#131

Member
South Saint Louis, MO
I just finished making samples of our new alcohol-based aftershave formula. They are available in all of our scents (with the exception of La Fleur de Carondelet and Le Jardin d'Odile) at our online store. I also have the toner samples re-stocked.

Thanks a lot guys!
#132

Posting Freak
Hi Shawn, I read the thread on reddit that leisure guy linked from his sotd blog - looks like you're starting to generate some buzz. Hopefully its manageable. Personally, I like your product naming approach - I don't think its wrong-headed at all. I think if folks would take the time to read what you've written on your website they would get it too. Its great that you take your inspiration from the history of your local community. People don't know what happened last week let alone last century so if you can point out some very interesting and significant aspects of the history of South St. Louis and beyond including some of the influential characters of the day, then thats great. History doesn't always have to be about somewhere else.

I'm looking forward to trying some of those new scents you've got coming soon.
Thanks,
Marko

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#133

Member
South Saint Louis, MO
Thanks, Marko, I think we're ready to scale up, but I guess we can say that as much as we want to, but it doesn't matter if we don't do it well!

Honestly, I think it all stemmed from the fact that he said he didn't read the product page first and that got him confused. Which is why I added "post-shave" to the drop-down menus in the web store. But this is the first customer we've had petition us to re-name our entire product line. We spent a very long time thinking about the naming of the products, so I don't want to blow everything up on a whim.

I'm glad you enjoyed our brand story. That's exactly the effect we were going for. In fact, it affords me an opportunity to learn things I didn't previously know about our city, as well. Like I said on Reddit when I was defending our brand, I'm doing this as a hobby because it's fun for me, not to make as many sales as possible. So we're happy taking a long-term approach and trying to be distinctive rather than homogenous. You can't please all of the people, so we'll just concentrate on making something that reflects us and our unique personalities. I know we make products that aren't for everyone, and so we want to create product names that make people examine them more closely.

Also, glad you're excited about the new scents! For anyone who is curious:

March 5 - La Quatrième Ville (vetiver, cypress, violet leaf, nagarmotha and incense)

March 20 - Colonia Balsamica (lemon, Spanish moss, lavender, rosemary, jasmine, clary sage, freshly cut grass, vetiver, ginger, amber, basil, ylang ylang, petitgrain, musk, and grapefruit)

April 16 - Yuzu/Rose/Patchouli

June 18 - Fourth & Pine (neroli, lemon, bergamot, lavender, orange, petitgrain, grapefruit and yuzu)

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#134

Member
Austin, TX
hawns I am not up to speed on the Reddit dialogue but from reading these posts would like to say that I, too, support your branding ID.

The historical aspect of your product naming convention ties nicely into the nostalgic sense of what is really a retro activity.

My belief is that this creates greater brand affinity, not less.

Spoken as a former Marcom guy who now spends Marcom dollars vs. creates brands but still. Smile

New flavors look great!

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Kevin
#135

Member
South Saint Louis, MO
(02-23-2016, 07:38 PM)kwsher Wrote: hawns I am not up to speed on the Reddit dialogue but from reading these posts would like to say that I, too, support your branding ID.

The historical aspect of your product naming convention ties nicely into the nostalgic sense of what is really a retro activity.

My belief is that this creates greater brand affinity, not less.

Spoken as a former Marcom guy who now spends Marcom dollars vs. creates brands but still. Smile

New flavors look great!

Thanks Kevin! I also work in advertising and marketing, so it's extra great to hear that someone else from this world enjoys the brand. It's definitely part of the allure to be able to do some copywriting without having to worry about getting client approval, haha

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#136

Posting Freak
(02-23-2016, 08:29 PM)hawns Wrote:
(02-23-2016, 07:38 PM)kwsher Wrote: hawns I am not up to speed on the Reddit dialogue but from reading these posts would like to say that I, too, support your branding ID.

The historical aspect of your product naming convention ties nicely into the nostalgic sense of what is really a retro activity.

My belief is that this creates greater brand affinity, not less.

Spoken as a former Marcom guy who now spends Marcom dollars vs. creates brands but still. Smile

New flavors look great!

Thanks Kevin! I also work in advertising and marketing, so it's extra great to hear that someone else from this world enjoys the brand. It's definitely part of the allure to be able to do some copywriting without having to worry about getting client approval, haha

I think its weird that both hawns and kwsher work/worked in advertising/branding/marketing. While I didn't work in that area exclusively, I was responsible for all legal aspects of the branding, trademark, IP, copyright, social media etc for a medium sized energy company. I loved working with the creative people as they were far more interesting than the legal types. Ask a lawyer how something should be done and he'll ask you how its been done in the past and tell you that unless there is a good reason not to continue doing it that way, you should continue doing it that way. Boring.

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#137

Member
South Saint Louis, MO
(02-24-2016, 12:01 AM)Marko Wrote:
(02-23-2016, 08:29 PM)hawns Wrote:
(02-23-2016, 07:38 PM)kwsher Wrote: hawns I am not up to speed on the Reddit dialogue but from reading these posts would like to say that I, too, support your branding ID.

The historical aspect of your product naming convention ties nicely into the nostalgic sense of what is really a retro activity.

My belief is that this creates greater brand affinity, not less.

Spoken as a former Marcom guy who now spends Marcom dollars vs. creates brands but still. Smile

New flavors look great!

Thanks Kevin! I also work in advertising and marketing, so it's extra great to hear that someone else from this world enjoys the brand. It's definitely part of the allure to be able to do some copywriting without having to worry about getting client approval, haha

I think its weird that both hawns and kwsher work/worked in advertising/branding/marketing. While I didn't work in that area exclusively, I was responsible for all legal aspects of the branding, trademark, IP, copyright, social media etc for a medium sized energy company. I loved working with the creative people as they were far more interesting than the legal types. Ask a lawyer how something should be done and he'll ask you how its been done in the past and tell you that unless there is a good reason not to continue doing it that way, you should continue doing it that way. Boring.

Ha! That's too funny. Peas in a pod.

My similar experience is with engineers and scientists. We have a few scientifically focused clients. I spend a lot of time trying to soft sell NOT putting in every single spec and every single piece of minutia into the copy. I know that it's essential to what they are doing, and probably of the utmost importance. But, to the customer or the layperson, they're not going to get it. Gotta go with broad strokes!

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#138

Member
Virginia
Hi, do the splashes (aftershave and tonic) have flow limiter caps or just open top? Thanks.
#139

Posting Freak
(02-24-2016, 03:03 AM)gregcss Wrote: Hi, do the splashes (aftershave and tonic) have flow limiter caps or just open top? Thanks.

I can reply for hawns on this one and the answer is yes, even the samples have tiny flow restrictors on them. Its a nice bit of attention to detail that I totally appreciate. As much as I may like the product, I don't want a week's worth pouring out on my hand in one shot!
Mark

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#140

Posting Freak
(02-24-2016, 02:36 AM)hawns Wrote:
(02-24-2016, 12:01 AM)Marko Wrote:
(02-23-2016, 08:29 PM)hawns Wrote: Thanks Kevin! I also work in advertising and marketing, so it's extra great to hear that someone else from this world enjoys the brand. It's definitely part of the allure to be able to do some copywriting without having to worry about getting client approval, haha

I think its weird that both hawns  and kwsher work/worked in advertising/branding/marketing.  While I didn't work in that area exclusively, I was responsible for all legal aspects of the branding, trademark, IP, copyright, social media etc for a medium sized energy company.  I loved working with the creative people as they were far more interesting than the legal types.  Ask a lawyer how something should be done and he'll ask you how its been done in the past and tell you that unless there is a good reason not to continue doing it that way, you should continue doing it that way.  Boring.

Ha! That's too funny. Peas in a pod.

My similar experience is with engineers and scientists. We have a few scientifically focused clients. I spend a lot of time trying to soft sell NOT putting in every single spec and every single piece of minutia into the copy. I know that it's essential to what they are doing, and probably of the utmost importance. But, to the customer or the layperson, they're not going to get it. Gotta go with broad strokes!

Thats great! Working at an energy company its all engineers - mechanicals, chemicals and the earth scientists geologists and geophysicists . I joke that I was the company's english teacher. Don't get me wrong, I have a ton of respect for their skill and what they bring (so much so that my son is studying engineering) but communication is generally not their strong suit.

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