So, somehow I’d managed to completely forget that there’s a Whole Foods at Countryside Mall until recently when I ended up there for some reason or another. And after walking around the, honestly, rather aesthetically pleasing store, it got me thinking: is the reason the health food movement got so big just another example of marketing?

Well, yeah. I mean, obviously it is. Under the umbrella of the term “marketing” you will find every successful business/organization/group using it in some way or another. But it’s also different than any other type of marketing I talked about before…because it’s, dare I say, tinged with fear.

Because, while places like Nature’s Food Patch, and Whole Foods, and a lot of local mom and pop stores all offer high-grade, organic, natural food that does a lot for our community–I posit that half the reason we have so many of those kinds of stores lately is because we’re scared of our food.

And that’s part of a much bigger cultural problem, but just focusing on this one aspect, take a mental journey with me here. There was a time, and I’m going to leave it up to the reader to decide the exact length of it, where we assumed that all the food we were getting was perfectly fine to eat. That if the FDA let it through, and it was on our shelves and not spoiled, we were fine. We could eat it, chow down. No real risk.

I mean I wasn’t there, but I’d wager there was time where you wouldn’t even have a qualm with picking an apple directly off a random tree and eating it, when nowadays—no…just no. Bad plan.

And then, over time, we got these exposés, these documentaries, these sad stories of children getting diabetes, and in a flurry of online activity we attacked everyone. Parents, restaurants, the FDA, the government, Monsanto, GMO, literally anyone we could think of. And suddenly, and though they were there before, we found ourselves flocking in-mass to anything that we perceive to be healthier than the crap we found out most modern day food is.

So, this brings me to my point. While the majority of the appeal of health food and health food stores is it’s flavorful, more environmentally conscious, and–of course–healthier, we only discovered we wanted that when we found out most of what was available wasn’t all of those things.

Because on some level, however small, “organic” doesn’t just mean “good for me,” it means “not semi-edible poison.”

And whether they intended it or not, that’s a pretty effective way to get someone to buy a product.

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If you liked this article, you can read more of Brandon Scott’s work over at The Hive, or on his website: www.coolerbs.com.  

Where do I even begin? Years. I waited years for this. This rebirth. A green lightsaber toy–I’ve had since I was a child–held in my hand. A four-hour long wait in a line. Others, my friends, my fellow nerds, gathered at AMC Woodlands Square 20. Ready for something we’ve dreamed of, but never knew we could have. It was worth it. It was all worth it. The moment the song began, the song you know in your heart, we cheered and the world cheered.

For Star Wars…RETURNED!

And I won’t spoil anything major. I wouldn’t dare. I am not a member of the dark side. But know this: you must see it. All of you reading this, you must watch this film. Soon.

Now, it is unnecessary for me to state just how much of an effect the original Star Wars trilogy had on everything. It changed the world of cinema. So when they decided to bring it back, to continue the series so iconic that even though the last movie came out around ten years ago we are still talking about it, they were careful. They marketed it perfectly. They calculated exactly what we wanted: a return to form.

A return to the things that made Star Wars great, with new technology to show it, and yet keep to its heart. Practical effects, no more Jar Jar Binks, a focus on interesting characters, and action instead of politics. And it had that. All of that.

So, though your business is probably not Star Wars, I think the lesson, the takeaway, is one of respect for your public. To give it your all. To not change what works, and improve everything else. To keep to the heart, the purpose of whatever it is you create, market, or sell. Be it customer service, quality, efficiency, or even the light of the Force.

And may it be with you. Always.
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If you liked this article, you can read more of Brandon Scott’s work over at The Hive, or on his website: www.coolerbs.com.   

Starbucks, America’s guilty pleasure. No, not because there’s something wrong with the drinks—there’s not, at least to my knowledge. But because of how much we are willing to drink the stuff. In fact, you’re probably having one right now, as you’re reading this.  

And when you find people buying something in that bulk, you know there’s good marketing afoot. And while Starbucks is a prime example of many clever practices, today I’m focusing on their holiday specialty drinks.

You know the ones. I’ve seen the lines at the Starbucks on Cleveland street, we all get them—there’s no hiding it. And they are really good. I’m not even going to argue against that. They are sugary goodness in a red cup.

They’re also a prime example of one of marketer’s favorite techniques. Pop quiz: what is one of the basic rules of economics? Answer: supply and demand. And one of the easiest ways to make a demand for something–to make it have value–is to limit its supply.

And now we come back to the gingerbread latte. Available only during a small portion of the year, and not even guaranteed to come around next time. It creates a want, based on scarcity. Sure, you maybe craved the drink before, but it sure does make it more of a priority when you know it’s not around for long, doesn’t it?

It’s a time-tested method. Why do you think people still get excited about the McRib? Even Christmas sales to some level operate on the same principle, just to a lesser degree.

And, as a technique, it’s one that a company can do, easily. Simply create a product that is of high quality, known to be wanted by your client base, and then make it only available for a limited time.  Sure, you might not always get the reaction you want. But I think the aforementioned lines at Starbucks speak for themselves.
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If you liked this article, you can read more of Brandon Scott’s work over at The Hive, or on his website: www.coolerbs.com.   

Black Friday: A state holiday characterized by deals, sales, and a dollop of madness. Regardless of whether or not you participate in this sometimes insane tradition, it’s inescapable in the areas that celebrate it. Advertisements for it are abundant. Almost every store capable of having a sale, does. Even the ones strictly online get their due through the newer Cyber Monday. Black Friday is a day where the expectation is you, as a consumer, have to go out and buy, buy, buy.

And so, a lot of people do it. They observe the event. And the sales are usually quite good, so I don’t blame them. But it doesn’t change the fact that on that one day you can expect things to be crowded. Full of people. Sometimes dangerously so. I didn’t personally observe it this year, but I can only imagine the crowds in Countryside Mall. Or at the Best Buy on Gulf to Bay Blvd—considering a few years ago people camped outside it.

But here’s the interesting part: it’s a marketing and sales event. It’s not like Christmas, or Easter, or any of the other holidays with a deep history. It’s a relatively new thing—only existing in its current form since around the mid-1900’s.

And the reason for its success, I think, happens to be a great example of marketing. The keyword: promote. Never underestimate the power of simply letting people know about your products. Or in this case, your specialty sales. 

Because to my knowledge Black Friday wasn’t formally announced, there was no nationwide declaration of its existence. It was simply a day that people wanted to shop, had the opportunity to shop, and did so in mass. And then business capitalized on it, they made it broadly known, and they advertised it. Black Friday became a term, and in its wake millions in sales. Doorbusters that are almost literal in name.

So, though this year’s Black Friday is through. The next one will be coming around soon enough, and in the meantime, who knows what your business can accomplish with enough promotion.
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If you liked this article, you can read more of Brandon Scott’s work over at The Hive, or on his website: www.coolerbs.com.

The Suncoast Credit Union Florida Manatee Festival was recently honored for another year with the Chronicle’s Best of the Best Readers Choice Award for Local Events!  The Chamber appreciates all of the patrons who come out to support and enjoy this annual event that has been going on in downtown Crystal River for 28 years, along with all of the businesses, boat captains, craft artists, food vendors, performers and volunteers that allow us to put on such a great festival.

The Chamber is pleased to welcome Suncoast Credit Union as the title sponsor for this year's festival!

The Suncoast Credit Union Florida Manatee Festival is jointly produced by the Citrus County Chamber of Commerce and the Crystal River Rotary Club.  The 29^th annual event will be held January 16 – 17, 2016.  

• Named the 2014 and 2015  "Best of the Best" Local Event Winner by the Citrus County Chronicle. 
• This festival draws thousands of visitors annually to downtown Crystal River for island music, tasty treats and most notably--the manatees.  
• In 2013, CNN Lonely Planet’s editors named snorkeling with the manatees of Crystal River as one of "ten ultimate adventures"