Guerilla Sampling Success?

CASE STUDY: Promote a new coffee beverage using earned media and Internet marketing techniques.

PROBLEM:
In the early spring of 2006, we were approached by a successful beverage industry entrepreneur. He had created a concentrated espresso product. To use it you just needed to add milk (cow, soy or rice). Heat – or chill it over ice. And serve. It came in four flavors: vanilla, mocha, caramel and espresso blend with a touch of sugar. Initial research showed that the market wanted a product like this as lattes are expensive, difficult to make at home, and are the most widely purchased product in coffee shops.

The founder’s background driving beverage consumption for leading international brands was an important advantage as we sought to gain attention among Internet-savvy consumers and food and beverage editors.

SOLUTION:
Using our trademark-protected framework – Organize, Strategize, Publicize, Capitalize – we mapped out a strategy to put the product into the hands of food and beverage editors in the founder’s hometown – Los Angeles. That effort was unsuccessful. New product ideas pour into newsrooms daily; there are not enough resources to vet them all. We narrowed our focus to the editors in Glendale, a Los Angeles suburb, where the founder was raised. And while we were able to capture the attention of two reporters there (one, the Glendale editor of the Los Angeles Times), we could never get them to agree to do a story.

We moved up the coast to San Francisco, following on an angle that the product’s long shelf life and fresh-brewed taste would be perfect for offices – especially those in Silicon Valley – a place known for long work hours and bad office coffee. The San Jose Mercury News bought off on the angle and assigned a reporter to the story. While we waited for the Mercury News, we pushed north to Seattle – by-passing Portland media altogether. We believed that if the product idea made the news outside of the Portland market – the company’s home base and an internationally recognized coffee capital – we’d gain the respect of hometown aficionados and critics more easily.

We began our efforts in the early spring. By mid-summer it was apparent that reporters were not interested in hot beverage stories – no matter how novel. The summer heat – the second hottest on record in North America – led us to switch our pitch to “Iced Lattes.” It was an earnest approach, but a late one, as many monthlies are put to bed months in advance of publication. Major daily newspapers also plan their editorial content weeks in advance. Increasingly, we found ourselves at one dead end after another. We had feedback from editors and consumers claiming that they enjoyed the product – its flavor and convenience being the most notable adjectives shared. But, without wider editorial coverage, coupled with consumer purchases in stores where the product was already stocked – grocery chain buyers saw no reason to take a chance on the product.

The founder believed that without consumer awareness, the product would not move. We agreed. Although, we has a suspicion that the product required a paradigm shift in how people enjoyed their morning coffee that it would take longer then we had allotted to spur consumer demand. As of this writing, that theory appears to be correct.

Permit us a little diversion here. Lattés are not convenience products. Consumers expect them to cost more in terms of ingredients and time for preparation. In addition, sipping lattés is a social activity – most frequently done in coffee shops. It might be an oversimplification, but coffee enjoyment is a singular pursuit. Latté enjoyment is a social pursuit. Research supports this view. According to Marketresearch.com, in 2003 lattes made up 42 percent of all drinks sold at coffee houses, with brewed coffee a distant second at 16 percent. It’s possible that in the consumers’ minds they equate lattés with group or public consumption. Concentrated lattés made at home don’t have the same “feel” to the consumer.

When you think back to ads in the 1970s and 1980s, coffee ads focused on the personal pleasure one received from drinking fresh-brewed coffee at home (e.g., “The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.”). Compare this to ads for Nescafe International Coffees, which always featured two or more people enjoying the diversion on special occasions.

In the workplace, the consumer needs at least a refrigerator and a microwave to store the milk and the open product (it’s refrigeration shelf-life is about 60 days) and to prepare the product hot. Plain coffee requires no refrigeration and only a hot pot or microwave to heat water plus either a coffee filter or a French press. Clean up is minimal.

RESULTS:
With editors and reporters at major dailies and relevant monthlies rejecting coverage – or postponing intended coverage – we turned to venues on the Web. Weblogs written by coffee aficionados were a primary target. Sites that were written by tastemakers were another (e.g., CelebrityCafe.com, PortlandPicks.com, DailyCandy.com, etc.).

We posted an offer for free samples on about a dozen sites. The reaction to the offer was immediate. Within 48 hours we received more than 50 requests for samples from all over the country. Within two weeks we had well over 100 requests. And, on it went. And while the numbers were small, we did prove the power of guerilla sampling. We received feedback from almost all of the people who received the product and were able to post those testimonials on the site.

This effort continues as we write, so stay tuned for the further results as they become available.

New Brand for The Howells Group

New Howells Group Logo:


Old Howells Group Logo:


Challenge:
In early September 2006, we launched a process of refreshing “brand Howells Group.” Karen Howells is an organizational development specialist with more than 20 years of experience helping leaders around the world. You can read more about Karen here: The Howells Group. If you are a business owner or ultimate-decision-maker (UDM), then you should introduce yourself to Karen. She's a talented decision-maker's decision-maker.

Solution:
First, we interviewed about a dozen of her clients. How do they describe Karen? What could we learn from them to help us create a brand that reflected where Karen has been and where she is going. After gathering the research, we poured over the results and wrote a "brand definition document" and provided this to our designer Tim Silvis of Systom. . Tim took it from there.

Next, we worked with Karen to narrow down a core definition of herself and her practice. Those words are: creative, servant-leader, spiritual, bridge-builder and direct. The design needed to reflect some or all of these concepts.

Result:
The result of the brand exercise – in design – is a “flame” mark that takes its initial design cues from the original butterfly images representing the old Howells Group brand. Upon closer inspection, the flames are comprised of several smaller butterflies of different colors – with the dominant color being red.

The Howells Group brand attributes adjectives that best describe how Karen Howells views herself and her approach to her work.

Creative
Leader
Spiritual/Humble
Bridge Builder
Direct

The old single butterfly has multiplied itself – as Karen has also multiplied and refined her skill set as a consultant. It’s an appropriate symbol of the five brand attributes.

You think going to Mars is hard? Try Vancouver.

Challenge: There are some things you can't fully convey with words, which is a hard fact to accept in our business. But such is the case with the the intricately detailed work produced by Masterpiece Models. These craftsmen just finished a 3-month project fabricating a full-scale replica of the Mars Exploration Rover from scratch using only pictures for reference. It's an amazing feat they wanted to share. So 3 decided to organize a unveiling event the day before the MER shipped – which happened to be Valentine's Day.


Solution: Embracing the funny coincidence that the event needed to be held on Valentine's Day, 3 crafted a short release linking Valentine's with The Red Planet, Mars. Was it a stretch? Yeah, a little. But after all, if women are from Venus... Local print and television outlets were contacted via phone and e-mail but our focus was more in getting interested individuals and organizations to see this replica. Mentions were made in e-mail newsletters to Masterpiece Models' and 3's clients. Also, personnel at all local museums were contacted and encouraged to use this event as a chance to meet Masterpiece Models even if the space-related replica was not directly applicable to their museum.

Result: 10 people attended the event, which was on the high end of expected turn-out. A reporter and photographer from The Columbian were there and very impressed by the replica. Using the event as a hook, 3 has promoted posts on the Masterpiece Models blog and generated leads to other individuals and museums nationwide. The day before the event, the Virginia Air and Space Center delayed the shipping of the MER until March 1, so Masterpiece Models has been able to extend individual invitations to people who missed the event.

Environmentally-sensitive brochure design

Challenge: Create an updated tri-fold brochure quickly using environmentally-sensitive paper and soy-based inks. The client – a college housing management concern – competes for tenants with on-campus housing options. The brochure needed to be informative, hip and easy to mail.


















Solution: Working from a three-year-old brochure, 3 designed a more current brochure using relevant stock photography. Working in a team, we pulled in our printing partner, Green Dog Print Management, and our design partner, Tim Silvis of Systom early in the creation process. Post consumer waste papers were not created in a wide variety of grades, so early collaboration was key to achieving what 3 and the client ultimately wanted.



Result: The total cost end-to-end for 1,000 copies, 4-color was less than $2,800. We began the creative process on the 14th of the month and the final printed copies were delivered to the client four weeks later, a major holiday being the only cause for delay.

Many thanks to Tim Silvis of Systom for the design assistance and Todd Silberman of Green Dog Print Management for the printing work.

Dave's Killer Bread "YouTube Video tied to Radio" Campaign 2007

The Challenge: Help a radio campaign deliver measurable results.

Dave's Killer Bread is a Portland phenom. The story behind the bread is equal to the quality of the bread itself. It's the story of Dave Dahl, self-proclaimed "life long knucklehead and four time loser" who spent the better part of the last twenty years of his life before 2005 in prison. That story can be found at www.daveskillerbread.com.

We worked with the Dave's Killer Bread management team to set several benchmarks to measure the audience reaction to a six week schedule of :30 second radio spots featuring Dave.

The Solution:
First, we benchmarked the website the week before the ads were scheduled to run. We asked listeners in the ad copy to visit www.daveskillerbread.com to watch a short video produced by the radio station. Listeners could also go to the radio station website to view the video, as well. The video was hosted on Youtube.com.

Second, we created copy for the ad - a spot that would feature Dave touting the benefits of his unique products.

Third, we worked with Shobi Dahl, Dave's nephew and a manager at Nature Bake -- the parent company to Dave's Killer Bread -- to create a web offer for visitors.

We wanted to see the web traffic double from the benchmark we set. But, we also wanted to see bread sales rise, if you'll pardon the pun.

Result:
After reviewing retail sales during the period in which the ad aired, we saw a 21% increase -- no small jump. And while the bread is growing at a healthy clip, this was a larger jump than we had initially anticipated.

Virtual Space for Gracie's Dining and the Driftwood Room

Challenge:
Help a new restaurant - and it's iconic cocktail lounge -- in a much-beloved hotel gain an audience, win new friends and convert some old ones. Our hat's off to Gracie's owner, Gregg Schillinger, for the opportunity to be a part of his effort here.

Solution:
A website that is one part photo gallery, one part interactive tool. The photos on the site are the product of two different photographers. Many of the photos on the site were shot by Andy Petkus, a local photographer and event planner. The site needed to allow people to subscribe in order to promote unique opportunities. Wine events. Tastings. Special occasions and the like will be shared with the growing email subscriber list.



We also wanted to create a place where people could quickly find the restaurant, see the most recent menu, make a reservation and correspond with the banquet managers for private events. Last, we added a weblog function www.graciesdining.blogspot.com so that diners could comment on their experiences -- good, bad or indifferent.




Result:
A website that is at once elegant, simple and utilitarian. For more information, please visit www.graciesdining.com

Speaker's Bureau for National Fraud Crime Experts

Challenge:
Fraud crimes are nothing new. The dictionary describes fraud as "A deception deliberately practiced in order to secure unfair or unlawful gain." Technology advances have given fraudsters a variety of new tools to practice their deception and the costs to unwary businesses and consumers is currently measured in the 10s of billions of dollars. Experts who can help the public combat fraud are in high demand. But, it's a noisy market place. As a result, so-called experts are difficult to separate from more the more experienced. Our challenge -- one in which we are currently engaged -- is to separate our client's experts from the thousands of others who claim the same expertise.

Solution:
First, we created a speaker's bureau; an organization whose sole job is to promote the speakers within. The speaker's bureau is solely focused on providing experts who can speak on the issues of fraud including check fraud, Internet scams, ATM fraud and the like. Second, we created a website to house information on the speakers. The result can be seen here: Amcrin.net. This site went live in early December 2006, and we are just now beginning to promote the service to organizations throughout the U.S. The website was designed by Tim Silvis of Systom and programmed by Darin Ingram of Grounded4Life.

Result:
As of this writing, it's too early to demonstrate any results. We will be using site statistics to establish some objective benchmarks in early January. Ultimately, though, the only benchmark that matters is how much business results from the creation of the service. We will be promoting the service to financial services concerns primarily working through associations. If you would like to learn more about Amcrin or their speaker's bureau, please visit the site or send an email to speakers@amcrin.net.

Designer, Tim Silvis, ladies and gentlemen, for Jacques Nichols...

Our friend and collaborator, Tim Silvis of Systom helped Portland lawyer, author and fundraiser, Jacques Nichols, create a business card recently. These are the result. Jacques is working on a few books whose titles are "If you want to see God's footprint, check your butt" and "Who the hell signed me up for this class?"

Jacque's most significant talent is his ability to meet people and quickly make connections to others. Jacques says, "I know you. I know Joe. You and Joe should meet." It's a wonderful and important business skill. Tim captured this in his graphic on the front of the card.

Project: Gracie's Breakfast Postcard Campaign

Challenge:
A brand new restaurant in a favorite local hotel. What to do to attract new business and not scare away the old. A poll of local businesses revealed that the restaurant had been a long-time favorite for breakfast meetings. The restaurant's owner believed that if we could gain the loyalty of breakfast patrons, it would lead to growth for the lunch and dinner business.

Solution:
We settled on the idea of a post card-driven direct sales campaign. Businesses in downtown Portland were selected to receive fresh blueberry muffins every Friday for several weeks. Law firms, CPA Firms, Banks and other professional services companies were on the list. The post cards (see here) were included in the delivery. In addition, we worked with Illy Coffee to create a contest for free coffee for those who patronized Gracie's for breakfast.

Result:
The campaign duration was six weeks. During that period, business for breakfast, lunch and dinner doubled. More importantly, catering opportunities were developed and are now the largest single source of revenues for the restaurant.

Colin Powell Boys and Girls Clubs Work

Here's an ad we wrote in collaboration with our friends at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Portland Metropolitan Area. We had the good fortune to lend a hand to the Clubs when General Colin Powell visited their Hillsboro club in the Fall of 2006.

The Clubs were given ad space by a local newspaper. The called 3 to solicit our ideas for developing an ad. This is the result. Many thanks to Joe Walsh at the Clubs for his help here!