Captain Evangelist
Here it is two weeks past Halloween and I can’t get my son to let go of his costume. Most parents would these days would say, “oh let him play out his fantasy for a few more weeks, he’s only 2 1/2.” But I can’t. You see, he was Robert Barnhill, “Trader Joe’s Store Captainâ€. I promised I’d return the name tag promptly.
I can assure you, my son didn’t run into anyone else sharing his likeness. Other Supermen, Dragons and Firefighters his age where dumbfounded, “What is he?†The adults, on the other hand, loved it. “Everyone loves my outfit,†he told me as he ran down the 40th precarious flight of stairs at dusk.
As a food marketer I couldn’t help but think that I could have hired out this little guy for a fortune. He was quite the TJ’s ambassador. Handing out stickers, trading free samples for chocolate bars… people pay big bucks for this kind of stuff.
The truth is you can’t buy this type of enthusiasm; you earn it. Evangelical marketers don’t want your money. (My son doesn’t even have a bank account yet!) They simply can’t help spreading the word about your company because it makes them feel good. Figure out how to capture this kind of enthusiasm for your company and you’ll see the returns in no time. As for the nametag, I’m afraid Mr. Barnhill will have to wait a few more weeks.
Do you have any evangelical marketing stories? Write in a share them with us.
Family Dinner
minimalist food photography
You might be one of the 2.25 million people globally who own one of the donna hay cookbooks. You could be one of the millions of people worldwide who read one of the Sunday newspapers in which Donna’s weekly column appears. Or perhaps you’re counted amongst the 97,000 people who buy the bi-monthly donna hay magazine.
At Australian Women’s Weekly Donna began to not only develop recipes but to style them. Distracted by the plethora of extras : candles, glasses, flowers, sauce boats, fancy folded napkins that went into photographing a dish, Donna started to pare down the props and let the food be the hero. By the time Donna had become the food editor of marie claire magazine her style was set: fresh, modern food on white plates, with simple backgrounds that has captured the imagination of cooks worldwide and set a new benchmark for modern food styling and publishing.
Funny, apparently that elegantly simple style did not convey to the current website, apparently it’s in for a refresh. good. can’t wait.
You Give Seasoning to my Life, You’re My Inspiration…
When it comes to flavor systems I see them everywhere. Sure, you can leaf through cookbooks, do a little Cooking with Amy or browse the latest edition of Gourmet, but that’s what everyone else is doing. For me, the inspiration for many of my dishes comes from a trip to the produce aisle, a chapter of my daughter’s bedtime story or the weather outside. I’m not bragging or trying to be poetic, it’s just what I do as a recipe developer.
Here are some things that might give you inspiration the next time you are considering creating a new recipe for yourself or your brand: Your last trip to the Ozarks, a featured news story, your mother-in-law, Passover, a sporting event, one perfect shiny black olive, a hike in Marin County, an ethnic restaurant, a family restaurant, that time in fourth grade when you practiced “chemistry” in your kitchen, any Gypsy Kings cd, the smells wafting from your neighbors grill…Open up your senses and you’ll get a taste of the endless possibilities.