Why brands could learn a lot from Next when it comes to working with bloggers.

There was a flurry of debate recently about bloggers and blaggers. Are bloggers just in it for the free stuff and is that a bad thing? Reviews and sponsored posts have only ever played a small part in my blogging so I haven’t really weighed in on the issue but my trip to Leicester yesterday for the Next Blogger Event has got me thinking. There is a better way for bloggers and brands to get along.

Even when Yellow Days was relatively new I’d get emails from PRs offering me the fantastic opportunity of publicising their product for them in return for a novelty keyring or some such tat (and some moan that bloggers are taking advantage of them). There has been the odd thing that I liked and happily reviewed but generally I politely declined. Not because I had any pretensions about protecting my integrity as a writer but purely because I wasn’t interested in their product or what the were offering.

Next have a completely different approach. They recognise that bloggers have a platform from which to promote their great range of products and want to work with us to do this so they have set up the Next Bloggers Network. They go out of their way to make sure we have all the information we could possibly need to write about their products, provide a forum for bloggers to share their posts and arrange events like yesterday’s.

I’ve been a Next customer since I was a teenager and buy a lot of mine and the boys clothes from them. Their kids clothes are great quality at really reasonable prices and, most importantly to me, they wash really well and pretty much everything can be tumbled dried so yes, I’m definitely a fan. When they asked if I’d like to come to their head office in Leicester to get a sneak preview of their new Spring/Summer 2012 kids range I was happy to go along.

T and I had an uneventful drive over (which if you’ve experienced the M6 at rush hour you’ll know is a near miracle) and were greeted with a cup of tea and some tasty cakes. There were plenty of toys and lots of room for the kids to play while we looked round the range and chatted to some of the buyers about what we did and didn’t like and how they developed the range. We also had the chance to have some professional pictures taken of the kids (when they eventually sat still).

It was great to meet some of the bloggers I’ve spoken to online. I was totally star struck chatting to the hilarious Mammasaurus who was there with two of her delightful kiddies and I recognised Ruth from Geek Mummy immediately from her helpful vlog explaining the ins and outs of the Tots 100. Of course, no one had a clue who I was. I think I’ll have to start taking a tray of cupcakes to these things in the future.

Looking round the ‘mock shop’ there were lots of lovely pieces but I especially liked some of the slightly retro designs in deep colours that would be great for a boy or girl like these vests.

I’m a sucker for a multipack anyway as they’re much better value and I know they’ll last as all of E’s Next clothes have stood the test of time and been passed down to T still in great condition.

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Another favourite was this bright anorak with trucks and diggers on. Being a mum of boys I often moan that girls get all the nice clothes while the boys stuff can be a bit boring but not here. What little boy wouldn’t love this? It is so cute and I’ll always be able to find it in the pile at preschool.

After browsing we all headed off for a tasty lunch. The kids were given a really cute bag with some colouring supplies to keep them amused (plus some tasty treats I managed to save for later) and after their food Sam from Jo Jingles kept them entertained so the mums could have a chat. If I wasn’t feeling pampered enough already on our way out I was also given my own goodie bag.

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So we had a fantastic day. The communication before the event was great. All the girls at Next went out of their way to make sure everything went smoothly and that the kids were happy while we looked at the clothes. They know that bloggers like to write about great products they find so there was no hard sell or demanding that we wrote about the event. They let the clothes speak for themselves which is exactly why I would imagine most of us will be happy to write about it. I think some PR’s could learn a lot from them.

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