Calling All Merchketeers

Merchants and marketers need each other. I like to think that on the most brilliant days of brand building, they share a brain and become united as one to create and deliver the very best offer to consumers. When this happens, they take on a new combined role as "merchketeers." These merchketeers have an intimate understanding of their customers’ needs, dreams and pain points, and cultivate that understanding into products and messaging that address those needs in a relevant way.

Take a look at what the merchketeers at Minute Rice have done with a simple ad for its key product.

Did these merchketeers not capture the multitasking that occurs every day for most working moms? From "look for missing socks, get the kids dressed, attend all-day department meeting, rotate tires, rent a movie, rummage the through the attic for ski gear, switch purse, clean paw prints off the door, swing by the ATM," the merchketeers identified all the surrounding issues to the pain point they care most about in their customers’ lives — what to make for dinner.

In the midst of these busy lives of working women and men all across the country, Minute Rice quietly states: "We can help." It has a product that solves its customers’ top-of-mind dilemma — healthy brown rice that not only cooks quickly but can also become the foundation of an entire meal in no time.

Here's what they have to say at minuterice.com: "If you miss the days when life was simple and a warm home-cooked meal united everyone around the table in the evening, Minute Rice is here to help. As a pantry staple that has helped consumers for over 60 years, we know that sitting down for a family meal is just as nutritious for the soul as it is for the body."