My Blogapalooza 2014 Experience

My 2nd year at Blogapalooza had a mix of hits and misses. I was so excited to be attending this again and to be going with fellow mommy bloggers, too! It was an early start as Lani of Tweeneslmom and I headed off to SM Aura.

We met up with fellow mommy bloggers Jho of There You Jho, Razel of The Bag Investigator, and Nicole of The Clueless Mom. My buddy last year, Rikka of Rikx Knows Best was also there.

This year Blogapalooza took up the whole SMX space as compared to last year’s Blogapalooza where they only had half the floor. The brands this year were more familiar and some quite well known. There were already some brand that I had my eye on.

I came prepared this time around arming myself with a huge eco bag that I had gotten from Wellworth and my business cards. From the onset, I knew I was going to be selective of who I gave my cards to.

There were many booths and so in no particular order here are some of the booths that I was able to visit. There are quite a few that I’d like to pay special attention to and I’ll have separate posts on those so watch out for that.

Authority Hoodie

I was instantly attracted to this booth because my son, Bastian loves hoodies. He’s been bugging me to get him one and I just might from Authority Hoodie. The colors of the hoodies on display are so vibrant. Posed with fellow mommy bloggers Kristina of  Sunny Momville, Jho and Lani.

Bonsey Jaden

Bonsey Jaden is a company who’s sole purpose is to optimize the marketing possibilities of the digital age.  As brand architects they increase brand impact and help brands and consumers connect through various digital innovations. They’re just starting out in the Philippines and hopefully bloggers such as myself get opportunities to connect with brands.

Chips Ahoy

As a self-professed chocolate lover and truly one at heart my eyes nearly popped out when I saw the Chips Ahoy booth. I’m overly enthusiastic when it comes to Chips Ahoy because I looove these cookies. They were at Blogapalooza to promote their new Ice Cream Creations line and I got to sample their Rootbeer Float and Mint Chocolate Chip. I had actually previously bought the Mint Chocolate Chip which I really liked. I was surprised at how authentic the taste of root beer was in the cookie.

It’d be great to partner with my all time favorite cookie brand!

Crocs

Crocs had a display of shoes in such bright and attractive colors. Jael has Toy Story Crocs and they are really durable. Now they have a variety of shoes. I got some great freebies from this booth.

Dr. Kong

Products for our feet seemed to be a big brand at Blogapalooza and Dr. Kong had an interesting activity for us bloggers. They were giving out foot assessments although I didn’t get one as I was a bit ashamed of my feet at the time. Note to self: get a pedicure next time!

Flawless

The Flawless booth was a bit of fun as I played their game where I had to aim and pop pink balloons. I got pretty lucky and popped 2, winning me a t-shirt for Kianna and some beauty products for me.

Henry’s Professional

Perfectly apt for bloggers since photography is a large part of what we do. I scored an awesome lens cleaner here.

House of Lasagna

One of the food providers at Blogapalooza, even though I only got a slice of their famous lasagna it gave me the strength that I needed to continue on alongside a slice of pizza that is from Yellow Cab.

Yellow Cab

Jergens

I was kind of bummed I didn’t get one of the 7 day challenge kits they were giving out. I was told we’d receive a package though so I’m watching out for that. I love lotion and although I haven’t tried Jergens yet I remember my mom using this lotion.

The one thing I didn’t get about this event was the need to fill out a bunch of registration forms when we could have just given our card. Kudos to those that set out their laptops for us to easily input our information. It is the digital age after all and with the expected flow of people, laptops and tablets should have been the way to go.

Max’s Fried Chicken

I was surprised too see them at the event as I hadn’t noticed that they were on the list of participating brands. I could tell from the look of their booth that it was a last minute decision to join. I was handed a cup and asked to take a picture with their mascot which I gamely did.

It was a trend I was noticing. Most of the booths would just give out their freebies and send you on your way. Only a few took the time to discuss their product. I can understand that they might have been tired of having to repeat themselves but it’s still expected to have a bit of engagement with the brands. I think if I had any suggestions to make it would be that they send people who are capable of discussing the brand and not someone who can just facilitate games and give away freebies.

AMPR

Photo courtesy of The Clueless Mom

I know this is a well known PR and I might get burned for sharing my opinion but honestly what is this event for but to get to know more bloggers who are open to opportunities. I played a word play game and had gotten a pretty good number of words enough for me to be 1 of 2 bloggers who would be facing off at hour’s end. I was given a bar of soap and sachets of shampoo for my troubles and sent on my way. I could tell that I was deemed not worthy of spending time to talk to but just be given a PR packet. It seems familiarity or obvious opportunities were of importance here. A little sad I have to say but, oh well!

Victoria Court

Victoria Court was one of the participating brands and also the first booth we went to. I spun the wheel and got me a discount of 20%. Victoria Court has an event on October 25 called Flashback The 90’s. 

Acer

I was surprised to learn that Acer had smartphones as I only know them for their laptops. They also have Iconia tablets that can suit any budget.

 Our Awesome Planet

Our Awesome Planet is a fantastically well known site and as one of the Blogapalooza spear headers I had to visit their booth and find out what they were promoting. It turns out that they now have a very convenient app that is tailor-made to your tastes of restaurants and places personally reviewed by Anton Diaz, founder of Our Awesome Planet.

I really enjoyed what they were offering to bloggers which was a picture of you transposed onto famous movie characters. I chose Maleficent and love it! I wish I was as sexy as that!

Zomato

I’ve been happily using Zomato and I’m also proud to have joined one of their foodie meetups at Banzai which I have yet to write about. There were plenty of bloggers at this booth and I decided to step back since I’ve already had such a great experience with them. It wasn’t the fact that they were doing dares or anything…. Writing about Zomato soon and all the benefits of downloading their app.

YSA Skincare

A great group shot opportunity over at YSA Skin Care with mommy bloggers Rikka, Nicole, Lani, Jho and Razel. My buddies during the event. Beauty was another big theme. Aside from YSA there was Bioessence and Sample Room.

Lani, Jennyfer of The Techie Mom, Marge of The Happy WAHM, Janice of The Rollercoaster Ride, Rikx, Jho and Nicole.

These are just some of the booths I visited. I have some special posts for the other booths present. Overall, I enjoyed Blogapaloooza 2014. If I were to make suggestions it would be:

• better registration process
• more engagement with the bloggers
• more activities and games because compared to last year there were less
• drinks (maybe sponsored or the option to at least buy bottled water!)

Opportunities such as this are always a welcome treat and definitely worth the travel and time spent. As a blogger though, I’d like to be given a chance to experience more brands and have opportunities to effectively provide content worthy posts. Watch out for my posts on Sample Room, Bioessence, BrainFit Studio, Caronia, Chooks to Go, Gaming Library, and Zing.

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