The Kush Report

A Stylists Eye [ 13:36 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We are joined on The Kush Report today by the photo stylist, Mireille Seger.  Mireille was on the set during each of the photo and video shoots Cathinka has conducted.  The photoshoots helped to create the excellent quality sales materials and web sites for presentation of the Kush Support product.

Starting out her career as a hair and makeup stylist, on the set she is now responsible for making sure that the models and the background of the photo look like the vision that the photographer and the client has in mind. She will look through the lens as well to get a sense of the photographer’s field of view.

During the Kush Support shoots, she felt that the atmosphere was very relaxing since the models were actually lying on a bed the entire time!  The challenge however was to keep the model’s hair and makeup looking good, without jeopardizing the intention of portraying the product as a night time sleep accessory.  As Mireille mentions, “we can’t have someone looking like they are going out to a club lying in the bed”.

Mireille will assist in choosing the appropriate wardrobe, props and accessories in the shoot such as nightgowns, teddies, linens and bedsheets in the Kush photoshoots. The challenge with these selections is to make sure that the product is the focus of the viewer and not distracted by the surroundings.

One distinction for Mireille during the setup for the photoshoots versus the video setup was concerns about the eye makeup. The models were depicting sleep during the photography, whereas during the live footage the entire prepping for bed process was displayed.

Another shot will be scheduled to include the new colors that have been added to the line including pastel pink, blue, green and purple.

Mireille can be reach at her email address mseger@carolina.rr(dot)com

Building A Kush Community [ 17:28 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We’ve had a long break between editions of The Kush Report over the holidays, so we get to kick things off immediately by letting everyone know that the newly designed web site has launched at www.kushsupport.com!

The site has been redesigned to help customers through the process of purchasing a Kush Support by explaining product attributes more concisely, as well as making the entire transaction easier to complete.

From our marketing perspective we will be able to monitor results through Google Analytics so we can get a clearer understanding of our customers, and can target the best locations to position our marketing message to reach our target audience.

A key element of our initiatives for 2009 revolves around getting peer to peer endorsement regarding the benefits of using a Kush Support. A customer testimonial has now become the most significant way to provide relevancy, authenticity, and for the sake of business to “close a sale”, taking it out of the hands of the company copywriters. It is a crucial tenant of social media marketing to initiate a conversation about your product and allow it to flourish.

We believe that the uniqueness of the Kush Support product makes it even more important to engage users, so that others can benefit by hearing their perspective. However, we also have concerns that the private nature of the product benefits, including prevention of cleavage wrinkles and shoulder and neck pain relief via supporting the breasts at night, might be a subject that women will feel uncomfortable publicly proclaiming on a web site.

We understand the hesitancy, but hope that if you are a Kush Support user there is some way that you can share your insights with others so that they too can benefit from buying the product.

As a way to reach out to current or potential users of Kush we have set up some social networking sites, in conjunction with the comment sections after each post on The Kush Report, to allow for community building and sharing.

If you are on Facebook please become a Friend on our the Kush Support Fan Page … and we have a new community page built on the Ning platform at Kushsupport.Ning.Com.

Cathinka continues to get kudos from those that she speaks with, giving her the compliment that she will be the next Sara Blakely, inventor of the Spanx shaping hose. Let’s hope so!

An additional course of action to take this year is to insert Kush Support into the conversation regarding the identification of when the need for the product actually exists. Do you have neck and shoulder pain?  Have you noticed cleavage wrinkles?

Please let us know in the comments section how your use of the Kush Support has been, or join us on Facebook or at Ning.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Entrepreneurial Confidence [ 9:34 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Kush Co. CEO, Founder and Inventor of The Kush Support, Cathinka Chandler was fortunate in the initial stages of bringing the product to market. We address the issue of being a female entrepreneur and inventor versus a male entrepreneur and inventor.

Cathinka believes that she did not have to face any hurdles in the process simply because she is a female.  Although there were issues to be overcome, she got the same respect from the engineers and partners because she ensured that there was a personal, trusting relationship established in the early stages.

One potential factor that she brings up is the fact that she is six feet tall, and when wearing heels tends to be much taller than many people in the room .. as some studies have shown, people of authority who are taller tend to be perceived differently than shorter people.

In the end, Cathinka’s philosophy is that the most important element for success is the establishment of goals and measuring them along the way, have confidence in your idea and direction, and in the end the hurdles will be able to be overcome by sheer determination.

You can follow Cathinka on Twitter

Or Friend her on her Facebook Page

Zip to The Girls Next Door [ 15:09 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Cathinka has returned from a great trip to Costa Rica where she was able to partake in the local cuisine, have some romantic time with Jim … and embark on some of the great adventure experiences that can be found there.

And … They saw three rainbows while they were there!

In today’s episode we talk about the new campaign that we are about to launch .. An Open Letter to The Girls Next Door. At a lunch a few weeks ago we were just chatting and the idea came to us that the three women of the show Bridget, Kendra and Holly are perfect examples of the different types of women who would benefit by using a Kush Support.  Holly and Kendra have breast implants while Bridget has natural breasts, so each of them will see the benefit of sleeping with a Kush, and the relief from stress it can provide.

Cathinka also points out that in the line of work that they are in, where beauty and skin tone is very visible, the Kush Support will also prevent cleavage wrinkles.

As this idea started to take root, the guys in the wareshouse at Kush Supports started to really get excited about the idea because they are big fans of the Girls.  So we have enlisted their help to start getting the word out!

All we are looking for is to have the Girls try the product and send the warehouse a photo using the product.

Come On Girls Next Door .. Please contact us at info@kushsupport.com so that we can send you your very own Kush Support to try!

Video Reconsideration Please [ 13:08 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Our post election and post Breast Cancer Awareness Month podcast finds Kush Co. LLC founder and CEO Cathinka Chandler having voted in her second election as a US Citizen! It was only four years ago that she gained her dual Dutch and US citizenship … and began participating in our democratic process.

Although the Breast Cancer Awareness Month has passed, we are still strongly in support of raising awareness and funds for the fight, but we thought we would turn our attentions back to the challenges that face a new product in the marketplace. We have the particular challenge of trying to promote a product that has a lack of awareness regarding the type of product that it is.

We produced a new video ad with the intention of targeting the very specific market of women who have had breast augmentations.  The ad shows in a very tasteful way how the product is used, features a testimonial from an actual user of the product and we believe speaks to the benefits of support, comfort, and stress relief to the user. The ad can be seen in the left hand column of the blog or on YouTube.

Upon submitting the video to Google, and choosing the content network placements that we felt were most appropriate for the types of customers we are looking to contact … a rejection notice came for both the initial submission and a request for reconsideration.

The rejection was based upon the editorial guidelines that placed it into a category of sexually themed content.  Viewing the video and recognizing the medical benefits of the product, combined with the fact that we are picking very specific types of sites for the ad to appear, thought this would overcome this particular obstacle.

Tell us what you think!  View the video and leave a response in the episode comment section of the site.  Are we representing the product well and in a tasteful manner?  We would love to have your comments.

The Southern Womens Show [ 21:42 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Cathinka has returned from her efforts at The Southern Women’s Show in Charlotte.  The retail show provides the opportunity to showcase products specifically targeted towards women and allows the 15,000 to 16,000 attendees to make purchases directly at the booth.

The show attracted some celebrities including Andie McDowell plus some special appearances at the Kush Support booth from Miss United States Brittany Williams, and Mrs. America from the State of North Carolina Maureen MacDonald

Both pageant queens represented their organizations extremely well, and we were excited to have them appear in the booth.

We’re waiting to see the news segment that was recorded by the Charlotte Fox Affiliate who shot some video of the booth and Cathinka in action speaking with customers.  We hope to be able to link to the site when they have posted the video.

Any local women who are interested in receiving the show discount can indicate that they were at the Southern Women’s Show, and pick the product up at the offices:

1508 E. 4th Street
Charlotte, NC 28204

1.888.OWN KUSH

Emmy Awards creative has been posted to Shareasale looking to invite more affiliates to participate in the Kush Program.  We’ve seen some new signups since announcing the program, and hope to see additional growth as a revenue sharing source for the many bloggers who are targeting women audiences.

Kush is very proud to announce our latest partnership opportunity in joining with Lamaze International, appearing in the Educator Manuals that are sent out to the 5,500 Lamaze Childbirth Educators in the US.

Once the agreement goes into affect on December 1st we will be able to reflect the relationship in full force on the web site.

To subscribe to this podcast you can visit the ITunes Store and search under Podcasts for The Kush Report.

The Kush Report - Salmon River Run [ 22:03 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We’re back in the saddle again after some very MAJOR life events following the birth of Joe’s baby girl Lily born on August 17th. After a small bit of time off we get back to our weekly recording and conversation about Kush Support product and marketing tactics.

Cathinka in the meantime has continued her adventurous ways with a trip out to the middle fork of The Salmon River for a fishing, rafting, and camping experience. She and her husband Jim started out with a stay at the Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch prior to heading out on the river with Jerry Hughes River Expeditions.

Although the fishing was excellent with rainbow trout on the line, the expedition follows catch & release practices, so the food travels with the raft guides (except for the exceptional wines Jim had flown in!).  Since Cathinka follows a Dietary Engineering regimen outlined by Sari Mellman in Miami Florida she had some special food prepared around the campfire at night.

On their way to the put in, a small engine plane flight had nervous flyer Cathinka reaching for Jim’s hand as well as her newest friend Ralph in the seat beside her.  However, the most calming aspect of the flight was when she looked out the window and saw a Rainbow just for her!

Big Sky Country lived up to its nickname, especially at night as the stars were out in full force without the light pollution found in other areas of the country.

From a business perspective, having these types of adventures is rejuvenating for Cathinka where getting away from the phones, emails, and typical distraction helps her to fully focusing on the day to day aspects of running a company upon her return to the office.

Next trip hopefully … The Colorado River!

Some big news happened during our little hiatus regarding a promotion for Kush Supports and an invitation to be included an Emmy Award Gift Bags distributed on September 18th and 19th!

A new bag and insert was prepared so that the celebrities who receive the gift bag will equate the Kush Support with sleep comfort and breast support, particularly for augmented women. This dream opportunity is a perfect placement for introducing the product to the particular target demographic of women who have had breast augmentation.

Also, a trade show appearance at The Southern Women’s Show in Charlotte is scheduled for September 18th through the 21st.

Finally this week, we are trying to increase the marketing assets that we have in the files so a photoshoot with a new Kush model is taking place and will include video and still shots set in softly lit, bedroom settings.  We will also be speaking with an actual Kush user so that we can capture testimonial video particularly about the pain relief that she experienced after she started using a Kush.