Wow! Okay. Here's the deal. It is no secret I am a publicist. I am proud to represent the businesses who trust in me to get the word out on their products. But I am here today as a consumer as well as a publicist to tell about my experience tonight.

I represent Tribal Moose BBQ Sauces. I have to be honest. I am not a huge BBQ fan. I don't go out of my way to eat at BBQ restaurants and don't use a lot of sauces like that when I cook. But as a publicist of Tribal Moose, I got a sample pack and I have to say I was really excited to try it.

Tonight (because where I live its already winter) I broiled boneless, skinless chicken breasts in my oven with steamed veggies and mashed potatoes. Good ol' comfort food. I put the Tribal Moose Spicy BBQ Sauce on half and Tribal Moose original in the others. Um. Can I say FANTASTIC???? I had a Spicy piece of chicken and it was flavored very well but I found I liked the sauce so well I put an additional amount on my plate to dip it in. Wonderful! My son had one of each and liked the Spicy best but liked dipping his broccoli in the original sauce!

It was amazingly good! From a girl who usually finds BBQ "okay" at best, I wanted to announce it to all of you that its worth having in your home, in your campers, in your tailgate and picnic kits! Don't leave home without it.

My son and I found ourselves discussing other uses for it. He admitted he was thinking something different at Thanksgiving might be fun. I agree. Though we like it hot, our guests may not. But we plan to baste our turkey this year with the Tribal Moose Original BBQ Sauce. If you know me at all, you know I don't mess around with my traditional dinner but I can hardly wait to do this. In fact, I have told my son to stay out of he Original Sauce until then so I am sure I have enough. The fact that it is infused with cranberries, this will be a perfect change to zing up my Thanksgiving turkey. I'll let you know how it is! In fact, I'll do you one better. Get a bottle and try it, too! We can compare recipes!

On another note, I have a huge family. No. I mean huge. Every Christmas I send a big package to my mother and I try to have something in it for everyone. As you can imagine, it gets expensive. I have two brothers who fish and hunt in SW Oregon. Guess what they are getting? I can't wait to send a bottle of this sauce off to them. I think they will have a great time adding it to fresh fish and game along with any other meats they may have. I think you will find prices are beyond resonable as well.

On yet one more note? I have seen a real movement in our country lately (I'll blog more about his later). Everyone is more socially aware and willing to help their fellow man. Did you know that every bottle of Cranberry Ketchup you buy from Tribal Moose, 100% of the proceeds go to the Salvation Army? As a publicist, you don't see that too often. Great products and a ketchup you can feel good about!

When you come up with a great recipe, pass it on to me! We love to hear your ideas! christy@tribalmoose.net!

Rethink the Gift Card

This came across my email today and I thought I'd share:

Holidays have rapidly devolved into what amounts to an exchange of cash. A gift card says nothing about the personality of the recipient -- but it says lots about the giver.

By

Liz Pulliam Weston

Gift cards are incredibly popular. They're also an oxymoron.
A gift, ideally, says, "I thought about you. I considered your likes and dislikes, your needs and wants, your dreams and desires, and found you this token of my esteem that I hope will delight you."

A gift card says, "There! Checked you off my list."

It's not just me that says so. Judith Martin, the doyenne of etiquette known to millions as

Miss Manners, dismisses gift certificates -- and, by extension, gift cards -- as "a pathetic compromise convenient to people who do not trust their judgment about selecting the right present for those whose tastes they ought to know."

Think about it. Would a lover, in the flush of romance, lean close to the object of his affection and present … a gift card? Would proud grandparents present the latest addition to the family with … a gift card? Would your best and closest friend, the one you've known for years, who's stuck with you through the roller-coaster ride of life, walk into your hospital room and give you … a gift card?

(If the answer to any of those questions is yes, by the way, you need to start hanging with a better class of people.)

Yet gift cards continue their relentless spread:
Last year, 74.3% of respondents surveyed told a National Retail Federation survey they planned to buy at least one gift card, up from 69.9% the year before.
Half of respondents (50.1%) said they would like to receive a gift card, up from 41.3% two years earlier.

The younger you are, the more likely you are to be delighted by a gift card: 82% of Americans under 44 said they appreciated receiving gift cards, according to a national survey by Coinstar, purveyor of coin-counting machines and gift cards.

The death of shame

Many young people are so enamored with gift cards, with being "empowered to make their own choices," as one retailer laughably put it, that they don't even realize what they're missing.
Older people might, but hey, they're busy, cards are convenient, so what's the harm?
The harm is that the art of gift-giving is quickly devolving into an entirely commercial exchange. How much longer until we simply start thrusting wads of dollar bills at each other?
Some people, apparently, would be delighted with that prospect. While researching party themes for my daughter's upcoming celebration, I stumbled across a posting by a woman who proudly included the horrifying words "monetary gifts would be much appreciated" on her 3 year-old child's invitations. She went on to explain that "I wanted money as gifts for my daughter's savings and for us to buy bigger toys, like a big kitchen and a Barbie Jeep that she wanted, instead of guests giving her small toys."

It's official. Shame is dead.

*A Note From the Blogger...

I think it depends on the gift card!

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Happy Fall!

The colors are changing and the air is cooler. Welcome all to fall! A new season, a new agenda a new time for goals and progress. What will yours be? As much as we may or may not be resisting, holiday season is fast approaching. How will your business promote it's services or products for the upcoming season? Have you thought about your marketing plan or approach or make the most of your holiday season? Start now. Don't wait. Have a plan. I see it all to often. The season sneaks up on us and we find ourselves in mid December thinking, "gee...I wish I would have...." Don't let yourselves get caught in that position where you are looking through hind site 20/20 vision. Can a website benefit your business? Of course it can! Enjoy the colors, dream big and design a plan. Need help? Call me.