3-2-07mill

Greetings!

We're marching into March Madness. Everyone knows what March Madness is all about, right? College basketball's annual tournament (go Salukis!)—one of the largest gambling sprees of the year. Between websites, Vegas, bookies and office pools, wagering estimates run into the billions of dollars.

All the perennial favorites will be there (go Salukis!) from the Big East, the Big South and the Big Ten. Kansas, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Connecticut will be there. It's certainly big business for the schools and the networks. A lot of these schools pay their coaches millions of dollars a year (and the players get degrees in home economics—if they stay four years)!

You'll be inundated with news about the teams (go Salukis) in the tournament, but let's pay homage to the little guys for a couple of minutes. The unsung schools that will likely never have an entry into the "big dance."

How 'bout those Stormy Petrels from Ogelthorpe University? You have to admire a school that gets behind Petey the Stormy Petrel. According to legend, James Oglethorpe was inspired by the courage of the small, gutsy bird as it dove in and out of the crashing ocean waves as he crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1732.

And who was in charge when they named the teams at Gray's Harbor College in Aberdeen, Washington? The Chokers? If ever there was a name you WOULDN'T want for a sports team, it would be this one! "We are the Chokers, mighty, mighty Chokers! When a victory beckons, we'll lose in the last seconds!"

And lastly (though there are many others), one of my favorites are the Artichokes from Scottsdale Community College in Scottsdale, Arizona. There's a very interesting story regarding the origination of the name on their website, but rest assured, these days everyone is behind Artie! In fact, he just got a new makeover. Being the logo mavens we are, we loved the evolution of the character. When you "wear the colors" of SCC, you're making a statement (especially if you're in their Culinary Arts program!).

As usual, you never know where this column is going to take you. Coming full circle, here's my tip of the month—the SIU Salukis will win their first ever national championship. It's a lock. Oh yeah, do you know what a Saluki is? You'll need to know because that's all anyone is going to be talking about at your NCAA Tournament party!

Tim Padgett
tim@peppergroup.com

“Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.”

“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

—John Wooden, former UCLA head coach, 10 NCAA championships

Is there any better scenario in the business world than undertaking a large, important project for a new client, having it go wonderfully, and then being asked to do it again the next time? Not in our book—and one shining example of that occurred over the past five months as we once again helped produce Miami-based Noven Pharmaceutical’s National Sales Meeting.

The challenge we were given last September was to come up with some creative conceptual themes for the 2007 meeting that would tie in with the client’s main objective of enhancing the skills of their sales force. Once our ideas were narrowed down to one—a fun twist on American Idol—we began producing materials to support the theme. We designed and printed collateral materials; produced a series of teasers to build attendee excitement; hired an actor/comedian to portray our host; and spent a couple of months creating videos that included purposely bad auditions enacted by Noven’s regional sales managers.

Armed with our pre-produced materials, Tim, Sarah and Todd flew down to Cancun in late January for the five-day meeting. There were some new faces this year, and they perpetuated our image of Noven people as being a fun-loving and hard-working bunch. Throughout the meeting, Todd provided technical AV support as Tim and Sarah shot video. Steve Matuszak (at right) from Chicago Comedy Company seamlessly integrated our theme into the proceedings while keeping the audience cleverly entertained. On the final night, we orchestrated a talent show that was enthusiastically participated in by the entire sales force and we followed that up the next morning with a 15-minute video recap of the week’s events (drop us an email if you'd like to see how it turned out).

When all was said and done, Noven’s 2007 National Sales Meeting was a huge success and we feel extremely privileged to have such a great client to work with!

Sarah's Story: Clothes on the Bottle in Napa Valley

Last week, as most people suffered through the cold and the snow, my husband and I had the unique opportunity to take a family vacation with my parents and siblings. Being the wine buff that my father is, he planned a fantastic trip full of unique experiences to Napa Valley and Sonoma County. We visited 24 wineries in 6 days!

During my adventure, I couldn’t help but think of all of the branding that goes into each bottle of wine. And while I was already hoping to do a little hands-on research to learn just how the labels are created, I had no idea just how lucky I would be.

As chance would have it, one stop on our journey was to a beautiful hillside home in Southern Mendocino, where a fantastic 5-course gourmet lunch was being prepared just for my family. And although I didn’t know it until he started sharing his stories, the man opening his home to us and preparing this beautiful meal was none other than Tom Rodrigues, or, as I refer to him now, the “Label King of California.”

I was fascinated as I sat next to Tom during our lunch as he shared story after story from his amazing life. I learned that he began his career as a stained glass artist at the age of 14 and was already teaching adult courses by 17. Soon after, his love for baseball prompted some well-known paintings that you can now find on the walls in the Baseball Hall of Fame. And, in 1978, Tom was introduced to wine when he met Gil Nickel, the owner of Far Niente Wine Estate in Napa Valley. He sketched his first Far Niente label on a cocktail napkin for Gil and the rest is history.

Tom’s passion quickly became art and wine,

which led to the purchase of Maple Creek Winery with his sweetheart Linda Stutz. They appropriately named their wines "Artevino"—art and wine.

Since then, Tom has been designing exquisite labels for use on many other winerys’ varietals including Nickel and Nickel, Kuleto Estate, Dolce, Aida, Delaney Vineyards, Manzanita Creek, Gemstone, Adieu, and of course his own for Maple Creek Winery. And all he asks for in return are 10 cases of each type of wine per year. Considering he started designing labels in 1978, you have to imagine what a cellar Tom must have!

Before Tom starts a new label design, he thinks about the type and quality of wine that is inside the bottle and how he can entice people to pick it up. He sees himself as a brand developer, much like us folks at the Pepper Group. It is all about image, and as Tom says, “the labels are the clothes on the bottle.” Some of his designs are made up of pen and ink sketches, some have water color renderings and his Artevino labels even feature his “Vineyard Series” of paintings. His labels are stunning because of the details he puts into each of them. Most are embossed to give the bottles texture and you will commonly see die cut shapes and foil stamping. His labels are award winning and represent quality, richness and attention to detail—giving them a timeless look and feel. Just see for yourself.

Next time you are in a wine store, take a closer look at the labels. Most are true works of art. And if your taste is right, you may even purchase one of Tom’s designs.

Sarah VanHeirseele
sarah@peppergroup.com

“Come as strangers, leave as friends.”
—Maple Creek Winery’s Motto

Stacy Speaks: Everything I need to know about marketing, I learned from American Idol

Clay Aiken Before

As part of my procrastination in writing this article, I tuned into perhaps the biggest guilty pleasure of our generation—American Idol. I’d like to say I accidentally sat on the remote and it happened to come on, but it’s far worse than that. It turns out I actually really like it.

Anyway, whether you love it or hate it, one thing is for certain—no one knows more about marketing than these contestants. To help demonstrate my point, here’s a few marketing tips I’ve picked up from the show:

Lesson One: The Product
On American Idol, your voice is your product, and if you don’t have something to sell, you won’t make it—period. Instead, you’re going to be “that guy”—the one who shows up for a singing competition on a unicycle wearing a boa. You can dance around the stage and juggle all you’d like, but people will see right through you.
Lesson Two: The Brand
“You’ve got a great voice, but no one is going to remember you.” Simon has told this to a countless number of contestants—none of whom I can remember. On American Idol, your personality is your brand. If you have a great voice, but the personality of a paperclip, don’t expect anyone to start your fan club. Only strong brands earn loyalty.
Lesson Three: The Packaging

Clay Aiken After

Have you ever noticed that American Idol contestants get increasingly attractive as the show goes on? It happens every season. By week 8, the plain looking girl has a new trendy haircut and the nerdy kid has traded his glasses for contacts. By week 12, even the guys are wearing makeup, and by the finale, you realized you were just voting for the best looking contestant all season so you’d be guaranteed to see them another week. On American Idol, your look is your packaging, and although we hate to admit it, packaging sells.

So what’s the lesson here? While you may not be trying out for American Idol anytime soon, marketing truly is all around us. And although you may not realize it, you too are actually marketing yourself every day with the way you choose to present yourself. Based on what I have learned from the show thus far, my advice is simple. Choose wisely, and above all, never underestimate the value of having at least one completely honest friend.

Stacy Olah
stacy@peppergroup.com