You all know my obsession with Ben Howard, so when my house mate Holly managed to get hold of two tickets to see him live, lets just say we were both more than excited! So on Thursday we make the trek from Nottingham to Brixton Academy to see our favourite Ben! I don't think I've been this excited about something for a long time!
So I will leave you with my Ben Howard track of the day, 'Further Away', which has been helping me get through my dissertation research.
And don't worry, I will give you a detailed account of Thursday night after the weekend.
So ASOS has recently launched it's Christmas campaign #BestNightEver and to coincide with this they have released a series of shoppable videos featuring some very current and hot musicians. The other week saw ASOS take to Pinterest where they released a jigsaw of images which needed to be pieced together to work out who the celebrities featuring in the campaign would be. The outcome was model Charlotte Free, and musicians Ellie Goulding and my favourite Azealia Banks. This is a great and fun way for a brand to interact with their consumers.
This week saw the release of the campaign videos; a separate one for each artist. The final one was released today by the renowned fashion blogger Susie Bubble and is the cherry on top of all three; Azealia Banks.
This is Azealia's version featuring new track Fierce for ASOS's #BestNightEver campaign. When the video is finally uploaded to the ASOS website you will be able to shop Azealia's outfits straight from the video. The video features a mixture of 'London downtown aesthetic mixed with some uptown glamour' styled by Sharmadean Reid.
ASOS is at the forefront of e-commerce, but it won't be long until you are seeing shoppable videos from all your favourite high street brands.
As collaborations go, this is one of the most suited I have seen in a while. When do you drink vodka? On a night out. So what better than teaming an alcohol brand with a DJ. Or 3 as it turns out. Absolut Vodka collaborated with the legendary Swedish House Mafia on their summer anthem 'Greyhound'.
Absolut presents 'Greyhound' - the drink, the song and the video to accompany. With some subtle product placement within the music video the two brands fit perfectly together.
The video, directed by Carl Erik Rinsch, sees three groups of racing enthusiasts, all kitted out in couture Lady Gaga would have been proud of, as they watch and cheer on their robotic greyhound; whilst casually sipping on their light pink Absolut Greyhounds - cue the product placement. Whilst those enjoy the race across the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Swedish House Mafia trio are confined to a remote location where they remotely control their robodogs.
The visuals of the video are stunning with eye popping colour set against a gorgeous background along with some stunning outfit choices. The music fits the video perfectly and Absolut Greyhound seems to be the perfect drink for these couture cladded socialites to be drinking. In my opinion this is a brilliant collaborative choice with two brands that fit and compliment each other perfectly.
For my uni project I have been looking into different brands and how they market their products or any PR stunts that they have carried out. Recently, over the past year, Coca Cola have taken part in some interesting guerilla marketing campaigns using their iconic vending machines. Last month in Korea a vending machine was set up with a big screen attached to it. The idea was to get consumers to dance in public. So when the public copied what the characters were doing on screen the they received a free bottle of coke.
Earlier this year they set up a special vending machine in an Istanbul shopping centre to coincide with Valentines Day. The vending machine looked like any other but with rigged with a secret camera inside. The only way you could get a can of coke was to prove that you were a couple. When you did, a can of coke was released for both you and your partner. Quite a cute way to share the love for Valentines Day.
Really interesting way to grab consumers attention and make them aware of the brand. Now they just need to bring one to a shopping centre near me and make it Diet Coke!
You will all know by now the extent of my obsession with Ben Howard; so when my flatmate introduced me to his new EP the other day, Burgh Island, I was pretty happy. The EP may only be four songs long but Ben certainly didn't disappoint and I have had it on repeat ever since.
Oats in the Water is my favourite song off the EP and here's Ben singing it in the Radio 1 Live Lounge a few months ago. Absolute perfection.
Ben may have missed out on the Mercury Music Prize last week but with his fast approaching UK sell out tour, I don't think he has anything to worry about. I am very jealous of anybody who has a ticket and as I said to my friend the other day, I think Ben Howard is the only thing that is going to get my through my degree this year.
