There’s been some backlash from designers and brands as they question having to pay bloggers from $5,000 up to $50,000 to work with them. Skeptics question whether paying bloggers results in significant return on investment, especially in comparison to a magazine or television ad. Besides, some brands contend, if bloggers are journalists, journalists aren’t paid for writing about a company.
Bloggers argue back that their fees have substantial ROI because blogs can drive millions of page views a month both on their sites and the brand’s Web site. So why shouldn’t they be paid? And while some bloggers are journalists in the true sense, most of them don’t consider themselves journalists on par with those at The New York Times or the The Wall Street Journal. They are more like columnists, expressing opinions about what they see.
“When you want to work with a blogger in a way that you would with any influencer — whether it’s a photographer, a stylist, a designer for your windows, a public endorser of your brand, advertising or a design collaboration — that’s where you have to compensate because you would compensate anyone for those things,” said Karen Robinovitz, co-founder and chief creative officer of Digital Brand Architects, who considers herself the pioneer of “blogger agents.”
She pointed out that if a brand sends a blogger a box of clothes with the intent of having them create four dedicated full looks that they need shot for posts, the talent has to location scout — and is responsible for styling, hair, makeup, photography, art direction, retouching, copywriting and posting.
“That takes a magazine sometimes 20 people to pull off,” Robinovitz said.
The tension between brands and bloggers is resulting from the ever-evolving world of the Web. As brands increase their involvement with bloggers in terms of coverage and projects, the line between what they should be paid for and what they shouldn’t is growing increasingly blurry.
For between $5,000 and $20,000, a brand can work with an influential blogger to host an event (plus airfare, hotel and entertainment, of course) — one that gets upward of a few million page views a month and will cross-promote the brand on the blogger’s site (although the jury is still out on proving ROI from page views, with sales being the only concrete measure). Starting from $20,000 to $25,000 (and up), a company can book a blogger for various weeklong projects during Fashion Week — with some bloggers fetching nearly $50,000 for even longer-term partnerships. In 2010, Bryanboy’s Bryan Grey Yambao boasted that he made more than $100,000 a year from blogging (and got a lot of flack for it) — which by today’s standards seems quite low for a top-tier blogger, especially when one factors in the partnerships with advertising and other heavily integrated projects.
2012年6月13日星期三
2012年6月10日星期日
Kanye West is no newcomer to the world of fashion
LOS ANGELES & SAN FRANCISCO, Jun 07, Lines have begun to form at two specific locations of the popular urban contemporary retailer, Shiekh Shoes with their announcement today, that two of their California retail locations in San Francisco and Culver City, CA, will be among the first to carry a limited supply of the Nike Air Yeezy 2 -- designed in collaboration with famed rapper/producer Kanye West.
According to the store manager of Shiekh Shoes's San Francisco flagship store, more than 30 people had lined up by mid-afternoon of June 6, three days in advance of the sale at Shiekh Shoes of the Air Yeezy 2. Apparently many of those on the line are staying overnight and swapping places with friends, so that they have the opportunity to get this coveted sneaker.
Nike is anticipated to release between 3,000 and 5,000 pairs of the Air Yeezy 2, thus making this a very limited edition release. And because the demand will surely exceed the supply everywhere, enthusiasts are already announcing the "sale" of pre-production Air Yeezy 2's, with a selling price of thousands of dollars on eBay.
Kanye West is no newcomer to the world of fashion. He interned with Louis Vuitton and debuted his own shoe line with them during Paris Fashion Week in 2009. In 2010 he began working with Nike to develop his Air Yeezy line. In 2011, he debuted his women's wear label, DW Kanye West, at Paris Fashion Week.
The Air Yeezy 2 comes with hand-skived anaconda textured leather quarter panels and a reptilian-like rear spike, as well as opulent details and references to ancient civilizations: hieroglyphics spell out "YZY" on the shoe's loop strap and the Roman numeral "II" is etched on the leather lace toggle. The Air Yeezy 2 prototype was also tailored to West's own foot, rendering it slimmer than the original.
Shiekh's flagship location in Downtown San Francisco and Shiekh's retail location at Westfield Culver City, California, will be the Shiekh locations that will have the Air Yeezy 2 for sale as of Saturday morning on June 9.
According to the store manager of Shiekh Shoes's San Francisco flagship store, more than 30 people had lined up by mid-afternoon of June 6, three days in advance of the sale at Shiekh Shoes of the Air Yeezy 2. Apparently many of those on the line are staying overnight and swapping places with friends, so that they have the opportunity to get this coveted sneaker.
Nike is anticipated to release between 3,000 and 5,000 pairs of the Air Yeezy 2, thus making this a very limited edition release. And because the demand will surely exceed the supply everywhere, enthusiasts are already announcing the "sale" of pre-production Air Yeezy 2's, with a selling price of thousands of dollars on eBay.
Kanye West is no newcomer to the world of fashion. He interned with Louis Vuitton and debuted his own shoe line with them during Paris Fashion Week in 2009. In 2010 he began working with Nike to develop his Air Yeezy line. In 2011, he debuted his women's wear label, DW Kanye West, at Paris Fashion Week.
The Air Yeezy 2 comes with hand-skived anaconda textured leather quarter panels and a reptilian-like rear spike, as well as opulent details and references to ancient civilizations: hieroglyphics spell out "YZY" on the shoe's loop strap and the Roman numeral "II" is etched on the leather lace toggle. The Air Yeezy 2 prototype was also tailored to West's own foot, rendering it slimmer than the original.
Shiekh's flagship location in Downtown San Francisco and Shiekh's retail location at Westfield Culver City, California, will be the Shiekh locations that will have the Air Yeezy 2 for sale as of Saturday morning on June 9.
2011年7月10日星期日
Best soles in Seoul
The benefits of a high-quality shoe are both tangible and necessary, not only for style, but also for longevity and health, says Retro Zimmermann, owner of Cheongdam-dong classic gentlemen's shoe shop Zimmermann & Kim.
“Good shoes are made from natural materials inside and out,” he says. The natural leathers, dyes and glues offer better “breathability” for the foot, which make for a better “foot climate” and “better feeling.”
According to Zimmermann, arch support is also crucial, while food-beds made of cork allow the insole “to mold to one's feet” for cushioning.
The proprietor's passion for well-made shoes beats Carrie Bradshaw's hands-down; the former consultant quit his job at a high-profile management consulting firm in Switzerland last year to open Zimmermann & Kim in Seoul with his wife, Ji-Yoon Kim.
Zimmermann initially noted the lack of quality soles for men in Seoul when he accompanied his wife on holiday trips here after the pair met in Germany when they were students.
“There seemed to be almost no good shoes around for men, and the few that we could find were hugely overpriced compared to Europe and often not available in sizes only slightly above the Korean average,” says Zimmermann, on why he decided to open his store.
World's best
Zimmermann & Kim carries men's shoes from two independent European shoemakers, Gaziano & Girling and Vass.
According to the owners, these brands are the best in the world.
Owning such classic shoes, says Zimmermann, is like owning “a piece of history.” The centuries-old shoemaking heritage “represents a history and tradition … a time when our clothes were made by artisans to the highest level of craftsmanship.”
Seoul fashion bloggers and connoisseurs seem to agree, as they have been flocking to the store since its opening, despite the store's hefty prices. And while many would balk at paying around ₩1 million ($940) for a pair of shoes, Zimmermann insists that other shoes of comparable or even inferior quality are sold at twice his prices, especially from brands owned by luxury conglomerates.
“We want to have fair prices, which reflect our products' quality and honesty,” he says. “Sometimes customers don't know this, and ask for big discounts … like at a department store where everything is marked-up by about 50 percent and then ‘graciously' discounted 10 percent.”
“Good shoes are made from natural materials inside and out,” he says. The natural leathers, dyes and glues offer better “breathability” for the foot, which make for a better “foot climate” and “better feeling.”
According to Zimmermann, arch support is also crucial, while food-beds made of cork allow the insole “to mold to one's feet” for cushioning.
The proprietor's passion for well-made shoes beats Carrie Bradshaw's hands-down; the former consultant quit his job at a high-profile management consulting firm in Switzerland last year to open Zimmermann & Kim in Seoul with his wife, Ji-Yoon Kim.
Zimmermann initially noted the lack of quality soles for men in Seoul when he accompanied his wife on holiday trips here after the pair met in Germany when they were students.
“There seemed to be almost no good shoes around for men, and the few that we could find were hugely overpriced compared to Europe and often not available in sizes only slightly above the Korean average,” says Zimmermann, on why he decided to open his store.
World's best
Zimmermann & Kim carries men's shoes from two independent European shoemakers, Gaziano & Girling and Vass.
According to the owners, these brands are the best in the world.
Owning such classic shoes, says Zimmermann, is like owning “a piece of history.” The centuries-old shoemaking heritage “represents a history and tradition … a time when our clothes were made by artisans to the highest level of craftsmanship.”
Seoul fashion bloggers and connoisseurs seem to agree, as they have been flocking to the store since its opening, despite the store's hefty prices. And while many would balk at paying around ₩1 million ($940) for a pair of shoes, Zimmermann insists that other shoes of comparable or even inferior quality are sold at twice his prices, especially from brands owned by luxury conglomerates.
“We want to have fair prices, which reflect our products' quality and honesty,” he says. “Sometimes customers don't know this, and ask for big discounts … like at a department store where everything is marked-up by about 50 percent and then ‘graciously' discounted 10 percent.”
订阅：
博文 (Atom)