Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

How Do I Combine Cider Mill, Ice Cream, Bakery

Posted by jsurveya on 3/6/2010 at 10:04 PM ET 250 Points
How do I promote/market /identify my seasonal Paint Creek Cider Mill now adding an old fashioned ice cream parlour and baked goods? For example what do I say on 5,000 flyers to distribute in the surrounding subdivisions -
"Come visit the new Ice Cream Parlour and Bakery at the Paint Creek Cider Mill"- seems kind of long-winded or do I just give it a separate identiity with the Coming Soon "Paint Creek Ice Cream Parlour" or the "Paint Creek Bakery" located at the Cider Mill. I am really at a standstill trying to get this place open in May and just can't seem to come up with a game plan to put the whole name product packaging together. Or what do I put on the bottom of an ad with a headline - "Extreme Sundaes" with a picture of a delicious sundae in the middle and then what - Ice Cream Coming Soon to the Paint Creek Cider Mill? I can see the same thing at cider season - "come on out to the cider mill / ice cream parlour / bakery".? Help!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by wnelson on 3/6/2010 at 10:43 PM Member
    John,

    You are looking at the "features" of you offering versus the benefits and more importantly, the needs of your customers. You can serve cider, ice cream, and baked goods. Chances are, you are located away from Main Street and there are baked goods, ice cream closer than where people have to go for your establishment. People don't come to your Establishment for ice cream or baked goods. They come for the cider and the "tour" of how cider is made. They come for the nostalgia. Put "old fashion" in front of anything you do and that is consistent with the draw.

    Leading with mundane things like ice cream and baked goods will be counter-productive. Cider, an old "country store," crafts, home cooked meals, hand-made ice cream, grandma's baked goods - that's your brand. You're a Cider Mill and Old Fashion Country Store.

    I hope this helps.

    Wayde
  • Posted by HireHeather on 3/7/2010 at 12:12 AM Member
    Your goal has to be making people smell the carrot cake, cinnamon ice cream and hot apple cider when they read your ad/flyer. Make them dream about Christmas at Grandmas and a simpler (less stressful) time.

    Try to remember you aren't trying to tell people about your business as much as you're trying to make them want to be there. Yours isn't the type of place people rush into to grab a quick bite on the way home from the gym. It's the type of place they go to enjoy themselves... to treat themselves for having gone to the gym every day this month (and bring their friends to celebrate and share in the experience).

    You should also think about what the goal of your flyers is. You can't just tell them it's coming in May. They'll forget all about you by then. What do they do once they have the flyer? Sign up for a newsletter (in order to receive a coupon the week it opens or what have you)?

    I'd also think of hiring a professional. There's a lot to think about, especially if you're working on other aspects of the opening. If money's an issue (I know a venture like this is quite expensive), consider the fact that shopping around doesn't mean you're committed to it. Get a quote. If you just can't afford it, you can't. (But it's also probably worth the investment.)

    Truthfully, it sounds like something I'd love to work on. Even if you prefer to work with someone closer to home, I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd feel that way. If you'd like to chat, my website is www.hireheather.com (it isn't finished, but my contact info is there already). Or feel free to drop me a line if you need more info on hiring creative professionals in your area.

    Best of luck!

    Heather
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 3/7/2010 at 11:26 AM Member
    If this is your business (https://wdiv.cityvoter.com/paint-creek-cider-mill/biz/62156), why not capitalize on what people already say about you and explain your new services:

    More Than Just The Best Donuts & Cider In Michigan
    Now Serving Ice Cream & Baked Treats!
  • Posted by jsurveya on 3/7/2010 at 8:22 PM Author
    Wayde - yes that helps quite a bit
    Phil - I like the flyer concept
    Jay - yes that is it and we just recently took over the business that use to be only open 3 months a year in the fall.

    So you can imagine how much attention the identity and marketing will require. I just want to start out on the right foot and be able to give as much direction as possible to whoever does the copywriting and graphics on everything.

  • Posted by jsurveya on 3/8/2010 at 2:05 PM Author
    What about something similiar to this concept - www.zingermans.com
    Incredible business
  • Posted by wnelson on 3/8/2010 at 8:36 PM Member
    Zingermans is OK for an online store. A little too cluttered for my tastes. But OK - for ONLINE. They brand themselves as a nostalgic place to buy food. Order on line and they will send you stuff like you used to have when you were a kid. And the have LOTS of stuff! They tempt you by showing you all the stuff. You'll spend a bunch of time looking because chances are you arrived on their site because you were looking for something like what they sell. To go from exactly what you're looking for to spending more time looking around is not a big commitment.

    Your situation is different. You are a destination. People want to go to your place to go to your place, not because they are looking for cider or baked goods or ice cream. Even "homemade" isn't a draw - you can get all of your "products" someplace more convenient. "Homemade" is more unique than ice cream in a carton and baked goods in boxes from a big factory. But, there are plenty of businesses on "main street" that claim homemade. People from Chicago aren't coming to Paint Creek Cider Mill for "homemade cider, ice cream, and baked goods." They come there because of the environment. It's an old fashion working cider mill. Their kids can see how a cider will really works. They like the food in the restaurant. They like the stuff in the gift ship. They like the environment outside the mill. They like the smell of the apples and baked goods. They like the friendly old guy who gives a tour of the mill. They like the young lady dressed in period clothes who checks them out with a bright smile (with no piercings or tats). They like the music played in the store as they are shopping.

    Bottom line: You're selling and experience, not "stuff." People from Chicago can get stuff anywhere. Make your place about selling "stuff" and you will lose the uniqueness. Your market may increase in size because you are adding people who want "homemade," but your competition goes up dramatically.

    Better plan: Sell "the experience," not the "stuff." Then, build on your brand (the experience) by retailing the products in other outlets. Sell on the web and in the local town stores. Expand outward from there. People by "the stuff" to remember their experience there.

    That would be my recommendation. Figure out how to brand the experience with fliers and website. Build on there.

    Wayde
  • Posted by michael on 3/9/2010 at 8:59 AM Member
    Well I'm hooked. I'm in Detroit next week so I'll have to come in!

    It depends on if you're trying to create a whole new image (remember the "we're not your grandmother's cider mill"-type slogans?) or you want people to go back in time.

    Do you want to be a experience or a retailer? I'm thinking of something like "Get away..nearby"

    Michael
  • Posted by jsurveya on 3/9/2010 at 1:47 PM Author
    Michael, we are not open yet but come on out for a tour anyway!
  • Posted by jsurveya on 3/10/2010 at 9:12 PM Author
    Gotta create more of an experience than a retailier being couple miles outside of main street but still in heavy residential area.
  • Posted by wnelson on 3/10/2010 at 9:43 PM Member
    Yah, exacttly. An experience...but initially aimed at local and then extending outward. The timeframe of initially versus eventually has to do with the locality versus time. It will be less costly less time to find local people to buy into the experience than venturing outward to other areas.

    wayde
  • Posted by jsurveya on 3/10/2010 at 10:48 PM Author
    I got a bunch of teenagers ready to blast the immediate area with flyers and also going into one of those direct mail magazines targeting the local zip code.
    Just trying to work out all the details.
  • Posted by jsurveya on 3/15/2010 at 7:00 AM Author
    Any other thoughts?
  • Posted by wnelson on 3/15/2010 at 10:32 AM Accepted
    For everything you do - concentrate on the experience - as noted above. For activities you can do - here are a few thoughts.

    I wouldn't do direct mail magazines. Versus the direct mail magazines, it will cost you just $0.13 in postage and about $0.08 for sorting/stamping, etc to do a blanket of a zip code. for 10,000 residences, it would cost you $2100. The mail would go out:

    Resident
    Address
    City, MI Zip code

    You could send out a post card to each resident this way. If you don't know anyone who can help you with this blanket campaign, send me an email (found in my profile) and I will put you in touch with someone who can help you.

    Do a charity event at your facility. For instance, do a food drive and for each can of food, people get an ice cream cone.

    Get some PR - you're opening year round. That means you're employing more people. It also means you're bringing in more tourism. Write a release for your local paper. Invite county and/or city officials out to have a "ribbon cutting ceremony" for your new plans. Invite the press to attend.

    Have the place declared a historical landmark. More PR and also listings in historical landmark lists. You might get a state road sign for your landmark.

    Offer your cider as a fund-raising activity. In the fall, kids in activities - school proms, school musicals, booster and sports clubs, etc can sell gallons of cider. Offer the organization the cider at a discount so that the organizations can make some money.

    Have festivals. Invite local craftsmen to demonstrate their crafts - woodworking, quilting, etc. You can use this on the national front for advertising for tourists - send announcements to past visitors.

    Have a member's club. Offer discounts for sign-up and discounts for members. Gather emails and addresses and send out regular email newsletters telling everyone the event for that month. Highlight past events. Take pictures and publish them for the past month.

    Have a text club. Send out weekly or monthly cell phone text messages. This is great for Gen X and Gen Y patrons. (If you need a provider for this, I have one. Email me if interested. $50 to $450 per month - 100 to 2500 text messages per month. participation rate is 15% average. On average, if you have an offer that would net you more than $1.20 per offer, it pays for itself.).

    Look into local cable TV advertising. It's less expensive usually than a newspaper ad and more effective.

    Get a website.

    Those are some suggestions for you. Some of these actions are nearly free, some are not. Some are more effective than others. All need to be formulated into a integrated strategy versus a bunch of one-off random activities because 1+1=3 or 4 when you do it that way. If you have a budget and would like some help/guidance in working this, I'd be glad to discuss this with you.


    Wayde
  • Posted by jsurveya on 3/16/2010 at 9:39 PM Author
    Thanks for all contributions and will be back with more related questions.
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