A Maven is Ravin'

The marketing world is an interesting one. And, combine that with the blogosphere in which I reside, and it compounds that interest factor even more.

About two months ago, I was approached through Facebook by a woman in Los Angeles that has been reading my blog and wanted to talk to me. She works for a company called Brand About Town who has been hired by Method to create an interactive panel, or a social network, of people who are "connected" in their respective communities. In the marketing world, we call these people "social influencers."

Justine, my initial contact at Brand About Town, had been following my blog and thought I seemed like a person that could be "connected" to other women in my life, and thought this blog's personality and the topics I write about were a good fit. Hence, the introduction. She asked me to interview with another colleague, Jamie, while she was in Chicago. I went to the W Hotel (after doing my due diligence on what this was all about) and we had a lovely chat that confirmed a few suspicions I already had about the program.

First, Jamie was a gal that I could be friends with here in Chicago. We laughed, shared stories and found coincidences in our life. And, we both agreed that this type of "buzz marketing" was quite smart—me from an agency perspective, and her on behalf of her client—when the client didn't want to dump loads of money into traditional advertising media (i.e., commercials, print campaigns, etc.). Finally, we both were confident that Method's line of eco-friendly, non-toxic cleaning products lived up to their promise of helping women, namely, rethink cleaning.

I was on board. After sending a silly personal bio and a photo, I was officially deemed a "Method Maven." While the maven part may be a bit of a stretch (seeing as the defnition states it as "an expert or connoisseur") since I was fairly new to the product line, I was game to try.

So, Jamie and Justine sent me a really fancy welcome kit with products to try around my house. And, I have. I'm not here to sell you anything or tempt you into buying into anything, but just to share my experiences, as I do here every day. And, frankly, I'm not a paid spokesperson or anything like that (and there are no pyramids or creepy sales brochures in this program), so don't think anything is wonky here.

To the contrary, this was a straight up genius plan. Get women across the U.S. to host a party, sponsored by Method and produced by Brand About Town, and invite a group of friends. Show up on the designated evening with said women, and have fun. It's that simple.

Last night was our chance. Fifteen of my friends came and we conquered. The entire experience happens in what they call a "pop-up-shop," a temporary location with a store in the front and a "living room" in the back. The Chicago shop is centrally located in Lincoln Park on Halsted near Armitage. It is a fantastic little boutique store that is only open until mid-October. And, you'd never know it was temporary. Photos below will convince you of that.

But more importantly, we were treated like the special VIP guests for the evening. We were ushered in by the hostesses, offered wine or other beverages and asked to partake in the delicious heavy appetizers that were spread throughout the hip, modern and comfy space. We were then seated around a large high-top table where the demonstrations and "class" would be held. We ooohed and aaahed at the cute decor—most of which was made of eco-friendly or recycled materials such as wood, muslin, wicker, bamboo, etc., with a global feel—and settled in for the main event.

With the luxe curtains closed behind us, separating us from the front half of the shop, we began. Our "teacher" for the evening was the lovely Joan Morais, an aromatherapist from California. She led us as we made our own organic beauty products—a lip balm, a spa facial tea, and a bottle of deliciously scented bath salts. We all got to take part in the process, and take the goodies home with us when we left.

Joan also shared recipies, ideas and resources for how to make the items on our own, with other ingredients to our chosen tastes. She and her beautiful daughter Brittany were gracious and friendly, and taught us all quite a bit. I feel smarter and more green just having met them! I can email any of you the recipes she gave us if you just leave a comment with a request.

With my marketing hat on, I must say, the brand experience was solid, seamless, friendly and pleasant. We were invited as guests, hosted by the brand, and allowed to enjoy a very fun and girly evening at no expense. And, no pressure. On the way out, we were asked if we'd like to be a "brand advocate" for Method, and if so, would we opt-in for future communication. Yes? Great, here's a cute funky t-shirt in exchange. (It says "cleans like a mother" on it). This company sure knows how to make this easy.

And, as if that weren't enough loot, each guest was able to then pluck a eco-friendly reusable shopping tote back from the giving hands of the staff, and was excited to see the load. Each bag featured a full-size bottle of the surface cleaner, the toilet bowl cleaner, the hand soap and dish gel. Full size bottles! No trial sizes here. And, from a strictly aesthetic point of view, these bottles are WAY cuter than Scrubbing Bubbles any day.

Before departing, we all swung by the "cleaning confessional" photo booth. The booth printed two sets of the photo strips—one for you to keep, and one for you to hang on the booth wall with your "dirty little secret"—many of which said things like "I secretly love to iron." and "I brush my dog's teeth twice a week." and other silly things related to the brand's niche. Not that they urged us to do that—but it was just there.

Overall, I was honored to have been asked to host, excited to get to invite and expose fifteen great girls to such a fun experience, lucky to have met and worked with Joan, and thrilled to tote home even more fun Method products.

Photos of the escapades are below, including a capture at the bottom of all the loot (including the wire basket of lavender products they sent me in the welcome kit). I've not yet tried all of the items (a girl's gotta sleep!) but plan to scour the home in a non-toxic way as soon as I'm able.

If the hand soap is any indication, my entire condo will smell delightful when I'm through.

As any good Maven's should!




































































Thanks to the hip girls who made the Method "Detox Chicago" event a fun part of their week:

Brenna
Brittany
Caroline
Clare
Jenna
Jill
Katie
Kim
Kristen L.
Kristen M.
Laura
Libby
Nilsa (who wrote this cool post about the party)

Sharon
Tammy

Now, get cleaned up!