Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The official Lancome Blog is out!

Obviously having an official blog for cosmetics and perfumes houses is not an affair to be trifled with, if the efforts by Sylvaine Delacourte at Guelain have been anything to go by. The house of Lancome has just released its very own blog named The Lancome Blog, starting being officially functioning on March 10th 2009. Besides news about the brand's products, the Lancome Blog will also give away various gifts and samples and cement a bond with the brand's customers this way. Run, written and edited by Kerry Diamond, vice-president of Public relations, together with PR team members who will often write columns and news, it seems like blogging is not for hobby-ists any more! As expected, I might add...

10 comments:

  1. Ahh yes, but nothing can replace the dedicated, non-industry blog sites. This is good news for perfumistas everywhere, as long as we remember who's paying the bills...

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  2. Helg , I am with Scott. Its like reading those "best of the year beauty items" in Magazines. Funny how the "best" are all from companies advertising in that said mag!

    Did you say Guerlain has a blog? What!!!! they are going to take "comments" from the people who dole out the money and pay for their perfumes??????
    He, he.

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  3. S,

    it's quite interesting that corporate blogs seem the way to go, isn't it? I so agree with you.
    At first bloggers were taken for a joke, later they were taken seriously and tried to be cajoled, now it seems they're sometimes on the payroll! (some, I mean, of course, such as here; not as a rule)
    I think it's fine for a company to have an official blog and state clealy that it is the company's blog. As it is when someone has an independent venue that is not receiving payment to write whatever. It's when there is no such distinction that things blur and become very confusing (and manipulative to the casual reader, I might add....) ;-)

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  4. M,

    honey, you'e absolutely right! The mags do it all the time and I doubt they even use the products. I bet they gift them. (selling them on auction sites is a big no-no and heads have rolled for this, although not unheard of).

    Esprit de Parfum it's called, it's in French, I have it in my links and mme Delacourte (to her credit) does accept comments: I guess you can complain to your heart's content! (As a dedicated Guerlain fan I suggest you do so)

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  5. I don't think these blogs are a good thing for everyone in that industry unless we're talking about exceptional perfumers and artistic directors like Jean Claude Ellena and Serge Lutens; I watched Lutens latest video interview talking about Feminite du Bois, he 's so passionate and fascinating compared to someone like Delacourte who 's such a bore. Seriously Sylvaine Delacourte, that poor woman sounds so dull and unenthusiastic!

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  6. Anonymous10:20

    This blog (and others will appear soon too, I guess) should be called "praise-all-blog", they will praise all their products no matter what, they will praise their prices etc. It is a new way of advertisement. I only hope that it won't hurt the normal blogs.
    Lavinia

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  7. GR,

    thanks for stopping by. I have to give it out to you for being so outspoken. :-)

    Although I wouldn't go as far as that (let's give her a bit of time and see), I have to agree that a corporate blog has something of a de facto catch: it's corporate! Ergo, a bit prejudiced no matter how you paint it. Nevetheless, at least it will give some official info which one had to ask through numerous emails and back and forth before, so in terms of that it might be of some use.
    As to the artistic...like you -you know it!- I leave that to JCE and SL! :-))

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  8. L,

    oh yes! It IS a new form of advertising. There was the approaching of bloggers in the first place and when things became serious, the option of having an official blog became a good idea suddenly. It's more of a validation of what has been going on these past few years than anything else. I have faith in the consumer being able to tell apart the hyperbole from the thoughtful and tempered praise of an independent source. (at least I hope so!)

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  9. Heck, I went over there - they are giving away free stuff! I see no problem as long as it is clearly stated that it's a company blog - and it is very obvious that that's what it is, no subterfuge at all.

    I am a Lancome fan anyway so I will probebly check in regularly. Sure it's going to be more or less of an infomercial, but it isn't the first of its kind and it won't be the last.

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  10. They would, wouldn't they? But it's nice that there is some feedback from consumers on free stuff as opposed to costly mistake-purchases!
    I think those "blogs" work more for makeup than perfume however (as it's so subjective and with no immediate apparent effect, which is easy to access with m/u anyway). We'll see how it goes, I wish them luck.

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