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As Fashion Week continues to evolve, and influencers solidify their place among traditional press as important voices for brands, the opportunities to make an impact have become increasingly more abundant off the runway. Marks & Spencer demonstrated the power of an influencer event by hosting a fabulous Afternoon Tea for a select number of leading International Influencers to kick off London Fashion Week, treating each to a personalised Marks & Spencer blanket with their blog name embroidered, and a beautiful afternoon of teas, cakes and champagne on a gorgeous London terrace. Making the experience more about the individual bloggers than Marks & Spencer themselves, the brand also chauffeured Influencers to their various engagements in cars branded with their own blog names. 

This personalised attention from the brand allowed them to build a genuine relationship with each influencer, giving them all a reason to continue talking about the brand long after Fashion Week. In this case, Marks & Spencer's total potential reach from the campaign was more than 1.6 million. The campaign resulted in 23 posts between blog articles and social media, with engagement of more than 32,000 "likes" and comments. Brands who understand the importance of genuine blogger connections -- whether through thoughtful, personalised gifts, allowing bloggers to borrow pieces for big events, or hosting influencer events -- will have more options for making an impact at Fashion Week than those who remain solely on the runways. 

Here's a peek at the event behind the scenes:

Influencers network and learn from each other. 

Blogger Alyson Haley of Sequins and Things arrives. 

A perfectly set table for Afternoon Tea

Nothing pairs with tea quite like sweets and scones!

Bloggers received beautiful personalized Marks & Spencer blankets

We were thrilled to design and manage this special LFW event for M&S. 

We are always delighted to assist brands with influencer events and other collaborations at Fashion Week and throughout the year. Get in touch at hello@shoppinglinks.com.