on one thing – I have always tried to be as good as I can be at as many aspects of blogging as possible rather than trying to be the best or spread myself too thin. If I’m not good at something, or if I don’t enjoy it, I just don’t do it. But, I do my best at photography, at social media, at making videos and I think because I just do my best rather than the best, readers can relate to that.

How do you like to work with PRs?
My favourite PR campaigns are always ones where we can have fun, where I can be creative and where there isn’t a really strict brief involved. My favourite campaigns recently have been around family food and days out – something where we can have a nice experience and work at the same time. For me, the blog opportunities have always been something I’ve really appreciated as they mean I can give the children experiences they wouldn’t have otherwise. So, my favourite ways to work with PRs really are to give the children something they’ll always remember – a nice meal cooked at home, a day in the great outdoors or a week in a caravan at the seaside. Everything I do has the children in mind.

What’s one of your favourite collaborations?
I recently worked with Maryland Cookies on a recipe video. It was something I really enjoyed doing, although it pushed me out of my comfort zone both with filming and editing afterwards. But, I loved the finished video, did my absolute best at it and the brand really liked it. I’m now looking forward to creating more collaborative videos in the future.

What one thing should PRs know about you?
I have two pretty amazing school-age children. Because of this, campaigns need to fit around school (Unless they are super duper incredible!). I love it when PRs invite us to do things at the weekend or ask me to work on something that involves the children and give us deadlines that allow time to photograph the children outside of school hours. It means so much when I work with people who really understand what it’s like to, not just have a family but to have a family who are so involved in your work – and who work with us to create the best content despite the children being at school.

What other blogs do you read?
Oh I read so many! I have over 200 blogs on my Bloglovin feed and I read blogs each evening before bed. My favourites at the moment are We’re Going on and Adventure, Just Saying Mum and Mini Travellers – an eclectic mix but all with beautiful photos and family adventures.

Donna Wishart and What the Redhead said feature on the market-leading Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other bloggers, influencers and journalists.

Blogger Spotlight: Mark Sanders, Adventures of Monty Dogge

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Monty is a large white-and-black Newfoundland dog which has inspired his owner Mark Sanders to start a blog and Facebook fan page written from the perspective of Monty Dogge. This year Monty and Mark even released their own children’s book based on his adventures, entitled I’m Not a Pandacow. Recently featured in our first Top 10 Pet Blog ranking, we spoke to Mark about the blog, how Monty Dogge literally stops traffic and some of the campaigns that they have worked on so far. 

 

How would you describe your blog? 
Life According to Monty Dogge is a light-hearted look at life through the eyes of a huge Newfoundland dog. He shares his insight and wisdom on things such as ‘hoomans’ and how odd they can be, and other dog breeds, particularly ‘Cockeyed Spangles’ who he has to share a home with. He also enjoys interviewing famous people and asking them the questions others may fear to raise. He is a keen poet (he is in fact the self-styled poet, Newfiette) and regularly shares his prose with his admiring public. 

 

Why did you start your blog? 
The blog was started originally because Monty was such a difficult puppy that it was felt he needed another way to express himself rather than trying to eat the postman or chew through walls. That is all behind him now and he is a pillar of the community, as a mascot for the charity Shoulder to Soldier – having helped raise over £30,000 for the Poppy appeal over recent years, as well as his other charity work and his visits to schools and nursing homes. 

 

What’s it like having a famous pet? 
I am known as Monty’s dad and I regularly have to stop so that people can say hello. Most of our post is addressed to Monty Dogge and photographers constantly want to move me out of the picture… Despite this I’m not bitter… honestly! 

 

How does your Monty cope with the pressure? 
Monty takes everything in his massive stride. He blogs live from Crufts every year and meets literally hundreds of people, but nothing fazes him. He can sleep through a school assembly and recently, at Edinburgh fringe, all of the performers sat down as everyone was crowding around Monty. He just turns to face the cameras and when he’s had enough, he has a nap. 

 

What’s your favourite pet product? 
His favourite pet product has to be Angell Petco fish treats. Monty won’t do so much as shake a paw but if you have one of these in your hand, well… he’s like puppy in your hands. 

 

What’s your favourite post? 
We have so many favourite posts, but one I particularly remember is when Monty stopped the traffic in York City Centre, as one by one twenty Japanese tourists posed with Monty, while the other 19 took photos – from the middle of the main road in the city centre! 

 

How do you like to work with PRs? 
Monty loves working with anyone that makes him more famous. He likes everyone, especially if they have treats. 

 

What one thing should PRs know about you? 
PRs should know that Monty can be a bit of a diva sometimes and if things are taking too long he will sleep, anywhere and anytime. 

 

What’s a memorable campaign you’ve worked on?  
Our first children’s book, I’m not a Pandacow, has been very memorable as we had the opportunity to travel the country. However, according to Monty Dogge, Crufts is always special. 

 

What other blogs do you read?  
I like idreambooks and often dig into that when I have time. 

 

Mark and Monty Dogge feature on the market-leading Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other bloggers, influencers and journalists.

Blogger Spotlight: Marc-Andre Runcie-Unger, Katzenworld

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Katzenworld is a Top 10 Pet Blog which is written by a group of international friends who all share a love of cats. As well as being a source of adorable cat pictures, humorous stories and mishaps, the blog is home to interesting content including research, news from around the world and product reviews (reviewed by the cats themselves) for your feline friends. We spoke to one of the blogs writers Marc-Andre about what it’s like to run a pet blog, why they decided to start it and the campaigns that they’ve worked on. 

 

How would you describe your blog?
Katzenworld is all about being a fun and informative place that promotes all things cats. Our goal is to unite the cat-loving audience of the world to come together and share their stories with each other, while promoting important cat welfare topics. 

Why did you start your blog?
It all started over a board game one evening at my place back in 2014. My partner Iain and I had just adopted two shelter cats (Oliver & Nubia) from the Celia Hammond Trust, and as Yuki was already looking after her own cats, the evening soon turned into a great discussion about cats. Back then there weren’t many community-focused online publications so a plan was developed to change all that! 

Many readers wonder where our name came from. Well, I’m German, and Katzen means Cats, so in English the blog means “Cats World” though many people think it means Cat Zen World! 

What’s it like having famous pets?
It’s fun! We are always amazed at how many people know the stories of Oliver & Nubia and we’ve even met some people at events that have named their own cats after ours.

 

How do your pets cope with the pressure?
Very well. Nubia thrives on her many photo shoot moments and knows exactly how to pose for the camera whenever we need her for an event post or a product review! 

What’s your favourite pet product?
Ah that is a difficult one as there are so many great products out there! I’d say we’d have to pick a few here.  

For pet food, our favourite product has to be Almo Nature, as their food addresses the carnivore needs of our pets – plus the brand has a great ethos on animal welfare (both pets and wildlife alike). 

For cat toys, it’s the 4cats catnip and Valerian Toys, as not only are they hand-finished in Germany and use a secret organic catnip mix that works on more cats than others, but they too have a great brand ethos and support local and international cat charity projects. 
Lastly, we think that the Kiki cat cave is one of the most unique cat caves we’ve ever trialled that not only fits perfectly into a stylish home, but also addresses the specific needs of cats at the same time. 

What’s your favourite post?
Our favourite post was the collaboration with International Cat Care on where to stroke a cat. This was a fun research study and taught us and our readers alike much about cats! The post was read by more than 100,000 people in a single month across our blog and news apps, so we think our audience may agree on our choice here.

Oliver-and-Nubia

How do you like to work with PRs?

For us it’s all about working as partners! We ideally like to work with PRs that understand what we are about and work for or on behalf of a brand that’s looking for a long-term brand partnership. Of course, we are open to short term campaigns as well, but we do thrive on the long-term work. 

What one thing should PRs know about you?
The blogger team and I run the blog as a hobby to bring the best in cat news and cat products to our audience. For us, the well-being of our feline companions and their wild cousins is the most important aspect of what we try to promote and achieve through our blog. 

What’s the most memorable campaign you’ve worked on?
I think the most memorable campaign has to have been our work with the Ebony Horse Trust and James Bowen to help raise awareness and funds for the charity. It was great to help them spread the word, find additional collaboration partners for them to increase their fund raising and of course to meet James and Bob “backstage”. 

What other blogs do you read?
My favourite blogs out of the list of blogs I follow are: Cat Wisdom 101, Cat Chat with Caren and Cody, I Have Cat, The Conscious Cat and LoveMeow. 

 

Marc-Andre Runcie-Unger and Katzenworld feature on the market-leading Vuelio Influencer Database along with thousands of other bloggers, influencers and journalists.

Storytelling with Vuelio Canvas – WEBINAR

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Looking for a creative way to tell a story? 

Whether you’re helping your team make sense of ongoing news, pitching a client, or reporting on a campaign or an event, curating content from a range of channels is a daily chore for most.

Visualising and presenting this data can be a daunting task, but we have just the tool to help you nail yours!

Join us on 24 October 2017 at 11am to learn how you can bring your presentations to life with Vuelio Canvas. Impress your boss, co-workers and clients by transforming your data and content into engaging stories. We will show you how you can bring together individual elements from millions of media sources, be it news stories, social media activity, charts, PDFs, video or audio files into beautiful presentations made in seconds.

Stop wasting time on old fashioned spreadsheets and emails and transform the way you present your PR. Save your spot for our next webinar now! Even if you can’t make the live broadcast, we’ll send you a recording after it airs.

Webinar: Storytelling with Vuelio Canvas
Date: Tuesday 24 October 2017 
Time: 11:00 am BST
 

 

 

Willrow Hood

Is your management social media savvy?

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IMPRESS, the press regulator backed by royal charter, has taken the unusual move of banning its chief executive and three board members from dealing with major newspapers after their behaviour on Twitter. What does this teach us about management on social media?

Jonathan Heawood, chief executive of IMPRESS, was found to have tweeted or rewteeted over 50 attacks on the Daily Mail in a one-month period, as well as sharing messages that attacked the Sun including a retweet of: ‘#dontbuythesun or any other ‘newspaper’. Support Leveson, support regulators like Impress. Remove this endemic corruption.’

Two of the board members were similarly critical about the Sun and the Daily Mail on Twitter, while a third was believed to have had too much of a relationship with the Hacked Off campaign.

The behaviour of these individuals is hugely embarrassing for IMPRESS, which had to follow the Sun’s investigation with its own report before banning the four from dealing with large newspapers. Though IMPRESS has no large newspaper members, the damage has already been done.

For some business leaders, Twitter seems to come easily. Richard Branson, Bill Gates and Arianna Huffington are names that people associate with inspirational leaders who somehow always seem to get it right on social media. Part of their appeal is having a captive audience ready to hang on their every word and not every MD or CEO is in that position.

So what if you’re not a business god?

As PR professionals, we’re often responsible for managing external communications no matter how personal they are. Sometimes that means tweeting on behalf of a CEO, or maybe looking on in horror as they go off-piste (Trump anyone?).

Thankfully, we can still learn a thing or two from the Musks and Dorseys of this world – and here’s our top tips for management to get it right on social media:

  1. Be yourself
    Too often a CEO’s tweets seem sterile or staged. Our business leaders haven’t got to where they are by being boring or toeing the line – injecting some of their personality into their Twitter feeds is vital for it to be successful. But that doesn’t mean they have to do it all themselves – presenting your CEO’s voice can, and should, be a group effort.
  2. Be positive
    Reading negative or complaining messages inspires no one. The occasional rant, done right, can be funny but more often than not the best business leaders on Twitter stick to the positive aspects of life, business and experience – always trying to find the lesson to be learned.
  3. Be careful
    Don’t fall into the IMPRESS trap! A CEO is never off the clock; they always represent the business they’re running and what they say can and will be used against them if needs be. Now for some people (hey it’s Trump again!) that doesn’t matter, but most will regret not thinking professionally when they’re tweeting, retweeting or liking.
  4. Be consistent
    This isn’t something you can half-commit to; you’re either tweeting or not tweeting. Building an audience takes time and effort and if you don’t have either, don’t start because infrequent and inconsistent messages help no one.
  5. Be valuable

No matter how big your business, the leader is likely to be successful to have got to where they are. Sharing insights and thoughts can often seem like something best left to the celebrity business leaders but success breeds success and you’ll be surprised how many people you can inspire.

How do you manage your CEO’s Twitter feed? Let us know, post a comment below:

Five Things You Shouldn’t Have Missed – 29 September 2017

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Taking a brief hiatus from our podcast (and reverting to old-fashioned reading), we present five things you shouldn’t have missed from the worlds of media, marketing and communications.

1. Labour Party Conference

Labour Party Conference 2017

The Opposition party’s conference produced a plethora of headlines, from Emily Thornberry’s attack on Boris Johnson to John McDonnell’s pledge to bring PFI contracts in-house. Reports from the official four-day event also included the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg being given a bodyguard after receiving online abuse; the party tackling antisemitism in the party with new, stricter rules; the party’s position on the Single Market being debated by all sides; and Jeremy Corbyn’s closing speech calling Labour the ‘government-in-waiting’.

If you missed anything from Conference, you can see all of the biggest stories on this Vuelio Canvas. And, if you want daily updates from the Conservative Party Conference directly to your inbox – sign up here.

2 . Uber’s London licence

uber

Transport for London announced it would not renew Uber’s private hire operator licence after 30 September. They claimed the operator wasn’t safe or up to the required standard for the licence. The firm immediately vowed to fight the decision on appeal, which buys them time past the 30 September deadline. The ban has caused outrage among Uber’s 3.5 million London users and 40,000 drivers, many signing Uber’s petition against the decision.

Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi published a letter in the Evening Standard apologising for the mistakes they’ve made, Sadiq Khan claimed people should direct their anger at Uber rather than TfL, and reports emerged that two of the four reasons TfL gave for revoking the licence are actually its own responsibilities. With Prime minister Theresa May also now part of the story, calling the ban ‘disproportionate’, expect this one to keep going.

3. Twitter Trials Longer Tweets

Twitter bird

A small group of Twitter users are now testing double-length tweets. If the test is considered a success by the social network, then 280-character messages will be rolled out across the platform. Jack Dorsey announced the decision in a what was considered by some to be a verbose tweet.

Twitter, in true Twitter style, panicked at the idea of change and then made it all a big joke:

4. Hugh Hefner dies

Hugh Hefner

The founder of what became the media empire Playboy, died this week aged 91. At its height, Playboy Magazine sold seven million copies a month but in later years its content model has struggled to keep up with the internet. Opinions are divided on the man, with some calling him a legend who sexually liberated America and supported LGBT and civil rights, while others saw him as a misogynistic user of women.

You can make your own minds up.

5. IMPRESS bans board members

British newspapers

The royal charter-backed press regulator IMPRESS has banned its chief executive and three board members from dealings with major newspapers. After the press ran their own investigations, IMPRESS published a report largely agreeing that Jonathan Heawood, Emma Jones, Maire Messenger Davies and Martin Hickman, had all taken positions that could create perceptions of bias against the press – from positive views of campaign group Hacked Off to retweeting negative messages about certain papers and publishers.

IMPRESS has no members that are considered major newspapers so the ban is, at the moment, somewhat moot. Though if the Government enacts Section 40, which will require all papers to join a royal charter-backed regulator or face heavy penalties, then this story could become huge.

Something we’ve missed? Let us know on Twitter on in the comments below. 

British newspapers

Press regulator IMPRESS bans board members

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IMPRESS, the Royal Charter-backed press regulator, has banned its chief exectuive and three of its own board members from dealing with major news publishers, due to perceptions of bias against them.

As reported in the Press Gazette, chief executive Jonathan Heawood and board members Emma Jones and Maire Messenger Davies, were found to have published negative content about sections of the British Press.

Another board member, Martin Hickman, didn’t break any rules but his past activities investigating phone-hacking and his positive attitude towards campaign group Hacked Off could create a perception of bias.

This follows an investigation by News Media Association, which the Sun published in January 2017, that found the now banned members had tweeted, retweeted and liked on Twitter a number of negative messages – largely attacking Murdoch, the Sun and the Mail.

IMPRESS was set up following the Leveson Inquiry and is the only regulator recognised by the Press Recognition Panel as it fully complies with the terms of the Inquiry. To tackle its internal bias issues, the regulator has now set up a sub-committee to deal with publishers with turnovers over £20m, which Heawood, Jones, Davies and Hickman are banned from.

IMPRESS has no members who fall into this new turnover bracket as the largest publishers decided to be regulated by IPSO, the publishing industry’s solution to Leveson but one not recognised by the Press Recognition Panel nor backed by Royal Charter.

Membership of IMPRESS is largely made up of local newspapers and publications. While IMPRESS’s position is currently minor, should the Government enact Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act, all titles not signed up to a Royal Charter-backed regulator will be liable to pay costs in libel and privacy cases for both sides, win or lose. The Government has yet to take a firm position on Section 40.

This bias ruling is damaging for IMPRESS, which advocates a high standard among its members but has failed to maintain fair balance from those at the top. Its own report into the matter claims: ‘The responsibility for ensuring that membership of IMPRESS’ regulatory scheme is open to all relevant publishers and that members are treated fairly falls squarely on IMPRESS’ Board.’

The banning, but not removal of, these Board members will give the major publishers strong defense in the face of Section 40 and is another blow to the legacy of the Leveson Inquiry.

Mad about the house

Blogger Spotlight: Kate Watson-Smyth, Mad About The House

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Kate Watson-Smyth writes Mad About The House, which was recently first in the Top 10 Interior Design Blogs. Winner of both Best Interior Design Blog and Best UK Blog at the Vuelio Blog Awards 2016, Kate helps to inject personality and life into your home with her expert advice. We spoke to Kate about finding inspiration in the loo, nosing about in other people’s houses and working with brands.

How would you describe your blog?
It’s an interiors blog dedicated to helping people find their style and learn not just about new things to buy but also how to decorate their homes. I want people to be brave with their interior design choices and feel confident in what they like and not paralysed by choice or the sums of money involved. But, also, to have fun with their interiors. It’s like dressing yourself but on a bigger scale.

Why did you start your blog?
I have been a journalist for 25 years, over 15 of them writing about interiors. As newspapers have struggled with falling revenues and circulation, I had to find a new way to write. Interiors has always been my passion.

What’s your favourite thing to blog about?
I love finding out about things and discovering new talents and objects. It’s hard to pick a single thing as I am as happy nosing about in other people’s houses as finding a new cushion cover or wallpaper.

How do you manage your photography?
I write a lot about beautiful things to buy and companies are now investing increasingly in great photography so there is a wealth of sources right there which you can credit and link to the store. Using images from Pinterest is tricky if you can’t find the photographer so I try always to feature designers who I can contact.

What’s your favourite interior?
That probably changes every day of the week, but I do love a Devol kitchen.

What or who are your biggest inspirations?
I love looking around hotels for examples of clever design – they often have to fit a lot into a small space so it can be really helpful to see how they have done it. Restaurant loos are another great place to look – often great and bold use of colour and wallpaper in there. Instagram of course as there can be such a great mix of professional and personal.

What makes your blog successful?
Surely that’s not for me to say? There’s a lot of content there now and I have tried to include a lot of useful information such as how to plan a kitchen, what you should know when you are buying a sofa as well as beautiful things to buy for your home. I try to keep it chatty and varied but also full of proper information.

How do you like to work with PRs?
I like them to get my name right – the emails addressed to Mad tend not to get opened! There are so many blogs now that I really appreciate when a PR has taken the time to read the blog and work out if I really am the right person for their idea. These days I think it’s much more about focused collaboration and I tend not to work on huge campaigns that everyone is doing if at all possible.

What one thing should PRs know about you?
Don’t ring me up. Email is better.

What other blogs do you read?
As a judge for the Vuelio awards this year I have been reading a lot of blogs. I do read around my sector – in particular French for Pineapple and the Rockett St George blog but I also love fashion and lifestyle blog the-edited.com and the fashion blog doesmybumlook40.blogspot.co.uk. Gold is a Neutral is a newcomer that’s good too.

Kate Watson-Smyth is joined by thousands of bloggers, influencers, journalists, editors and media outlets in the Vuelio Influencer Database. Learn more.

Slummy Single Mummy

From Bedrooms to Boardrooms

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This morning, Vuelio hosted a webinar to discuss the results of the UK Bloggers Survey 2017. We were joined by top parenting blogger and trailblazer Jo Middleton, who writes the award-winning blog Slummy Single Mummy.

Jo started her blog in 2009, as a means to promote her freelance writing and journalism. It was about a year later (after she was sent a questionable freebie hand cream) that Jo considered the commercial aspects of blogging and started to believe it could become her main source of income.

Professional bloggers are on the rise; the survey revealed that 12% of bloggers now rely on it as their main source of income, that’s up from 8% in 2016. Jo has seen an increase in those that set out to become professional – where her rise was gradual, they’re focused on making money from the outset.

Jo believes this has upped everyone’s game, as in a professional industry only excellence will stand out.

Part of that professionalism comes from collaborations and brand partnerships, though the foundation of these relationships is not always straightforward. The survey revealed that 37% of bloggers get sent more than six pitches a week, while Jo receives in excess of 100. Though most of these are not successful, the number (and therefore success rate) does change throughout the year, with Jo more likely to take time over a pitch in a quieter month, like August.

And when it comes to successful pitches? Jo relies on both her own opinion of a brand as well as the opinions of her readers. Jo pointed out that lots of brands who work with influencers are attempting to re-establish people’s perceptions and so providing a creative way to impress bloggers is a great place to start.

She explained how Iceland approached her for a collaboration and while she wouldn’t normally have shopped at Iceland – considering it a place of kebab pizzas – her opinion has changed dramatically with each Iceland interaction and she can comfortably share her revised opinion of the supermarket to her readers. She also highlighted Iceland as a good brand to work with due to their desire for statistics and continued collaboration after posts have been published. Some brands request a post and then move on, making Jo feel like a tick box exercise.

When it comes to collaborating, disclosure is hugely important – especially as a whopping 13% of bloggers still flout advertising laws in their belief that not all collaborations need disclosure. To Jo this is ridiculous, she always makes her collaborations clear on posts and doesn’t think there’s any downside. Her readers know she’s a professional blogger and labelling something as paid-for doesn’t change her opinion.

She also commented on the rise in PRs requiring disclosure. In the last year she’s worked with more brands pushing disclosure from the very beginning of the relationship. There’s hopes this will trickle down into the blogosphere and change the statistics for 2018.

Did you miss this morning’s webinar? You can get a recording sent to you online, click here for more information. And if you’d like to talk more about the Bloggers Survey, comment below or tweet us @Vuelio. You can also reach the amazing Jo on Twitter @mummyblogger.

BBC

Laura Kuenssberg given bodyguard at Labour conference

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Laura Kuenssberg, the BBC’s political editor, has been assigned security detail at the Labour Party conference after sustained online abuse.

The BBC’s first female political editor has endured online abuse consistently since she was thrust into the spotlight. Aggressive, threatening and abusive messages are commonplace for Kuenssberg and all high profile female journalists online.

Kuenssberg is typically accused of impartiality over political stories by both sides of the political spectrum, often if a story about a leader or party is ‘negative’. Online trolls seem to have confused a political journalist doing their job, and holding politicians to account, with ‘taking sides’.

The fact Kuenssberg has had to resort to protection in order to be safe at work has angered many in politics and the media, though the truth is that this is nothing new for female personalities in the public eye, who have always received abuse online.

In the Guardian, Diane Abbott – no stranger to online abuse herself – has condemned abusive party ‘supporters’. She said: ‘It is wrong. Laura is doing a job, I may not always like how she does the job every time, but it is her job and why – just because she is a woman journalist – does she get that level of abuse. It’s wrong.’

John McDonnell has also attacked the trolls, saying it was ‘unacceptable’ and that any abusive activists would be ‘disciplined’. Though as reported in the Telegraph, McDonnell has also been accused of making light of the abuse by saying ‘I’ve said to Laura today, if you identify people, they will be disciplined by this party… John McDonnell will sort them.’

James Kirkup, writing in the Spectator, has suggested the fact a journalist is not safe to do her job without security detail is a blow against democracy in this country. Comparing the situation to a less democratically-free nation, he writes: ‘Britain would – and does – chide ‘developing’ nations in Africa, Asia and South America for failing to safeguard the free media and ensure journalists’ ability to report the words and deeds of people in power’.

The list of those publicly outraged is bountiful, but so too is the group who claim Kuenssberg has made the story up or is doing it just for attention. The bodyguard can’t stop the online abuse and so once again attention turns to the social media networks that host it but are struggling to make any sort of impact against abuse while maintaining ‘free speech’.

Women in Journalism’ s recent report highlighted the fact that one of the major reasons female journalists were missing from front page bylines was because there were so few in senior political editor positions.

But this goes further, Laura Kuenssberg’s bodyguard is not just an indication that women are struggling in journalism but an indication that women are struggling in society.

Blogger Spotlight: Antonia Ludden, #tidylife

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Antonia Ludden is the Top 10 Interior Design Blogger behind #tidylife. Antonia was inspired to create her blog back in 2012 after following US bloggers and their DIY, home organising and décor blogs. We spoke to Antonia about transforming rooms, being inspired by bloggers and working with PRs.

How would you describe your blog?
#tidylife is the place to discover all the latest UK home interior design trends and ideas, lush homeware and lifestyle inspiration.

Why did you start your blog?
Five or six years ago, I began searching for home improvement inspiration online and was finding lots of blogs from the USA but not many equivalent UK blogs. So, I thought I would give it a try myself.

What’s your favourite thing to blog about?
I love to style products and there’s also something exciting about revealing a finished project; I love a good ‘before and after’ when a room has been transformed and think readers enjoy that sort of thing too.

How do you manage your photography?
I get reasonable pictures with my Nikon – set to auto mostly, but would like to develop my photography skills. I am considering working with a photographer in the future to produce some magazine-worthy shots.

What’s your favourite interior?
I like dark moody interiors as well as light, bright modern spaces.

What or who are your biggest inspirations?
Fellow bloggers and Instagrammers mainly.

What makes your blog successful?
Perhaps because it has been going a while, I’ve been blogging consistently since 2012.  I also like to share achievable interiors and design inspiration on a budget, plus I am adding more lifestyle content at the weekends for something different.

How do you like to work with PRs?
It makes things so much easier when a PR is clear about their expectations. Getting a brief sent through with deadlines, social media hashtags to use etc. is really helpful.

What one thing should PRs know about you?
I am flexible and open to creative ideas!

What other blogs do you read?
The first blog I discovered was IHeart Organizing and I still like to look in on it from time to time. I enjoy reading the blogs of people who have become friends through blogging and am starting to dip into more beauty and fashion blogs as well as the home interior ones.

Antonia Ludden is just one entry in the market-leading Vuelio influencer database, which has thousands of bloggers, influencers, journalists, editors and media outlets. Find out how to reach them all here.

Podcast slide

Five Things You Shouldn’t Have Missed – 22 September 2017

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The #VuelioVoice podcast covering the major trending stories from the worlds of media, marketing and PR this week.

Listen to Akeshia Clarke and Jake O’Neill discuss five things you shouldn’t have missed.

This week the stories include:

1. Women on front pages – a new report from Women in Journalism has revealed that just a meager 25% of front page stories contain female bylines. We explore why female journalists aren’t getting the coverage they deserve.

2. A tale of two bookies – Paddy Power has this week fallen foul of ASA’s advertising rules while Betfair has announced a new celebrity endorsement with Rio Ferdinand in its Defender to Contender project. We discuss the opposing marketing strategies.

3. Heidi Klum’s designer clothing – Heidi Klum has launched a new range of clothing with Lidl. We explore how the supermarket is appealing to a luxury-loving audience while maintaining its low prices.

4. Ryan Air in the news – Ryan Air’s pilots are all taking their holiday at the same time due to a planning ‘mess up’. The airline’s CEO has made some controversial comments but also defended the company’s relationship with its pilots.

5. Morrisons focuses on staff – another supermarket story as Morrisons has refocused its advertising on the staff it has in store and the fresh, on-site goods they’re creating. We look at how the company, like Lidl, is repositioning itself after positive results.

Think we’ve missed something? Get in touch on Twitter @Vuelio or use the hashtag #VuelioVoice.

 

beauty prods

Beauty Shortlist Awards now in seventh year

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The seventh annual Beauty Shortlist Awards will take place in London on Friday, 2 March 2018. Run by the Beauty Shortlist team, including top blogger and editor Fiona Klonarides, the Beauty Shortlist Awards are widely respected in the beauty industry for their independent accolades.

The awards are also open to submissions from international beauty, health and men’s grooming brands, for the second year in a row.

The Judging panels this year are spread across three continents – taking in London, New York and Australia. The Panels include:

London

  • Red carpet, cruelty-free humane society ambassador Justine Jenkins, who has been the make-up artist for Fearne Cotton and Eleanor Tomlinson
  • Health coach and yoga and beauty expert Amber Macintosh (Dandelion Wellbeing)
  • Contributing beauty editor and freelance beauty/lifestyle writer Helen Wilson-Beevers (Marie Claire, Stylenest, Cosmopolitan)

New York

  • TV fashion stylist and on-air presenter Dawn Del Russo (Access Hollywood, E!, Cosmopolitan, Vogue Italy)
  • Her sister, makeup artist Denise Del Russo
  • Beauty + Content founder and beauty photographer Amy Schneider

Australia

  • Holly Spierings, creator of award-winning makeup brand Eye of Horus Cosmetics
  • Eco-luxe skincare blogger Arjun Sudhir

There will be 20 judges in total, who over six months will test every entered product thoroughly and evaluate it for efficacy, texture, scent, packaging, and numerous other factors. There are 179 open categories – find out more about the categories here.

The closing date for all entries is Friday 17 November.

The Beauty Shortlist is just of thousands of blogs that appear on the Vuelio Influencer Database. Want to know more? 

Carl Thompson blogger

Blogger Spotlight: Carl Thompson

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Carl Thompson is a Top 10 Men’s Lifestyle Blogger with his eponymous blog. Created to document his personal style and promote his menswear label Carl Thompson covers grooming tips, cocktails and travel. We caught up with Carl to talk about FSTGLFFC, modern man, the iPhone changing marketing and how he likes to work with brands.

How would you describe your blog?
The blog is really an evolution from my menswear label ‘Hawkins & Shepherd’ that I launched back in August 2013. I like to think the site is a reflection of my personal interests. I often describe it as an amalgamation of fashion, style, travel, grooming, lifestyle, fitness & food content. Which is a bit of a mouthful but unfortunately FSTGLFFC is a rather rubbish and convoluted acronym.

Why did you start your blog?
To begin with I was looking to drive more traffic to my menswear label, but it soon became apparent that the blog was developing into something separate and deserved its own platform. I wanted to talk about things other than fashion such as travel, cars etc. and Carl Thompson the blog became an extension of Carl Thompson the person. I’m really proud of the way the blog looks now.

What are the latest trends in men’s lifestyle we should be aware of?
I actually get this a lot, and it may sound funny but I’ve never been one to follow trends. I once heard David Gandy speak about the same thing in an interview, that trends are so fast and disposable that if you try and keep abreast of them all it will send you slowly round the bend. Also, lifestyle is a huge encompassing word; interior design is lifestyle, fashion is lifestyle, whisky is lifestyle. I suppose if I was to pick out any trends I know that male skincare and male grooming is getting spoken about a lot. Men are even getting into making their own moisturiser which was unheard of 5-10 years ago.

Male grooming is nothing new, it’s been around since Ancient Egypt and the Early Crusades, but it’s certainly proliferated with the likes of social media making it the zeitgeist of men’s lifestyle.

How does the modern man compare to men of the past?
It really depends on how you’d like to pigeon-hole the modern man. Certainly, our views on masculinity have changed, say from the 60s. If you think that Sean Connery was a body builder back in his day. His physique more than his thespian skills landed him the role of James Bond. Compare a 60s’ Sean Connery to a modern day Daniel Craig. A nice juxtaposition on Ursula Andress coming out of the water in Dr No was to have Daniel Craig coming out the water in his trunks in Casino Royale.

My point is, how we compare modern men to men of the past is heavily dependent on how we view not only masculinity, but varying degrees of masculinity. I mentioned David Gandy earlier who is the embodiment of elegant or refined masculinity then on the other end of the scale you have Connor McGregor, who many see as rugged masculinity. It’s an interesting question, one that has many facets though.

What’s going to be the next big trend in men’s lifestyle?
It might sound obvious but we’ve recently seen the introduction of the iPhone 8, which has integrated facial recognition technology. This will mean that people will likely be making more payments with confidence on the phone rather than on a desktop or tablet. I’ll be interested to see how men’s lifestyle reacts, how brands will move over to this technology sector where everything will be dictated by your mobile phone. I hope I don’t sound like a conspiracist; I have nothing against Apple. But they’re very clever, they don’t do a lot of advertising because the media goes nuts over them anyway and they’re very  determined, like Facebook, to have you do everything through their platform, whether that’s buying that new sectional leather sofa or downloading the latest style app. I think brands will be more mindful than ever on how they market themselves online.

Carl Thompson with his french bulldogWhat one thing could you not live without?
Ha, my Apple 8. Only kidding. My phone is king in my life but I’m also nuts about my coffee maker. I once heard that Beethoven counted out his coffee beans, I’m not that anal but I recently upgraded my coffee machine to a KRUPS Espresso Automatic Series. I’ve successfully climbed the ranks to reach ‘Coffee Snob’ status through years of purchasing substandard freeze dried crap, pre-ground coffee beans in cafeterias and capsule coffee machines. It also costs a king’s ransom so I’d be very sorry to see it go.

How do you like to work with PRs?
I’m lucky enough to know a lot of people within the PR world. I like to try and think from their perspective what do they want from me. The answer is numbers. They like to see a return on their investment for their client whether its stats, exposure or some really decent imagery.

It’s a real treat for me when my blog receives certain accolades. It’s not just a badge of honour that looks good on the site or in the email signature, it’s great for the PR companies too as they get to show it to their clients. It means they’re picking the right influencers to promote or endorse their brand.

What’s one of your favourite collaborations?
I’m going to mention the one I did with HomeSense. Most probably because it’s fresh in my mind, but it was also a lot of fun as I got to include my beloved French Bulldog Charlie. It was fun to play around with as it centred on a home interior theme, but themed for dogs. Charlie had a good time, he got some new toys and I just remember that being a fun day and they’re a good brand to work with.

What one thing should PRs know about you?
I get to the point on the email. I’ve been told I’m a lot nicer in person than I am in email threads, but when you have an inbox like mine you don’t always have time to fluff around with niceties and holiday chat etc. I like to be clear, concise and I think everyone benefits from that.

What other blogs do you read?
This should be the time when I list all the cool blogs and mention other great bloggers doing amazing work. Truth is, I only read a handful of blogs. I like the obvious ones like the Mr Porter Journal, I keep an eye on Fashion Insight for product launches and PR updates. For photography & editorial inspiration my first stop would be Toni Tran at fashitects.com, Ali Gordon at aligordon.net for his style & creativity, then there’s a guy I follow who runs a site called Human Research, he likes to run his mouth and on occasions and can be controversial but I like that.

 

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