Basil-rific


Virgil Winston:
Marketing Guru

For those of you who missed it, my birthday was September 7th and my dear, lovely wife threw a little soiree to celebrate my successful passage into another year. She has always been a creative party giver and this one was no exception. Since we happened to have a bumper crop of fresh basil (our little plant that could has turned into a monster), Mrs. Winston decided to plan the party menu around the fragrant herb. She made a tasty appetizer with a lemon-basil dressing, put together a nice Caprese salad (our tomato plant is thriving), and created refreshing basil infused cocktails. And for dessert, basil olive oil cupcakes, which in spite of the odd sound ingredients were surprisingly delicious. The party was a huge success and everyone raved about the basil themed food and drink. It was a fun way to celebrate our flourishing garden and, since we had many of the ingredients on hand, the party didn’t break the bank.

The lesson today is simple: find a way to use what you have. It works when throwing a party and it works in marketing too. People will remember the party, not because I turned another year older, but because the theme was memorable. Lots of people have costume parties, but how many basil parties have you attended? You don’t have to spend a lot of money when marketing your business if you use the resources you have on hand. If your company has a surplus of goods, find away to turn the excess into success. You can donate the goods in the name of your business, throw a party or invent a new way to use an old product. So, think about what your company has to offer, or what you have a lot of in the storeroom and find a creative way to use what you already have to get the word out about your business. If my wife can create a whole party around one tiny little herb, think about how much you can do with the resources you have on hand. For example, we had a few hundred Zippo Grip It Twist pens (imprinted with my logo of course) lying around, so my wife topped the night off with parting gifts for all of our guests. I guarantee that when they use that pen, they will think of the fun, basil-rific evening spent at the Winston house.

Well, I’m off to the gym—getting older has motivated me to renew my membership—so I’ll leave you with this thought: “If you don’t use it, you lose it and if you use it, you’ll never lose.”