ARO thread 3

[Thedom]

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

Maybe that's why Highgrove jam has sold out 😉

I agree with you. Who is the target audience here? My whole impression of H&M from the start has been confusion. They don't seem to have a clue about anything. Everything is a bit off and contrived. Their stuff goes viral, but not in a good way.

On the other hand, there is ARO UK. The world's most basic webpage, a link to the Trussell Trust and bang £15k raised in 2 days accompanied by positive messages. Viral in a good way. It would be interesting to compare how much the SS fans raise with their campaigns given how negative they have been about this.

What the ARO UK organisers did was such a good thing. They took something which was shallow and self serving and turned it into something which actually made a difference. I think that level of creativity and awareness is beyond H&M.

I'm just a little bemused that Harry and Meghan started out with lofty ideals and ambitions and have ended up making jam!

It looks like Forgiveness Permission has now raised more in 48 hours for a genuine charity from multiple donors around the globe, than Archewell ever did in a similar period of time.

It is clear why there has been so much support generated, not least because it is an opportunity to show respect and love for Princess Catherine and King Charles.

So has Meghan made this jam? Will she be making every single pot on offer once launched? Or is it made from fruit from their land? Or is it being mass produced in their name? So many questions!

I also feel that she’s missing a trick in not playing up on the American Riviera/California connections. Selling boujouis Pacific Ocean salt, fresh juices/smoothies or California poppy perfume would seem more authentic and relevant to her relaxed but luxury brand. She could even try her hand at wine considering her connection to Tiganello and previous wine recommendations, Californian wine is lush!

Strawberry jam just screams British and basic to me. I’m not a great cook but yesterday I tried my hand at making jam and I was successful (and it was a lot more inspiring than your plain run-of-the-mill strawberry, I made a lovely spiced apple jam 😋)

I think you're right, @Thedom . It does indicate support for the King and for Catherine, as well as being a very worthwhile cause.

I’ve just donated and so has Mr Morgan 😆

( I assume it’s really him)….

@Ineedwinenow 😂
Brilliant!

I think it might become clearer who her target audience is once the Netflix show airs.

But that's not how you launch a business. You want your brand identity to be crystal clear from the very start. This kind of confusion is terrible marketing strategy. The Netflix show has supposedly only started filming, so won't be streaming for months, so a drip drip launch at this stage seems silly, especially when there are no products for sale. It will only 'dilute' whatever the brand is and take away from the momentum.

There are people who are prepared to pay a bit extra for everyday things, that whole thing of upscaling your mundane life in little ways to sprinkle some gold dust on an otherwise very quotidian existence.

Sure. But plain old strawberry jam? With a wonky label, which doesn't tell us anything about its posh organic origins? And when people think of Meghan, do they really think of elite, high class luxury?

Their whole USP is being royal.
Having royal titles. Royal connections. Being at royal events.
As that dwindles, I'm not sure what their selling point would be?
Meghan seems to spend a lot of time posing in clothes. Maybe she wants to promote clothing lines?

The daily mail exposing where the filming is taking place, don’t particularly agree with that but this has to be the worst order of production ever. It’s still going to be months, maybe years and if there’s not much uptake or it’s ridiculed where does that leave ARO.

£15.5K as of typing raised for the Trussell Trust. The forelock tuggers have done themselves proud! I can't believe the SS would stoop to the levels they are to try to deprive people in need. Zero sense of humour. It really is a cult, imo.

Whatever she’s selling or producing will sell. There’s no doubt about that. Just with Harry’s book, it will sell in the bucket load.

When you think about it, who else could have a top page article on the DM because they are launching a jam? Literally ….jam. No one.

But it’s a double edged sword and with all the unearned publicity with comes the scrutiny. Which means if they find that the strawberries from the farm were picked by undocumented migrants….then it’s worldwide news. Or they haven’t paid a supplier, or someone got a bad batch….it will be all over the news and they won’t be able to recover. Also the more products she sells…the more she is opening herself up to failure. Cause you can bet your bottom Monticeito dollar that people will be looking for fault. Normal business aren’t under this much scrutiny but no other company would ever get this much exposure.

So it’s always going to be doomed because there’s too many that want it to fail

Whatever she’s selling or producing will sell. There’s no doubt about that. Just with Harry’s book, it will sell in the bucket load.

I think there's plenty of doubt about that.

Her podcast failed to attract a big audience after the initial curiosity. And that was free to listen to. The Invictus documentary on Netflix also didn't do very well.

Comparing it to 'Spare' is apples and oranges. That book sold well because it was full of royal insights. It was the first time a very high profile royal had written such a book. Of course it was going to be a best seller. Same with the Netflix 'documentary'. There is a market for royal dirt. But that is not at all the same thing as someone buying a plain pot of jam because it's got the duchess' name on it. And getting a lot of publicity is not the same as getting sales. Especially when that publicity is mostly mocking you.

Actually I think Meghan wanted her USP to be internationally empowering feminist producer who had moved above and beyond that awful Royal Family. But her podcast didn't do too well, she didn't get many impressive guests, and now that's been cancelled, as well as the Netflix problem - after their series about themselves, what have they got?

So she'll have to fall back on being royal. And cooking in someone else's kitchen. I imagine she'll have very worthy guests who will each make us one of their national/grandmother/women's group dishes.

I also think Harry's USP is very confused, because he's supposedly all about "ecological travel" while playing polo 🤔 and "mental health" while doing nothing to support that except the occasional speech.

I don't think necessarily people want them to fail, but they seem to overestimate their capabilities. Those titles do a lot of heavy lifting. I think they should stick to what they can do, rather than what other people do.

Good points, @Geebray . They are confused because they don't really have self awareness. The lifestyle doesn't match what they say.
Meghan seems to have literally become a trophy wife, I can't see how that's better than her life in the RF.

Blake Lively couldn't get her Preserve website and brand to make any money. She had to close it.

Marth Stewart rose to fame and success when there were no influencers, no competing websites, and no streaming services. Meghan will be launching into a very crowded market.

Goop has a niche, but it's doubtful how much money it actually makes. Turnover is not profit, and it wouldn't currently exist without investors.

Her target Audience is impressing people she wants to work or be associated with . A childrens book , podcasts, documentary and now jam and cookery , and all I got say is good luck trying to impress the impossibly unimpressed .

I think like Harry’s book, everyone wanted a slice. But then when the hype was over…that’s it. No more sales.

I think when it first launches they will deliberately have small batches so it sells out. But I also think long term the hype will wane and there will be too much scrutiny on the products. People will leave bad reviews, newspapers will talk to ‘sad face’ consumers about a late delivery. No company can deal with the amount of bad PR it will get.

Her best hope is the tv show but not filming in her own place is a bad sign. It will feel inauthentic.

She should have housed a tv kitchen in the little
cottage has at the end of her garden. That way it’s at her home but it would have been private from the rest

When you think about it, who else could have a top page article on the DM because they are launching a jam? Literally ….jam. No one.

It’s DM not the financial Times , all cast members of TOWIE got top page articles launching their products.

“Actually I think Meghan wanted her USP to be internationally empowering feminist producer who had moved above and beyond that awful Royal Family.”

She really doesn’t strike me as being a feminist. The way she has treated Catherine is shocking . She also seems to dump friends when they outlive their usefulness. Also why doesn’t she get involved more in DV charities for instance ? Both Camilla and Sophie champion very worthwhile causes yet most of their work goes unnoticed. I have met Sophie and she is very knowledgeable.
Why not keep her own name like Sophie Winkleman ? And does a strong, independent woman have to cling on to her husband wherever they go ?

I didn't say she was a feminist. I said she wanted it to be part of her USP - and I think she definitely does consider herself to be a feminist.

She wanted to rise far above the dull and limiting British Royal family. To be a global superstar. And now she's not selling jam, and filming a cooking show.

I’m not referencing the DM as ‘prestige’ but in reference to coverage and outreach. It isn’t FT readers that would be buying the jam now would it?

Towie members at best get the top placed at side bar, not the top news story