Meghan, Duchess of Sussex III

[canuckcutie]

People magazine claimed the brand would launch in Spring. Well it’ll be summer in 10 days so Meghan is likely to miss the Spring window… Deux Moi claims the brand will launch in the Fall so not only do the dates keep getting pushed back but it makes the March brand announcement look increasingly ridiculous and timed to capitalize on the Kate frenzy.

We shouldn’t be surprised as it’s par for the course for the Sussexes - a big splashy announcement short on details with zero follow through.

I think out of the 50 jars of jam, maybe 8-10 giftees bothered to share on social media. Not exactly a good return.

I’m curious what involvement exactly Meghan will have with this lifestyle / cooking show when nothing I’ve read or seen to date indicates any natural talent in that arena. I’m assuming guests will do all the heavy lifting and editing will make it appear as though Meghan is doing more than the bare minimum.

[royalwave]

How many free samples do you think famous people are sent each year in the hopes that they'll be an influencer or brand shill? I think if I were in that position I'd steer clear of promoting anything that I wasn't totally over the moon about. It would have to be just so amazing that I couldn't help myself, and I doubt a jar of strawberry jam would fit the bill.

Also, how well liked is Meghan in general that people want to stick out their neck for her? If anything, this limited edition celebrity giveaway should have been just a small part of a larger rollout plan rather than seemingly the entire plan for months.

I would have taken a look at the marketing strategy that Dolly Parton used for her line of cake mixes and tried to do something like that. Those things sold like hot cakes and had extremely good word of mouth. Granted, Dolly Parton is a national treasure who has built up a ton of goodwill and credibility over the course of decades so when she says "jump" a lot of people will ask "how high?" But still, the basic rollout for those products was masterful.

[canuckcutie]

Understandably the press are all agog today over the return to (public) life of the Princess of Wales.

So weird timing that after the strawberry jam launch was a bit of a flop, Harry & Meghan’s polo playing buddy chose today to share pictures of new ARO releases! God they aren’t bothered at all that Catherine is grabbing all of the attention today are they….

Nacho is the proud recipient of a new jam flavour - brace yourselves it’s raspberry! Groundbreaking. His jar states it’s 2 of 2 so we’ve gone from a batch of 50 to a batch so small why even bother…

Oh and he has a clear jar with a handful of dog biscuits in it with a label that helpfully says “dog biscuits” on it - no ARO label on it though which kinda implies that it was a rush to get it out.

It’s not really giving me multi million dollar lifestyle brand, it’s giving me Meghan spending a few hours in her kitchen to gift her friends some homemade shit.

[hellsbells]

so she has a hobby; good for her.

[featherhat]

I am a big jam fan and my Mum literally wants me to come over so she can make chutneys with me and I think this is embarrassing. She literally heard Kate was going to be at Trooping The Colour and begged one of their friends to post it.

Why didn't they have some actual products fans could buy when they launched? Even the most ardent fan is going to be bored when you can buy am ARO tea towel 2 years from now.

[royalwave]

If only Catherine would have given them more than one day’s notice Meghan could have whipped up at least 10 jars of Raspberry jam instead of only 2. Sorry Kris Jenner! Catch you on the blueberry batch.

[canuckcutie]

According to various media reports, despite the very limited jam runs, the first product available for sale from American Rivera Orchard will be wine. Meghan is planning to launch a rose wine. You’d think a cider would make more sense given the “orchard” in the brand name but no.

Given we are 3 and a half months out from the original brand launch, I don’t think I’ll hold my breath waiting for an imminent product launch. Increasingly everything associated with this brand seems rushed and ill thought out.

Celebrities shilling alcohol seems to up there with celebrities shilling lifestyle brands. It’s such an increasingly competitive marketplace that I’m not sure how Meghan plans to stand out from the crowd. If her past history is any inclination, I can’t see her doing much to promote the brand or the wine. I’m guessing she thinks it’ll just sell itself?

[Ginger]

The story is that a reasonably-priced rose wine is a reliable money-maker. It does seem more sensible to me than jam. It will be another celebrity wine among many, and Meghan will get some steady cash from it without doing much.

It's the using of homemade, burlap-wrapped jams to launch an alcoholic beverage that I find puzzling as a marketing technique.

[dragonflie]

Yeah... I await this with baited breath ;p

I'll enjoy the rose' with a batch of her jam whilst I listen to her newest podcast and watch her netflix cooking show (aka- I'll be "enjoying" these delights in the year 3000).

How many projects/products can 1 person/"team" announce that never actually become anything. Aren't they embarrassed? It's not that hard : have an actual product ready to go- tried and tests- THEN announce. They just can't seem to understand the very basics of... well... almost anything.

[featherhat]

Jun 27, 2024 16:40:07 GMT -4 dragonflie said:

Yeah... I await this with baited breath ;p

I'll enjoy the rose' with a batch of her jam whilst I listen to her newest podcast and watch her netflix cooking show (aka- I'll be "enjoying" these delights in the year 3000).

How many projects/products can 1 person/"team" announce that never actually become anything. Aren't they embarrassed? It's not that hard : have an actual product ready to go- tried and tests- THEN announce. They just can't seem to understand the very basics of... well... almost anything.

Seriously, it's not that difficult. She seems to love the idea of working on a project in secret and then announcing it to the world but she/they never actually have anything ready to go. Basically the only time she's ever had a product ready to drop was the cookbook when she was a working royal. Even the most basic of influencers/youtubers/tiktokers etc know to have products designed and ready to ship the second they drop new merch when interest is at its highest.

Wine might be a good idea and Rose is popular but it is a saturated market and you have to stand out beyond being DDOS. Even take Meghan out of the equation, why is her *team* so bad at this. Does she just veto every suggestion?