ARO update

[Sunblessed]

At the end of August, there was a partial rejection of the ARO trademark because of the name and descriptions. Also issues with the logo.
They had 3 months to rectify, which you would think would be ample time.

But just a few days before the deadline, an extension has been applied for. Which would be another 3 months

So it’s obviously not an easy fix, I’m sure there have been countless people working to get this done and they have months! Yet they’ve not been able to sort it.

Seemingly, you are only allowed one extension. This would take her to the end of February. So pretty much a year since she’s launched and it’s no further forward, if anything she’s in a worse position. What a disaster.

No worries.

Humble pie in various options, allergen free, veggie, vegan and original.

And some kind of advertising promo dance / song apologising. Make it a bit grotesque, be truly sorry, wipe the slate clean and start again grass roots up. Maybe the pies can be truly scrumptious and them truly sorry.

from their sources to People.

@BettyBlueSky How do you know that pictures were taken and going to be printed If they were never printed and no one attested to it?

Because they were fully discussed in all the newspaper stories related to it. I think some very grainy photos might even have been published.

In those kind of stories the behaviour is admitted but the PR spin is then added to give favourable coverage (ie. going to a rehab centre for half an hour = taking responsibility).

This is standard.

Lifestyle blogs are very last decade. It's all happening on social media now, and Meghan doesn't have a presence there.

Other than hinting that they've got some inside information and making snide comments about others, the posters who think this purported brand is going to be a success haven't given any indication as to why this should be so. Simply being a Duchess isn't enough to be a success in a highly competitive market.

I think she should open a physical location too. An actual orchard people can visit.

I think the issue with Meghan and cooking/lifestyle is that no one really associates her with those things.

The Tig was travel, eating out, bit of fashion, hotels, socialising. Light and frothy and great angles and photos, little snippets of a minor celeb lifestyle.

For an actual cookery, lifestyle brand to successfully launch we need to know this is "their life."

Meghan keeps saying she's a great cook but we've never seen evidence of this.

I thought we'd see little snippets and teasers on her new IG. Her cooking, some recipes, looking at ingredients, snippets of tableware at dinner parties etc.

Things that make you look and think "that looks nice, wonder where she got that, looks tasty, bet I could make that, or I'd be willing to try that recipe". That builds an audience and establishes your credentials in that area.

Jennifer Garner did it organically on her IG with her posting snippets of her successes (& failures) in the kitchen. Kitchen Aid started working with her, and she's never taken it further but she does now have an established audience as an amateur home baker.

Meghan has had nearly a full year to build her credentials and she's just allowed her IG to stagnate.

Edit - spelling. I hope ARO or whatever is a success for her because I think she needs a positive in order to move on, otherwise she's just stuck in a pretty negative post-Royal Family rut (that they both created).

Lifestyle blogs are very last decade. It's all happening on social media now, and Meghan doesn't have a presence there.

Exactly, and it's not even Instagram now, it's TikTok. We queued for ages on the street to get a burger from Supernova burger, because my DD's had seen it on TikTok, then another day at some buffalo wings place, another TikTok sensation.

I guess M is going for the older middle class crowd, but nonetheless a rehash of The Tig would not be the place to make any dent in brand recognition let alone garner sales..

You aren’t wrong 💯. I saw a cheeky attempt from Mindy Kaling not too long ago but Meghan isn’t established like that in the publics mind. She has a lot of work to do.

Jennifer Garners home tour is another example, her garden/orchard was lush. It’s the sort of thing Meghan can do. Even Pamela Anderson has established herself as a gardener/cooking type.

The older middle class crowd tend to be pretty discerning however. And there are so many established brands competing for their money.

What does a woman whose main claim to fame is marriage to a prince have to offer to that demographic? As someone who is a part of it, I just don't see it.

I think people would look out of curiosity and sheer bombardment of coverage (whether it be mockery or adulation) from the media

If they see something good, they are likely to stick around and pass it along. Meghan will always have a head start because of the attention, she just needs to keep it.

Why didn’t Meghan record her lifestyle show in her own house ?

I disagree. Simply getting 'attention' might get clicks on gossip sites, but it isn't enough to make people put their hands in their pockets and buy what you are selling. Certainly not on a sustainable basis. If it was, her podcasts would have got great ratings and Spotify would have renewed.

Also, she's going to have to prioritise the American market as I just don't see people paying postage and customs fees for a jar of boiled fruit from California. Is the general public in America really so fascinated by a woman they didn't know about until she married a British prince? If they're after 'celebrity' lifestyle brands, there are so many to choose from. Other than 'attention', what does Meghan bring to the field?

People are fascinated enough to sell out a cardigan and bag (in recent memory) because she wore it. Same with Kate. I can’t speak to the psychology or amount of people who would but interest is enough for people to spend. I see it all the time.

Charles currently sells and sold all kinds of things as Prince of Wales 🤷🏽‍♀️

Maybe she didn’t want the kids routines disturbed. Camera crew in and out of the house etc

How much stock was there of this 'cardigan and bag'? What objective evidence is there that they 'sold out' simply because she wore them?

Your comment about Charles is odd and irrelevant. It's not like the King has a 'celebrity' brand that he's personally profitting from. You've still not made a case for why you think this purported brand, if it ever materialises, is going to be a success.

Meghan has had nearly a full year to build her credentials and she's just allowed her IG to stagnate.

I'd go further and say that she has had 5 years to build her credentials. That's the length of time she's had to build a 'post royal' brand. Instead, it's been hopelessly muddled.

She could have used the enforced hiatus of Covid to get her brand started, maybe posting cooking videos or other 'homey' stuff on social media. She could have done some podcasts in that vein, instead of that dull dated 'Archetypes'. As you say, the people who have made a success in that field have all put in the work of establishing a brand. Meghan hasn't. She's primarily known for marrying a prince and bitching about his family. Not the best background for a home focussed lifestyle brand.

Enough for the owner of cesta collective to write Meghan a thank you note. They aren’t the first to talk about Meghans effect on their sales. That’s exactly what the King does, sell on the brand of royalty. I don’t have to make a case for Meghan, she either will or she won’t. I’m thinking she will 🤷🏽‍♀️

Just to expand a bit on what I meant!

The blogging would be on the website - adding content, building a more coherent whole (at the moment its a bit scattergun).

Then you use that same content on other platforms (all those which you think your target consumer is handing out on). You employ a social media manager to take the website/blog content and package it for each and every other platform, and then interact as appropriate with those who like/comment on it (and provide feedback on what's going down well to inform future decisions on what content) and to tag/link/SEO it in ways that maximise the numbers who see it.

Meghan was excited in November 2023 about things on the slate for early 2024, soft launch of ARO in 2024. Difficult to see the strategy in leaving the online presence apparently unattended in all the months that followed (opportunity wasted to build M's reputation/credibility?). Apparently new timetabling - recentish puff piece saying early 2025.

If that timeline is indeed the correct one, what sort of momentum building would be normal for a venture of this sort? When would it become noticeable?

At the end of the day MM is unrelateable and her efforts to make herself relatable make her look even more unrelateable. She doesn't come across as authentic or genuine in interviews, she appears to be condescending and a know it all and to most people who are aware of her, she is unlikeable. I don't think a scripted reality show will help rehabilitate that image of her.

Even her own husband has had to diversify away from her in an effort to reignite some credibility in his own pursuits and interests.

To you, you don’t like her, which is perfectly fine.

The fact is there are people who will buy clothes, shoes and bags just because she wore them.

There will be people who buy her jam because she makes them.

Pretending that what you feel is universal and all consuming does not wash.

I'm sure that twee 'thank you note' was entirely unprompted by Meghan!

Cesta is a fairly small brand. If Meghan really moved product, she'd be signed up with a much bigger brand by now.

And your point about the King is still silly. He's not personally profitting from the brand, and the Duchy Originals line has been around for ages, with a tangible connection to the estates. As regards the 'brand of royalty' Charles is an actual King. Meghan, by contrast, was a working royal for a very short period 5 years ago. She's unlikely to be seen at a major royal event again. If she wanted to sell the 'brand of royalty' then she's royally messed that up.

There will be people who buy her jam because she makes them.

You really think she's going to be personally 'making' jam?

If so, she'll need the premises to undergo stringent health inspections.

And do you really think she's going to build a sustainable business selling a very basic cheap product that can be bought in any supermarket?

Saying that any critique of this purported business is 'just because you don't like her' is childish and silly.

You weren’t criticising the business, you were criticising her. Read what you wrote again.

The quip about inspections brings to mind the deranged people who contacted California’s health department over Meghan sending jams to friends lol

@Thedom condescending, unrelatable, inauthentic, unlikeable, ungenuine. Her husband had to separate himself etc

Where is the business critic?