Public relations campaigns are integral to the success of every start-up, but none more so than enterprises based upon seasonal products. Whether it is Christmas, Easter, summer or winter, businesses in this sector require the necessary promotion to remind consumers of their services.
Featured in a New York Times article on wood grilling ahead of Memorial Day, two companies have illustrated the benefits of this approach. Both Lodge Cast Iron and SpitJack are mentioned in the piece, which gives advice to consumers about the experience of cooking food over hardwood before the US national holiday.
Recommended by the author of the article for its wide griddle, the manufacturer of cast iron cookware Lodge has now received national coverage for its extensive selection of goods. Readers of the NY Times were told in Grilling Over Wood as a Sweaty, Smokey Sport that its product "heats exceptionally well over an open flame" and that it is one of the essential tools for cooking over wood.
Lodge has been in business since 1896 and has previously profited from positive coverage in both Good Housekeeping and Fine Cooking magazines. The company has also recently appeared in Esquire, where its multi-purpose skillet was identified as the number one item that all men should own.
The other business mentioned was the start-up SpitJack, which provides affordable tools to enable consumers to enjoy the use of rotisserie and grilled meats at home. Located in Massachusetts and set up just five years ago, the barbeque specialist was advocated for its availability of Tuscan-style grills. This adds to the advertising received by the company after it featured in the food section of the Boston Globe, as well as the Gourmet and Garden Design publications.
Described as more of a sport than an art, the Argentinean method of cooking is particularly relevant during the summer months, when consumers are more likely to venture outdoors to eat. The flavour-building powers of an open fire were praised in the article, which can still be accessed on the newspaper's website, and techniques were offered to readers.
Adam Perry Lang, author of Serious Barbeque, told the NY Times: "A lot of people fear the flame. I tell them: Don't. Because the flavor is like nothing else."
This advice could be used as an analogy for the marketing methods of start-ups: the task of getting into the national press may appear insurmountable, yet the benefits are worth the effort.
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