Free Trips for Bloggers - International Invites (GALLERY)

Companies, tour operators and event makers are realizing how powerful the blogosphere has become.

Despite what many people still think, it’s not just bored mommy bloggers ranting and raving about their lives as wives; many blogs are written by powerful opinion makers with large readerships. GM, which has been leading in corporate blogging, was one of the first to invite bloggers, including TrendHunter.com, to press events. Ford also invited us to cover the new Ford Sync system.

Earlier this month, the organizers of Australian Fashion Week invited several power-bloggers across the ocean to cover the event in Sydney, joining big name magazine editors, fashion buyers and celebrities. Previously Chanel, Gucci and Oscar de la Renta invited bloggers to fashion events as well.

Last month, Sony gave several bloggers video cameras and the opportunity to attend the commercial taping for Foam City, asking them to record footage of Miami being flooded by bubbles, then uploading it on YouTube and hosting it on their blogs.

The benefit of inviting bloggers is the instant coverage versus the month, or even several months, wait for print publications to hit stands.

This may only be the start of a larger wave where bloggers join traditional press, or perhaps even replace them entirely in instances where companies seek PR and media coverage.

Hjörtur Smárason, a Trend Hunter and a marketing consultant, was seeking a travel blogger from anywhere in the world to invite on a four day adventure cruise in West-Iceland. Travel bloggers from all over the globe contacted Hjörtur, who finally chose a popular Dutch blogger to go on the trip later this month. Hjörtur says he expects this will be the first of many trips on which he will invite travel bloggers to discover Iceland.

“It is not only large companies that are inviting bloggers across oceans to get some coverage,” Hjörtur says. “This can actually be a very economic way for a small company to get attention and coverage. In many cases the bloggers are even blogging live which means the story reaches the audience a lot sooner.

“Bloggers also tend to be a part of larger networks where stories spread fast which counterweights the lower reader number compared to traditional media. We will be seeing much more of bloggers getting exciting invitations in the near future.”

Check out some more examples of bloggers treated as traditional press:

GM Invites Trend Hunter To Detroit - Embracing The Power Of Blogs (VIDEO)

This past week I had the luxury of reviewing GM’s 2008 line-up of in Detroit. Can you believe they handed me the keys to a 2008 Corvette, then let me loose on their testing track? The company is more than a few steps ahead of the competition when it comes to embracing the blogosphere. They invited T… [More]

Inviting Bloggers to Boost Exposure - Sony Foam City (VIDEO)

We’ve seen a number of bigger names embrace the power of the blogosphere, from General Motors to Chanel. Now Sony is testing the influential powers of the blogging world with the release of Sony Foam City, a TV spot which shows Miami being transformed into a huge swamp of bubbles. They used the wo… [More]

Designers Embrace Blogs - Oscar de la Renta joins Chanel, Gucci

Last year, Chanel invited a group of fashion bloggers on an all-expenses paid trip to Paris, Gucci flew them to the launch of the Manhattan flagship from places like London and Japan, and now Oscar de la Renta has decided to embrace the power of the blogosphere too. Just like Perez Hilton was able… [More]

Bloggers Go Behind-The-Seams - Chanel Viral Marketing (VIDEO)

Coco Chanel may have been the first person to launch a viral marketing campaign when she debuted the infamous Chanel No. 5 fragrance. The company is still creating a buzz today. Staying true to her pioneering spirit, Chanel is the fiirst major fashion house to recognize the value of the blogosphere.… [More]

Ford Sync (REVIEW) - In Car Speech Recognition for Your iPod, Phone and Navigation (VIDEO)

Say, “Play Artist Black Eyed Peas,” and Ford Sync will cue up the Peas in your iPod, Zune or even USB drive.  “Dial Mom,” and Ford Sync will use your bluetooth enabled phone to ring your mother.  This is the magic of Ford Sync’s revolutionary new technology, developed in partnership with Microsoft.… [More]