Natural Foods Merchandiser recently approached Kathleen Murphy, senior public relations counsel here at BrandHive, for her thoughts on how to craft the perfect newsletter for customers and consumers. Check out her three tips, as well as a link to the full article after the jump:

1. Craft a plan. Take time to figure out and write down the key attributes of your newsletter, including its purpose, audience, frequency, length, format, key deadlines and budget. Many retailers skip this step, which is a primary reason why newsletters frequently fail. Carefully think through these details ahead of time, or get an expert to help you.

2. Consider your audience. Are your most loyal shoppers young, active singles? Family-focused moms? Retirees? Choose topics within your store’s realm of expertise that aim to make readers’ lives easier. For example, athletes might be interested in nutritional support for marathon training, while moms may want to learn about natural ways to help kids dodge the flu.

3. Build a story bank. Just as a magazine contains different sections, your newsletter should include a variety of content: tips, recipes, employee profiles, promotions, surveys, testimonials and much more. Schedule articles around specific seasons or holidays, such as “Healthy Halloween treats” in October or “Happy birthday to us” to commemorate your store’s anniversary.

Click here for the original article from Natural Foods Merchandiser.

OmniActive Health Technologies opened the Expo West/Engredea show with a bang, celebrating the one-year anniversary of its award-winning Lutein for Every Age™ campaign with a marching band and five dancing eyes. The band, which opened the show on Friday, March 7, was part of OmniActive’s ongoing efforts to orchestrate buzz surrounding the benefits of early and constant lutein supplementation for proper health over a lifetime.

The marching band was a follow up to the Lutein for Every Age™ flashmobs that helped OmniActive bring home the Engredea Editors Choice Award for Best of Show Marketing in 2013.

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“Functional Future” Session Focused on Strategies for Functional Food and Beverage Marketing

Jeff Hilton, BrandHive co-founder and chief marketing officer, will lead an educational session on the “functional future” of foods and beverages at Engredea as part of Natural Products Expo West 2014.

Hilton’s presentation, “Functional Future: Trends in Functional Food and Beverage Marketing” will open Engredea’s Saturday educational program on March 8, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. at the Anaheim Marriott. The session aims to educate and inform participants on emerging business and marketing strategies of importance in the functional sector, focusing on consumer products sold at retail.

“The sales-growth rate in the functional foods marketplace continues to outpace that of traditional foods and beverages, presenting manufacturers and retailers with a tremendous opportunity to tap into a lucrative market that continues to gain momentum,” said Hilton. “However, involvement in the functional market also entails a high degree of uncertainty and risk because products often live or die by their brand positioning, packaging and promotion.”

Co-located alongside Natural Products Expo West and the NEXT Innovation Summit, Engredea showcases new ingredients, technologies, applications and services for healthy foods-and-beverages, dietary supplement/bioactive and nutricosmetic markets. Hilton’s presentation will be part of the educational sessions aimed at retailers, distributors, health practitioners, manufacturers and suppliers.

The creative team at BrandHive discusses the key considerations that go into designing and building a successful tradeshow booth.

Erika Lowstedt-Granath – Senior Art Director
Giles Wallace – Art Director
Meet Nagar – Marketing Assistant
Nate Peterson – Senior Art Director

Salt Lake City, Utah, January 27, 2014: BrandHive is pleased to announce their selection as agency of record for Bergstrom Nutrition, manufacturer and distributor of OptiMSM®, an ultra-pure methylsulfonymethane (MSM) for human use. BrandHive will provide full consulting services including strategic planning, creative development, media buying and public relations for the industry leading raw ingredient.

“Bergstrom Nutrition is a family-owned business that has operated quite successfully since its founding in 1987,” said Tim Hammond, vice president of sales and marketing for Bergstrom Nutrition. “We’ve reached a pivotal point, however, in wanting to expand our position in the marketplace. We selected BrandHive specifically for their industry knowledge and communications expertise to help the OptiMSM brand gain additional awareness and leverage in the global marketplace.”

OptiMSM is a US manufactured product that utilizes a proprietary distillation process designed to produce MSM that exceeds global government requirements for purity and quality. Having met and exceeded criteria required by the FDA, OptiMSM is the only GRAS-designated MSM on the market. With applications for joint health, sports nutrition, skin health, immune support and healthy aging, Bergstrom Nutrition continues to invest in research and product innovation to maintain OptiMSM’s reputation as an industry leader.

“We’ve had the pleasure of working with the Bergstrom Nutrition team when the OptiMSM brand was born,” said Jeff Hilton, co-founder and chief marketing officer at BrandHive. “With an iconic brand synonymous with purity, quality and superior customer service, we at BrandHive have a tremendous opportunity. We’re truly looking forward to our renewed collaboration”.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH: December 16, 2013: Chennai, India-based AVT Natural Products recently completed the successful launch of OptimHealth, a full line of condition-specific supplements in India. Working with BrandHive on branding for the project, AVT reported positive results so far and a successful introduction of the new line. The initial launch included Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad with plans to broaden the scope in consecutive phases.

Recognizing the unique consumer needs of the market in India, AVT approached BrandHive with the desire to customize the introduction of their ingredients. BrandHive and AVT began the process with extensive market research. Part of this process included setting up focus groups with native populations in target launch cities, including New Delhi. In general, the findings indicated openness to a modern take on wellness would be better accepted if it incorporated elements of Ayurvedic tradition with Western Science. This insight helped shape BrandHive’s efforts from start to finish of the AVT project including brand positioning, development of a brand story, product formulation, and product packaging as well as determination of the brand name, OptimHealth. BrandHive involved themselves in every step of the process to maintain a solid understanding of the cultural influence on the brand.

“Although the branding of a product line for India was a first for the BrandHive team, keeping sight of the importance of a cultural understanding was clear”, said Jeff Hilton, co-founder and partner of BrandHive. “The launch of OptimHealth was a success because it reflected what we call ‘modernized tradition’ into every element of the brand including photography, the website, marketing collateral and the overall launch strategy.”

For a gallery listing of BrandHive’s recent products launches, please visit brandhive.com/work.

The problem: When AVT Natural Products in Chennai, India set out to create a new line of condition-specific supplements, they knew they wanted to talk to Indian consumers about health and wellness in new ways but they weren’t sure just how far they could stray from traditional formulas and packaging without losing their audience entirely.

The research: Once they selected BrandHive as their Agency of Record, we helped them conduct focus groups with native populations in target launch cities, including New Dehli. These focus groups clearly showed that a modern take on wellness would be better accepted if it incorporated a nod to India’s Ayurvedic traditions.

The insight: The targeted consumer was willing to consider modern scientific findings and new product formulas if those formulas included some “trustworthy” traditional ingredients.

This insight shaped all BrandHive’s efforts, from the brand positioning and brand story (which focused on the integration of modern Western science with ancient Ayurvedic wisdom) to product formulations (which paired Ayurvedic classics with scientifically researched Western ingredients) to product packaging (which introduced a clean pharma look into traditional Indian settings). The brand name BrandHive developed for the line was OptimHealth.

OptimHealth brand essence blends ancient Ayurvedic wisdom with modern Western science

The work: The result was a brand that literally jumped off Indian “chemist” shelves by featuring a modern aesthetic (modern bright-white PET bottles, vibrant colors and custom green caps) and a listing of its traditional and Western ingredients on the front of the label. Mention of traditional ingredients provided consumers with a sense of instant familiarity, while the novel look and feel of the brand caught their attention. BrandHive carried this strategy of “modernized tradition” into OptimHealth’s photography, website, marketing collateral and launch strategies, all with great success.

OptimHealth custom packaging lists main ingredients on front panel

OptimHealth retail display stands out in chemist’s shop

Soft launches targeted consumers in traditional settings (yoga studios, chemists, parks) 

The takeaway: Consumers all over the world now demand more from their brands. Traditional tried-and-true cultural cues are not enough. To capture attention today, brands need to blend cultural influences with worldwide research findings and globally recognized ingredients to create products that both look better and work better.

There’s no doubt that being in Las Vegas has a way rejuvenating one’s inner youth. The bright lights, loud music and glitz have a way of awakening the soul. It was the perfect setting for this year’s SupplySide West Global Expo and Conference. Attendance and energy was at an all time high and the exhibit hall was full of new products, trends and excitement.

With the conference preceding the New Year, it was also the perfect setting to talk about rejuvenating a brand. In case you missed BrandHive on the SupplySide Why stage, you can see the recap here: “Is it time for you to rebrand?”. BrandHive also presented “12 step program to a bigger, better, bolder brand” in a Vendor Brief. The focus of both programs was on identifying the right time to rebrand and preparing for the impact on resources, operations, and customers. Rebranding can be one of the most difficult yet most important decisions for an organization to make. Knowing what to expect can help a great deal.

It’s almost been one year since BrandHive pursued its own rebrand from the Integrated Marketing Group. While we’ve helped numerous clients through the same process, it was helpful to experience a rebrand of our own.

If you feel that it’s time to explore the idea of a “new you”,  please visit us at brandhive.com.

Jeff Hilton
jeff@brandhive.com.

BrandHive introduces you to the six people you’re most likely to meet at this year’s SupplySide West, so you can better identify the perfect customers when you see them.

BrandHive SupplySide West 2013 Activities:

Thursday, November 14th

SupplySide Why
11:30 am – 12 Steps to Re-Branding Yourself

VendorBrief
4:30 pm – 12 Step Program to a Bigger, Better, Bolder Brand

Jeff Hilton gives us his take on the state of the tea market after spending the weekend at the World Tea East 2013 Expo and Conference.