Pimp My Biz Diary - Submission #9

It's been about 45 days since we were announced winners of the "Pimp My Biz" contest. We have yet to speak to anyone about concrete plans on how to apply our winnings. A general meeting occurred but no specifics. Waiting....

Metro News was our first contact. Ian came to the milkspace - the training, drop-in and breastfeeding lounge above the milkface store, for a meeting and discussion on what Metro was going to do for us. I came in with a few prejudices about print media advertising having come from the real estate profession and did not expect much from the meeting or this element of the prize package. Ian blew me away and changed my views and made me anxious to put our plans in place. Again, this part of the prize was on hold until we had secured a new location for milkface's second Ottawa store but I was ready to go.

Ian mentioned that he knew of us already. He uses the street parking near our store often and passes by on occasion. He has even been in the store - not as a customer but as someone interested in what was going on in the cute little store with the pink door. He had been playing with marketing ideas for our store too. He never shared then or introduced himself as a marketing rep but, being the creative guy that he is, he was playing "what if I worked with them" and came up with some ideas. His ideas, now exposed to the light of day and our receptive ears, are exciting and impactful. Expectations are high on my end and practicing patience is difficult when I feel this way.

In he end we plan to lay low for the remainder of the year and revisit in January. We are given homework to determine, and document our typical customer and her attributes. Like many things at milkface this already exists but has never been put to paper. Britt and I take 5 minutes and put it down, add some material on business philosophy, business mandate and past marketing examples in an email package and send it off. He's impressed. We show that we know what we want. Now his brain is put to work to develop the campaign to make it happen.

More to come....