Word Of Mouse Success Stories: It's Not Just Peanuts for the Lee Brothers

There have been requests for examples of good Word of Mouse.  So let's start with the Lee Brothers, Matt and Ted. This twosome are truly experts at using  Word of Mouse techniques to promote themselves.

(Ted and Matt Lee)

Business: Southern Food Specialities

Website: http://www.BoiledPeanuts.com

Blog: http://www.mattleeandtedlee.com/

Their Story:  As children they moved from New York  to Charleston SC and fell in love with Southern Food. The Lee Brothers went to colleges in the northeast and tried life after college  in  NYC. 

Missing the taste of Southern foods, they tried to bring boiled peanuts(delicious treat of raw peanuts cooked by boiling in brine) to the NY bar scene.  The reaction was considerably less than enthusiastic. As the story goes they dropped some of their boiled peanuts off to NY Times columnist Florence Fabrikant.  The columnist  mentioned the brothers and their peanuts in her food column and a business was born.

The Lee Brothers have since heard from lots of people craving southern  foods.  13 years ago  they started their speciality food company in Charleston and as the rest is history. Starting with a small printed hand sewn catalogue, they've grown their business telling stories, adding recipes of the South and providing treats you have a difficult time finding outside the Carolinas.

Injecting more than just a  little bit of personality, they have expanded their reach as contributing editors and writers for  the NY TImes and Travel +Leisure magazine. The Lee Brothers started with a passion for Southern foods and now have grown the business into  a well recognized seller of Southern food stuffs (boiled peanuts, moon pies and pickled peaches to name a few). Using great marketing savy and  encouraging consumption of their products Matt and Ted added recipes (or receipts as people call them in the South) to their sales of food products. 

The brothers then developed some new recipes and wrote new stories  to put  together  the award winning, "The Lee Brothers Cookbook: Stories and Recipes for Southerners and Would-Be Southerners."  For their efforts Matt and Ted Lee  won best American cookbook this year in both the International Association of Culinary Professionals and James Beard (Best Cookbook of the Year) competitions. Their cookbook also won the Julia Child Award for best first cookbook.

Word of Mouse Techniques Used:

    Repurposing  and reusing of content: Their  stories and recipes are used in their catalogue, on the website, and  in the cookbook.  Matt and Ted even included one of their  on their Amazon book site to promote their cookbook.

     Development of a personal face or personna for the business. Matt and Ted have embraced  Southern charm and hospitality. Their catalogue is fun to read and offers a quick view of the brothers and their passion for South Carolina and its foods. They tell great stories and have fantastic recipes. They offer to call you back  if you call them. 

    Use of blog to promote their cookbook:  The Lee Brothers use a blog which gives them easy updating by search engines.  This allows quick and easy updating of their promotional tour schedule while on the road promoting or back at the office.

Vist The Lee Brothers websites and take a look at  their marketing strategies. You might learn some new Word of Mouse techniques and just get a hankerin' for some Southern delicacies.

It’s all about using Word of Mouse to promote your message,

Alysan