Social Media Selfie...The Debate

OK now I get that some of you may be a little bit pissed off seeing all these girls taking selfies on your homepage, so you're gonna have a rant. But I'm a bit fed up of hearing about all the negativity (yes okay if you haven't donated, please do)! We get belittled all the time about being selfish and not doing things for others, and the moment we are, theres people there to slate us for doing that as well...you can't win. I just read an article by a Woman who lost her mother to cancer and stated that the craze wasn't helpful and it just reminded her of all the sadness and worry because the word CANCER was spread all over her screen. Now in my eyes, she is being the selfish one, we are all raising money for a great cause in a way that can be spread FAST! I too lost my mother to cancer, and I know if she was still about today she would be proud at girls that come from a society of FAKE BAKE, going bare faced and putting themselves out there for the world to see in order to raise awareness and money for the charity. It may bring up bad memories, YES. But the only way to stop those bad memories for future families is to keep raising! So why turn your back on it because its to do with 'selfies' or social media? You should be embracing it and helping the cause! The reason its been to successful is not because you're quietly donating on your computer, its because we are sharing it, nominating, passing it on so it reaches a higher number of people. 

"The ‘no make-up selfie’ trend has helped charity Cancer Research UK raise more than £1 million through 800,000 text donations since yesterday. The campaign, which began on social media on Tuesday afternoon, asks women to post photos of themselves online without make-up, with the hashtag #nomakeupselfie. Cancer Research UK told Telegraph Wonder Women that it received almost a million unexpected donations yesterday, most of which came in via text message.

The charity also saw a rise in people donating at their Cancer Research UK shops, and a huge peak in visits to its website .

                                                                                                       --- The Telegraph Online Posted Thursday 20th March 2014.

If you're slating the social media craze then really you're slating the charity too, Its clear that it is doing the job it was designed to do. 

Learn to take the positives out of life, not the negatives

So keep posting ladies, keep texting BEAT to 70099 and keep checking those boobies! 

O x

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Bitches, bitches., bitches. So many bitches

Before I start I would just like to clarify that this article isn't my own, its is a friend of mine Jennie Leighton's - Check out her blog and this article here: CLICK ME

I read this and thought, you know what this is so true and a really good message to be shared with everyone. I think Jennie describes it perfectly and its something that usually will effect us all although sometimes its not always as noticeable as others...

Over to Jennie and her powerful words. . .

" It's come to my realisation that sometimes people really do have an inability to be nice. Jealousy and bitterness rule and humanity and humility are somewhere absent with other non existent phenomena - like God for example. We've all been there; going through school with years of torment, some of the hardest and most unpleasant years of any life; and if you haven't experienced this; you're either lucky or you were the bitches making others lives hell - well done; good for you; has it made you a better person? Why do people get so much pleasure from trying to make another individuals life miserable? Do they get joy from it? Probably not. If they do it will be exceptionally fleeting. Then their lives will go back to being as pathetic and unfulfilled as they were in the moments leading up to their most recent 'bitch fest'. How do I know their lives are pathetic and unfulfilled? I know this because if they were full and happy they wouldn't feel the need to obsess over others. Isn't it funny how people will comment on someones personality being 'bad' while sitting in front of their computer screens typing some inane, immature and quite frankly poor attempts at insults on their twitter/facebook account. Although lets face it; they're probably too idiotic to even realise the irony. 

Jealousy really is the most unattractive and soul destroying trait in a person. And let me tell you, it controls such a huge proportion of the population. Especially young, not yet mature enough to realise the ridiculousness of their actions, school girls. It becomes an obsession. And then comes the "Oh, she thinks we're jealous of her. Don't flatter yourself".  Ha. Ha. Ha. Jealousy is the ONLY thing there is to account for your actions my darling. THE ONLY THING. And no. The girl on the other end of all your bullshit is not 'full of herself' to believe that you're jealous of her. She's realistic. Because if you REALLY thought she was a horrible person; a person with bad hair; a person with bad makeup;  a person with a bad body; a person with nothing to offer; you wouldn't bother with her. Not one single bit. Do you want to know why? Because you wouldn't feel threatened by her. The reason you have so much animosity towards that girl is because you want something she has. You believe her to be somewhat 'better' than you. Your own insecurity has made you obsessed with the notion that in order to elevate yourself to a level that you consider 'above' her you must slander her in as many ways as you can. Because stating everything that is 'wrong' with her must automatically illuminate everything that is so perfect about you. Right? WRONG. It makes you look like a bitter, twisted, pathetic excuse of a woman. Someone that no one in their right mind would trust or have time for. Someone with so many deep rooted obsessions and insecurities that anyone with half a brain cell would run a mile in the opposite direction of you; because guess what? Once you've finished with your current 'enemy' you'll turn on your current friend.

"I don't care if you hate me; I don't think about you at all"

It really is a sad existence when you still feel the compelling need to try and batter somebody when you really and truly never even cross their minds. It's utterly embarrassing that your obsession with trying to bring someone down in order to make yourself feel or 'look' better in front of other (probably just as mediocre) people, has continued even past the removal of that individual from your immediate 'world'. Thats when its possibly time to call in a shrink and have your head checked because the probability is that you're crazed. So why do you do it? For acceptance? From who? The other bitter girls around you? The boys who you think will like you more if you batter another? Your parents? Your siblings? Who? For yourself? Whatever your answer; it won't work. You will fail. No one will think you're any better because of your pitiful actions. Not in the long run anyway. And your insecure mind will continue to be so. Until eventually you might have the luck of having children. Maybe a little girl. Maybe a little boy. And god forbid you have to feel the hurt that takes over while watching them get tormented by those same arse holes that you embody. Or maybe you'll grow out of it when you leave the superficial 'stage' that is secondary school and you enter the real world where people cut your bullshit short. Or maybe you'll end up like those sad, sad, middle aged women on 'The Real Housewives of wherever' - bitching until the day you die no less happy and no less content - all the while having A LOT less money but just as ugly faces. Because you know what they say; you are what you speak. Speak ugly words and you'll become them. Whatever your 'reasons' for being such a 'mean girl/boy' how about you take the time to just, not? When you feel the need to write something hurtful on a social network, or endeavour to make someone feel like shit, go away and eat a fucking lemon or something. 

I'm sure you'll ponder this and immediately dismiss it because the person you're currently trying to belittle 'really does deserve it' and you're not really a blinkered, disturbed, insecure and spiteful person with an inability to look past your disgraceful actions. And then the cycle will continue. 

And for anyone on the receiving end of another persons insecure projections; just know that if someone is treating you in this way, you are already better than them .

Article by jennieinabox

I hope you enjoyed a little something different in a guest post today! Hopefully for some it will make you feel like you're not the only one, and for others make you feel stronger! 

O x

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A 'Mini' Adventure

Guilty . . . Sam and I are actually massive kids! I might be 20 but inside I still like to pretend I'm 7. Old enough to think I'm the dogs bollocks, but its not weird if I go to play on the climbing frame! So our Valentines weekend consisted of a little adventure, letting Dora the explorer inside me run free! 

Lost City crazy golf was probably the funnest thing I've done in AGES! Yes maybe I did feel like I was going through Temple Run, but we have all secretly wanted to be a part! 

As you can probably guess . . . I WON I WON I WON! Sam likes to think himself a pro golfer, but I proved my skills when it came down to it! 'Reading the green' is obviously my forte! I think my Dad would be proud! 

We like to think we are a power couple, supporting the trout pout in full force!

O x

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Brand Communication

Creating the Brief 

During todays lecture we watched a section from a film called 'The Lovers Guide to Brand Persuasion' we took notes on Chapter 4 - Creating the Brief/Inspire the Briefing. 

The first point that interested me was that a brief should be tight, only 1 page or so, not lengthy - clever and simple. The brief should reflect the truth about the product, however not be so logical in its ideas for creativity. What the product does and what does it say to the consumer! 

"A good brief is more like a spring board than a straight jacket" - it needs to be fresh, inventive and individual. 

For example the Guiness advert focusing around the fact it takes 119.5 seconds to pour a guiness pint - therefore good things come to those who wait. It play on the kinds of things you can do while waiting for your pint to be poured (but not just going to the loo or making a sandwich, the more extraordinary things, the things that you COULD do) 

Ideas

After the brief has been created Ideas then need to be capsulated in order to start the creative ball rolling. They should capture the human imagination, and still be believable as well as extraordinary. It needs to be able to feel like a product of tomorrow rather than yesterday, with a sense of purpose. What are the needs of that brand, what does it want to create, what is it trying to communicate! 

There needs to be powerful ideas that deliver! Never believe that the idea can't get any better, as there is always room for it to become better and stronger. 

In business you need to be an optimist.

The Execution of the Idea

Anything from Pomotion, Advertising, Events. Taking the idea and bringing it to life!

Speed is needed within this process as time tends to kill a good idea - context changes, the world that we live in and what we expect from it changes, new ideas are being made and promoted everyday, you need to get in there before the next person does!

Flexibility about which ways you what to capture that idea and the types of shots, designs or films you want to do, need to be able to have some leeway. However try to change as little of the actual idea as possible, only change what really needs to be changed. Try ad-libbing some bits and see what comes naturally, what is created in that moment. For example this Nike advert idea was never what was actually planned, the creators saw Tiger Woods messing around doing this trick on the side lines when he was bored and so they shot it and it become the main focus of the idea instead.

You have to be in charge of your idea, at this point it can be hard for the Client to let go of the idea and leave the Agency to it, however it can be hard having them looking over you at every point, they need to leave you to relax and get on with it.

Timeline

- Client creates the brief

- Agencies receive the brief

- Agencies cultivate and create ideas

- Agencies choose one idea and stick to it

- Clients receive the idea from the agencies and then choose to accept or decline the idea

- If accepted the idea cannot be changed, the client then leaves it down to the agency and their team to bring the idea to life!

Love Livy x

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Fashion Platforms

Have you ever thought about the importance of the High Street?

Well if you answer is no, then you were the same as me...

I found todays lecture really interesting when talking about what we personally think plays an important role within the fashion industry today, and if we were a business starting out, what we would encourage the business to be a part of. 

Instagram 

I felt that a main focus should be on instagram and the incorporation of brands branching out to our younger generation by posting their latest stock, their shop windows, special offers, trends, colour palettes and outfit ideas, on the site in order to draw us in as consumers. 

Looking through instagram now, it is rare that a well known brand or company will not be on there posting their latest updates, even more so with the idea of hash tagging now, you can find any image someone has posted with that hashtag. 

The Shop Window

Another one of our teams mentioned the importance of shop windows drawing in the consumer. Companies such as Harrods and Selfridges & Co spend thousands on their shop windows, especially at Christmas to do just that! The more high-end, expensive and luxurious the shop window looks, the more high-end customers it is likely to draw in. Highlighting just how important a shop window is for the overall brand essence and value in the consumers mind. 

The Shop Experience

The shop experience plays a vital part within the fashion industry and consumerism. In order for me to go back into a shop, I need to have enjoyed the overall experience, ease to walk around, layout, displays, politeness of staff. A tactical way of doing this is by using the display. Setting them out as a journey - Dress, Jacket, Tights and then the shoes are usually located at the back of the store, so as you walk around you create your outfit. Topshop are a good example of this, they create colour schemes and different sections: pastels, knitwear, punk rock 80's, smart wear, dresses, coats ext as well as having an accessories section, shoes at the back and dressed up mannequins at the front to set out outfit and trend ideas for you. 

Chanel is also a good example of the shop experience as they make you feel exclusive, you may have only bought a £20 lipstick, however they package in up in a lovely box with ribbon and then into a branded bag, making you come out feeling a million dollars!

Lighting is also effective and should be unique to the overall brand, for example foot asylum has quite a dull cool lighting to reflect its modern hipster feel on the dark wooden interior.

Is the Internet Replacing Shops?

Back to my main point, although shop experiences are nice to have, how many times have you just thought...ahh its raining outside so ill just have a browse online instead of going out. With the use of online shopping now being introduced to just about every company, the experience of the high street is decreasing slowly. With shop windows, new seasons of clothes, trends and special offers all being promoted on social media sites such as instagram, Facebook and twitter our generation is receiving all the information we need and can access it all from our bedroom!! Its could only be a matter of time before our bedroom becomes the only shop source we have...

making the need for an exquisite shop experience even more vital now than ever before, or the shop experience could be diminished completely.

Love Livy x

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