ARO thread 3

[Thedom]

Couldn't resist opening it with this from the last thread 😁

what does it matter … if the jam is crap?

I don’t think I have ever heard something quite so ridiculous.

Of course it matters because if she wants to make money - it needs to be good so it will sell.

If word gets round it is crap, no one will buy it or, more importantly, keep buying it.

By your reckoning , she is clearly so special that she could get off with selling actual crap in a jar and as long as you can dress it up in a basket of lemons, send it to the dubious and get folk to roll about in a frock with it, it’ll still be a triumph.

It reads to me as if this jam was hand made by Meghan so it must be good? That's it? There is nothing about its credentials that people look for eg sustainability, organic, not harmful to the environment, low carbon footprint, water resources, loss of biodiversity etc which I think is important. It's important to know the source of this product but maybe that will come in time? I would imagine that the strawberries do come from the Central Valley as opposed to being hand watered by Meghan every day.

"Buy my jam, it's crap!" is certainly a novel marketing strategy. Maybe the wonky labels and crap jam are meant to be ironic and only those in the know (which obvs isn't us plebs) will get it.

I actually think she could have made a far more interesting proposition with luxury stationery. This would tie in with something she is good at as I understand she did calligraphy to put herself through acting school. It's got endless possibilites for high end products which could appeal to all sorts of people. And she certainly seems very passionate about it looking at the style for her monogram and logo for ARO and the tags she put on her jams all beautifully hand written. It's inoffensive and the sort of thing I imagine aristos of yore doing.
Maybe she could launch a course...Learn Calligraphy With the Duchess of Sussex.

H&M need to make money. I have no issue with that. It was obvious it would need to be via commercial means. I had hoped they wouldn't specifically use their titles to do so, but despite being told by their supporters they wouldn't, it's clear the titles are their only draw. So be it.

My criticisms in ARO is about the marketing. It makes no sense to me.

I was aware Meghan liked cooking - Harry banged on about her roast chicken, and she baked a banana bread.

What I would have done would have been to build up the cooking/baking/lifestyle aspect first. Jennifer Garner frequently posts funny clips on her IG of her cooking. She's clearly an enthusiastic amateur - but they showcase recipes, local (& homegrown produce), kitchen appliances (Kitchen Aid gifted her a personalised stand mixer). Jennifer doesn't sell anything btw - she just genuinely enjoys baking/cooking (esp Ina Garten recipes).

I think Meghan should have started with small videos of her pottering about in the kitchen/garden. Making her jam, using local/homegrown produce, using napkins/dog bowls/whatever ARO is going to sell.

Then after you have some background built up you can say - "here's the link to buy what you've seen, either the final product - the pot of jam, or the stuff you need to make it".

I'm assuming that's what she wants ARO to end up being, I would have started doing that.

If you are attempting to launch a high end brand, it very much matters if the labels are wonky. If you're going to pay a premium for a basic product you can buy on every high street, then the product has to be something special. As I said above, not only are the labels peeling off, there is no information whatsoever about the jam and why anyone should buy it. It's just very poor branding.

As for 'leaving it be', she sent this out to influencers with the aim of getting people talking about it. She doesn't want us to 'leave her be'.

This is what has been puzzling me too, from everything we have read about issues between Meghan and the royal household, everything former friends etc have said about her, every bit of information about her personality leads to the conclusion that she is a complete perfectionist and likes to retain control.

this launch or whatever you can call it, and the chaos surrounding it, is as far from perfection as it's possible to get. I can't imagine a hyper perfectionist, as she is portrayed to be, letting her product be photographed with a wonky label for example or a shadow appear in one of the publicity photographs (unless that was to deliberately make it look off the cuff).

i can't imagine anything that David Beckham, for example, put out into the world being launched in anything other that the most perfectly controlled and perfectionist manner. So where and how has this gone so wrong ?

I don't know why people keep saying they need to make money. Harry is worth tens of millions from inheritances alone, not to mention the interest generated annually plus the money from Spare, Netflix etc. They're doing all of this because Meghan wants to keep her profile as high as possible and make as much money from it as she possibly can, there's no 'need' involved. Most of the aristocracy live on far lower incomes, their fortunes invested in land and other illiquid assets to pass on to the next generation.

"Need" is relative. I agree that they could live a very comfortable life without earning another penny, but that's not what they want. They want to live in a 'sprawling mansion' in one of the most exclusive towns in California, wear designer clothes, travel by private jet. And I don't think they have enough money to sustain that lifestyle. Their big selling point was royal gossip and they've surely run out of material for that. So it's not obvious how they can earn serious money going forward.

He inherited a lot but their outgoings must be enormous. Just the cost of maintaining that mansion would be eye watering. You'd need to employ several people to look after it. Plus there's the security they surround themselves. Can they really afford to live like that forever without finding another source of revenue? They plunged themselves into this situation without thinking it through.

I agree @OhMargaret

I have had many conversations with my children over the years about the difference between 'need' and 'want'!

@JSMill they don't need to live like that though, they want to. Princess Eugenie and Jack Brookbank live a quiet life on the Algarve minding their own business presumably not necessitating chasing million dollar deals with Netflix.

imho Harry and Meghan vastly overrate their own importance.

Jeremy Clarkson is making jam apparently in the new series of Clarkson's Farm. Wonder if he's going to send out his first 50 jars nestled in baskets of mangel wurzels, to contacts who can be guaranteed to post highly piss-taking insta shots? I do hope so

As for 'leaving it be', she sent this out to influencers with the aim of getting people talking about it.

She wanted it talked about but didn't tell anyone what the message was supposed to be.

They plunged themselves into this situation without thinking it through.

First they thought they could bounce the Queen into agreeing to their half-in, half out plan. Then when she said No, Harry thought the Bank of Pa would cover his living expenses and the British taxpayer would pay for his security. And they've both said No.

This jammy influencers situation shows how right the Queen was.

I think that's a good shout

Taster calligraphy demos on the website, stationery for sale; fits in with stuff she's done before; and she can show that she's really doing it. And it hits a sweet spot of luxury output but something people can achieve at home (just like her)

I'm not sure that hawking jam on the internet is going to pay for a Montecito lifestyle

I said the same, IcedPurple, but writing as one who genuinely hoped this would lead to sometthing positive for them I'm not convinced it's really about marketing products/doing an actual job now ... more desperately trying to forge a connection to other rich and famous types with a better brand to sell so they can piggyback on them

Good luck with such as the Kardashians though; that doesn't seem a good way forward to me, unless "famous for being famous" is considered enough

The argument of why people are interested is strange, they are paying hand over fist for PR, they want to be talked about. Unfortunately this is also going to be negative as that what PR attracts, you just need to be sure you are gaining enough positive feedback, which I don’t think Meghan has done. As for being loaded, William gets 20 million from a billion pound asset. If Harry wants full security, the best education, a huge charity foundation with staff to match he needs some heavy equity. He already said Diana money is for the children. He has a decade max to do this before they become stale as the new generation of royals begin.

Re. the lack of content - I am launching my own consulting role, and I have prepared the draft of ten blog posts on the subject matter, plus shell emails, stationery, contracts, socials etc... in my spare time.

I've prepared business plans for investment before. This is all screaming botch job.

I agree with pp. This is a really poor pick as a business venture.

I actually think she could have made a far more interesting proposition with luxury stationery.

Taster calligraphy demos on the website,

I agree. She could have had a Californian theme, pushed the sustainability idea with locally sourced recycled materials, and given a platform to young artists and designers, all of which would be real selling points and topics for videos and podcasts.

That’s actually a really good idea.

They are already stale.

Loving how, when nobbled at an event, Chrissy mentions….

Flamingo Estate Honey.

I think Meghan hooked up with Harry because he offered her the chance to become a world famous woman with lots of clout. If she settled for a quiet life out of the public eye which they could definitely do, of what value is he in himself? He’s not great looking, he’s a whinger and he isn’t very clever. They have nothing in common apart from their kids. I think she would be very bored very quickly. In fact I suspect she is already bored.

If you wang on about having a “freakish attention to detail” and being “whip smart”, this is what happens. I have an Etsy shop for my hand made items, when I launched it in 2016 I can guarantee my packaging was thoroughly thought out and I had secured the domains too. All without an access to best business advisers.

It's from the Gerald Ratner School of Marketing Strategy.