Geneva Vanderzeil was the first industry expert we had the pleasure of meeting on the QUT Business School’s advertising and public relations Hong Kong study tour. A QUT graduate- Vanderzeil is a global, online influencer hidden away in the hustle and bustle of busy Hong Kong. After meeting Vanderzeil, a real student in the real world, we felt not only starstruck but inspired.
Photo credits: all the gorgeous images in this post are from www.apairandasparediy.com
Past
Vanderzeil’s journey began at QUT where she undertook a degree in Town Planning. After graduating Vanderzeil moved to London to work with a company involved in the design and planning for the London Olympic Games. Whilst in London she started her online DIY blog as a hobby, unaware of the traction it would gain. Her blog, apairandasparediy.com, found a niche in the global marketplace offering creative tips and tricks on how to make designer inspired wear more affordably.
After a few years in London she moved to Hong Kong with her partner, where she had a job lined up in urban design, planning cities—a polar opposite to where her career has taken her today. After being approached by multiple companies and a publishing agency who backed her first book, Vanderzeil knew her hobby and blog could knit its way into something much, much more.
Present
What started off as an organic hobby-based blog turned into a global business. Vanderzeil uses her online presence to position and promote her clients’ products in native and creative ways that align with her personal brand attitudes, values and beliefs. Genius! Vanderzeil and her small team drive creative strategy for all content posts, both on her own online properties and those of clients. The posts are relatable, shareable, beautiful and engaging. Her brand is built upon strong pillars which drive her organic and sponsored content that she shares across all social and digital platforms. Partnerships are based around clients’ ideologies aligning with hers. Her agency features clients in the travel, fashion and food industries. Vanderzeil has embraced this evolving market and created something new, exciting and engaging by re-structuring the approach to selling products online with a global following.
Future
Blogs like Vanderzeil’s are part of the future landscape of advertising in the digital space. Vanderzeil’s ethos is to ‘do what you love’ and her career has opened our eyes to a whole different approach of making a living. Vanderzeil created her own dream job and is a real life example for the students of QUT that we really can create our own global footprint from a passion… All we need is a pair and a spare.
Vanderzeil’s Advice
- Find a subject that you love-find something that inspires you and run with it.
- Work on your personal brand first, the rest will then come easily.
- Know your audience—know how to speak to a large online following.
- Use engaging, relatable and shareable content.
- Move somewhere with an emerging online market (like Hong Kong).
- Have a strong ethos to filter through your business; communicate truthfully to clients.
- Don’t sell yourself out. Promote things that align with your business ideologies.
- Make sure content is useful for people.
- Always ask yourself before you hit post: Is it useful? Can people relate to it? Is the content shareable?
To keep up with Vanderzeil subscribe to her blog apairandasparediy.com and connect with her:
