The Marketing of Mistletoe.

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Nowadays, it’s common to go food shopping and see, for example, branded chicken…Perdue, Foster Farms. But there was a time when chicken was just plain old chicken. And Eggs were simply eggs, without red lettering boasting Eggland’s Best.

Will mistletoe be branded someday? Imagine going out to shop for that high quality sprig, available exclusively at Neiman Marcus because you’ve just got to have mistletoe by “King Pristine’s Romance Ranch”. And nope, the common stuff by “Joe & Sam” that Kmart is hawking isn’t going to provide the necessary element for that important kissing spot in your home.

So, what will we name the very first mistletoe brand? Since this plant originated in Europe, perhaps we’ll take that into account. While not native to America, there is a variety here, found from New Jersey to Florida and then to the west as far as Texas.

Mistletoe, besides serving as an item for locking lips under, apparently likes to “hug” too, and can actually harm the trees it grows on! Um, that makes it parasitic.
But wait! It gets even more romantic.

Mistletoe is poisonous. Don’t eat it; don’t let your kids eat it. The more minor symptom is a belly ache. No need to mention the rest.

And, it is toxic to cats, dogs and horses. Now it’s understandable why it’s traditionally hung up high.

So how did we come to start kissing under mistletoe in a doorway, anyway? Pick a story; Druids or Vikings or Greeks.

Britain, around 100 A.D. The Druids considered mistletoe to be a miracle drug of sorts and priests would ceremoniously cut mistletoe from trees either towards the end of the year or early in the new year for hanging in homes to keep evil spirits away. While cutting this sacred plant from the tree, care was taken so that the cuttings wouldn’t touch the ground.

Now the story takes a twist*.

Many sources say that the kissing tradition started in Scandinavia where mistletoe is considered to be the plant of peace. In Norse mythology, Frigga, the protective mother of Balder, cried tears that became mistletoe berries when her beloved son was killed by Loki from an arrow he made out of the wood from the plant.

Mistletoe was the only plant that could harm Balder, since Frigga had made sure that all other plants would not. Sadly, she didn’t approach mistletoe with her request. The arrow, once removed from Balder, was given to Freya, the goddess of love, and from these events the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe stemmed.

But what about the Greeks?  They associated mistletoe with fertility and originally included the plant in the festival of Saturnalia, and later with marriage rites.
More fuel for passion: Did you know that the name of this plant comes from the Anglo-Saxon words mistal and tan which translates to dung and twig? Gotta love that!

Ah, back to the naming of our new mistletoe brand. Let’s see, descriptors include kissing, parasitic tendencies, poison, dung, and twig. “Cupid’s Finest” or “Ding-a-ling-a-ding dung” won’t work. “Toxic Holiday Romance”. Nah; all of these are barking up the wrong tree. Okay, I’m stumped!  Sure glad I’m not representing mistletoe growers.

What would YOU name it?

Here’s a silly skit about mistletoe; click here.

Stop by and say hello on Facebook and Google+ !

*Note: found another completely different story as well!

The NGMR Top-5-Hot vs. Top-5-Not

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Okay. I’ve been asked to offer up my opinion and tell you what I think are the top 5 hot things in Market Research and what the top 5 not so hot things are.

But those who know me already know that I find it hard to follow the rules. To be forced to come up with ten things means I’ll probably have to write about things that I’m not 100% feeling from the heart.

So I won’t.

I WILL tell you the numero uno item that popped into my mind. It’s a little thing called social media. Let’s face it. It is changing the life of market researchers.

What’s the big difference? We don’t have to gather the data via a survey or a focus group and go through the tedious task of finding those people who are qualified to be a part of a study. We don’t have to code, clean and edit questionnaires, nor process the data in a cross-tab package. We don’t have to fly around the country spending endless late nights munching M&M’s behind a one-way mirror.

We have to do something that’s perhaps one of the hardest things for any human to do. Listen. What? Yes, we have listened in the past, but this is different. It’s sitting out there, on the internet. Right now. All we need to do is reach in and grab it. And it’s so easy to do so via a number of tools, or just running searches.

It’s not quantitative. It’s not exactly qualitative either but closer to it. It’s really a third area of market research. Drawbacks? Yes, indeed. The biggest drawback is that not much is none about the folks that are chattering out there, so it’s unknown if those people are truly the audience you want to hear from. But chances are if they are talking about a specific product or service, that they have either used that product or service or have considered it.

The big advantage to this newfangled social media research thang? Timeliness!  Perhaps the second biggest advantage: cost; down down down. And yes, it’s still data collection so time is involved.

So, if that’s the big news, what’s the not? Doesn’t something have to fall by the wayside? As our society travels more and more towards becoming a paperless society (yes, we are a long way off from that for sure), some things must yield. When was the last time you conducted a survey by mailing it? Surveys went digital. While it’s terrific to be easily able to survey online, unfortunately, anyone can do it. For free. Which poses a problem of sorts to market researchers as we fight for credibility (okay, it’s always been an issue, however, now everyone can be an “instant” researcher). This is a subject that requires a separate post, so don’t even get me started.

For now, I’d like to again focus on the one HOT item that is scorching my fingertips as I type this. Social Media Research. If you’re not in, jump in and start playing. Experiment on your own and run searches in Twitter and Facebook. Pick a timely subject (no, skip Charlie Sheen). See what you get! Eye popping, great information, up to the minute, honest, brutal at times, mostly useful feedback….and actionable.

Will “traditional” market research go away. No. Some clients will require something more concrete. Others will be more than pleased when you deliver a combination of both. Think about surprising your client with social media research, enhancing and perhaps further substantiating what traditional market research provides.

Evolution in Market Research is exciting…and good! And excuse me for not listing 10 items. I'm exhausted after writing about this one.