Eat My Words » Out of the Office

Literally Eating My Words at Spoon Me

admin — Sun, 10 May 2009 12:41:00 +0000

In town for Spoon Me founder Ryan Combe’s wedding over the weekend (see next post), thanks to the GPS in my rental car, I managed to hit two Spoon Me locations (and eat Spoon Me at the wedding) in less than 8 hours. Spoon Me is the name that Eat My Words is the most proud of creating. Ryan and his partners David and Wayne have built a cult brand that transcends frozen yogurt and has become one of the hottest franchises on the planet, with projections of 100 new stores within the next 18 months. Spoon Me is a stellar example of how a brand can take a name and run with it. (That’s why we call them names with “legs”.) From the best-selling “Shut Up and Spoon Me” t-shirts to the “No Spooning on Sundays” hours sign, to the Spoon Me movie quote graffiti (“You had me at Spoon Me”) in the bathrooms, there are endless ways to extend the brand through wordplay. Here are photos from my afternoon visit to the original store in Salt Lake City and my late night visit to one of the new super mod locations in Sandy, Utah. Thanks to everyone at Spoon Me for treating me like a celebrity. Can’t wait to come back!

With this ring, I thee spoon.

admin — Sun, 10 May 2009 11:36:00 +0000

I spent a fun weekend in Salt Lake City, where I was a guest at the wedding of my good pal and Spoon Me founder, Ryan Combe. Great to finally meet Ryan in person, as well as his business partner, David Jaynes, who was one of the key decision makers in choosing the Spoon Me name, which of course was created by Eat My Words. I met so many nice Spoon Me peeps including the infamous Bub and Craig, as well as some of the key franchise owners including David and Ryan’s dads. Ryan and his stunning bride, Alicia, are the international poster children for spooning. (And yes, Spoon Me frozen yogurt was served at the wedding.) Check out these photos from the reception… dig those sexy blue stiletto heels, Alicia!

Wake up and smell the Amsterdam Coffee House.

admin — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:52:00 +0000

An article in today’s Wall Street Journal talks about fragrance trends in consumer cleaning products. The scents of pine forests and lemon groves have been upped by “a wildly varied bouquet” including mandarin-lime detergent, lavender vanilla disinfectant and eucalyptus mint toilet bowl cleaners. Although we can’t find any mention of it online, the article says a new deodorizer which hit store shelves last month, promises a “Moroccan bazaar.”
Have you ever been to a bazaar in Morocco? I haven’t, but I have been to bazaars (also known as “souks” or “markets”) in Libya, Egypt, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and countless other countries, and I can assure you that the overwhelming scents of these bazaars, should simply not be bottled.
Here are some of the more memorable scents from my travels, and what I would name them:
Egyptian Camel Breath
Zanzibar Fish MarketVatican TouristFiery Ganges BreezeAmsterdam Coffee ShopIndian Milk MarketRustic Serengeti Jeep
Peruvian Llama SprayNew Zealand HostelMildewy Rain ForestDurban Bunny ChowSmokey Chinese Railcar
Okay, I can say it. But please don’t spray it.

Alexandra featured speaker at City Club of SF "Secrets of Success" series

admin — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:07:00 +0000

Next Tuesday afternoon. Alexandra will be the featured speaker at the City Club of San Francisco for their “Secrets of Success” series. She was invited to talk there after someone on the board heard her speak on how she broke into the naming business through some quick thinking on a Match.com date. Alexandra will be telling this hysterical story and many others (writing letters to prisoners in high school, launching the first line of retro greeting cards with Paper Moon Graphics, a juicy story of poetic justice for a boss who fired her 23 years ago, and more). Below is the copy from the announcement that the City Club sent out…

Alexandra Watkins is the creative visionary behind Eat My Words, an innovative naming firm known for developing brand names that generate buzz and revenue. While she started out specializing in things that make people fat and drunk, her clients quickly discovered that she also had a talent for naming things you don’t put in your mouth. Since then, her firm has generated countless evocative names and taglines for clients including Frito-Lay, Altec-Lansing, Guthy-Renker, Glu, THX, Clorox, The Sydney Opera House, Del Monte, and Stanford University. Her recent successes include a chain of frozen yogurt stores called Spoon Me, a home cleaning robot named Neato, a social networking site for investors called Cake Financial, and a nationally-advertised bacon cheeseburger, which ironically must remain nameless. (Hint: it was inspired by a Schwarzenegger movie.)

Throughout her colorful 20+ year career in branding and advertising, Alexandra, whose education includes an entire semester of community college, has used her unabashed creativity, charm, and fearless attitude to open doors, scale walls, and create endless business opportunities for herself. Her highly entertaining stories of success and perseverance will inspire you to tap into your own creativity and try bold and unexpected approaches to any personal or professional challenge you face.

$35 for members/$45 for non-members

San Francisco City Club
155 Sansome Street
The Stock Exchange Tower
San Francisco, California 94104

RSVP to 415.362.2480 or reservations@cityclubsf.com

Oriental Mildew – a taste of Zimbabwe

admin — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 13:23:00 +0000

If you have ever sucked down a mouthful of African river water like I did in Zimbabwe, where I nearly drowned in the Zambezi and ended up in Zambia, you will be delighted to know that that delicious taste has now been replicated (or at least it sounds like it has) in a new Zimbabwe juice brand, ORIENTAL MILDEW. The product has already flooded most of the retail outlets in Harare where it is high demand. (Okay. And Mugabe won the last election.) I can’t track down a photograph of the Oriental Mildew bottle, but the taste sounds so hideous that surely dictator Mugabe’s mug graces the packaging. I know all of this sounds adventurous and exciting, but by all means, do not go to Zimbabwe, which from what I’ve seen is the most corrupt country on the planet. If you must see Victoria Falls on your way to the Okavango Delta, do it from the kinder, gentler Zambian side. And if you just want to live vicariously through me, here are photos of the mighty Vic Falls, the churning Zambezi below and what it looks like when your raft flips over on top of you in a class 4 rapid.

Ghana: Heaven for Namers

admin — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 12:48:00 +0000

Before I went to Ghana, I had read that I could expect to see the country’s passion for Jesus reflected in the names of their businesses, but I didn’t expect 75% of shop names to have some kind of religious reference. Some of the more unusual names included included Blood of Christ Restaurant, Holy Canteen, and Jesus Loves Fashion. Unfortunately, while Ghanaians love the Lord, they hate cameras, so I didn’t get photos of most of the signs I saw as we whizzed by. Here are some snaps of some of my faves… there’s more in the official album.

Back from Ghana with a new name: Borley Atiaku

admin — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 21:39:00 +0000

Little did I know when we booked our trip to Ghana and requested to take part in an African naming ceremony ($125 per person), that it would be a serious all-day affair that the entire village showed up for! We were adopted into the Royal Borketey Larweh family of the Ga tribe. My Ga name is “Borley Atiaku.” The naming rites were performed by the Head of Family-Dr Sam Bortei-Doku (on right) who is a dead-ringer for Nelson Mandella. (Despite looking like my groom, the man in blue is our guide, Sam.) We spent a few days with the family and even went to church with them on Christmas where we danced by the collection box. Twice. More colorful photos here in the official trip album….

Ghana be closed during the holidays.

admin — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:31:00 +0000

Alexandra is off to Ghana to adopt a baby monkey, bang some tribal drums, and eat every meal with her hands. The whole Eat My Words crew is taking off to recharge our batteries so we can start 2008 with a bang. We’ll be back the week of January 5th, 2008. Thanks to all of you who have made this such a fantastic year for Eat My Words. We couldn’t do it without loyal clients and cheerleaders like you.

Warm regards and happy holidays,

Alexandra and The Team

Eat My Words

Alexandra returns from China

admin — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 18:35:00 +0000

Alexandra is back from a month in China. Here are some of the photos… there’s more in the official album.

Jelly Belly Class Field Trip

admin — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 15:49:00 +0000

My copywriting students have been working on ads for Jelly Belly Sport Beans, so naturally we had to go to on the Jelly Belly factory tour (about an hour from SF) to see how they are made. In addition to getting free samples, we enjoyed looking at the Jelly Belly portraits of Ronald Reagan and the Pope. Here I am with some of my students in front of the Jelly Belly VW bug.