Mooncatcher’s Blog Featured in Sunset Magazine

What do the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Mooncatcher’s “What’s Your Story?” blog have in common?

All three were featured on March 20 as one of “Our Best Web Finds,” a weekly column in the Sunset Traveler section of Sunset Magazine online. Needless to say, we are honored!

What got Sunset’s attention was our piece about the Twitter-Fueled Taco Truck. As Sunset remarked in linking to our blog, “And finally, a taco truck in Los Angeles shows that Twitter really is taking over the world.” A San Francisco Chronicle piece about the energy inefficiency of gyms and a New York Times piece about a classic Western delicacy were also featured. 

Well, off we go…to Twitter to tweet about our piece about Twitter being featured in Sunset!

The Twitter-Fueled Taco Truck

Nothing makes one want to jump on Twitter and pound away at your keyboard like Newsweek’s recent article about the wildly popular Kogi Korean taco truck in Los Angeles, which the magazine calls “L.A.’s latest culinary obsession.”

The crowds that greet the truck often exceed 600 ravenous people. How is this possible? Twitter, of course. Says Chef Roy Choi, “Twitter can hit, like, 5,000 people a second.” 

But buried in the same article is an insightful line by the author: “Still, spreading the word is pointless without a word worth spreading.”

He took the words right out of our mouths. 

Indeed, the article explains that Choi was raised in his family’s Koreatown restaurant but largely avoided traditional Asian cuisine. Instead, he found his culinary inspiration in the idea of “representing L.A. in one bite—Korean flavors, Mexican context.” 

The result, as the article’s author states, is that the food is “perfectly au courant: market produce and unfamiliar proteins prepared for the authenticity-craving postracial palate and sold at recession-ready prices.”

In other words, Twitter didn’t make Choi, Choi made Twitter. He built his brand around a brilliant message—one that can be summed up in one sentence—and created a timely, relevant product for which there was substantial demand. 

Without Twitter, the crowds for Kogi Korean would definitely be smaller. But without the great message and a strong brand identity, there would be no crowd at all. Twitter is a magnificent way to spread your story. But an important question comes first: What story are you telling?

Enjoying The Ride

When Lance Armstrong and his competitors on the Amgen Tour of California roll into Paso Robles on Thursday afternoon, they are going to ride right by Mooncatcher headquarters, literally 50 feet away. You’ll find us sitting on our back wall at that moment, enjoying the ride.

But there is another reason we are excited about this event. The City of Paso Robles recently commissioned Mooncatcher to write new media kits that will be distributed to the throngs of journalists covering the race. These media kits are designed to tell the story of Paso Robles as a uniquely multifaceted visitor destination, a place where great wine, fine food, rural flavor and friendly hospitality are just some of the many attractions.

The Amgen Tour of California is the nation’s largest professional cycling race, so it promises to be a magnificent showcase for our region. We are proud to be a part of spreading the good word about Paso Robles.

The 10-Second Test

One thing to watch out for on Super Bowl Sunday (besides the Steelers’ vaunted defense) is the anticipated one-second advertisement from Miller Brewing Company.

In fact, you don’t have to wait, as Miller has created an entire web site dedicated to the one-second ad campaign at www.1secondad.com, where you can watch a series of outtakes featuring the loud but charming High Life beer delivery guy.

Miller isn’t the first company to conduct Super Bowl micro-advertising, but it is the first to create a serious buzz around the concept. The brilliance of the one-second ad campaign isn’t the ad itself, but the fact that people are talking about it well in advance of the game.

By mocking the exorbitant costs of Super Bowl advertising, Miller has not only scored some timely points in light of the current economic downturn, but has also generated considerably more brand exposure than a traditional 30-second ad by virtue of the publicity surrounding the stunt.

The one-second ad is also timely from a marketing communications perspective. With the advent of Twitter and other rapid-fire communication tools, the pressure to say more, and to say it faster, is intensifying.

So what if you had to make a one-second ad? Scratch that…Make it a 10-second ad. Can you summarize the heart and soul of your business, including what makes your product different and better, in 10 seconds?

If not,  it’s time to get to work on refining your marketing message and, if necessary, your business plan. As attention spans get shorter, the marketing noise is getting louder. Brand clarity will be your Kryptonite in this changing communications landscape.

Flex Your Marketing Muscle

As the dawn of the new year brings hope of economic recovery, it’s never too early to begin positioning your business for the better times ahead—a process that should include bolstering your marketing efforts.

Naturally, as a marketing consultancy, we are biased in favor of marketing and media relations. So to make our point, we will defer to a recent article in Business Week titled “The Five Don’ts for Marketing in Tough Times,” which included the following observation:

 Marketing is muscle, not fat. Be careful about cutting it.

Just as the savviest investors view down markets as a time to buy when everybody else is selling, the savviest marketers know recessions are a great time to pick up market share. They understand that by maintaining their budgets (or even increasing them) they may not come out ahead during the down times, but they can pick up market share that will pay off in the long run. Marketing dollars in a recession are like oxygen on Mt. Everest—the less there is in the surrounding environment, the more valuable the amount you possess becomes. Cutting your marketing spending is a sure way to give ground to competitors who may be more aggressive during the downturn.

In other words, the time is now to flex your marketing muscle. 

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.

Playing The Name Game

What’s in a name? Ideally a lot, especially when it comes to marketing and branding.

Such was our task when we were enlisted by two entrepreneurs to help develop a name and brand strategy for their new business in the Paso Robles wine country.

Daniel and Corinne Appelbaum had a magnificent business idea that aimed to meet a growing niche on California’s Central Coast: personal wine storage. Better yet, they weren’t going to create a cold, impersonal storage facility, but rather a welcoming environment that included a customer wine lounge with a gaming table, flat-screen television, surround-sound stereo and more. 

Complicating matters, however, was the fact that there was a second component to the business plan—shipping and fulfillment for local wineries. Therefore, focusing on the word “storage” would only tell half the story.

So what to name this special place? Our winning creation was Safe Haven Wine Services.

The word “safe” evokes positive emotions on two relevant fronts: (1) keeping your wine safe from harm amid optimal conditions; and (2) keeping your wine in a physical safe, or fortified facility. The word “haven” fits the company’s unique emphasis on providing a sanctuary for personal wine tasting and entertainment. Also, the use of “services” instead of “storage” keeps the door open for the other side of the business. Best of all, Safe Haven Wine Services is catchy, concise, distinctive and memorable. 

In addition to developing the company name, we wrote the core branding content that can now be viewed at www.safehavenwineservices.com.

Telling The Susie Q’s Story

More than a year ago, we developed a brand storytelling strategy for Susie Q’s Brand, the original maker of artisan foods capturing the flavors of Santa Maria Style Barbecue.

While Susie Q’s Brand was founded in 1981 and had enjoyed steady success, proprietor Susan Righetti recognized that the brand’s story would benefit from updating.

Mooncatcher identified three key messages that needed to be brought to the forefront of the Susie Q’s story: (1) the remarkable uniqueness and authenticity of the products; (2) the sense of place behind the products, including the Santa Maria Valley’s relatively recent emergence as a wine country, which adds contemporary credibility to the local cuisine; and (3) the role of Susan Righetti as the true face of the brand, a real person dedicated to advancing the tradition of Santa Maria Style Barbecue.

Our words now serve as the foundation of the Susie Q’s Brand story, and can be viewed on the company’s new web site at www.SusieQBrand.com