Rosie Scribble

Little Clicks for Big Prizes

It would be very wrong, wouldn’t it, to wrap a present given to you by a PR and pass it off as a gift you have lovingly selected yourself.

What sort of person would stoop to that level?

In my defence, the gift did arrive on Christmas Eve, which is never the right time to start handing out Christmas presents.

Also relevant, I've decided, is the fact that Santa’s presents have proved popular again this year and I never get any credit for them.

The digital camera has turned out to be one of IJ’s favourite presents, and if it gets her hooked on photography like her mother then I’m pretty cool with that.

It was kindly sent to us by the team at Railcard who are currently running a Little Clicks for Big Prizes competition on Facebook. Entrants stand the chance of winning a Merlin Annual Pass worth over £450, simply by sending uploading a photo and turning into a postcard using their postcard generator. There are also 20 Railcard gift card for the runners up.

Further details are available on their Facebook page and you have until 9th January to enter.

On targeted emails not blanket press releases

I spoke with a company recently who are interested in engaging with the parenting blogging community on the importance of sending out targeted emails rather than blanket press releases.

I was met with blank expressions so I went on to explain that bloggers are far more likely to engage with a company or a brand if they are contacted by name, rather than Dear Mummy Blogger, and if the email is relevant to them. That requires a little more thought that simply telling everyone about your latest range of baby food, when many of us are beyond the baby years.

Not all companies want to engage with the parenting blog community, but my experience over the last couple of years tells me that many of them do. So how do you ensure the email you are sending out is relevant to the blogger who are sending it to? Simple. Read their blog.

That’s exactly what the guys at Hill and Knowlton did. They spotted the post where I mentioned I’d forgotten those all-important batteries, so my niece couldn’t play with the toys I’d given her, and decided to send me some. So within days I’d received a set of Duracell rechargeable batteries plus a charger to ensure the problem never happens again:

If they’d sent out a blanket press release telling me about their client’s latest range of rechargeable batteries, it probably would not have been read. Don’t get me wrong, I do like being contacted by PR companies and have enjoyed some excellent opportunities this year, but in the run-up to Christmas, like many bloggers, I’m finding myself inundated with so many press releases that I simply can’t read them all and most aren’t relevant anyway.

Hill and Knowlton didn’t ask for coverage. They didn’t follow up the gift with a press release and offer of images to support my post; they simply sent me a product that was relevant to me, having read my blog.

Batteries may not be the most exciting product in the world, but when your television remote dies a death as ours did at the weekend; suddenly they become the difference between watching the X Factor Final and staring at a blank television screen. Some might say the blank television screen would be far better entertainment in this case, but you get my point.

Now for that massive house in the country complete with butler, chef and indoor spa that I‘ve also forgotten to buy …

On posties and PR

Bless our local postman. He’s a friendly chap, out in all weathers and always cheerful. And as he delivered three parcels to my door this morning he suddenly decided to come over all paternal and draw attention to my obvious out-of-control spending habit.

I’d reacted with excitement on seeing the parcels. “Are they for me?” I asked.

I sensed a note of disapproval in his reply, “Well if you do insist on buying so much stuff.”

For a brief moment I was taken back to the days when my father would sit me down to discuss my credit card bill, so I quickly explained to the postman that I did not order any of these items, they were review products sent to me by PRs for a blog I wrote.

He shook his head, obviously disappointed with my reply. It was clearly an elaborate excuse to cover-up an out of control spending habit; an excuse I had used before and would no doubt use again.

I was a lost cause.

As he wandered off still tutting to himself I knew exactly what he was thinking: I’ve lied to the postman, which is a really really bad idea at this time of year.

As I told my daughter only yesterday: Santa is watching.

Photo credit.

A box of washing powder and very clever PR

For me, there is nothing exciting about washing powder.

It is not something I have any interest in writing about and certainly not a topic I would want to read about.

It’s washing powder. It washes clothes.

Job done.

But hang on …

Something has arrived that is a little bit original, and given even my limited experience of the world of PR – I would say incredibly clever.

It really is possible to do something that gets even undomesticated me writing about washing powder – send a giant box wrapped inside a fabulous dressing gown personalised with my own blog name.

Now that’s got my attention.

What Bold don’t know is that I’m a digital marketing student (albeit a slightly mature one), and online PR is something I’m currently reading about and analysing. So I have an interest in how it is done in practice.

And this is a little bit brilliant.

At some point I will get a chance to wear it.

So Bold 2-in-1 with Ruby Jasmine infusions and a touch of Lenor ...

It’s washing powder. It washes clothes.

It’s a little bit special.