Category: Uncategorized

Vitamin Code

Find it at your local Louvre.

So, we’ve established that generic is a term you would rather not have associated with your supplement marketing strategy. Generic isn’t sellable. Consumers don’t trust it.Generic is lazy.

Vitamin Code sits on the better end of that spectrum, with marketing  that is alluring and sellable. It taps into consumer emotions by invoking a sense of mystery. We’re curious creatures; we can’t help wondering what the CODE actually means. We observe the CODE’s pyramids, wondering if these supplements will reveal their secrets to us.

Of course, this sort of marketing isn’t always appropriate, especially in health sectors. You wouldn’t take a pill blindly just to reveal its mysteries (at least, I hope you wouldn’t!) – which is why Vitamin Code scores again. They market mystery until they capture consumer attention, and then they back it up with vital, accurate health information and strong research-backed substantiation.

The Power of Celebrity

Celebrity covers compel people to pick up magazines.

Jane Seymour was nice. She also knew her Natural Health and is an amazing painter. Jane will forever be my favorite Bond girl.

Ergo, as publisher of Rx Complement, Executive Editor of Energy Times, and Editor-in-Chief of HealthSmart Today, I’ve chased celebs, securing interviews with the following:

Ah, so many stories. Like when Alec Baldwin got angry at me in the middle of our interview. Or when Mariel Hemingway pantomimed negative thoughts attacking her in the Mandarin New York’s tea room. And the hilarious reason why Susan Lucci backed out of our interview at the last minute. (contact me for these stories)

I avoid that scene now. But I enjoyed every celebrity interview I ever did. I will be adding these interview articles to this site gradually. The articles did an amazing job of advancing the natural products industry through the power of celebrity.

The Time is Now

Global Vitamins Market to Reach US $3.3 Billion by 2015.* The time is now. Seize this opportunity. The natural health industry is booming, and all indications point to even faster growth ahead.

If you are in the industry, you’re standing on the X. Treasure is right below you. I have a shovel.

If you’re looking for assistance, you’re in the right place. I am a natural health industry writer and publisher with proven success for supercharging nutritional supplement sales.

Whether you’re just starting out or well-established, I have insight and expertise that will help you succeed. Tips are scattered throughout this site, but for peak results commission me.


*Global Vitamins Market to Reach US$3.3 Billion by 2015, According to a New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/02/07/prweb8114929.DTL, 2011.

Generic is Lazy

That shade of yellow brings out your... well... um...

A few years ago, a company (which shall remain nameless) hired me to create new product marketing direction for a whole-food multivitamin supplement. I did market research, evaluated the competition, brainstormed product names, taglines and angles. I picked the strongest and created a brochure and box copy that told a story about the supplement. I billed for ten hours. The client nixed my copy.

Recalling the project, I decided to look it up today and see what kind of copy they ended up using. Here it is — in its entirety —  believe it or not:

“This product features a wide array of vitamins, minerals, herbs and other nutrients – including vegetable, fruit and mushroom complexes – to give you the well-rounded nutrition you crave.“

Good god, where to start? The writing is bad, nobody “craves” nutrition, and there is no effort to brand or differentiate this product from the scores of similar competitors. If you want to sell your nutritional supplement, you need to do better.

The Lesson: Make sure your company has a real marketing person in place. With the right marketing direction, storytelling and design work, you can offer your nutritional supplement at a premium price… that consumers will be happy to pay. Make it sexy. Our industry is far too dynamic to settle for generic marketing.

Don’t Stop Believin’

Nutratein Protein Shake Ad
Take your midnight train. You'll get there!

I created this conceptual ad to convey how pushing forward with exercise helps one leave negative emotions behind. The tagline: “Energy For What Will Be.” We presented this concept to an Ad Group that was set in their ways. The concept was met with negative feedback and rejected.

Four years later, I saw the Asics ad on the right in Men’s Health Magazine… and felt sweet vindication. Although a small ad group rejected our concept, Asics had enough belief in a similar concept to invest $186,000 for an ad in the World’s Greatest Magazine.

The Lesson: Don’t stop believin’ in your vision. Think big. The concept that is too “different” for one client is the same concept that will be embraced by a winner.

There are No Mistakes…

Get inspired.

… only happy accidents.

I created this ad early in my career as a nutritional supplement marketing writer. The challenge: taking a rather plain protein shake and differentiating it. Designer Chad Renfroe and I came up with this ad, and while it was never used, I was always proud of the marketing instinct behind it. It romanticizes an ordinary supplement with language that resonates with women. You are Woman. I hear you roar.