Keys Perspectives

Conversations about raising a boy, building a business, some cool tech stuff and life in the Florida Keys

Marketing Perspectives: Gift card mashups

P73

Home Depot changed how we did projects around our homes. This year they have introduced some cool new features to their e-gift cards. You can add a video to go along with the card and deliver it via email or Facebook. Surprised more merchants are not doing this.

Do you have someone on your holiday list this will fit? Thanks to @marketingpilgrim for the heads up.

Sunday's Mad Perspective ... Beware of Heroes ...

In 1965, Chilton, a small publishing house in Philadelphia, released Frank Herbert's Dune, which taught us all that we should beware of heroes....

Photo

Hope we all keep this in mind and rely on our own judgement given the zealots on the left and the right that seem to increasingly dominate culture and politics in the US and around the world. Those who believe that they are "ordained" to lead are truly dangerous. Check out this short clip from an interview done with Herbert late in his life:

Brands We Like... Vermont's Bag Balm

A while back, I picked up a case of plantar warts. They are stubborn buggers and numerous treatments have failed to beat them so far.  Most times they are just mildly annoying, but on a few occasions they have cracked and really caused discomfort. During one of these periods last year, I stopped by our local CVS looking to stock up on fresh doses of sialic acid.  Spent a few minutes getting guidance from the pharmacist. When I showed it to him, he said to hold off on the acid treatments and that he had just the thing.  He took me across the store and pulled a square green metal can off the shelf.  I was introduced to a great 100+ year old broduct from Vermont, Bag Balm.

Bag_balm
Bag Balm was invented over 100 years ago in Vermont to help dairy farmers deal with the effects of wind, cold, rain and snow on their livestock.  It has used the same branding and packaging for all that time. It is a wonderful American-made product.

Brands We Like: Matusalem Rum

A few years back I was down in Key West for a weekend and stopped in to one of the nicer places on Duval Street for a light dinner.  They had a small bar in the back that was quiet, so I decided to sit there for dinner.

My drink of choice since my divorce had been Gray Goose vodka martinis (OK, you don't have to ask why...), but since I had relocated to the Keys, I decided it was time to explore new things.   I am a big Hemingway fan and had tried a mojito before, but it never seemed to be "right" until I had one made with Havana Club.  Of course, that is pretty hard to get here in the States. I decided to try anyway and asked the bartender how good her mojito was.  She said "Trust me"...   How could I say no???

She brought out a bottle of Matusalem Clasico and said "I know you will really enjoy this...".   She put some sugar, lime juice and fresh mint in a glass, muddled it, added ice, the rum and some soda water.  I tried it and was hooked.

Two brothers who emigrated from Spain founded Matusalem & Co with a local partner in Santiago de Cuba in 1872.  They used the Solara system which had been developed to correctly age fine cognacs to make a unique rum. The name “Matusalem” was chosen to impart to connoisseurs a sense of the aging process necessary to achieve the rum’s unique flavors. It is from the popular Spanish proverb “Esto es mas viejo que Matusalem,” meaning “It’s older than Methuselah.” 

The brand operated in Cuba under family control until the Cuban Revolution in 1959.  Members of the family emigrated to the United States and re-established the company, but due to infighting, the brand languished for almost 40 years.  In 1997, Claudio Álvarez Salazar, great-grandson of one of the founders, gained control and returned the brand to its roots, making premium rums. Today they make three very unique spirits, Matusalem Clasico, Platino and Gran Reserva. The premium rum market has grown dramatically and there are a number of great brands competing for market leadership. Matusalem has been an aggressive and creative competitor in this market.  This video series they launched is lots of fun.

So before you fire up the grill this weekend, remember to stop by the store and pick up some cane sugar, fresh limes and mint, club soda and a bottle of Matusalem to add the 'spirit of Cuba" to your summer.