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Happy shoppers – comedians turn out in force at The Affordable Art Fair

November 16th, 2011

Vic Reeves with one of his works

According to marketing experts ‘emotional engagement’ is the hottest way to make people buy in an economic downturn. The key to keeping sales consistent is to target shoppers’ emotions, persuading consumers to buy something by making them realise it will make them happy. And you can’t really put a price on that, can you?

Emotion absolutely rules over logic when it comes to buying art, so in some ways it makes perfect sense that Focus PR client The Affordable Art Fair this year had a highly successful two-week autumn run in London, firstly at the usual Battersea venue, followed by a brand new Hampstead fair. With combined visitor numbers totalling 35,000 and art sales hitting £5.6 million, visitors were able to browse the very best in affordable contemporary art all valued under £4,000 in a relaxed and unstuffy environment, the important signature style of the fair. 

But what also made us very happy was the sheer number of high-profile comedians who attended the inaugural AAF Hampstead. Ricky Gervais willingly signed autographs while other funny men – including Graham Norton, Michael McIntyre, Stephen Merchant and Simon Amstell – were also spotted, along with Vic Reeves who was exhibiting his own artwork through Eyestorm Gallery. Could it just be a coincidence? Or maybe these men who use their emotions to make a living are just better able to channel it into choosing art?  Whatever the case, buying art should be fun and purchasing a piece which moves you emotionally is worth so much more than any return you may (or may not) get on your investment.

Here are The Affordable Art Fair’s top tips to getting the best buy. 

Prepare
Take some time to think about your requirements before you shop. Have an idea of the space you are considering for the work and make sure you are familiar with colours, the degree of daylight and general surroundings of where it is to be displayed.

Ask
When you are considering a piece of work, ask about the artist’s history.  For example, is their work included in any major collections or has the artist has won any public art prizes? Ask what forms of payment are available too (many galleries now offer interest-free instalment schemes).  If the piece that has caught your eye is out of your budget, ask if there are any other works by the same artist, or in a different medium. Original prints, such as screenprints and etchings, are a great entry-level option and can also offer the chance to buy work by a big name.  If you are unsure about a piece, ask if you can reserve it for an agreed amount of time. Remember, the dealers are there to help you.

Look again
Take some time out to have a coffee or glass of wine and think through your choices.  Consider a work’s liveability and the space you have in mind for it. Once you have considered your options, return to your shortlist of pieces with fresh eyes and a clear mind. Beware though – you don’t want to be left broken-hearted if you return to find the piece that caught your eye has been taken by someone else!

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Designer fashion back in style

November 7th, 2011

'Shine' by Perez Hilton, exclusive to ShoeDazzle.co.uk

In a week that saw Goldman Sachs reveal record losses of £294 million Debenhams, in contrast, announced profits of £166 million. Amazing in itself during tough retail times, but even more surprising is the secret behind this success. It was the Designers at Debenhams range – Henry Holland, Jasper Conran, John Rocha et al – that accounted for much of the profit, indicating that cash savvy consumers are, when times get tough, less enamoured with throw-away fashion and prefer to invest in better quality items. With Gok Wan for Sainsbury’s, Mary Portas for House of Fraser and Versace for H&M all hitting the high streets, it would seem having designers and big name stylists on board is the latest brand strategy of choice among fashion retailers.

It’s also, of course, the added element of exclusivity that has always made buying designer just so desirable. Capsule collections and limited editions are all the more sought-after because you have less chance of bumping into someone else wearing the same outfit. As befits the prevailing cult of the individual, ‘style’ is increasingly about a look which is (or, at least, feels as though it is) personal and unique to you, something which our client ShoeDazzle knows all about.

This online personal styling service and retailer of shoes, handbags and jewellery, co-founded by Kim Kardashian, was the first to develop a business model built on providing consumers with a monthly ‘showroom’ of products which fit their individual style. All products are only available for a month so when they’re gone, they’re gone. If you don’t like what your showroom has on offer the best and quickest way to see what else is available is to ‘share’ showrooms with friends via Facebook, hence creating an instant online ‘shopping trip with the girls’. 

But perhaps more importantly, with Kim Kardashian, one of the world’s best dressed and most popular women (10 million followers on Twitter), acting as chief stylist, shoppers feel they are getting access to their own nugget of fashion gold. When the latest stylist to join the ShoeDazzle team of ‘personal shoppers’ is Hollywood power player Robert Behar, who dresses A-list lovelies like Jennifer Aniston, Eva Mendes and Janet Jackson for American Idol, you know you’re shopping in safe and oh-so fabulous hands. 

Another layer of glitz sprinkled over the ShoeDazzle business model is the regular introduction of celebrity guest designers, whose creations are sold in aid of their favourite charity. The latest name to sign up is superstar blogger Perez Hilton who has created two limited edition shoes for December, with 100% of profits going to UK LGBT organisation Stonewall. Such initiatives are a virtuous circle of CSR, brand association and desirability, invariably converting into strong sales. 

All-in-all, smart fashion businesses are showing that a bit of glamour can go straight to the bottom line.

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Beauty bloggers – a real life social network

October 31st, 2011
Our recent beauty blogger event

The social network has fallen a little out of fashion lately. If you ask anyone about Facebook, they either love it or loathe it, rarely anything in-between. Those who ‘dislike’ often cite the popular view among academics and thought leaders including Zadie Smith (Generation Why?), that the social network is actually causing us to become more anti-social. With constant comments or likes, expressing brief interest, there’s little reason to pick up the phone anymore. And when you know everything about everyone all the time, why make plans to meet in real life, when living in a virtual one is just so easy?

In contrast, blogs are more popular than ever. Interesting, because the most successful blogs – by nature – are similar to a Facebook profile. Honesty and openness are commonly regarded by social media experts as key to a blog’s success as much as content. Blogs with the largest followings are ones where you know most about the author, so you feel as though you can identify with them personally, as much as their subject matter. This is important because the followers you attract are total strangers and, once you have them, they are likely to remain loyal.

Focus PR clients Elegant Touch and Eylure recently held a joint blogger evening to showcase new products. This is now common and crucial PR practice because beauty bloggers are widely regarded as the new beauty editors; their unbiased views and opinions mean they are trusted more by the public. But what was so fascinating about the blogger evening to us was the sheer number who made it to the event, travelling from all over the UK and Scotland, and that they knew each other so well. The beauty blogger network is often described as a ‘community’ and the success of the evening certainly confirmed this, disregarding any theories of an anti-social, social network. The fact is, beauty bloggers are social because they have a desire to share information with openness to discussion. So you can be sure that if one praises your product, fellow bloggers and followers will take note. Which ultimately takes us back to the original intention of a social network that beauty bloggers use so well. They are simply women socialising with women who have a mutual passion for beauty. The ‘network’ part, purely a platform.  

Beauty blogger glossary of terms

More than just a community, there is also a language among beauty bloggers which can seem alien to the uninitiated.  Here’s our quick guide to the most commonly-used terms:

FOTD or ‘photo of the day’ – a beauty blogger will take a photo of themselves and list the makeup they are wearing so others can see how it looks.
Dupe – an exact or similar replica, usually a cheaper version of a more expensive brand.
Haul – a beauty shopping splurge, the bloggers reveal what they bought and talk about them.
HG ‘holy grail’ – a product that is perfect and an essential.  Not surprisingly, this is the highest accolade a beauty product can get in the blogosphere.
NW20, NC20 – these are MAC foundation shades, of which MAC does a huge range, and bloggers will compare any other shade of foundation to a MAC one.  

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Posted in Beauty & Health | 2 Comments »