Links of London Treasurehunt *look out for gnomes*

Social media hails another bout of real-time fun and games!

And here's another one for the Ladies- Gorgeously hip and much coveted jewellery brand Links of London is launching a treasure hunt this week (Aug 4th 2010) for their launch of the "Friendship Blitz" bracelets. New for A/W '10 include 3D Skull and Heart bracelets. Hey, do you really need a BFF for one of these?

Be sure to keep an eye on their facebook page for updates of clues on the whereabouts of psychadelic gnomes, to be found in landmark locations for every two weeks until October: find one, take a snap of yourself,and collect your prize in store! What's more, this little adventure will be taking place not only in the Big Smoke but some other cities all over the UK are on the list too! If that's not enough, Links of London will also be launching an online hunt for the gnomes! Be sure to sign up for the newsletter to stay ahead.

Do check out their collection here. So far my favourite is the mini girl friendship bracelet But the newest ones can be found here on their blog : My ultimate fav is the 3D Skull one:

(images from the Links of London Blog http://www.linksoflondonblog.co.uk)

Another AWESOME "Come Get Me" Competition: win an iPad with Vitamin Water

So, We've had the Jimmy Choos on Foursquare; Instyle on Twitter and Jeans with MY-WARDROBE.COM; Here's where the next fun begins; Vitamin water has recently launched a treasure hunt competition; track down the delish bottle of vitamin water and win an iPad; this time IT'S REGIONAL! so no one will be missing out: Follow Vitamin Water on Twitter and keep your eyes peeled if you are in bristol, edinburgh, liverpool, london, manchester, newcastle. Check out the Vitamin Water Blog for more details.





If you've already missed out, or are still disadvantageously located, you van always go to Jenny's (The Style PA)'s blog for a chance to win

Happy huntin'!!

Mob Deals : the New Social Media Winner

Group buying, or mob deals have become all the rage at the moment, according to the Social Media Trending site Mashable.com. Some notable sites are Wahanda Groupon MyCityDeal KGBDeals Livingsocial

It's a heavenly deal for the ladies; websites offer discounted spa treatments, beauty or gym deals daily, usually from local businesses. The consumer each purchases the deal offered on the site and the said deal becomes active once a certain number is bought - hence the schema of "collective buying" or "mobdeals". Existing members can also gain credit upon successful invites - which essentially equals even more of a bargain.

It's a win- win for everyone, us hungry bargainistas get a sweet offer, lasting a certain amount of time with most of the time, at at least 30% off the regular prices and businesses get a promised amount of pre-paid customers and an emailing list. Of course there has been consumer outcry against some, seemingly ungenuine deals, but that's the way it goes for unethical advertising;

Consumers on the one hand , should consciously read the fine prints; how long the said deals last; on what days they may be booked etc. Other than that, ladies, go with your instincts!

Mob sites, of course will have to consider as regards this business model firstly, offering new and bigger incentives for the businesses. I am not aware of the bartering fine prints but I could imagine the possibility of some form of loss on the part of businesses if they were to offer too much, and vice versa should there exist a cap on certain deals and some subscribers are to be left behind due to the quota restrictions.

Secondly, sites will have to find a way to keep the deals "fresh" eg. in quality and novelty. As one example, Wahanda (being my favourite mobdeal site so far) often propose innovative beauty treatments at a fraction of the price; just the right incentive for consumers to go out and try something new! So far they have bought to the masses, a fish pedicure deal at Aqua Sheko (you sit and relax while japanese doctor fish nibble away dead skin) and a floatation experience (where you bathe away your stress in a personal tank filled with dead sea salt water)

As of Wednesday 7th July 2010 Wahanda are now looking to sweeten the deals even further by offering exclusive discounts on top beauty brands, so do keep your eyes peeled to keep yourselves looking perfectly preened.

Disclosure: i do not work for, nor am monetarily endorsed by any of the sites mentioned in this post.

How NOT to harvest an email list: marketing and things too good to be true

Groupola getting major hate: was it worth harvesting the email list? what are the consequences for the brand now?

I guess this is a little bit more social-media and law -related and a little-bit less shopping-related

A certain 'Mob deal' company seems to have gotten themselves into a PR tiff after advertising, a week before hand, that they had to offer site signees £99 for the new iPhone 4 from the original retail price of £499+. People sign up and wait for a link to go live at 9:30 AM July 2nd to grab the amazing bargain

In my experience, what sounds too good to be true, often is. The said Mob deal company claimed to have 200 handsets at the stated price, of course when 5million people logged on at 9:30 AM, the server inevitably and predictably, crashed. Here's what some people had to say about the deal:

PennyGolightly‎: Disgruntled shoppers are now finding that they can't unsubscribe from

Dean_Malik: After getting through to the buying page, I entered my details and was unable to purchase. Thanks Groupola, for wasting my morning

Remotepart‎:If "the deal will continue until stocks run out", how comes your link takes me to a deal for a photo session?? Huh??

Gaspodesm8 “Everybody knows it was a CON. Watch your followers DWINDLE. CHEATS.”

And here is their response

Groupola is currently experiencing a number of website issues which means that it appears down to a high number of users. This is because of the sheer volume of people that are trying to access the website to take advantage of the iPhone4 deal. Between 9 and 9.30am this morning more than 5 million people have attempted to log on to the site, far more than was anticipated. We can confirm that a number of people have already bought iPhones for £99. We are working hard to get the site back to its optimum and the iPhone4 deal will continue to run until stocks run out.

I shouldn't even be complaining, since I wasn't going to wake up early anyway. Speaking from a legal point of view; this isn't strictly out of line, as there is a wide margin for advertising in general. Of course this wouldn't fall into the categories of Pyramid or Ponzi Scheme as no money exchanged hands prior to the transaction, and therefore, no "value in exchange for consideration".

I do however, think the response from disgruntled customers-to-be speaks for itself.

But what have you now? Maybe a million signups and 5 million hits? So what of those who now vow to unsubscribe and never to use the site again? I understand that an emailing list, in marketing terms may be worth its weight in gold, but now? Was the mailing list really worth it? Was this the sort of publicity they wanted to bestow upon themselves?

At first I did not hear them mention a particular number of handsets for sale, in which case, would almost definitely absolve them of any liability if they were to have just the one handset for offer at £99. Now that they claimed to have had 200 handsets ideally, he said mob deal company should attempt to show the apparently lucky 200 purchasers of the iPhone 4 and offer some major deal in good will. We'll just have to wait and see how talented their PR team are

I do not intend to accuse, slander or defame anyone in this post, they are my personal thoughts and do not represent those of my employers

LONGCHAMP BOUTIQUE SALE STARTS TOMORROW, 23RD JUNE

Longchamp Boutique Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010 28 New Bond Street London W1S 2RJ Tel. 0207 493 5515 Monday - Saturday: 10:00am - 6:30pm Thursday: 10:00am - 7:00pm

E-shopping Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 : www.longchamp.com

HOT sales this week 21 June 2010

So it's official, this week started off with the longest day of the year and Summer has landed. We've already seen a good deal of retailers leading the way on Summer reductions; Liberty, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols Harrods to mention a few, while the internet has seduced us with Mywardrobe Mytheresa and Net-a-porter: Here are some more to look out for this week online and in person.

Wednesday 23rd

Pop down to LONGCHAMPS tomorrow, 23rd June as their sales start at 10 AM Weds at their New Bond St store

Thursday 24th

The Designer Sample Sale is on at Chelsea Old Town Hall SW3 5EE June 24th from 12pm-9pm

Expect high-end brands galore at slashed prices

COCOSA clearance starts June 24th featuring pieces from MAWI, Zac Posen and Twenty 8 Twelve Expect further slashes of up to 88% Preview the sale here from 12pm 23rd June. If you need an invite, leave a comment below

MiH Jeans Spring-Summer Sample Sale is this Thursday 24th and Friday with 50% of proceeds going to JeansforGenes at 90 Lots Rd SW10 0QD 10 AM -730 PM

Also this Thursday, expect a one-of a kind deal for a one-of-a-kind treatment for Londoners from Wahanda.com- more details to coms soon!

If you are still trawling about the sales physically, Harvey Nichols is offering a complimentary glass of Prosecco at YO! Sushi in their London, Leeds or Edinburgh stores when you spend over £10. This offer is valid Tuesday until Thursday from 3pm until close, and between Thursday 17 June and Wednesday 30 June 2010. Download the voucher here

Friday 25th June

Friday 25th The Designer Warehouse Sale presents its Menswear sale (Friday 10-8pm, Saturday 10-6pm, Sunday 11-5pm) Named by the Independant on Sunday as the Best designer outlet sale in London, this is not one to miss, with designer pieces at up to 80% off. The sale takes place at Islington Studios, Thane Villas, N7 7NU Admission is a mere £2 going to charity

Also the Secret Sample Sale takes place on the 25th - 26th at the 20th Century Theatre 291 Westbourne Grove LONDON W11 2QA

See By Chloe Cotton-twill biker jacket RRP £445 sale price £175

Mice at the ready- The Outnet's Pop-up Balmain Sale

And maybe those wait- list dreams will now come true
The Outnet.com will launch its pop up sale of fabulous BALMAIN peices June 22nd 10 AM

The site: sister site to Net-a-porter, TheOutnet.com stocks outlet designer items

BALMAIN: Who needs an introduction to that? Christophe Decarnin brought out the sequins and created the shoulder pad renaissance. It is that very collection from which the pieces will be reduced at up to 85%

Be sure to check out for the leather cargo pants (like the Houlihans, but made of leather!) The Swarovksi Breton top and Thigh-high power shoulder dresses galore.




Fight you for it, ladies.

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