Image Isn't Everything.....Or Is It??

Can a car brand that has always been the butt of all jokes, re vamp their products, at he same time as re vamping the image the brand name holds??

What thoughts and feelings does the names 'Skoda' evoke?

The car that once made the Volkswagen look like a slick piece of stylish machinery, has now vamped up their image and become the motor choice for the knowing driver....or has it?

The new Skoda Octavia, which can now be compared to luxurious cars such as BMW and Mercedes with their new product image. But can the brand name 'Skoda' still shake off the negative connations that it once held? Or is it not better changing the name all together?

I have been thinking much about this lateley only due to it being the car that my ex used to drive and when friends asked 'what car does he drive?' In which I replied 'Skoda', their responses seemed rather negative, but when looking at the new Skoda it does look like quite a stylish car, even with the re vamp will the brand always be subject to public scrutiny and ridicule?

Press Release..who?

After just over a month of experience, of one day a week trips to a PR consultancy in Harrogate I have gained a real insight into the world of PR and what constitutes a typical working day.

Press Releases are coming out of my ears by the end of the day, which came as quite a shock as I knew they were an aspect of a typical PR working day, but I didn't realise to what extent.

At classroom time, they were only really skimmed over in the first year of the course, but in year two of the course I haven't seen or heard of the word press release, apart from it being listed as one of the ten items for my portfolio in my module handbook.

I have to admit, I have gained invaluable experience at the PR consultancy as my press release skills were a tad on the rusty side to begin with, but with the training I have been given on my placement I feel as though my writing skills have now been tightened up some what.

I guess this is true of the phrase 'you can't really learn in the classroom what you learn in the working day.'

Britneys Torment

I feel for Britney Spears at the moment, she is going through a really hard time. She is in the media every single day and its not suprising really that she has these problems, she was subject to fame and fortune at such a young age, she hasn't really had much of a child life. Michael Jackson is the same, with so much pressure at such a young age it seemed to effect him later in life.

Britney cannot even walk out of her front door without the cameras flashing, I couldn't even imagine thr thought of no being able to walk down my street to buy some milk without thinking about the millions of paparazi waiting outside for me, It would be awful.

Love her or hate her, but there is a horrify advice from A top US psychologist Dr. Lillian Glass who has declared Britney Spears will be dead in six months if she doesn't get the treatment she needs for a chronic mood disorder cyclothymia.

“Unless Britney is locked away or put into a treatment program, she is going to die in six months - or even sooner. In my opinion, she suffers from cyclothymia, a chronic mood disorder in which short periods of mild depression are followed by short periods of hypomania,” she said. She added: “she’s definitely a candidate for suicide if she isn’t treated immediately.”

keeping up appearances, is it all worth it???

Are you up to date with the latest fashion trends? What is fashion anyway? People seem to conform to these rules like puppets, and those that don’t tend to either step outside the ‘norm’ and dress however they like and others seem to go with comfort rather than style, such as the ’pyjamawear’, where women have embraced slouchy ‘comfort dressing’, baggy boyfriend jeans, clompy UGG boots, layered t-shirts and snug hoodies because they are comfortable. But there is definitely a gulf between what designers think women should wear and what men prefer women to wear. This is probably due to the fact that fashion is dominated by gay male designers who don’t care what straight men will find attractive!
Is it more style and trends that you would rather conform to than comfort? The current fashion trends are either the 80's look or the 60's throwback! Many young girls are currently wearing the leggings under the skirt once again, and the shirt that hangs off one shoulder. It appears that the current fashion trend simply has no trend at all, everything is just a circulation. The torn jeans are in every clothing store. It’s virtually all you can find. Is it the big afro hair next? Will people conform to this as well?
Women who follow fashion have so much choice, they also have to dress for the seasons in order to conform to 'the rules' which means wearing boots and ‘sensible’ shoes in winter and maybe wearing pretty flat ballerina pumps for the office. In summer it’s dainty and elegant shoes that ‘work’ with floaty summer dresses and practical sandals for weekend wear and sexy strappy numbers for the girl’s night out on the town. Every time the fashion changes we need to ‘update the look’, this needs to fit in with the season- wedges, stilettos, ballerinas, espradilles and platforms.
All the crazy clothes that grace the front pages of newspapers and magazines, (inflatable rubber boiler suits, gigantic flying saucer hats, gold tin man leggings etc) are just that-front page fodder. True- publicity hungry reality TV stars and someone like Bjork will occasionally sport them on a red carpet but outrageous catwalk clothes are usually just the designer’s way to secure publicity. No one, let alone the girl next door looks like a catwalk model. But that doesn’t mean that real women are not allowed to wear fashion. Clothes are displayed on willowy waifs because designers think that’s how their clothes look best, but fashion houses are becoming increasingly commercial and more aware that it is the real women that buy their clothes. The more severe looks on the catwalk are often an extreme example of what one day will filter out onto the high street, by of which time will have diluted and modified to suit most women.
Even sportswear is becoming more about ‘luxury’ and ‘what looks good’, rather than the comfort factor, with all in one shorts and vests, zip up parka style fluorescent fitted jackets with skinny trousers and shorter than short skirts!
When it comes to fashion it’s a nonstop universe of change. Some trends seem ridiculous and others out of date, whilst others re-emerge with flying colours. Whether you like it or not, fashion will probably stay around for a very long time. If you choose to follow these fashions you may want to check the latest trends or should I say fashion reruns before picking your wardrobe. Is it always going to be about 'the look' that is accepted, rather than the comfort factor?? Are there always going to be these rules around 'the seasons' and will they ever invent a style that hasn't been out before, or is it just going to be rerun after rerun??

Who said students were lazy????

I have recently found that people seem to have a negative opinion of students. They are either lazy or "tax dodgers"! People seem to think that ALL students lie in bed all day drink all night and go to lectures when it is convenient for them.
Well I can tell you that I am far from lazy! Yes, I did have a couple of months with no job, but that was due to the Freshers period where you need to go out and have a good time in order to meet new people, and what is the point of living at university if you are not going to go out and enjoy yourself with a few cheap nights out!
People seem to be suprised when I tell them that I work as well as being a uni student, not only do I have one part time job but I have 3 part time jobs and some occassional modelling work! In total, I work 35 hours a week plus university hours plus finding time to fit in a social life!

My experience of celeb lifestyle

On Valentines day, I was able to attend the Brits after party at Paper in London through my modelling agency, and it was definatley a new experience!
Normally when I go on a night out with students, I am joining endless ques in the freezing cold weather, and have to really budget myself!
My night out in London was a whole different ball game! We got to go right to the front of the que, courtesy of PR proffessional Jonathan Lipman, and as soon as we got there we were whisked off to a VIP area, where a rope was taken down and myself and the other girls went and sat on the plush leather seating area! Then the people working there brought over three large bottles of vodka, orange juice, cranberry juice, ice and large Cosmo glasses! They were all free! I was in heaven!!.....Although I most definatley could not say the same thing the next day on the 2 and a half hour backward train journey home!!!

My week working for a newspaper

I have just completed a week of work experience at the Accrington Observer, which is my local paper.
During my time at the Observer, I got to see what it was like from a journalistic point of view, and I really enjoyed it!! I got to write news releases, a feature and blagged the photographer to let me take a picture, in order to get more things ticked off for my portfolio!
The paper is out today, and I feel really proud of myself for seeing something that I have written that has been published and everyone is going to read it!
I am always getting told by tutors and lecturers at uni, that journalists and people in PR don't like each other because they never say what the other wants to hear, (which also suprised me that I got a chance to do my work experience there.) I mentioned this to the journalists at the Observer, and they didnt really have an opinion on this, which I thought was strange seen as how its always mentioned at uni??
All in all I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Observer, I got to take part in many things that I thought I would never experience. Especially trapping my finger in the door on the last day and being taken to casualty!!