BRAND STRATEGIST

Monday, July 29, 2013

Nesquik

J-Me, undercover as a Happiness Scientist

Private Preview Party @ Nesquik's Happiness Laboratory

Thursday June 20th 6-8pm 

Bunny (middle) Daniel Koch, Marketing Manager Nestle (right)
If Nesquik could create a feeling that they want you to have, it's happiness. Nesquik built a Happiness Laboratory to capture, create and share moments of happiness with you -by playing with bubbles (and lots of them). The Happiness Laboratory has existed for an undisclosed amount of time, yet this will be the confirmed first that they ever welcome any outsiders in. They were opening the doors to the public for four days so I crashed the preview party to see first-hand, before everyone else, what Bubbleverse was about. With this, Nesquik produced one of those moments that just stop you... when you can't simply help but smile.

J-Me bottom left (with signature hat apparently)
Delightful, whimsical, pure, charming, absurd and magical -brought to you by Nesquik. This is the story of what happens at the Happiness Laboratory: They say follow the line that speaks to you as you navigate around the bubble artist (many children's new dream job) as your able to freely play with bubbles outside in this made-up bubble park. You're then greeted at the entrance by a happiness scientist that asks you funny questions like when you last skipped (not work that is). You enter into this Willy Wonka-esque Laboratory where your given a rainbow lab coat, gloves and googles as another happiness scientist fills you in on the background of the lab. You're handed a beaker to infuse happy memories into it where they explain the science behind how bubbles are formed -from happy moments. You observe through glass doors another scientist with extreme levels of happiness handling liquids that are glowing within this enclosed room, then your led through a tunnel that brings you to...
Bubbleverse
Bubbleverse! Bubbleverse takes your whole surrounding and enters you into a world of bubbles. Imagine standing in a crazy blizzard but instead of snow it's bubbles (some filled with fog) and there are multi-colored strobe lights and it smells like... chocolate. That's Bubbleverse -and the second it was gone, you start to miss it. Here, have a Nesquik -to remembering those little moments of happiness. Then you receive a print-out to reminisce on a captured happy moment taken of you at the Happiness Laboratory.
Instagram instant print-outs





The wall of happiness
The walls within the Happiness Laboratory were used to record and share people's happiest moments... "Eating pasta with my hands in the park"... "Meeting my wife"... "Dancing under the full moon in the desert"... "The first time my son put a booger on my face" ... "Learning how to ride a bicycle"... "Bubbleverse!" 
Undeniably happy, thanks to Nesquik 
Cheers... To remembering those little moments of happiness, with Nesquik! 

CRASHED IT #71... Nestle Nesquik USA

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Guardsmen

Guardsmen Bachelor Auction
@ Ruby Skye
June 19th 7-10pm


J-Me (in middle)  Posse of Women (surrounding)
I crashed the Guardsmen Bachelor Auction at Ruby Skye because among 25 eligible bachelors, I knew it would be easy to round me up a posse of women (that's me in the middle). These women were ready to put out, money that is. It's for a good cause though and that's really why we're all here. The Guardsmen Bachelor Auction proceeds contribute to send 2,500 at-risk youth to outdoor education programs and provides scholarship support to more than 250 students at Bay Area private schools each year.

Another Guardsmen success story?... No

The bachelors were accompanied by some spectacular date packages which have included memorable experiences with private jets, cooking with celebrity chefs, helicopter tours of wine country and over-nights in the fantasy suite (although that part was not confirmed). I counted the ratio of women to men to be roughly 30.5 to 1, which makes it a huge untapped gold-mine for single straight guys, especially when they don't have a price tag. Yet somehow, over the years women have paid thousands of dollars to purchase a man for the day and have now gotten stuck with them for their entire lifetime. In it's 10th year of auctioning off men, they've actually come away with a few success stories. In 2005, Teola bought Matt on the open-market and he is now the father of their two children. In 2006, Chloe claimed Ken for the a date package to Sonoma and two years later they were hitched. Also that year, Michelle decided to attend on a last minute decision that would change her life forever, as that's where she met Jerry (Jerry's first and last Bachelor auction).
Bachelor: Jeff Tandaguen, Firefighter.

Bachelor: Connor Pritchard, Producer/Author




SOLD!



Keith L. McLane, Auctioneer 

The first bachelor that came out that evening was Jeff Tandaguen, the firefighter. The lady that originally claimed him ran away and Jeff had to be later re-bid (unless that was just a ploy to have his abs come out again). After Jeff, the Bachelors following were reluctant to take off their shirts. The man that I thought was the most impressive on stage was the Auctioneer Keith L. McLane so I tracked him down in the VIP section of VIP (it does exist). Keith is one of only eight auctioneers in California to have achieved the National Auctioneers Association's Benefit Auction Specialist (BAS) designation. Even before I knew such a thing existed, I could tell he'd had some experience in this fast-talking scene by the way he handled the bid-and-ditch situation.

Hypnotic's drunk schwag bag 

Hypnotic also popped up at the Bachelor auction that evening and targeted the ladies with their signature blue drinks, and handed me an assortment of items that had their logo on it. Strategy Suggestion: Don't just brand random items because you can. None of these schwag items had anything to do with Hypnotic alcohol (well maybe the underwear). Also, putting your logo across the front of sunglasses is asking people to never wear them in public. Your branded schwag is out of control right now Hypnotic -sober up.


Cheers... To the ladies that are willing to buy a guy for a "good cause"

CRASHED IT #70 Guardsmen Bachelor Auction!

Monday, July 15, 2013

Craft Spirits Carnival

SF Craft Spirits Carnival @ Fort Mason Center
June 15th & 16th 1-5pm 

I crashed the Craft Spirits Carnival in an attempt to figure out if it was possible not to be drunk within a grand selection of  over 100 handcrafted ultra-premium spirits of all tastes: Mezcal, Absinthe, Whiskey, Bourbon, Vodka, Grappa, and more. It's pretty much like wine tasting but with shots. This event felt like a carnival even without the circus being there, but to add onto this chaos there was an edgy Vaudville-style carnival spectacular (not your childhood carnival performers) including Hubba Hubba Burlesque, Molotov and Dixie Delish's wild rodeo routine, Mendo Project contemporary dance troupe, and Kara Nova the pole acrobat. 

Bulleit Neat




I was welcomed in with a Bulleit Neat, which is 1 1/3 Bulleit Bourbon enjoyed in a rocks glass. Bulleit Bourbon is produced with a high rye content and proprietary grains and yeasts -using this unique 175 year old recipe. It's aged not a drop less than six years. I'm no spirits judge, but I would describe Bulleit as "good" so I found someone that came up with a slightly more elaborate description than my one word (but very similar to what I was thinking). "Bulleit is a deep amber color with highly polished aromas of creamy vanilla, pickling spices, and buttery pralines. A delicate silky entry leads to a dry-yet-fruity medium-to-full body of honeyed grain, sweet baking spice, vanilla bean and pralines. Finishes with a long, rich fruity caramel, peppery spice and mineral accented fade. An elegant sipping or mixing bourbon." I was just impressed on the award winning bottle design that reflects elements of the Frontier Age, with a unique flask design, raised glass lettering and a cork stopper.


Strip
Strip and Go Bare, at least that's what Emily and Ben told me to do. They're changing the way we party by creating the first sparkling cocktail made with all-natural ingredients. Strip uses only high quality organic vodka and after more than 300 different formula variations, they flavor it with Eureka lemons, tart tahitian limes and a blend of Turkish apples (to give it a well-rounded finish). It's not sweet, and always smooth. They add in some bubbles and bottle it at 10% alcohol by volume. Because it's stripped of any additives or extra sugars, it's gluten-free and lower in calories than any other cocktails on the market right now. Relying on fresh fruit to flavor the drink, this organic sparkling citrus cocktail will have your body thanking you in the morning. 


When things started to get crazy
Julie Schaller. Butchers Daughter 
I had a meat and greet with Julie Schaller, The Butcher's Daughter (actually granddaughter) that is of "Schaller & Weber" the legendary German-American sausage and speciality meat company. Julie has been eating pigs tails and knuckles since she was a little girl and now carries on the tradition with a vintage street vendor cart. The Butcher's Daughter is available for private events and parties in SF to bring all the great meat products to many people who had never experienced some of the best in pates, cervelat, bockwurst, just to name a few. Julie, the third generation of Schallers, is using this mobile "meat boutique" to keep this authentic German deliciousness alive. 

Everyone falls... It's how you get up that matters most
CRASHED IT... To proving that you can't leave the Craft Spirits Carnival sober 

Monday, July 8, 2013

Second Glass

Wine Riot @ Concourse Exhibition Center
June 7th 7:00-11pm 
Tyler Balliet, Founder & President Second Glass


I crashed Wine Riot with my two new friends co-founders Tyler Balliet and Morgan First. One of my favorite wine events thus far, Tyler orchestrates this chaos to create a fun, entertaining atmosphere to learn about wine while his partner-in-crime Morgan is the organizer of the show. Together, they created Second Glass -an online resource for wine information geared toward the Millennials. They began with hosting small wine tastings and now the popular gatherings evolved into "Wine Riot" a weekend-long expo-style event with 40 exhibitors and a side of entertainment that includes a photo booth, a DJ and a ton of schwag. They also created an app that lets you track your favorite wines to show you where to buy them later, arming you for total wine domination.

Co-Founder & CEO, Morgan first



 Winery Sixteen 600, Sam (son of Phil) Coturri 


The first winery that stood out was Winery Sixteen 600, and this is the story of how it came to be. Thirty-five years ago Phil Coturri was challenged to take the organic farming practices he used in the garden and small vineyards and apply them to 10 acres of pinot noir, launching a career pioneering organic viticulture. Beyond the health and environmental benefits, organic farming allows the terroir of the vineyard to shine and now the grapes used for Winery Sixteen 600 are all certified organic or biodynamic. Nobody else in Sonoma Valley farms only unconventionally on the scale that Phil does, earning him the title of Sonoma's foremost organic grape grower. When I asked Phil what he would be doing if he wasn't in the wine business, Phil replied "The same thing -writing poetry, drinking wine, working in the garden, drinking wine, playing with words, drinking wine, watching tomatoes ripen, drinking wine, chasing thoughts blurred by wine, drinking wine, watching hawks go through pre nuptials, drinking wine, understanding a sense of place, drinking wine, chasing terrior, drinking wine." With that kind of drive and dedication, Phil Coturri (owner of Winery Sixteen 600) has proven that organic grapes simply make better wines.

Naked Grape Demo

While there, I crashed the Naked Grape Demo because they "bare it all". Although everyone seemed clothed there, Naked Grape says they're a wine with nothing to hide. You see, they believe that to make wine that tastes amazing you've got to focus on what's underneath the skin to reveal the true and unique flavors of each grape. In this case, Naked Grape is blended in such a way to remove complexity and make the wine more straightforward fruity. With this simplicity, it's a basic table wine with an utterly uncomplicated sipping experience and they claim with enough bottles you may end up naked (just like their grapes). 

Mangaria 
Mangaria is an alcoholic drink based off sangria or wine, originally coined by comedian/podcast/radio personality Adam Carolla. When Adam returned to the kitchen one day to top off his glass of red wine, he realized he was all out and ingeniously decided to fortify what was left in his glass with vodka. Realizing no significant change in the taste of the red wine, albeit with a stronger kick, MANgria was born. The males alternative to sangria with a 20.9% alcohol, Mangaria is combination of premium Napa red wine and all natural flavors. It has the smooth sweet aromas of plum cherry, blackberry, and orange. He also recently released a white version with peach and pear (clearly very manly flavors).


CRASHED IT... For the Millennials that appreciate a little riot with their wine.  

WINE RIOT,  my lift home