I had to smile when I saw that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had finally got married, very quietly. I was thinking of the howls of despair at Grazia magazine and others, who have been speculating for months about the nuptials.
And what a quietly classy affair. Just a few close friends and relatives (sadly, hardly any on Angelina's side) and the children very much involved. Even the wedding dress was "designed" by the children, although Atelier Versace managed to rescue it.
It was nice to see the pictures in Hello and to know that the proceeds had gone to the couple's charitable foundation.
How ostentatious and crass some of the z list weddings now seem: Kim Kardashian's for example, with its white flower wall and staged kiss; goody bags, multiple ceremonies, multiple dresses. And it wasn't as if it was her first wedding. Not to mention the Beckhams, Elizabeth Hurley and Katie Price (lost count of the number of weddings there). Let's hope the Brangelina Nuptials signal the end to weddings which simply try to outdo everyone else's.
Thursday, September 04, 2014
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
A few basics of online marketing
I buy nearly everything on line. I hate going into shops. Holidays, clothes, flights, groceries, books, cosmetics, you name it. So I'm quite a savvy online shopper, and know what makes a good site. If a site is bad - slow, cumbersome and badly designed, or allowing you to order without having goods in stock - then I don't go back to it.
A couple of things really annoy me because they are so basic.
The first is that you're prompted to go to a website by a newsletter, flyer or magazine article. But then you can't find the items you're interested in: they're not in stock and there's no facility to ask to be notified when they're back in stock. A flyer for a company called AWear.com fell out of Grazia today. I liked the look of some of the new trends. You would think that seeing as Grazia comes out on Tuesdays, AWear would have been ready for some interest. I searched for two of the items. Neither came up. I discovered that the Harriet skirt, shown in camel in the flyer, was only available in navy or black. As for the pin tuck military shirt in sand, well, the search using its reference number delivered no results, and I couldn't see the shirt in the gallery.
Which makes me think AWear is guilty of the second thing I hate: failing to update their website at the same time as a promotional campaign goes live.
I had another example of this last week. I received a brochure in the post for Peony, whose silk flowers my mum likes. She adores bluebells, so when I saw their new spring collection featured bluebells, I went immediately to their website, only to find it still featured the winter range and bluebells there were none.
I emailed them and they replied that the website was being updated "as we speak." Perhaps I would like to ring through with my order instead? No way Jose. I would never give my credit card details to a stranger. Believe it or not, computers are far safer if you keep them up-to-date with security and virus software, and don't fall for silly scams.
Now that we're all used to shopping online for everything, we've come to expect the highest standards. Delivery on a nominated day is vital. Who can take time off work to sit in all day, on the off-chance? Here I must single out Laura Ashley. Not only do they give you a definite time slot, their delivery people ring you on the way to your house to let you know they'll be here in xx minutes. Then they unpack the item so that you can inspect it (and return it there and then) and they don't inflict all the packaging on you. Now that's the sort of service all online retailers should aspire to.
A couple of things really annoy me because they are so basic.
The first is that you're prompted to go to a website by a newsletter, flyer or magazine article. But then you can't find the items you're interested in: they're not in stock and there's no facility to ask to be notified when they're back in stock. A flyer for a company called AWear.com fell out of Grazia today. I liked the look of some of the new trends. You would think that seeing as Grazia comes out on Tuesdays, AWear would have been ready for some interest. I searched for two of the items. Neither came up. I discovered that the Harriet skirt, shown in camel in the flyer, was only available in navy or black. As for the pin tuck military shirt in sand, well, the search using its reference number delivered no results, and I couldn't see the shirt in the gallery.
Which makes me think AWear is guilty of the second thing I hate: failing to update their website at the same time as a promotional campaign goes live.
I had another example of this last week. I received a brochure in the post for Peony, whose silk flowers my mum likes. She adores bluebells, so when I saw their new spring collection featured bluebells, I went immediately to their website, only to find it still featured the winter range and bluebells there were none.
I emailed them and they replied that the website was being updated "as we speak." Perhaps I would like to ring through with my order instead? No way Jose. I would never give my credit card details to a stranger. Believe it or not, computers are far safer if you keep them up-to-date with security and virus software, and don't fall for silly scams.
Now that we're all used to shopping online for everything, we've come to expect the highest standards. Delivery on a nominated day is vital. Who can take time off work to sit in all day, on the off-chance? Here I must single out Laura Ashley. Not only do they give you a definite time slot, their delivery people ring you on the way to your house to let you know they'll be here in xx minutes. Then they unpack the item so that you can inspect it (and return it there and then) and they don't inflict all the packaging on you. Now that's the sort of service all online retailers should aspire to.
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Grazia leaves the building
Those of you who have read my ramblings since 2006 will know that I love magazines. The current roster consists of three subscriptions plus a weekly and a minimum of five monthlies bought in the shop.
One subscription that is ending right now is Grazia.
When I first started reading it, I was impressed with how it managed to cross the age divide. It seemed fresh and different.
But the constant emphasis on Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston and Cheryl Cole, is getting me down. Every story about Angelina is either "fresh signs the marriage is breaking up" or "friends' alarm at how thin she is getting". I do wonder about the sources they use. I'm sure sometimes it's just the guy who cleans the pool.
For Jennifer they go along with her PR charades and subject us to "New love for Jennifer!" followed a week later by "Heartbreak for Jen." In fact Jennifer is simply promoting her new films by appearing loved-up with her co-star, and maybe going on holiday with him, and then it's all over after the flash guns have popped. Both stars pocket some cash and the film gets a boost. Get it Grazia?
Then there's the fashion. Now this isn't Grazia's fault, but the Groundhog Day nature of fashion is also depressing. This week Grazia showed us the autumn styles, and guess what? In a nutshell, Star Trek trousers, hiking boots, lace dresses, kilts and the midi. I hoped the midi had died a death never to return. It flatters hardly anyone and if you're older than 30, looks matronly and middle-aged.
As fashion is never new it's a shame we never go further back in time and have a fully blown 40's, 20's or even 18th century revival. If that happens, then I may start buying Grazia again. But at the moment, I'm all Jolied out and I won't be beating a path to Top Shop to look like Mr Sulu.
One subscription that is ending right now is Grazia.
When I first started reading it, I was impressed with how it managed to cross the age divide. It seemed fresh and different.
But the constant emphasis on Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston and Cheryl Cole, is getting me down. Every story about Angelina is either "fresh signs the marriage is breaking up" or "friends' alarm at how thin she is getting". I do wonder about the sources they use. I'm sure sometimes it's just the guy who cleans the pool.
For Jennifer they go along with her PR charades and subject us to "New love for Jennifer!" followed a week later by "Heartbreak for Jen." In fact Jennifer is simply promoting her new films by appearing loved-up with her co-star, and maybe going on holiday with him, and then it's all over after the flash guns have popped. Both stars pocket some cash and the film gets a boost. Get it Grazia?
Then there's the fashion. Now this isn't Grazia's fault, but the Groundhog Day nature of fashion is also depressing. This week Grazia showed us the autumn styles, and guess what? In a nutshell, Star Trek trousers, hiking boots, lace dresses, kilts and the midi. I hoped the midi had died a death never to return. It flatters hardly anyone and if you're older than 30, looks matronly and middle-aged.
As fashion is never new it's a shame we never go further back in time and have a fully blown 40's, 20's or even 18th century revival. If that happens, then I may start buying Grazia again. But at the moment, I'm all Jolied out and I won't be beating a path to Top Shop to look like Mr Sulu.
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