SALT LAKE CITY, October 17, 2013 — Jeff Hilton, co-founder and partner of BrandHive, will present on marketing trends in functional teas at the World Tea East tradeshow and conference at the Georgia World Congress Center next week. Co-located with the Atlanta Foodservice Expo, the conference will be attended by expert tea professionals, retailers, food and beverage manufacturers, grocers and other industry representatives in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and Southeast United States.

Hilton’s presentation, “Functional Revolution: Marketing Trends in the Healthy and Functional Beverage Category,” will address new and innovative delivery formats, popular and trending functional ingredients, and condition-specific health benefits that are most common and emerging in the functional tea marketplace. Part of this discussion will include how Millennials and Boomers, two very distinct demographics, welcome trends differently.

“Both lifestyle and attitudes play a role in what’s driving the move towards functional beverages,” said Hilton. “Whether differentiation is provided through delivery forms, use of raw ingredients, or specific health benefits, marketers truly benefit from understanding the differences in their target audiences.”

Hilton’s session is scheduled for Tuesday, October 22, 9:45 a.m.to 10:45 a.m. as part of the Core Conference Seminar track at World Tea East. The conference is produced by the same organization that produces the World Tea Expo, the largest and most prominent specialty tea tradeshow in the world. For more information on Hilton’s session or the conference, please visit: http://worldteaeast.com.

Here at BrandHive, some of our favorite people are Naturopathic Doctors (NDs).

That’s why (while we are generally less-than-enthusiastic about the goings-on of our Congressional representatives) we are positively stoked about the recent unanimous U.S. Senate resolution that designates Oct. 7-13 as Naturopathic Medicine Week.

Passage of this resolution is historic. That’s because this is the first time Congress has recognized the ability of naturopathic physicians to provide safe, effective and affordable health care. Not to mention the fact that the nation’s 4,400 licensed NDs help address the nation’s pressing shortage of primary care physicians.

NDs are trained to look at the whole patient and to focus on underlying causes, not just a list of symptoms. They emphasize prevention and ongoing wellness. They also tend to spend more time with each patient, educating and guiding them on ways to take charge of their health. Having graduated from an accredited 4-year naturopathic medical school, NDs treat a full range of illnesses.

BrandHive’s work with clients who provide products and services to Healthcare Practitioners have given us a “front row seat” to many dramatic stories of transformation. Routinely NDs help their patients manage chronic pain, avoid major surgery, and assess and address the source of illness. Their ability to reduce suffering and return a patient to wellness is truly impressive and admirable.

Next time you seek treatment that includes prescription drugs or surgery, consider a second opinion from an ND.  Not only will you get the expertise of a doctor level physician, but you might also learn about treatments that are less invasive and less expensive than conventional drugs and surgery. And a bonus: Effective in January 2014, health insurance plans are required to include and reimburse NDs in health insurance plans.

So this week we tip our hats to Naturopathic Doctors. At a time when the average American consumer fills 12 prescriptions per year, NDs epitomize the wisdom that “less is more” and “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Thank you, NDs!

Naturopathic Doctors (NDs) are notoriously passionate about nutrition and good health, as demonstrated by this BrandHive client.

“As we recently took another step forward in our rebranding and launched the new BrandHive website, it presented us with a good opportunity to look back over the time we’ve spent in business together. A lot has changed in 16 short years. People have come and gone, the company has evolved and the industry has changed. However, throughout all of it we’ve been lucky enough to work with some truly awesome people and clients. Looking back it’s everything in our past that has come together to make us who we are today. More importantly, it’s these things that have us looking forward to at least another 16 years.”
– Melanee Brown, Business Manager & First Employee

It was nice to host everyone in the beautiful alpine setting of Wasatch State Park last week for the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s (CRN) annual conference. It’s not often that we get to share the beauty of what Utah has to offer with our colleagues. Add to this, the excitement of celebrating CRN’s 40th anniversary and you have the makings of a remarkable week.

Perhaps one of the most notable moments of the conference was the introduction of an economic report issued by Frost & Sullivan, which was made possible because of a grant from the CRN foundation. The report, “Smart Prevention – Health Care Cost Savings Resulting from the Targeted Use of Dietary Supplements,” examined how the use of specific dietary supplements in high-risk populations provided both health benefits and savings in health care costs.

Stephen Daniells, senior editor at NutraIngredients, summarizes the report here: “Game changing economic report”

The report emphasizes that supplementation at specific preventive levels in high-risk populations has the potential to reduce medical events and spending. This could potentially represent hundreds of millions of dollars in savings in health care costs! This has very important implications for the industry and US population at large.

Chris Shanahan, global program manager at Frost & Sullivan, described the findings of the report as a “game changer” emphasizing the importance of preventive health care practices that include dietary supplements.

Game changer, indeed. Prevention has taken on an even greater importance. Healthcare practitioners, consumers and all industry professionals will be involved in shifting the paradigm to “smart prevention”.

Don’t forget, there are still three more days of the BrandHive #HealthyBuzz Twitter contest!

To celebrate the launch of their new website, BrandHive is awarding its Twitter followers with a FREE Starbucks gift card! To enter, tweet to @thebrandhive and reference the new website with #HealthyBuzz. One lucky tweeter will be selected each day*.

(*Contest valid between September 18-25, 2013. Daily winner will be announced via Twitter at 3 PM ET)

Salt Lake City, Utah, September 18, 2013: BrandHive just announced the launch of a new “hive” on the web. The new website is part of the 16 year-old marketing and PR agency’s rebrand from the Integrated Marketing Group earlier this year. Designed with the user experience in mind, Brandhive.com provides a rich sensory exploration with the individual projects and people that form the agency.

“Throughout the process of rebranding ourselves, one thing became clear,” said Jeff Hilton, co-founder and partner of BrandHive. “We realized the need to provide better insight into who we are as a agency. This is one of the reasons the new website showcases the collaborative work of our team. In almost every case, an individual project involved a cross-functional team working closely together. I think our clients really benefit from this type of teamwork.”

From a foundational standpoint, users will first notice easier navigation and robust colors throughout the site. Just as each prism in a honeycomb encapsulates the work of the hive, each tile of the new site can be enlarged for a deeper experience with the content.

In navigating the site menu, the collateral, logo, packaging and advertising sections work together to provide a detailed overview of design capabilities. The website and mobile options provide insight into the portfolio of tech savvy solutions. And finally, the public relations section provides a sample of the agency’s PR communications expertise.

The website also features BrandHive Buzz, the agency’s blog, which reflects the team’s insight on B2B/B2C marketing trends, industry happenings and company news.

“We hope that the new web structure helps visitors understand BrandHive’s extensive range of capabilities, and equally important, how we function as a team,” said Hilton. “We’re always excited to bring more buzz to the natural products industry.” For more information, please visit brandhive.com.

To celebrate the launch of their new website, BrandHive is awarding its Twitter followers with a FREE Starbucks gift card! To enter, tweet to @thebrandhive and reference the new website with #HealthyBuzz. One lucky tweeter will be selected each day*.

(*Contest valid between September 18-25, 2013. Daily winner will be announced via Twitter at 3 PM ET)

About BrandHive
BrandHive is branding the natural, organic world. Like any good hive, we’re collaborative and work closely with our client partners to achieve remarkable results for natural brands. BrandHive can help you strategically position your brand within the healthy lifestyles industry. BrandHive clients benefit from our long-standing relationships and decades of experience crafting messages that engage natural businesses and consumers. We specialize in finished goods and raw materials for dietary supplements, personal care, healthy foods and healthy beverages. For more information, visit us at www.brandhive.com.

Many natural brands are excited to participate in observations intended to raise the profile of important health issues, like Breast Cancer Awareness Month. While these special occasions seem like great PR opportunities, marketers are often disappointed by a less-than-enthusiastic response from media. But, with careful planning and the right touch, you can increase coverage. Public relations busy bee (it’s national honey month after all) Anna West has five key tips to help organizations make the most of these observances:

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Functional teas provide a good example of how generational differences can impact category growth and brand perceptions. At the recent IFT Annual Meeting and Expo, BrandHive’s Chief Marketing Officer, Jeff Hilton, explained the differences between Baby Boomers and Millennials in making choice regarding their disposable income.

“Functional tea is really an appealing category for boomers,” said Hilton. “We grew up with teas. We know teas. We are comfortable with teas. So, adding functionality to teas? That makes sense, that’s logical for us.” Hilton explained that unlike Millennials, Boomers tend to be more traditional and brand loyal.

In order to emphasize the impact of this segment, Hilton mentioned that Boomers will control 70% of disposable income in the United States over the next five years. “If that doesn’t draw the attention of consumer goods manufacturers, I’m not sure what will.”

To watch Hilton’s complete video, take a look at this:

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Markets/Functional-teas-are-a-real-driver-for-Boomers-Marketing-guru

At BrandHive, we design ways to get more people to interact with our clients online. One of the best ways to do this is with videos, but if you’ve spent any time on YouTube you know that not all videos are created equal.

To enhance your online presence with videos about your business, follow these seven steps to ensure making a solid impression.

Set Goals

This may probably obvious, but take some time to focus in on your goals for the video: Is it educational? Is it to promote interaction on your website? Thinking about the big picture also helps you understand what type of time and financial investment you’re willing to make. Come up with project expectations. How big of an audience do you want to hit? How will the success of your video be measured? Most importantly, keep in mind that all viewers have one goal of their own: to be engaged. Of your handful of objectives for your video, be sure that viewer engagement tops the list.

Plan the Shoot

With goals in hand, decide how to execute the project. Draw a stick figure storyboard on a napkin. Write up the discourse or voice-over. Choose your talent and subjects. Find a quiet location with bright natural light and see what time of day is best for brightness without direct light. If you only have one shot at your shoot, be sure to check your equipment, have back-up batteries, extra memory, and make sure everything’s charged ahead of time.

And here’s the part that has a giant impact but rarely happens: have your talent practice. Most people become uncomfortable when you put a video camera in front of them, but knowing exactly what to say and how to deliver it ahead of time is a sure way to build confidence.

Setup

Now you’re really having fun: set up the camera and do a practice run. Put the camera on a tripod or even just a stack of books to steady the shot to help viewers concentrate on the content. Have someone sit in front of the camera to get an early feel for the shot. If your natural light is not bright enough, try adding some lights. Do a test shot with your actual subject and check it on your computer to ensure that the footage is properly lit, focus is crisp, your subject looks good, and the audio is as clear as possible. Use multiple video cameras to get different angles, zooms and other creative effects.

Shoot

The moment everyone has been been waiting for: Action! For the shoot, you’ll probably want to have help so different people can focus on different tasks. One person can keep the camera focused on the subject while someone else adjusts lights and another watches to make sure the take is appropriate. Take multiple takes, shoot from multiple angles, and take more footage before and after the shot than you think you’ll need. Have someone behind and in line with the camera so your subject can make eye contact with them. If you’re going to edit your footage, have your subject take longer pauses between thoughts to help ease your edits. Finally, remember that it’s always best to have too much footage in the editing stage as opposed to the alternative.

Edit

Dim the lights and break out the popcorn. Save your footage to your computer and be sure to make a back-up before you start editing. Get familiar with your footage so you can make the best cuts with confidence. Remember the goal of engaging your viewer? Keeping your video short is a great way to do this. If you can, brand your video with your company logo, colors, images, and design elements. Add titles, descriptors, and B-roll footage that helps expand on the content. Finish the film with a call to action: visit our website, watch our other videos, share this with your friends, etc. Think of the very last frame of your video as your calling card. When you think you’re done, show the video privately and gather feedback to help inspire you for your final edits.

Publish

Once you have as many thumbs up as you need, it’s time to go public. Luckily, many editing apps have tools to publish your video directly to YouTube, Facebook, and more. YouTube is an incredibly powerful tool to ensure great accessibility and to promote engagement with built-in community and user tools. With your video hosted on YouTube, you have a single place for all to interact with your content that you (and other users) can easily embed and share on websites, blogs, and beyond.

Promote

“If you build it, they will come” might work for baseball fields, but I wouldn’t count on it for web videos. Hit your video out of the park by promoting it. Announce the video to your social media outlets and in an email campaign to your contacts. Have your PR team distribute the video to online publication outlets with relevant and strong digital presences. If your content is truly engaging and you’ve taken careful steps to ensure that it reaches the right audience, the video will take care of itself from here.

Putting a video together for your business is a great way to get organized and focus in on your online goals. While your video may not get as many views as “Very Angry Cat” (84,767,208 views and absolutely not worth watching), you will likely increase traffic to your website and enhance the online experience of your visitors. And besides, getting more views than someone’s old cat shouldn’t be that difficult!