FreeThink: March 2005

FreeThink: a blog published by Maxwell PR

Socks in the City

Ahhh New York City. A PR girl's mecca. Home of Samantha Jones, Lizzie Grubman's PoweR Girls, Conde Nast, The Gray Lady and, for a few days, me. Last week was my annual pilgramage to the city, timed perfectly with the fashion magazines' Fall fashion issues and, as luck would have it, St. Patrick's Day. My traveling companion for the week was one of my favorite clients from Gold Toe socks and our mission was to show the Fall Collection to at least eight publications while dodging green-clad revelers at every turn. While it's easy to navigate around the tipsy Irishmen on the sidewalks, it's much harder to go crosstown with a 6-hour long parade going up Fifth Avenue. The luck of the Irish was with us (along with some careful planning) and we pulled off our objective of spreading the gospel of high-quality hosiery throughout the city. While enjoying a green beer or two to celebrate our efforts, my client and I agreed that the annual Gold Toe press tour would now and forever coincide with St. Patrick's Day. No offense Portland, but this girl's got a soft spot for the Bright (green) Lights.

Jen Scott
jenscott@maxwellpr.com

posted on March 23, 2005

Always Order the Crab Cakes

As a native Oregonian and a daughter of an avid outdoorsman, I've had many opportunities to harvest the fantastic bounty of the Northwest. Fresh crab, crawdads, trout, steelhead, salmon, razor clams, mussels, butter clams -- you name it, my family caught it, cooked it and loved eating it.

So it's no wonder that whenever I see crab cakes or razor clams on a restaurant menu, I am compelled to order them. Usually, enjoying such delicacies was one dimensional -- between the crab cake or razor clams and me. Until recently, I never thought about the fishermen who brought that crab out of the sea and sold it into the commercial supply chain that led to its beautiful presentation on my plate.

When Josh Beyer on the Maxwell PR team told me about the Fisher Poet's gathering in Astoria, I was intrigued. He explained that it's a convergence of creative people who make art out of their experiences as laborers at sea. Taking their subjects from years spent pulling fish onto decks of fishing boats, sliming in canneries, distributing frozen fish, steering ships, or welcoming their fishers home, they read, sing, lecture, tell stories, show original slides and films to an audience that has reached close to 800 in past years.

Fortunately for us all, NPR captured some of this lore in what we believe is a remarkable example of vivid storytelling. Check it out.

So next time you see seafood on the menu, think about the commercial fishermen poets. You'll be glad you did.

And in the meantime, let me recommend the razor clams at Ciao Vito and the mussels at clarklewis, which I've been fortunate to enjoy in Portland this winter. Magnifico! Should you enjoy such fare, please take a moment to acknowledge the fisher poets who brought you such Oregon Bounty, as well as the fabulous chefs who served up such delicacies.

-Vicky Hastings
vicky@maxwellpr.com

posted on March 22, 2005

Taking A Lesson From Lush

The words on the chalkboard of the new Portland Lush store said it all. "We believe that our products should be good value, that we should make a profit and that the customer is always right."

How refreshing, we thought. We're drawn to companies whose values we share. That's why we counsel our clients to telegraph their beliefs, knowing that people care about the companies with which they do business.

Associating products and services with causes and enabling consumers to express their beliefs through your products is one of the most important business strategies for savvy marketers, a recent Yankelovich study revealed.

US Sponsorship spending on cause marketing will hit $1.08 billion in 2005, according to the IEG Sponsorship Report.

Bring it on!

- Vicky Hastings
vicky@maxwellpr.com

PS: Here is the full Lush Life Manifesto
A Lush Life
We believe in making effective products out of fresh fruit and vegetables, the finest essential oils and safe synthetics, without animal ingredients, and in writing the quantitative ingredient list on the outside.

We also believe in buying only from companies that test for safety without the involvement of animals and in testing our products on humans.

We believe in making our own fresh products by hand, printing our own labels and making our own fragrances.

We believe in long candlelit baths, massage and filling the house with perfume.

We believe that our products should be good value, that we should make a profit and that the customer is always right.

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Rave: Dagoba Organic Chocolate

The box arrived by UPS and we opened it with great anticipation. Fortunately, we were delighted with what we found – a beautiful burgundy box with an attractive Dagoba sleeve, a nice brand experience affordably executed.

A tasteful brochure right on top explained the importance of the company's mantra -- the alchemy of chocolate, which we loved -- as well as the importance of organic chocolate, why the company believes that cacao producers deserve equitable prices for their quality crops, description of awards Dagoba has won and a list of other foods and beverages that pair well with specific Dagoba chocolates. Nice work.

People do care about the companies with which they do business. They have endless choices these days. Smart companies tell the stories behind their products, appealing to the values of their target consumers. Dagoba appears to understand this maxim well. Edible gold, we learned, is what the Aztecs and Mayans called chocolate. The product was yummy! Although the lavender chocolate bar was not universally loved, we did respect the fact that it was pushing the envelope of traditional tastes.

We had ordered a CD of 'chocolate music' to play while we devoured the chocolate. Note to Dagoba - you might consider adding to CD to all gift packages over a certain price.

Clearly, Dagoba Organic Chocolate is part of the new trend of "Nouveau Niche." Trendwatching.com says that "the new riches will come from servicing the new niches." We totally agree. Organic, artisan foods are highly valued. We encourage our clients to tell the stories behind their food products. People want to know why they should care.

- Vicky Hastings
vicky@maxwellpr.com

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