Lots of BMB'ers tell us they'd like to work with brands but aren't sure how to get started. So we decided to get an expert on the topic to dish out her advice.
Natalie runs one of the most visible blogs in the UK, Bambino Goodies, and her blog Baggage Reclaim was nominated for the Cosmo Blog Awards. We're trying to think what Natalie hasn't done, what with her books, workshops, blogs and brand relationships. Here she tells a little about her latest foray with a brand and gives her very wise tips. Over to Natalie:
A couple of Fridays ago my eyes went on stalks at a tweet asking me if I was free to go to New York the following week! I'd met Nick from JCPR a few weeks before at a blogging workshop. When tasked with sending a 'mummy blogger' to New York to check out the launch of the very exciting Kinect for Xbox, he thought of me.
If you’ve never heard of a Kinect, it’s a device that works in conjunction with the Xbox 360, letting your body control the game instead of using controllers. Totally revolutionary, your movements are replicated on screen as you interact with the game. Sounding very American here, I have to say, quite frankly, it's awesome!
A few days later, my three year old daughter and I were at the crowdsourced celebration in Times Square, watching 600 dancers shaking their moneymakers in sync while Ne Yo and er..Lady Sovereign performed. Afterwards we checked out the retail promotion at Toys R Us where queues of hundreds of people, some who had started queuing two days before including mums, were snaking around the blocks. Although we didn’t go to the midnight party, it was very interesting to see a PR effort in action. (See Natalie's post about the trip on Bambino Goodies.)
My visit to NYC was a pretty unusual and rather cool experience - in fact, after six years of blogging, I'd say it's my favourite! For you, as a mum (or dad) who blogs, as I explained at Cybermummy in the summer, it's important to get savvy about working with brands so here are some tips.