FreeThink: February 2009

FreeThink: a blog published by Maxwell PR

Green Grannies

Once upon a time, retirement homes didn't exist. Elderly grew old with family and friends and were integral and valued members of society. They passed down years of skills, knowledge and stories. As much of the western world has closed elderly out of our modern everyday life we've lost their tricks of the trade. And until recently, their absence has largely gone unnoticed.

But when times get tough we suddenly miss our grandparents' depression-era know-how. Thanks to Green Grannies, a project from Oxfam's new lifestyle campaign, Good Ideas Unltd, the older generation is spreading their wise words once again; not around the kitchen table, but on YouTube. From how to get the most out of stale bread to mending clothes, these grannies know it all. This project is brilliant on many levels. It allows elderly a contemporary outlet to be relevant and respected, even in our tech-heavy, youth-obsessed culture AND encourages sustainable lifestyles. Perhaps soon we'll go beyond watching grannies on our computer screens and we'll welcome their canning, sock-darning, story-telling, re-purposing, non-car diving knowledge back into our personal lives.

-Molly Cooney-Mesker

posted on February 19, 2009

Numbers Don't Lie

We've all been watching the decline of newspapers but the hard facts are tough. My colleague Erica pulled current circulations figures from Cision for a handful of newspapers and compared with 06 data. Note the freefall, as high as 30+%:

Atlanta Journal Constitution
2006 = 365,011
2009 = 274,999
-90,012

Houston Chronicle
2006 = 521,419
2009 = 448,271
-73,148

Los Angeles Times
2006 = 907,997
2009 = 739,147
-168,850

Miami Herald
2006 = 312,811
2009 = 210,884
-101,927

The Plain Dealer
2006 = 476,424
2009 = 305,529
-170,895

The Oregonian
2006 = 342,040
2009 = 283,321
-58,719

posted on February 18, 2009

Celebs on (for) Sale

We recently learned that due to these trying economic times, celebrities now come at a new low, low price. Like everything else, famous spokespeople, celeb endorsements and star appearances are now ON SALE.

And I'm only half joking... in many ways this is a great time to inexpensively explore the realm of celebrity marketing. If you're so inclined.

In one "offer" we recently received, a company will survey celebrities about issues related to your brand and the reduced-rate responses are yours to use in press materials and announcements. You pay for the number of celebrity respondents and costs depend on how "big" the celebrities are. Y'know, fame-wise. Soap Opera actors, reality stars and "stars of yesteryear" come at the bargain rate of $3,500... but many will "work" for less (yay?). Bigger stars (the ones still working, I presume) still fetch higher figures.

So the question is - when does it make sense to reach for the stars?

-Erica Erland

posted on

Starbucks Creates a Buzz

Starbucks' new ~~instant coffee~~ "water soluble caffeine product," Via, caused quite a stir last week. Via, which has been in development for the last 20 years, will be available in Starbucks cafes next month. Howard Schultz, chief executive of Starbucks, believes that Via provides "innovation, competition, and value." Hmmm...

With Via entering the market, Starbucks is presenting a coffee beverage that we will both have to schlep to a Starbucks cafe to pick up and prepare ourselves. It baffles me that Starbucks sees this as an opportunity for growth. I will admit, every Saturday morning I pour boiling water into my coffee grounds to make a great cup of coffee - it's called a French press. It costs me far less that $1 per cup and I would wager that it may actually taste better, too. So, my initial reaction is to question their rationality. To be fair, I will soon be one of the masses that will try a complimentary sample. Maybe this will change my mind - after all a packet wouldn't break on camping trips. I can't say as much about my French press.

That said, in the last month Starbucks has added a "value-menu" to their offerings (though they refuse to call it that) and now instant coffee. Initially people were willing to pay $4 for a latte because they were buying the "Starbucks experience," in which one could get a consistent cup of coffee wherever Starbucks was sold. However, in this struggling economy many have found the cost of coffee from Starbucks to be beyond what their tightening budgets can handle. Starbucks' cafes are closing all around the world, "partners" are getting laid off in record numbers and Starbucks is seemingly trying anything to get people to walk through their doors. Is the Starbucks brand, which once thrived, now dying?

-Hannah Hasbrook

posted on February 17, 2009

Watch Out

You will get totally sucked in. Check out an effort by Orange wireless in the UK to promote unlimited texting. While you're there, sign up to learn a new language!

-Jen Maxwell-Muir

posted on February 12, 2009

A Rare Find

Although wine tasting is one of my favorite things to do any time of year, I had forgotten that winter is an especially good time to pursue this hobby. Harvest is over, winery people have time to chat about their wines, and this leisurely pace makes it easy to discover new wineries and varietals. Touring the Yamhill Valley area on Saturday, our group was delighted to stumble across Daedalus Cellars in downtown Dundee, Oregon. Newly located on Highway 99 near Tenth Street, the tasting room is a bit hard to find, but definitely worth the effort. Having the opportunity to chat with direct sales manager Sara Shaw, taste Daedalus' Gruner Veltliner, and learn more about Aron Hess' low-intervention winemaking was the highpoint of the day. Daedalus is only one of two U.S. wineries that make "Gruner," an Austrian varietal.

There are so many tasting rooms in Oregon Wine Country that it's easy to find something new and amazing on every outing. On your next visit, I encourage you to check out Deadalus.

-Vicky Hastings

posted on February 06, 2009

Will Blog for Food

It's an interesting concept. Can an outreach effort to a legion of bloggers help raise $5,000? We hope so, because the effort is for the Oregon Food Bank, the hub of a network of 915 hunger-relief agencies in Oregon and SW Washington. The organization has been hard hit by the recession, where families who have never known hunger are turning for emergency food. The problem is, demand is so the agency is struggling to keep up with community needs.

"Layoffs, foreclosures and other economic disruptions are taking a terrible toll on our neighbors," they say. We all know it's true. Who doesn't personally know someone affected by these tough times?

So we've joined in tandem with other bloggers this month to spread the word about this modern-day food drive (please manually enter 'blog for food' in the tribute section on the Oregon Food Bank donation page in order for your donation to count toward the campaign). As the Oregon Food Bank's slogan says... because no one should be hungry.

-Jen Maxwell-Muir

posted on February 04, 2009

	This spirited, open forum by Maxwell PR staff members, studio mates and colleagues features people who are, in our opinion, doing the right things to get people talking. You'll see us rave about organizations building communities and rant about those who are missing obvious opportunities. We sprinkle in a little marketing and PR rhetoric from time to time for extra vigor and enthusiasm, and will share observations and insight based on our own experience honing our craft every day.

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