Category: a slice of INSPIRATION

Get inspiration from logo design that pops off the screen, to riveting books that reframe your world, to spirited movies, music, theater and dance — and every experience in between.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Brand at Work: MOO

Posted on by Red Slice

I love brands that use every customer touchpoint to delight their buyers. Most recently, I got the chance to fall in love with MOO. A UK-based firm with a U.S. office in Rhode Island, MOO prints mini and full size business cards, postcards, greeting cards and more. You can print different images on each card, and they also use recycled and sustainable products. MOO cares about beautiful design and quality products at a decent price. They inject their fun, friendly and bubbly brand into thousands of little things and really understand the concept of “enveloping” their customers in a brand experience that gets people talking.

I recently ordered some minicards from them to promote my book, Branding Basics for Small Business. I wanted to leave people with a reminder about the book, rather than having them scramble for a piece of paper and a pen.

First off, the automated email message about my order: Full of personality. It starts with, “It’s Little MOO again. I thought you’d like to know, the following items from your order are now in the mail:” and ends with:

 Remember, I’m just a bit of software, so if you have any questions regarding your order, the best place to start is with our Frequently Asked Questions. We keep the answers here: http://www.moo.com/help/faq/. If you’re still not sure, contact customer services, (who are real people) at: http://www.moo.com/help/contact-us.html

Thanks for ordering with MOO – we hope you love your order,

Thanks,

Little MOO, Print Robot

They took a boring, bland auto-email and turned it into a reinforcement of my decision to buy from them. Easy. Simple. No extra cost to do this.

Secondly, packaging: Your package arrives  in an appealing array.  They use package messaging to further reinforce their quirky friendly brand, with little sayings like, “Yay! You’re Our New Best Friend” in the holding case I bought, and a wrapper on the box that said,

“Your MOO minicards are inside*

*Open them quick!”

Everything about them is small, compact and sustainable. They actually design their packaging to be reused. Here is what they say about this on their website:

We think receiving products from MOO should be something special. After all, it’s your artwork, your photography, your event or your business you’re promoting. Something to be proud of and something to be shared. So we custom design our packaging for re-use, resale and recycling. If it’s worth packing, it’s worth packing well.

Third, website copy: Just look at the clever and witty way their website copy is worded and you instantly understand their brand and what they are about. The brand promise carries through in tone and word choice. Friendly. Bubbly. Customer-service focused. Check out this page for just a taste. This is actually a website you want to read and enjoy.

It is very clear throughout all of their messaging that they stand for fun, quality and environmental sustainability.

What does your business stand for? It is clear across everything that you do that this is the promise you deliver? Why not take a look at some of the simple, inexpensive things that you do and see how you can inject your brand voice into them to delight your customers?

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Do you have a healthy real-time culture?

Posted on by Red Slice

If not, you’d better, according to Jay Baer. He wrote this great post about five signs that your culture is fit for prime-time in the new order of things.

Biggest takeaway? The need for speed. Having an aligned culture that embraces diversity, failure and new ideas means you fail fast, fail often and succeed even more. The most successful entrepreneurs I know constantly beat this drum: Fail fast, fail fast, FAIL FAST.

He also talks a lot about ensuring the culture permeates the organization. At the speed of business today, you don’t want to be taking a “time out” to correct employees who don’t understand the company brand, vision or reason for being. They need to embrace it and live it from Day One. I’ve often talked about brand being more than just “marketing’s job” and it’s never more true than in today’s business world. Think about it. Does a general on the battlefield really want to take the time to teach soldiers how to drive the tank, who the enemy is, and the mission’s purpose -  right as bombs are exploding all around? Heck no. Everyone needs to be primed before the mission even starts – and all marching to the beat of the same drummer.

Jay’s post also talks a bit about rewards. This is the delicious topic of Dan Pink’s book, Drive, and I highly recommend you pick it up if you have employees – or even partners you treat like employees. Money is not the only reward lever at your disposal and people are motivated in different ways, depending on their function. A real-time culture is all about efficiency and aerodynamics: the more you know about the best way to motivate different employees, the less time you can waste of rolling out incentives that get you nowhere fast. And with today’s complex jobs, more often than not incentives like autonomy, input and creativity are more striking and effective than a holiday bonus. I mean, no one pays contributors to Wikipedia yet people spend hours with no pay updating entries. For some roles, it’s about solving puzzles, doing things in a new way and getting credit.

Do you think your business is able to keep pace with today’s rate of change? If yes, why? If no, what one clear action can you take in 2011 to move a little closer to “real-time”?

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Ask the Expert: How to build a robust and rabid community with Lynn Baldwin-Rhoades

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Lynn Baldwin-Rhoades is a community maven. She founded a grassroots community of women business owners called Power Chicks and shares how she nurtured a thriving presence on Facebook. In early 2011, Lynn will launch Power Chicks International, LLC, allowing her to offer even more connections, resources and inspiration to help women reach their big, bold goals. Lynn is also the founder of Marketing Shebang, a company focused on helping small businesses connect with their female customers.

lynn-baldwin-rhoadesRS: Welcome Lynn! So, give us the dirt: you have more than 2,000 Facebook followers for Power Chicks. How the heck did you get that going and what advice do you have for others who want to build a following on Facebook?

LBR: Building a community on Facebook requires patience. Lots of it! Every one of us starts with a single follower.

I launched the Power Chicks Facebook page over a year ago by inviting my personal friends. Now, granted, they weren’t my ideal peeps, who are women in business, entrepreneurs and professionals looking for community, resources and inspiration. Joining the page were my father-in-law, my sister who’s in school – well, you get the picture. Nonetheless, it gave me a base of around 70 people.

So, my advice would be, start with who you have. Invite friends – but don’t stop there. Talk up your Facebook page everywhere. Put your link in your email signature, on your website, your newsletter, your brochures – anywhere your ideal customers might be. I’m a huge believer in radical visibility. If people don’t know your business or Facebook page exists, how will they know what good stuff you have to offer?

Give your followers a reason to “stop by” every single day. I imagine the Power Chicks as a community gathering place – an actual location. Maybe that’s goofy, but it does have a good, relaxed vibe. On the page, I offer tips and tools for growing businesses, inspirational quotes, and conversational prompts about what works and doesn’t work for folks. These can be quite engaging chats, and it’s cool to see women from allover come together in a collaborative way. I also offer opportunities for Power Chicks to network with one another on Twitter Tuesday and Thursday Facebook Fan Day.

What you post on your page will revolve around your own business, of course. If you’re really stumped for ideas, begin to follow others in your industry. Use their ideas as a jumping off point for your own original thoughts.

Be casual in your posts – and whatever you do, don’t engage in heavy-handed selling! Facebook is a platform to build relationships with others that will, over time, enhance your business’ bottom line. But it’s a slow process and requires lots of TLC. Hardcore marketing message really turn people off on Facebook.

RS: Wise advice. How active is your community in terms of commenting and interacting? What tips do you have for getting more out of your community so your page does not feel like crickets are chirping and everyone is asleep?

LBR: I confess: I’m a stat watcher and I track how many Power Chicks are interacting on Facebook, Twitter, and emailing me about stuff. Why? Because if there’s no conversation, no connecting, no sharing of resources or cheering each other on – there’s no community, right? There’s just a number.

When I do social media consulting, I always say, “Don’t be eager to build up some sort of empire. Better to have a few red-hot fans than a lot of tepid ones.” It’s like this: You want raving followers who wake up each morning and think, “Hey, what’s Red Slice Nation got going today?” rather than a bunch of people who really don’t give a rip.

As far as tips for getting more out of your community, that’s easy. Give more. And if you’re not sure what to give, ask! The beauty of social media platforms is that you really can say, “Hey, what would you like? How can I best help you?” A following, even a small one, can offer fantastic feedback.

RS: I’ve always been a fan of quality over quantity! Do you think that the actual community topic is a factor to interaction? For instance, do you have an advantage in that your community is full of women talking about inspiration and motivation? What advice would you have for those of us with B2B topics or a less vocal community? What gets the most conversation going within your community?

LBR: Well, I think my advantage is less that we talk about inspiration and motivation and more that I understand what truly brings Power Chicks together – a sense of belonging and camaraderie. There’s a “We’re in this together” feeling. Having this advantage isn’t a calculated thing but sort of an intuitive knowing. Anyone else can have that same advantage.

See, what drives our decisions – whether to join a group, hire a web designer, make a purchase – arises from some need inside of us. We might hire a financial planner and think we’re paying for number-crunching but our deeper need is for safety and security. Identifying the deeper need in your community and addressing it, even obliquely, skyrockets your ability to develop a solid community.

For those with less vocal communities, evaluate what you’re doing and see if you can winnow out what’s not working. Again, ask people. Pick five reasonably active people, email or call each separately, and request specific feedback. You might be surprised at what you hear!

To get the most engagement, you also need to play with the days you post, and even the times of the day. Also, did you know posting a picture along with your updates statistically pushes up your response rate? So does posting a video. I love marketing and these little factoids, because I’m just that nerdy – and knowing stuff like this does come in handy.

Bottom line? Facebook is a fantastic venue for people to increase their business’ visibility, gain credibility, gently (did I mention gently?) sell, and more. But it takes time, patience, lots of trial and error. But stick with it! It’s worth it.

RS: Wise words, Lynn. Thanks so much for giving our community such great advice.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Challenging our platitudes and renouncing the ‘war on work’

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Danielle Laporte wrote this amazing post apologizing to the 9 to 5 crowd and all her pre-conceived notions about the type of people they are: robots, zombies, bored out of their skull. In it, she includes a remarkable TED talk from Mike Rowe, the host of Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs that you simply must carve out 20 minutes to hear. His articulate, spellbinding and intellectual talk illustrates the need to question the ideas we have everyday: about innovation, safety, “following your passion.” “We’ve declared war on work” he says. We have done injustice to how we portray working people, or 9 to 5-ers, or those without the gumption to start their own business or invent new things.

He says we get lulled by Madison Avenue in that we deserve to have more free time, easier work lives, more technology, more innovation. He says that has caused a “marginalization of certain types of jobs.” His honest admission to “getting a lot wrong” is refreshing and that perhaps we need a “PR campaign for work, for skilled labor.”  Whatever happened to the nobleness and necessity of our blue-collar jobs, the ones our Grandfather’s had, the ones that built our infrastructure? Well, his theory is that these jobs have been victims of this war, and are getting a “bad rap.”

I was especially moved by his statement that “following his passion” was some of the worst advice he’s ever received; that sometimes “passion” just won’t pay the bills. And he’s right, to some extent. We celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit and so-called lifestyle, but it may not be feasible for all of us. And it certainly would not be feasible to have a nation of independent workers all following their passions with no one to build roads, pick up road-kill or take care of our trash – or from a desk-job perspective, corporate accountants or government administrators.

Instead of renouncing these jobs and lifestyles as meaningless or “less than”, we should be finding ways to celebrate them and cultivate innovation and new ideas within them. Plenty of 9 to 5’ers lead happy, fulfilled lives contributing to their workplace, their colleagues and their communities. They are not necessarily “selling out” or “settling.”

We’re all trying to make things easy for ourselves. There are people out there who will show you how to make millions of dollars on the Internet, how to only work 4 hours a week, or how to take 6 months to dwell on your own thoughts, fears, and passions without ever taking a real step anywhere. Maybe it’s time to simply just get on with things  and get to work, in whatever forma that means for you.

What do you think?

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Marketing to women? What she’s not telling you

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If you market to women in any way, shape or form, run and pick up a copy of What She’s Not Telling You: Why Women Hide the Whole Truth and What Marketers Can Do About It . Written by three women who run a women’s marketing research firm and have done work for big global brands around the world, it’s chock full of advice on how not to let patterns women show in research lead you to launch a dud.

Chock full of case studies, the book guides you through the half-truths women tell, why they tell them and how to probe around them to get to the whole truth that will really benefit your brand. I adored this book and found it an easy and practical read.

The half truths talked about in the book are:

  • Good intentions – women may tell you what they intend or want to do, not what they will do
  • Approval seeking – they may just tell you as a researcher what you want to hear – or what those in the group with them will support
  • Martyrdom – ensure you speak to her specific “flavor” of martyrdom when crafting messaging that speaks to her needs (hint: Alpha Moms and Beta Moms have different types of martyrdom and if you land the right one with the right group, you will solve their problems without offending them
  • Ego Protection – women may speak from the person she wants  to be versus who she really is
  • Secret Keeping – women tell themselves little lies that a researcher could get lulled into thinking means their product or service fulfills a need that is not really there.

The book does a good job of showing how their research techniques have helped get around these half-truths and to the real whole truth for their clients. Lots of it is very “feminine” in nature (gaining trust, making yourself vulnerable before expecting your participants to do so, learning how to really listen to what she’s saying, etc.) and it sounds like many of their testing sessions actually evolved into therapy sessions. But overall, I found this book’s findings fascinating and, let’s face it ladies, quite true in the context of knowing myself and my own friends.

I particularly loved the example of how to take advantage of “green marketing” the right way with women. Hint, not very many women are as green as they claim, and you only find that out if you can video them or “dig through their cabinets”. Might be more practical to enable “green behavior” while still giving good value for the price and making it super easy for them.

If your business relies on marketing to women, you will want to check out this book.

Disclosure: I was not paid or even asked to write this review. I just enjoyed this book and wanted to share it with all of you. However, the link above is through my Amazon Affiliate program so when you buy, I get some coin. Not a bad trade for turning you on to a good resource, now is it?!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

How to Parlay Your Personal Brand into Your Business Brand

Posted on by Red Slice

This is the number one brand challenge I hear from small business owners. “But so much of my business is tied up in my own personal reputation and who I am. How do I ensure the company builds its own brand, independent of me, so I can expand?”

Take a tip from Warren Buffett, who announced his heir for Berkshire Hathaway as an unknown 39-year old named Todd Combs. He is quoted in the WSJ as saying, ‘He is a 100% fit for our culture. I can define the culture as long as I am here. but we want a culture that is so embedded that it doesn’t get tested when the founder of it isn’t around.”

A culture that is embedded. Ah, Warren: a financial and branding genius.

Companies do this all the time, so it’s not as hard as you think. The company brand reflects the values and philosophy of the founders, but in a way that applies to the corporate entity. See Disney, Nordstrom, McDonald’s, Facebook, Microsoft, Nike, Wendy’s. Many of these companies end up with very strong brand stories about their founders’ passion and values and serve to further attract customers.

Here are some tips on how to inject your personal brand into the DNA of your business so that it lives on even if you are not at the helm:

1) Depersonalize: The biggest thing about personal brands are the values and attributes that the founder shows as a human being. Take those and make those the values and attributes of the company as a whole and how you do business. If your own reputation and image is based on honesty, integrity and straight talk, then bake those attributes into your company’s standard operation procedures, policies and visual identity and make sure they live somewhere that the entire company can see. Turn what you are known for into what your company is known for. I also call this “operationalizing your brand.” If people come to you because you are the type of gal who always returns calls the same day, then make that a company policy that any call is returned within 24 hours, no matter who received the call.

2) Document: You can’t measure and manage to something that is just inside people’s heads or inherent in only your own personal actions. How is that repeatable? Once you develop your values, mission, and the brand attributes for which you want to be known, write them down. Revisit this brand playbook periodically – it may need to evolve as you grow. This playbook can then start to inform all of your brand communications: visual, verbal and experiential. This is the whole premise by which I consult with my clients and why I wrote my book. Ya gotta WRITE IT DOWN if you want to standardize it.

3) Hire Right: Warren Buffett and others understand that brand informs culture, and culture informs how you hire and who you hire. Do you recruit people intentionally who understand and embrace your brand? (Hint: if it is not documented anywhere per #2 above, that’s your first problem) Or do you just hire the marquee names and checklist of skills on their resume? I recently heard a recruiter talk about how they hire by the Iceberg principle. Meaning, above the waterline, you look for the right skills and resume from a candidate. But it’s the skills below the surface – if the person embodies your brand, culture and values – that matter even more to success and longevity of the company. She said more often than not, the problems occur because of misalignment on these “below the water” soft skills and attitudes. If you have personal values and a reputation that is the number one reason people do business with your company, then you’d better make damn sure you’re hiring people who reflect that same work ethic and brand. See Mr. Buffett’s quote above. Use your brand strategy to guide hiring decisions – not just to decide upon your colors or packaging.

Photo credit: Brooke Lark, Unsplash

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

What the $%^&#! are you waiting for?

Posted on by Red Slice

I met someone the other day who told me she wanted to get into acting. So what did she do? She got involved behind the scenes instead. Her plan was that she’d “fall into” being used on-set and on-camera by understanding the behind-the-scenes operations. Luckily, one time she did get asked to be a stand-in on set (a pretty cool paying gig that helps you get used to being on camera and on-set).

Bless her heart. How comfortable to want the rewards without taking the risk. And how easy to put the risk of failure on someone else (“But no one ever noticed me back there!”)

If you want to act, act. Don’t just be an extra, don’t be a production assistant….take some damn acting classes,  get professional headshots and start auditioning for any and every role you can. If you want to start a jewelry line, start a jewelry line. Take a course, experiment with some designs, and see if you can start throwing living room parties or snag a booth at your local farmer’s market. If you want to launch your own consulting business, launch your own consulting business. Leverage the skills you’ve spent time, sweat and money developing, package them up into some irresistible offerings and just start networking.

Don’t say, “Well, I do this but one day I’d really like to (BLANK).” Start with “I’m a (BLANK) at heart, but I pay my bills doing X.” A big part of claiming your expertise is confidently embracing that you are something. Once you start leading with that, you’ll be surprised at the referrals or opportunities that can come your way.  I am a writer, an actress and a branding consultant. That is what I am. That is what is in my blood. Do I get the occasional, “Oh you’re an actress! Have I seen any of your work?” Sure I do. But my answer is, “Probably not. I do a lot of theatre and the occasional short film project” (like I did this past weekend). But you know what? I am in plays. I am in short films. Ergo, I ACT! Just because my face is not plastered across tabloids or I don’t have a multi-million dollar movie deal with Scorsese (how sweet would that be?!), I still act  Fame does not equate to doing the activity.  I’ve never been to the Olympics either – does that mean I’m not “really” a skier?

When I opened my brand consulting business, I had to consciously stop defining myself by what I was and start embracing who I had become. No more, “Well, I used to be a Silicon Valley marketing director but now I’m doing my own thing.” It became, “I am a branding consultant with almost 20 years experience with clients large and small.”

No one is going to cast/hire/buy jewelry from someone who is not really committed to it. Why would they spend their money on someone who is not really quite sure they can deliver? Confidence and moxie attracts.  You have the talent, the skills and the drive. If you don’t get out there and claim your space, who is going to do it for you?

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Which problem is killing your business?

Posted on by Red Slice

As a new book author, I have learned a ton about the publishing industry over the last year or so. I’ve pretty much been riding by the seat of my pants and unspoken rules are revealed to me each day, much like an onion shedding its layers. I used to think publishing a book was fairly straightforward – and it can be if you self-publish and have millions of devoted fans ready to devour your product. But you have to work to get to that point, as Seth Godin just announced: after millions of best-selling books  he’s able to bypass the traditional publishing establishment and self-publish direct to his legions of fans.

Sure, anyone can do this. But do they have the base that Seth has to make that a successful proposition? Well, guess it depends on what your goals are and the size of your tribe.

Putting all that aside, I’ve heard a lot of hoopla casting eBooks, Kindles and iPad’s as the assassins to the traditional brick and mortar stores and your lovely independent bookseller around the corner; That publishing as we know it is a dying due to the new vehicles and opportunities that people with good ideas have for spreading their words.

Well, I have a different theory: it’s not these new technologies or shrinking margins that are going to kill the traditional publishing-bookseller industry: it’s going to be their willingness to adapt and get the heck out of their own way. I present my exhibits to the court below.

Is your business suffering from any of these ailments? If so, better change course before it’s too late:

Exhibit A: Refusal to Acknowledge: At the recent 600 person Pacific Northwest Writers Conference, the elephant in the room was self-publishing and alternate options. While the conference focused heavily on how to sell your book, build your marketing platform, etc, two funny things happened: A breakout on alternate publishing forms erupted in a minor mutiny when attendees demanded to know why the conference was focused on the “song and dance of pitching to big agents and editors” but no one was talking about eBooks and self-publishing as credible options. In this session, a so-called book marketing expert even said: “I don’t believe in social media or authors needing websites. It’s a waste of time.”

Is there a market change or customer need that you are ignoring or refusing to see to protect the status quo?

Exhibit B: Refusal to Adapt: In the large editor panel, I asked what they thought about the long time to market when going the traditional route when I was able to publish with an independent press from contract to book in four months? The response: “Given that reviewers want galleys 3-6 months in advance of the publishing date means you’ll always need a long lead time. Plus it helps with quality control and editing.” Really? The reason we are not going to adapt the model is because the REVIEWERS (Publishers Weekly, et al) won’t adapt their models to current market dynamics? By the time my book’s “galleys” were ready, so was the final book!

Are you allowing the tail to wag the dog when it comes to adapting your manufacturing, marketing or distribution model – instead of adapting to what your customers want and need?

Exhibit C: Refusal to Trust: I had to convince my publisher to post an excerpt on Scribd. She said she’d heard bad things about it and forwarded me an article about an author suing them for copyright infringement. I explained that Scribd itself did not pirate the work; someone else must have posted it and that Scribd is just the channel (like YouTube). I also explained why we should get in front of it and post our excerpt ourselves to control the marketing and message. After all, Chapter 1 is already available on the publisher’s website: What’s to stop someone from stealing it from there? At least on Scribd, people will actually see it who would purchase the book. This fear of piracy and infringement is real, but the upside of promoting the full book is so well worth it.

Are there marketing channels (like social media) or new technologies you are ignoring out of fear, when they could be prime ways to reach your customers?

Exhibit D: Refusal to Coordinate: Because my book is a short run printing (my publisher is not Random House and doesn’t print 50,000 at once) it is listed in a separate “small press” database (DB) on Ingram, one of the distributors in the business. This same DB houses self-published and Print on Demand (POD)  books, and the retail bookstore chains refuse to carry those, mostly because of the lack of return policies and quality concerns. We had to make it very clear to local booksellers that my book is NOT a POD or self-pub and that it’s 100% returnable to convince them to carry a local author. Borders in downtown Seattle agreed and I just did a signing there; Barnes & Noble, however, marked it as POD in their system and the stores are saying they physically can’t order such books through the system and we have to talk to NY. NY has said they will fix the issue, but that the stores are wrong and can order anything they want. I’ve since learned that basically forward-thinking managers can “go rogue” and order the local authors their customers want but it’s not “policy.” We’re stuck in the middle  – trying to give local booksellers great content and signing events to help them boost sales. So now Borders gets me for a signing, while B&N competing down the street can’t get out of their own way. Borders even told me, “People are craving local authors right now – similar to the local food movement!”

Are you not communicating effectively with multiple locations, partners or employees to the point that the only people who lose are your customers? Are your policies getting in the way of you staying competitive or giving your customers what they want?

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

A whole lotta entrepreneurial inspiration and advice–in one sassy package

Posted on by Red Slice

Cori Padgett is a fierce gal with moxie to spare.

I’ve had the pleasure to get to know her and her Big Girl Branding community recently. She graciously gave me one of the spiciest book reviews thus far, and highlighted Red Slice with some guest blog posts.

Well, now she’s gone and outdone herself. She’s recently compiled Entrepreneurial Wisdom, a collection of interviews from over 60 entrepreneurs, including me and some people way outta my league. Cori has collected their wit, wisdom and secrets of success in one tidy little blog post and PDF…for free. Talk about generous. I have learned so much from the successful folks in this interview: Mike from The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur,  Dan Schawbel from Personal Branding Blog, Danielle LaPorte, Lisa Barone from Outspoken Media….the list goes on.

Cori asked everyone the same three questions:

1. What is your best advice for soldiering on as an entrepreneur in the face of mind-numbing adversity?

2. What is the biggest mental roadblock you had to overcome on your path to being an entrepreneur?

3. What do you like best about living the entrepreneurial dream?

Check it out for some inspiration, wisdom or to light a fire under your butt…and your business.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

St Germain: The Virgin America of liqueurs?

Posted on by Red Slice

Guest post by Red Slice intern, Suzi An

How often do you hear about Elderflower liqueur? I’m not sure I knew what Elderflower was until last week. Which is unfortunate because that’s from what St. Germain is made. My first experience with fancy liqueur was at the beginning of the year when a bartender at Via Tribunali placed a small glass of something in front of me.

“What is that?” I ask.

“It’s St. Germain,” says Andrew.

I dunk my nose just below the rim of the glass and began to sniff.

“Why does it smell like lychee?” At this point, I’m confused but intrigued by the sweet smelling liqueur.

It wasn’t until last month that our paths crossed once again. But this time, I saw the actual bottle. Have you seen this thing? It is possibly the most elegant bottle of alcohol I have ever seen. It’s a tall, heavy glass bottle with six sides and a color scheme of navy blue, gold, and if you look closely, light turquoise. Even the cap is elegant and refined. I then proceeded to read the little booklet that was attached to its neck that relayed the story of St. Germain. Think about a French man riding his bicycle in the Alps to gather the delicate flower by hand. He then rides his bicycle down to the local market. There are only 40 to 50 of these men who make it possible for the rare liqueur to be made in a given year; hence why St. Germain is rare and a bit pricey. I flip the page and that’s when the sassiness began:

“To put this into context, we can safely say that no men, bohémien or otherwise, will be wandering the hillsides of Poland this spring gathering wild potatoes for your vodka. Likewise, we know of no Bavarians planning to scour the German countryside in search of exotic native hops and barley for your beer.” I love that they are so confident in their brand because they know it takes much effort to make such a rare liqueur. Furthermore, they are proud of their brand because of the craftsmanship aspect of it. You can tell by their word choice. Again, brand communicated verbally is just as important as anything visual.

“Neither passionfruit nor pear, grapefruit nor lemon, the sublime taste of St. Germain hints at each of these and yet none of them exactly. It is a flavor as subtle and delicate as it is captivating. A little like asking a humminghbird to describe the flavor of its favorite nectar. Très curieux indeed, n’est-ce pas?” Very curious, indeed, is it not?

Very curious. Beyond curious. I’m fascinated. The reason why I say St. Germain is the Virgin America of liqueurs is because of the sassiness and the experience they promise. Virgin America flies to limited places, St. Germain has limited quantities of their liqueur. Virgin America promises to make flying fun, St. Germain promises to make you feel sassy and sophisticated. Virgin America’s tone is that of St. Germain. Both are fun and snippy.

In the same booklet, there are pages of recipes that contain even more fun little surprises than the brand story. For example, at the end of the directions for the Sangria Flora, it says, “Serve in an iced-filled glass, then telephone your physician and regale him with stories of your exemplary fruit consumption.” I chuckled as I read that. As I closed the little booklet, it was as if a whimsical soirée had come to an end. I wanted to go back and read through the whole thing like a party I just didn’t want to leave. I wanted to feel like I was enjoying a warm summer night eating delicious French food with my closest friends, as we dine by the dim lights hanging from the trees around us. My experience with St. Germain is not about the liqueur; it’s about the brand, the story of how it came to be, the way it interacts with me, and the way the brand makes me feel. I don’t think I could say that about any other alcohol brand.