Hame Persaud Returns as Sabinsa’s Senior VP Sales and Marketing

Piscataway, NJ  (November 21, 2008)  — Hame Persaud has resumed his role as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Sabinsa Corporation, a manufacturer of high quality herbal extracts, cosmeceuticals, minerals and specialty fine chemicals, many supported by patents and clinical studies. He previously held that position from 2004 to 2006.

Hame will oversee sales activities and sales campaigns nationally and work with clients to introduce new ingredients and opportunities, as well as reinforcing the branded ingredients Sabinsa has to offer.

Company founder Dr. Majeed said “we welcome Hame back and look forward to his servicing our clients with the great talent and confidence he has always shown.”

“Sabinsa’s commitment to quality, innovation and science results in a stable of unparalleled products that it is a pleasure to represent,” Hame said. “I’m pleased to be resuming my relationships with our long time clients, and developing close working relationships with new customers.”

About Sabinsa Corporation:
Sabinsa Corporation, founded in 1988, is a manufacturer and supplier of herbal extracts, cosmeceuticals, minerals and specialty fine chemicals.

Sabinsa’s mission is to provide alternative and complementary natural products for human nutrition and well-being.  Over the past 20 years, Sabinsa has brought to market more than 100 standardized botanical extracts and privately funded several clinical studies in conjunction with prestigious institutions in support of these products.  With more than 80 scientists working full time conducting ongoing research both in India and the United States, Sabinsa continues to develop and patent phytonutrients for the world market.  All products intended for human consumption are certified Kosher, with some certified Halal. Please visit http://www.sabinsa.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:  Suzanne Shelton, The Shelton Group, Suzanne@SheltonGroupPR.com or 847-676-4337.

Jumping into the Abyss: The Cost and Rewards of Taking Creative Risks

By Jeff Hilton

I’m not one of those people who would jump out of a perfectly good airplane, though I’ve heard it’s quite a rush and it looks pretty fun. Skydiving is one of those things that, on the surface, appear very impulsive and spontaneous. But there’s a fair amount of planning and preparation that comes before leaping into the abyss. Kind of like when a company launches a new marketing campaign. All the planning and the people working to make it happen have to coordinate their efforts so everything goes off without a hitch. There’s you as the company—the jumper. Then there’s the parachute—your marketing campaign. And finally, the people that packed your chute—your creative team. But regardless of how well you have prepared, jumping can be scary.

So let’s suppose your outside or in-house creative team has presented something a little out of your comfort zone. You’re feeling lightheaded. Your palms are sweating. All those doubts and insecurities begin to bubble up and swirl around in your head. You’re thinking, “This is pretty risky. Can I do this?” And fear sets in.

One definition of fear is, “A powerful, unpleasant feeling of risk or danger, either real or imagined.” And it’s usually the imagined part—all the things that would most likely never happen that we obsess about—that leaves us paralyzed. Some like to call it “analysis paralysis.” In reality, that’s all perfectly normal. You’re investing a lot of time and money in your marketing. You deserve a positive return on your investment.

When collaborating on creative solutions to marketing challenges, here are some things you might consider:

1. Look before you leap. Great creative ideas come from lots of elbow grease mixed with a clear and measurable business goal. Sure, you may rub shoulders occasionally with some writers and art directors who have a reputation for being a little “different”. But as different as they may seem, if they’re really good, they understand that their survival depends on your survival. Truly great marketing is a delicate blend of art and commerce. So start by doing your homework. See what your competitors are up to. Think it through and get it all down on paper so everyone agrees and buys into the same strategic plan or approach. This will save both time and money.

2. Be open and flexible. You may think you need some print ads. Maybe a couple of radio spots. And a product brochure. That’s what everyone is doing, right? Not necessarily. Maybe you should be zagging when everyone else is zigging. There might even be more effective and less expensive ways to reach your customers, including social media or other guerilla tactics. And you could possibly stretch your dollars and reach your audience more frequently and in more salient ways.

3. Remember that you might not be the target audience. Don’t readily let your spouse, your kids, your employees, or even yourself shoot down a concept unless you are sure it has no potential appeal to your customer. If you’re having trouble with an idea, it may simply be that you’re not the target consumer. Look at your targets’ demographics, behaviors, interests, values, media habits, etc. It may help to refer back to primary or secondary research you have gathered over time about your audience.

4. Never underestimate the “Gut Instinct Factor.” Goose bumps can be either a strong indicator of greatness or a need for a light sweater. If you’ve got goose bumps and your gut tells you that you have a killer creative idea, then try not to over think it. You can’t measure spontaneous emotional response from behind a two-way focus group mirror. Sometimes you just have to go for it. On the other hand, don’t feel like you have to decide immediately on a concept if nothing feels right. If you need to sleep on it, then sleep on it.

5. Don’t overreact to “hate mail.” Inevitably a new campaign will launch and you’ll get a few nasty letters or emails bristling about the new direction of your ad campaign or package design. There’s a saying, “You’ll make yourself miserable trying to make everyone happy.” No doubt, there’s no pleasing everyone. Try not to react too quickly. It may be a handful of dissenters rather than an overwhelming majority. There are plenty of self-righteous, cantankerous letter writers out there that just need someone or something to take issue with.

6. Trust your team. If you’ve done your homework, you’ve chosen a good creative team with a strong balance between strategic and creative capabilities. Give them the benefit of the doubt; they’re trained professionals. If you picked a professional in another field like a lawyer, or a heart surgeon, you’d be less inclined to question them. Give your team the same respect and courtesy.

7. It’s a relationship thing. To follow the previous point, if you picked the right resource, there has already been an ongoing dialogue and collaboration throughout the process. They understand that your success is their success. And if you succeed, you’re bound to continue your commitment to marketing. That’s the win-win that makes these types of partnerships work.

8. If you say too much, you may say nothing. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then how can you communicate the features or benefits of your product with little or no words? We’re all inundated with information and stimuli on a daily basis. So your creative efforts may stand apart from the clutter by keeping it simple. If you try to shout ten different things, your audience may have a tough time hearing you (or remembering what you said). If you have a complicated product story, maybe you need to break it up by medium. You probably have a Web site that can do the heavy message lifting. Consider the medium and the context of your message and do what’s appropriate for each.

And if you absolutely must go to a long copy format, you’d better make it good. You’re asking a consumer for their time, and more of it than they would normally give. Get them to laugh. Get them to think. Get them to react. Producing good creative is a subtractive method. It’s about finding that perfect balance between taking enough away, while leaving enough so that the essence of the image remains. That’s what engages a reader or viewer.

9. Consider a different medium. Maybe there’s a better place to reach your audience “where they live.” Traditional advertising may not be the best place and may not be the best use of your money. Your audience may be oversaturated or traditional advertising may not be part of their everyday lives. There are endless, innovative ways to reach customers and no space is sacred anymore. Grocery carts, bathroom stalls, building artwork, coffee cup holders, elevators—pretty much anywhere in a person’s environment is a messaging opportunity.

So you’ve prepared well. You’ve found a good creative resource to pack your chute and you’re standing at the plane door with wind rushing all around and 5000 feet of nothing below you. You might have a few butterflies. So do even the most seasoned skydivers. There’s always that element of danger and risk, but it’s a calculated risk. Pushing yourself beyond your limits can be energizing too. If you give yourself some parameters in which to execute a creative idea, it can make the process seem a lot less daunting. It will give your creative partners the structure and latitude to put a balanced, strategic and creative concept together that will meet and hopefully exceed your expectations. Bombs away.

Adapted by the author from an article that originally appeared in Nutrition Industry Executive magazine.

Jeff Hilton
Partner, Co-Founder
Integrated Marketing Group
(801) 538-0777
www.imgbranding.com

Capitalizing on Opportunities in the LOHAS Marketplace

Jeff Hilton

By Jeff Hilton

If the acronym LOHAS does not mean anything to you, it should. Because whether you are aware of it or not, this unique and rapidly expanding group of consumers is already having an impact on your business and most likely the sales of your products and services.

LOHAS stands for Lifestyles of Health & Sustainability, and is the acronym for a psychographically defined group of U.S. consumers also called Cultural Creatives. They were first identified by a social researcher named Paul Ray, who isolated this group as he explored the changing cultural values of America during the 1990’s. Since that time, other research groups including the Natural Marketing Institute have validated their unique attitudes, behaviors and buying power. This group is relevant to you because they number some 70 million Americans, representing 35% of the population and a $230 billion market for goods and services.

This unique market segment is difficult to define demographically, but they do tend to be female, mid-40’s, above-average household income and well educated. They are better defined in terms of how they think, shop and consume media. They are very attuned to global issues of peace, fair trade, and a sustainable environment and economy. They dislike materialism and hedonism. They distrust the media. They are attracted to alternative healthcare and natural solutions. They enjoy foreign travel and cultures. They distrust big business and seek to build the power of individuals through spiritual growth and personal development.

In marketing terms, this translates to an important tenet. Cultural Creatives buy with their hearts as well as their heads. It is not enough to convince them … they must also believe in what you are saying and selling. They speak with their checkbooks. They support companies who are making a discernable difference in the world. Not every company will be able to connect with these demanding consumers; but those who do will often have a loyal customer for life.

And they do buy. These are the primary consumers of natural and organic products, eco-travel, holistic and alternative health care, values-based investment services, personal development books and workshops, and anything to do with art or culture.

Cultural Creatives have unique media habits. They watch less TV than other Americans. They listen to more radio. They read magazines specific to their values and interests, and don’t spend much time surfing the Internet.

Cultural Creatives love food. They like to eat out. They enjoy gourmet and ethnic cooking with friends. They like healthy cuisine, but not if it represents self-denial.

Cultural Creatives are technology moderates. They use the Internet as a resource to get information they need, but don’t spend leisure time surfing or chatting. They do use e-mail to communicate with others that share their values.

Cultural Creatives are experiential. They drive the “experience” industry. They prefer to purchase experiences rather than things. Those experiences might include weekend workshops, yoga retreats, eco-tourism and spiritual gatherings.

Cultural Creatives are not “new age” and they resent that label.

So the question arises, how does a manufacturer or supplier sell to this type of consumer? Let me offer seven guidelines to connecting with and influencing this important market segment.

Build Relationships. Cultural Creatives don’t like to be treated like a walking wallet. They want to see the retailers and manufacturers of the goods and services they use as allies in their cause. They will be loyal, long-term brand advocates if treated correctly.

Avoid Manipulative Marketing. The classic selling techniques don’t work with this consumer. They can detect them a mile away and do their best to avoid them. In the same manner, traditional advertising violates their preferred cognitive style, which is whole process stories rather than pre-manufactured snippets of information.

Appeal to their Values. Cultural Creatives see the world differently than their counterparts. You need to let them know that you are on their side; that you are helping their vision to come true. Any company that talks the values but doesn’t make good on them will be detected and destroyed (figuratively speaking). But the point is to be involved in a good cause, and to be remembered as the company that is doing good.

Make Authenticity Your Middle Name. The Cultural Creatives prefer high integrity to smoke and mirrors. Companies must demonstrate that they are trustworthy and genuine. You must give these customers person-to-person contact whenever possible. Remember that these are the people leading the rebellion against any product that is plastic, fake, faddish or poorly made.

Respect Quality. Cultural Creatives are information junkies. They rarely make impulse purchases. They do their homework, and their lifestyle and values are key considerations when making big-ticket purchases. Successful manufacturers will offer products and services that offer real social, cultural, spiritual and psychological depth.

Tell a Story. Cultural Creatives want to know how you developed your product, the processes and systems it took to make it, and why their lives will be better for buying it. You can even tell them what happens when they’re done with it. These consumers don’t respond to slick marketing. They will respond to real life experiences told well.

Make the Business Transparent. Cultural Creatives want to know who you are and what makes your company tick. They want to see the true personality of your organization. Don’t be afraid to open up. Make your sourcing and manufacturing practices accessible to them. Let your employees tell what it’s like to work for your company. Establish credibility by letting the consumer look in.

The LOHAS market segment is vital and growing and is worth understanding and considering if you haven’t already done so. Hopefully, these ideas will help get you on the road to improved and more persuasive communication with this unique market segment. It may require some re-inventing of your habitual marketing approaches, but that may also translate into both increased sales and market share.

Adapted by the author from an article that originally appeared in Nutrition Industry Executive magazine.

ABOUT JEFF HILTON: Jeff Hilton is partner and co-founder of Integrated Marketing Group (IMG), www.imgbranding.com, a marketing and brand consultancy created to optimize all aspects of marketing communications including: corporate identity, advertising, public relations, internet marketing, research, packaging, merchandising, sales promotion, educational programs, trade show presence and direct marketing. Hilton has been recognized by Advertising Age as one of America’s Top 100 Marketers and has more than 28 years of broad-based business experience, including 18 years spent within the natural products industry. To contact Jeff, call Integrated Marketing Group (801) 538-0777.

Vitamins C and E: What the Science Really Shows

 By James J. Gormley

 Howard Sesso and his Harvard colleagues have just come out with their PHS II paper,  “Vitamins E and C in the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Men: The Physicians’  Health Study II Randomized Controlled Trial” (JAMA 300[18]:2123-2133, 2008)

 

There is even a video in which a couple of the researchers are interviewed (http://pubs.ama-assn.org/media/2008jer/1109.dtl#vnrscript ). Suffice it to say that it is likely that mainstream media shall have a field day with this paper, regardless of what it says … and what it does not say.

 

In reference to what PHS II does say — and these are statements that will likely go unacknowledged by most media in the next few weeks — Sesso and colleagues  themselves state:

 

“Moreover, results in PHS II did not corroborate the significant 24% reduction in cardiovascular death or the significant 26% reduction in major cardiovascular events among women aged 65 years or older in the Women’s Health Study.

 

In addition, the putative increase in hemorrhagic stroke attributed to vitamin E in PHS II, was, according to Sesso and colleagues, “not observed in other primary [de Gaetanoa, 2001; Lee, 2005] and secondary [GISSI, 1999; Yusuf, 2000; Lonn, 2005; Cook, 2007] prevention trials testing individual vitamin E supplement use.”

 

It is doubtful that these observations will make it into most coverage, however.

 

What does the established body of research on vitamins C and E really show? A wide body of scientific evidence has established that taking antioxidant supplements — including vitamins C and E, beta carotene, selenium and zinc — can help reduce the risk of chronic disease.

 

That being said, we know that antioxidant supplements (and supplements, in general) are not magic bullets, but they can be an important complement to a healthful diet.

 

A number of landmark epidemiological studies have, in fact, established that vitamin E supplementation reduces cardiovascular disease progression and reduces mortality.

 

In the Cambridge Heart Antioxidant Study (CHAOS) (Lancet, 1996), investigators wanted to see if supplementation with 400 or 800 I.U. of vitamin E for roughly 510 days would reduce risk for myocardial infarction (MI) and cardiovascular death in 1,035 patients with ischemic heart disease (967 more received a placebo). The findings were that high-dose vitamin E supplementation significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular death and non-fatal MI.

 

In a study by Boaz et al. (Lancet, 2000), hemodialysis patients with cardiovascular disease (aged 40 to 75 years) received either 800 I.U./day of vitamin E or a placebo for approximately 519 days. The results? There was a significant decrease in cardiovascular disease (endpoints) and myocardial infarction.

 

In another study from 2000 (Salonen et al., J Int Med), a combined supplement of both vitamin E and slow-release vitamin C reduced the progression of atherosclerosis in men by 74 percent over a three-year period of supplementation.

 

In the Nurses’ Health Study (Stampfer, 1993) of 87,000 female nurses over eight years, among the 13 percent of women who regularly used vitamin E supplements (of at least 100 I.U. per day), there was a 31 percent reduction in relative risk for nonfatal myocardial infarction and death from cardiovascular disease compared with women who did not take vitamin E.

 

In a study by Rimm (1993), in which 39,000 male health professionals were studied for four years, 17 percent of the men took vitamin E supplements. Of those who took the highest doses (median of 419 I.U. per day) had a 40 percent reduction in the relative risk for nonfatal myocardial infarction or death from coronary hearth disease.

 

That’s what the science really shows. While every study, even those with null results, can contribute to the body of knowledge regarding nutritional supplementation and prevention of chronic or acute disease, it is always unfortunate when studies produce anomalous findings that contradict the already well established evidence that antioxidant vitamins are critical for health promotion, disease prevention and treatment.

AHPA Opens Nominations for 2009 Industry Awards

October 30, 2008 — The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) is seeking nominations for its 2009 AHPA Awards. These annual awards, launched in 2006, acknowledge individuals and organizations who make substantive, positive contributions to the herbal products industry.

The AHPA Awards will be presented at the annual AHPA Member Breakfast Meeting on March 5, 2009, in Anaheim, California.

“The AHPA Awards recognize the efforts of those who are working to move the industry forward,” said AHPA President Michael McGuffin. “The active and committed volunteers who help AHPA to fulfill its mission affect the industry as a whole, while those who produce and research herbal products have a positive impact not only on this industry, but on the health and well-being of many consumers.”

The AHPA Award categories are:

• Herbal Hero — Individuals who make outstanding contributions to AHPA committees or initiatives. Nominees must be employed by an AHPA member company.
• Herbal Industry Leader — Companies that set an example of outstanding business practices or organizations that work to move the industry forward above and beyond normal business practices. Nominees must be members of AHPA.
• Herbal Insight Award — Individuals or non-commercial organizations that have a significant impact on furthering knowledge and understanding of botanicals and their uses. Nominees need not be associated with an AHPA member company.

Previous AHPA Awards honorees are:

• Anthony Young, Esq. – 2008 Herbal Hero
• Beth Lambert — 2007 Herbal Hero
• Staci Eisner — 2006 Herbal Hero
• Herb Pharm – 2008 Herbal Industry Leader
• Traditional Medicinals — 2007 Herbal Industry Leader
• Nature’s Way Products, Inc. — 2006 Herbal Industry Leader
• Steven Foster – 2008 Herbal Insight Award
• Stephen Straus, M.D. – 2008 Herbal Insight Award
• Joseph Betz, Ph.D. — 2007 Herbal Insight Award
• Norman R. Farnsworth, Ph.D. — 2006 Herbal Research Award

Nominations must be made by AHPA members, using the online form (http://www.ahpa.org/Portals/0/members/09_AHPAawardNomination.pdf).

Nominations must be made by an outside party, preferably with an objective perspective on how the candidate has stood out in the community.