A Case of Flower Power

What does your brand offer that your competitors don’t? What is the mission of your brand? And can you answer these questions in a brief sentence or two?

The ability to concisely articulate your brand’s unique selling points is absolutely critical in this age of Twitter-shortened attention spans and marketing fatigue. You need to know exactly who you are and what you stand for, and you need to repeat these things frequently, consistently and forcefully.

 We were recently delighted to discover a great example of brand articulation in an unlikely place—a “five questions” business interview with the owner of a small flower shop, Open Air Flowers, in our local newspaper:

Q: What does your flower shop offer that others don’t?

A: We have a focus on open-air flowers with a big-city approach, with our shop being right on the street. We feature modern floral designs that allow us to strive for a modern look.

Q: What would you say is the mission of your company?

A: To provide the highest quality floral designs and fresh-cut, premium flowers at reasonable prices.

Well done! The answers aren’t earth shattering, but they don’t need to be. In just three sentences, the owner has painted a vivid portrait of exactly what differentiates his flower shop. You can almost see the shop and its flowers based on a few words. It makes us want to shop there.

Of course, the need to clearly articulate your unique selling points underscores a larger need, which is to have unique selling points in the first place. We will talk more about this in subsequent posts, but for now, keep thinking of ways to refine and clarify your story in a manner that cuts through clutter and converts new customers. 

The Appeal of People

We were recently talking with an editor at a leading wine trade publication who was working on a story about tasting rooms. She was thrilled that we were providing a photo of a client’s tasting room with people in it, as opposed to just another brochure-style photo of an empty tasting room. Why? Because the inclusion of people in a photo makes it more relevant and relatable to the reader.

After all, would you want to walk into an empty tasting room? If not, why put photos of an empty tasting room on your web site or in your media image library?

This lesson also applies to restaurants and other hospitality-oriented businesses. Do your promotional photos show people enjoying your place and product? Do they convey warmth, energy and personality? If they don’t, you should replace them, because they are undercutting the potential of your marketing materials.   

On a similar note, we recently developed a cool little two-sided promotional piece with Ortman Family Vineyards (we won’t spill the beans about it here, but you can grab one at their tasting room in downtown Paso Robles). One side features an attractive logo and tagline material, the other side includes photos of winemakers Matt Ortman and Chuck Ortman.

Interestingly, but not surprisingly, the tasting room staff has noticed that many customers ignore the item when the logo side is facing up, but nearly everyone grabs the item when the side featuring the winemakers is facing up. This is just one of many examples of how people are drawn to people.

So if you are in the hospitality business, make sure that your brand and your marketing materials tap into the power of people. 

From Ground to Glass

We are excited to be performing marketing and media relations services for From Ground to Glass, a film by Rob DaFoe that is set to be released on DVD. 

Following is how we summarized Rob’s film on the back of the DVD package:

No grapes, no barrels and no money—just a dream to make a little wine. That’s all Rob DaFoe had on his side with harvest just around the corner. But with the help of a few friends, the improbable happened. Follow this novice vintner in his pre-“Sideways” quest as he makes his first wine from ground to glass, seeking inspiration and insight from renowned winemakers along the way. This is a story of transformation, not only of grapes, but of those who make them into wine.

In addition to documenting the making of Rob’s first wine, the film includes interviews with Warren Winiarski, Joel Peterson, Paul Draper, Chuck Ortman, Ken Brown, Chuck Carlson, Mike Sinor, Gary Eberle and other California winemaking luminaries.

The DVD push is actually phase two of our work for From Ground to Glass. The first phase consisted of regional public relations services in advance of the film’s premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which resulted in widespread media coverage on the Central Coast.

Now that the film is available on DVD, we are spreading the word far and wide. For information and ordering, please visit www.fromgroundtoglass.com.