THE HERB FARM REVISITED
Marketing and Public Relations
In July 2009, New Zealand introduced mandatory ingredients labelling for all cosmetics in July. But many are chemicals with names meaningless to most. In the seven-minute video Toxic beauty? that features The Herb Farm, Campbell Live looks at those chemicals and which ones it is best to avoid.
Over the last ten years Lynn's expertise and passion for the world of herbs combined with her love of writing has developed into contributions to magazines and newspapers both in New Zealand and overseas. She has been a regular writer in the Manawatu Evening Standard and The Weekend Gardener magazine for many years, sharing anecdotes and hints about gardening with herbs with the local readers.
After the new branding was in place, Lynn and Sarah decided to up the stakes and use their marketing budget to engage an Auckland-based public relations company to increase the company profile in the national media "This proved to be a good move," says Sarah. "It was at a time when we were very busy working on other priorities, so the brand got a lot more exposure and recognition without our having to put in much additional effort."
The Herb Farm received extensive product placements and articles in magazines and websites, including magazines Uno, New Idea, New Zealand Weddings, Woman's Day, Girlfriend, Creme, Dash, and Healthy Options, and websites Femme Fitness and Lifestyle, NZGirl, and Fashionz.
Sarah and Lynn have been very happy with the results, but have recently decided to explore a change of direction. "I feel it's something we can do ourselves now," says Lynn, "it was just a case of having the time to get those systems in place internally. Sarah has put together a marketing plan – things we'll be doing in-store, things we'll be doing with retailers, things we'll be doing with the web – so we can use the PR budget more flexibly. We're trying to get to a stage where if the media wants a comment on natural products then they'll come to us first."
And it all seems to be working. In 2009, a segment on the TV3 Campbell Live television programme profiled the dangers of potentially harmful chemicals commonly found in cosmetic products in which The Herb Farm featured prominently, giving them national exposure. "It did wonders getting the message about natural cosmetics and their benefits into the public consciousness," says Sarah. "The feedback we've had since shows that TV programmes like that are well respected, so being included gives a company like ours more status and profile."
