Embargoes

lancome-and-alber-elbaz-collaborate_GB

No matter how you feel about embargoes, one thing is clear – they just don’t work any more.

I’m going to cite the Alber Elbaz range for Lancome as a good example of this. Before I go any further, they are aware that I am posting and using this as an example.

An embargo on writing or posting about a beauty product is usually because a brand has arranged an exclusive with another publication – usually print. However, seeding out a story, as Lancome has done earlier in the year in the hope of an excitement build, ensures that a million and one bloggers (myself included) studiously scour the internet for any picture leaks. Pictures mean stats. Blog world isn’t the friendly place it used to be and we’re all fighting for stats. And these days, there is always a leak. Always.

The first lot of leaks on the Alber range came from Russia – or China, I forget  – the pictures were tweeted and posted and then very quickly – I am assuming because of PR intervention – were taken down. But not before hundreds of screen grabs had happened. I have the pictures grabbed and stored but I didn’t use them. A) It’s not fair to take away stats from the blog that posted, and B) I didn’t feel that I could ask for permission from the other bloggers to use what clearly were first looks. There’s fair and fair. So, I went by the book and sat on pictures without using them.

Then, a few weeks later WWD.com posted the pictures and from there (with Lancome’s knowledge) I posted a picture on my site. And, guess what? Not one single comment or shred of interest. WWD is considered a ‘trade publication’ despite the fact that anyone can subscribe and therefore the pictures used were ‘official’ with Lancome’s sanction. This Alber thing has been rumbling on for months – I want exactly what everyone else wants and that’s first looks for my readers and I have argued hard for it from the very beginning. I’m cool about stats having learnt my lesson well and truly from when my blog broke, but why shouldn’t BBB readers have the same information and access (hopefully better and earlier) than everyone else? It’s what I am here for.

The upshot of this really is that I can see how the game was attempted – seed it out, get everyone to bite, control the images (not officially available til June), ensure the agreed exclusive happens, offer different bits to different publications and end up with mass coverage everywhere. But that’s not how it’s worked, because they didn’t factor in the internet – that little world wide webby thing. By the time Alber actually launches (and it’s beautiful by the way – more than deserving of every scrap of coverage) we’ll be well and truly over it.. I am already. It will be like trying to re-inflate a popped balloon. You can look on-line and see pretty much the lot, so where’s the sense in making everyone *officially* wait. The days when you could attempt this kind of game are over – if you have an embargo, then every single person from the factory floor to the poshest executive suite needs to be sworn to secrecy – and that’s pretty much impossible – and you don’t then ‘officially’ give pictures to a site that anyone and everyone can look at and tell everyone else they can’t use them.

I’ve had a constant, amicable dialogue with the UK PR.. this is as difficult for that office as it is for everyone else… we’re still friends :-).


Discover more from British Beauty Blogger

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.


Posted

in

by

Tags:

Have your say

7 responses to “Embargoes”

  1. I had no idea it was embargoed. It was in WWD FFS! Oopsies. Sorry Lancome.

  2. Writer

    As a fellow writer, this is SO frustrating. I just don’t think they can work online unless as you say it’s across everyone and completely, strictly under embargo for all. I’ve recently had to hold off on publishing content because when we’ve done the decent thing and checked with a PR it’s ok to push out there, they’ve asked us to wait a week. Why?! This has all been for product that has already had its launch party, already been Instagrammed to death, already been tweeted, blogged, and in some cases IN SHOPS and on Vogue’s site.

    I don’t understand why, when the web’s great super power is that of immediacy, we should have to wait when others don’t. PRs and brands need to move with the times and that means embargoes have to be for all or for no one.

    Great post xxx

  3. I am not a blogger
    but i completely understand the use of an embargo, and honestly i think PR companies should have harder policies for people who break it… Like getting on a blacklist or (they probably will be put on it in silence)
    This case is one of the few where it happened, but if this is the start of it I think it will happen PR agencies will start to send out samples and information way later instead of it being months before it can be told about. And that would be a shame honestly, because of the embargo you get all the time you want (and need) to test a product, do extensive research. Etc.
    This way bloggers are just destroying it for themselves…

    1. Jane

      Hi Nivora, you might be interested to know that the embargo was first broken by a journalist, not a blogger. I agree that if everyone played by the embargo rules it would work better but as we can see here, people will not play. So either we all observe the rules or there are no rules. x

  4. I’m so happy you posted about this collection particular because I had some problems because I posted a few photos way to early. I didn’t know it was an embargo until one morning I found lots of msg on FB and Twitter and my inbox flooded with e-mails from PR’s from different countries. It has been 5 years since I tried to get in contact to any of Lancome’s PR departments and they never replied to my e-mails and after a few days I posted about Alber Elbaz collection they noticed my blog. I agree with the embargo thing and not being allowed to publish any info, but how could I know that if I don’t have an official contact. The PR department from my country even told me they had no idea we were living in the same country until other international PR’s departments pointed that out to them. Even after I removed the photos I kept seeing new photos of the products from Lancome Elbaz collection so they couldn’t do anything about that. Once a photo is spread and some of the info is out there’s not much that you can do. Of course they contacted some of the bloggers and asked them nicely to remove the photos but by that time, other bloggers have posted the photos and info.

    I also saw the photos and article from WWD and told Lancome about that because they told me again and again that no official info or photo should come out until 3 May 2013. So WWD is allowed to share the news one week later but how you can stop anyone from posting on their blog info based on WWD article? It’s crazy. Many bloggers have a subscription at WWD because there’s a good source for sneak peek articles or official info.

  5. I agree 100 & 10% on embargoes for all or none. And this should extend across international lines.

    Case in point. Wrote a post on MAC’s Baking Beauties and a Singaporean beauty blogger was kind enough to tell me that contrary to me thinking Singapore has no info on the collection, the Singaporean beauty bloggers (I would assume whom received press samples) were forbidden to write on it until the next week.

    But at the time of my post, Baking Beauties were already on sale on MAC USA. What is the point of embargo-ing products/collections if you’re already selling them elsewhere?

    I know people working in PR in beauty companies (and other sectors) and typically they are following a ‘global PR directive’ which is issued by head offices in USA or Europe. Their hands are tied, but the global PR heads should really have a think!

  6. niche

    I had no idea there is an embargo. I already saw photos of the products on a blog…..and yes I am excited for it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from British Beauty Blogger

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading