InnoCos Digital Summit in London (Review) - Boohema Boohene

The international innoCos conferences have not only set a goal to organise exciting presentations, rousing speeches and inspiring workshops, but also bring together representatives and leading professionals from the fields of Innovation, Marketing, R&D, retail, branding and packaging in the cosmetics industry promoting networking to challenge and inspire. 

The third Annual #Beauty20 Awards took place on April 29th and MCM were given tickets by BlogsRelease to attend the ceremony. It was an extremely pleasant experience to be amongst some of the largest beauty companies such as Mary Kay, L'Oreal and Benefit. There were also other big corporates such as Asda and Phillips which gave the event media based content as well as information about the beauty market currently. There were two presentations that really stood out for me during the day. 

The first presented by Phillips and their speaker talked about the various beauty products, that they have for males and females. The speaker recommended some websites that other beauty brands could use to reach a wider audience in terms of advertising. A lot of the content in each presentation was focused on the importance of the internet as we learnt that many consumers now prefer to buy make-up online as they can order it from their homes, as well as read reviews and see ratings on products. Therefore online marketing is crucial for a company in order to not loose customers.

The speaker from Asda spoke to us about how Asda have used Youtube to reach their target audience which are mothers. They have launched a channel called 'Mum's eye view' which consists of videos from popular vloggers sharing Food, Lifestyle, Fashion and Beauty videos. This has been a big hit for Asda as many mothers work from home and browse Youtube so it would be easy for them to stumble across the page. Asda also engage mothers through online competitions and quizes. The speaker emphasised that everything is strategic in terms of getting hits on their page. Around 3pm is when mother's pick up their children from school meaning they have a few spare minutes to be on their phones, which benefits Asda.

After the presentations we were then moved to another room where we were greeted with wine and a variety of canapé's to unwind as momentum was built for the awards. The rewards went to the most successful beauty brands, retailers and bloggers for the categories of Best Beauty Blog, Best Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, Best App, Best Online Video, Best e-Commerce Website, Best Beauty Startup and Best Beauty Brand Online. 

Benefit Cosmetics was the big winner this year winning three categories. Best Twitter, Best Instagram and Best Beauty Brand Online. Although all companies are in the same industry you could really feel an atmosphere of togetherness and support from everybody. It was more of a networking opportunity than a competition which was nice and professional. 

The day then came to a close and everybody received beauty goodies with products such as nail varnish, mascara, lip balm, and cleansing liquid. 

Overall I enjoyed the day very much although I am not specifically a beauty blogger it was nice to learn more about the industry in depth. It was also a great event to learn more about online marketing tools that you can use to expand your business. I'm glad that I was able to be part of such a great ceremony and would definitely return.

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  MASTER DEBATE ( THE GENERAL ELECTIONS 2015)

MCM put together a video with 5 young people under age 30, along with Sir Henry Boyle from the Liberal party to talk about various political issues that are effecting young people in our country currently. This is an hour worth of great footage as we know many youths will be casting their vote on May 7th and may be indecisive about who to vote for. This insight should steer you in the right direction and challenge your views. We hope you enjoy the video and if you do please comment on our YouTube page and share the video with others.

h1 class="cl2">      InnoCos Digital Summit in London 

The third Annual #beauty20 Awards are around the corner and Global Cosmetics Community is looking for beauty bloggers to win Best Beauty Blog category and to present #beauty20 Awards to the beauty brands winners during the evening awards ceremony at innoCos Digital Summit in London on April 29  2015

We will be awarding the most successful beauty brands, retailers and bloggers for the categories of Best Beauty Blog, Best Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, Best App, Best Online Video, Best e-Commerce Website, Best Beauty Startup and Best Beauty Brand Online.

There are only 9 places available for the VIP beauty bloggers who will also be honoured by presenting one of the 10 awards to the winning brands. The winners will be chosen based on 2 criteria’s:
1.     the traffic they will generate by asking their followers to nominate their favourite beauty brand
2.     our judges rating based on the most popular beauty blog.

All beauty bloggers are welcomed to join the contest and our selected VIP group of 9 bloggers will be announced on February 28.

Bloggers who are interested in being selected for VIP tickets are expected to do the following:
-        Nominate your blog to win Best Beauty Blog category at www.beauty20awards.com
-        Post a blog post or Twitter message, Facebook, etc. asking your followers to participate by nominating their favorite beauty brand online at www.beauty20awards.com .
-        Use the hashtag #beauty20 on all your posts what will help us to monitor activities

About innoCos
The international innoCos conferences have not only set a goal to organize exciting presentations, rousing speeches and inspiring workshops, but also bring together representatives and leading professionals from the fields of Innovation, Marketing, R&D, retail, branding and packaging in the cosmetics industry promoting networking to challenge and inspire. For more information or to attend the event go to www.innocosevents.com
About #beauty20
#beauty20 Awards were initiated in Paris in 2013, see here first winners, and continued in New York in 2014, see here the winners of #beauty20 Awards in New York. 
  

UNDERATED PLAYERS OF THE EPL (PART 2) - WHITNEY OLADEINDE (15/04/2015)

Every sport, in every part of the world is guilty of overhyping particular players and completely ignoring equally talented players. So as promised, here is the second part of my 'Most Underrated Players of the EPL 2014-15 season so far'. In this article, I'll be revealing the most underrated defender and striker (in my opinion).

UNDERRATED DEFENDERS

I had to go with the two here, however, originally my first choice was: 

José Fonte

José Fonte has made 157 clearances and 17 blocks. The Southampton captain has made more interceptions than any other Premier League centre-half; and he has only made one defensive error in 29 games. His stats speak for themselves to be honest!

Southampton have only maintained their position on the top half of the table, even through their goal drought a couple of weeks ago, because of their solid defence. They are 6th in the table but have conceded the least goals in the top 6 with 21. Chelsea (25), City (28), Arsenal (31), Manchester United (27), and Liverpool (32) have all conceded more which speaks volumes about Fonte’s leading role in Southampton’s defence.

Martin Škrtel

The second defender I would say is underrated is Martin Škrtel, he has suffered from a lot of criticism in the past but he has improved a lot, staying solid throughout Liverpool’s slightly shaky campaign this season. He has won 90% of his tackles, 65.1% of duels and 68.8% of aerial duels this season.

I’d say his improvements are down to the fact that he is much better suited to a 3-4-3 formation and since Rogers has started playing with three at the back I have seen his performances improve tremendously!

One game where he really stood out for me was in Liverpool’s match at the Liberty Stadium in March, by the end of the first half he had made 9 clearances, won 100% of his tackles and had a 97% passing accuracy. By the end of the game he had completed 92.2% of his passes in that game, and won 75% of his duels. Škrtel’s defending was just as important as Henderson’s winning goal in this 1-0 win.

them an important point at home! He has been a valuable asset to Brendan Rodgers this season.

UNDERRATED FORWARD

Charlie Austin

Overall, if I had to choose the most underrated player in the EPL, it would be this guy. His finishing is superb; he's great in the air and does not lack defensive capabilities!

This season Charlie Austin has made 27 appearances in the English Barclays Premier League, scoring 15 goals. The only strikers to have scored more are Aguero, Harry Kane and Diego Costa. The only difference is these players are surrounded by top players, creating chance after chance for them; Austin does not have this same kind of support at QPR.

Austin is the second highest English goal scorer in the league and has achieved this with QPR, a team that has spent most of its time in the relegation zone since their promotion to the Premier League. It's no secret that the only reason QPR are not last on the table is because they have been heavily dependent on Austin's match winning performances.

In all walks of life, my definition of success is being able to do what some may deem the “impossible” out of what you have or bringing reserve out of a limited resource…

I don’t think that many can disagree that Charlie Austin has brought reserve out of a limited team.

YOUNG PEOPLE & SOCIAL MEDIA - DAMILOLA GBADAMOSI (08/04/2015)

I recently watched a documentary on Channel 4, Teens, and it really got me thinking about young people and social media. I’ve always been fascinated by the power of social media, to change perception, change lives, bring people together and tear them apart. However more than that as “a spectator” as my friends affectionately (or maybe it was shade) call me, I tend to retweet, like, reblog and watch interactions.  That means I do not contribute often, and do so more in answering a particular questions. I am a keen observer of people online and offline and these are some of my observations, positive and negative, about social media and young people.

When you are using social media right, it can be a platform to showcase and elevate yourself and your talents. From sharing art, music, poetry and so much more, ranging from the beautiful and unique to the captivatingly bizarre. Young people use social media to access opportunities, and create opportunities for each other and themselves. Particularly because social media has away of bridging the gap between the traditionally unreachable and the masses, many find success “online”. Of course, the entertainment factor is the reason most of us use these platforms; you can always be sure a visit to the platform of your choice will provide some laughter or shock value. Platforms like twitter’s create the unique experience of watching a Friday night episode with hundreds of people, aware of their every reaction. Social media has also awakend a real social and political awareness in the youth, with political debates, major news stories and sometimes even more obscure ones getting as much if not more attention as Eastenders, any football match or Take Me Out. 

But there are pitfalls. Social media has bred the “online persona”, sometimes miles away from who we really are. And whilst harmless exaggeration of character is one of the joys social media allows us, I worry that some personas are borne of or breed insecurity. They also create a removed sense of accountability that leads to severe cases of cyber bulling. And whilst some people take it to the extreme, particularly when cloaked with anonymity, a “keyboard warrior” is something that social media has allowed all of us to be at some point. The speed at which you can share your opinions, sometimes mean it is done without thought. We say things we would never dare in person, and forget the emotions of people on the receiving end. More concerning than the hurt we can cause each other is the harm we cause ourselves. We lower our self worth and belief, often envying and coveting the unknown, in the names of  “goals”. Forgetting that a picture captures a fragment of a life, and people show the fragments they hope are enviable. To covet or envy the relationships, bodies and successes we see in fragments, with no sense of how the were achieved, boarder on dangerous.

Watching the documentary, and from personal experience I am motivated to stay on social media, by all the things young people can, have and will achieve through it. I just worry that many of us are more caught up in its drawbacks. I recommend you give the documentary a watch it’s previous episodes are now up on Channel 4’s website and the newer episodes will air on Tuesdays at 10pm. Maybe like me you will find yourself thinking a little differently before you hit send/post.

                 WOMEN IN MUSIC UK

 

 As we know, there are significantly fewer women in executive positions within the music industry than there are men, as well as speculation about gender equality and whether women are able to fulfill the same roles as men. 

 

We are running a sophisticated evening seminar entitled "Women In Music UK", to be held at Platform in Islington. The event will take place on April 21st and Platform in Islington and will see women from some very lucrative and well-known businesses in the music industry, such as Remel London, a presenter for LinkUpTV and DJ Melody Kane who DJs for both Nike Town and SB.TV, one of the leading music sites in the UK. There are many more women on the panel in exceptional positions within the music industry. There is already a great social media buzz around this event, which is due to increase as the event gets closer and more panelists are announced.

 

 

 

 

 

                                          IMPORANT INFORMATION

                               Date: Tuesday 21st April

                  Venue: Hornsey Road Baths, 2 Tiltman Place,           

                     Hornsey Road, London N7 7EE

                                   Time: 7pm

                             Tickets: Earlybird (£5)

                                           Standard (£10)

 

                  If interested email:  k.watkislewis@gmail.com