hi, i'm drummond, and i approve this fragrance

 

think about how many times you’ve passed someone on the street and realized that all of a sudden you were transported back to high school, remembering that sweet, curly gal you let get away. then you rummage through your brain wondering, “where did that thought come from?” your nose knows – that woman you just passed was wearing her perfume.
 
scent has a way of ultimately changing and enhancing our experience by taking us back, lifting us up, or simply allowing us to enjoy that “ahhh” moment.  at method, it’s the reason we revel in it and see its importance in just about every product we make.
 
fragrance blends like mandarin mango contain both essential oils from natural sources (like citrus oils) and complementary components that are man-made. the essential oils are selected to best capture the essence of natural scents, while the man-made materials are selected to deliver the broadest possible pallet of aromas by enhancing or complementing the natural oils.

when we’re developing a new fragrance (enter mr. mango), we start with a list of safe ingredients. all of our fragrances avoid commonly used dirty ingredients -  like phthalates, alkylphenol ethoxylates, styrene, irritating materials like musk derivatives, and other nasties.

we work closely with our fragrance houses to develop innovative aromatic experiences that exceed our strict internal health and environmental standards. like all the ingredients we use, our third party partner, the epea, assesses the materials we plan to use to make sure they are safe for people and pets non-irritating, non-toxic and non-allergenic and will biodegrade in the environment.

 

once a fragrance has passed all of our tests (including, of course, the sniff test), we blend it into our soap, and it becomes the star of the show.

yeah...we're big in hollywood

we’ve teamed up again with our friends behind the adorably dark movie sunshine cleaning, starring amy adams, emily blunt and the uber-talented alan arkin. if you missed it in theaters, hightail it over to target starting tuesday, august 25, where you can purchase the movie on dvd or blu-ray.

the film is great, and the best part, in my humble opinion, is what’s inside the box: a method coupon booklet with $10 in discounts on Method products from target. don’t you love target? it’s my happy place. grab sunshine cleaning for movie night, crack that dvd box open to get the coupon book, stock up on your favorite method goodies, then swing by the snack aisle for popcorn. mmm, popcorn.

about the movie:
desperate to get her son into a better school, single mom rose (amy adams) persuades her slacker sister norah (emily blunt) to join her in the crime scene cleanup business to make some quick cash. with the help of their ill-fated salesman father (alan arkin), they climb the ranks in a very dirty job, finding themselves up to their elbows in murders, suicides, and…specialized situations. but underneath the dust and grime they also come to discover a true respect for one another, and create a brighter future for the entire lorkowski family.

here are a few photos that i snapped at the red-carpet premiere in l.a. in march. the entire audience, including cast and crew, received method goodie bags after the screening. is it possible that amy adams spot cleans her makeup mirror with our glass cleaner? perhaps emily blunt swipes a fabulous prada pump with method leather love wipes? one can only hope!

 

announcing method prom 2009

while the summertime is synonymous with long, lazy days, lemonade and bbqs, for us here at method summertime really means one thing: prom. yes, that’s right, it’s prom time. except this time everyone has a date, that football jock isn’t going to steal your girl, and no one is left standing alone with a corsage.  it’s how we all dreamed prom would be when we were in high school.

most companies hold annual meetings in some hotel conference room, serving bad snacks and liters of diet coke; but when we get together at method, it’s about more than just reviewing forecasts and financials. it’s about coming together and remembering why we are all part of such a great company with such an important mission (and having a little bit of fun, too).

method’s prom history began in the summer of ’06 with the “come as you were” theme – meaning employees literally crawled into their attics and pulled out that hot teal taffeta number with 500 ruffles on it. everyone was encouraged to wear their actual prom attire, if it still fit!

pictured here: adam (method co-founder/ prom king) + theresa (sales team/ prom queen) 

 

the next summer, method channeled andy warhol and the craziness that ensued at studio 54, and everyone did their best to party the whole night through. 

pictured here: jim (sales team) + amanda (jim’s wife extraordinaire)

  

in 2008 we went with the leaner times and had a 1920s prohibition themed party. 

pictured here: erik (packaging engineer) + sally (creative team)

 

so what’s the theme for 2009??? well by popular vote, method demanded AQUATIC! yet the prom committee has banned co-founder eric ryan from wearing his famous sailor costume – which he wore to the past 2 proms. sorry eric.

 

prom – it’s just another way we’re keepin’ it weird at method. 

-gina “prom committee president”

"guest star" mandarin mango debuts

hi, i’m suzanne, and i develop method’s delicious product fragrances. i started my career at a global fragrance house and had the good fortune to be trained by perfumery experts in new york, geneva, and paris.  i’m excited to introduce you to the latest addition to the method fragrance family…. our very own “guest star,” mandarin mango. exclusively available at target.

when given the opportunity to create a new fragrance for our hand wash line, the fresh, fruity direction was a natural addition to the portfolio. a few of our existing fragrance categories are: 

• citrus – ex) pink grapefruit 
• herbaceous – ex) cucumber + lavender 
• watery – ex) sweet water 

the synergy between color + fragrance + name is essential to all product launches. we work with our creative team to select a color that will complement our line. then we select the fragrance that is appropriate for the color as well as a good fit with the rest of our portfolio.

then the fun part starts: choosing a name. our internal team agrees upon a list of finalists and we ask our “people against dirty” to help us choose the winning name.  **pssst…if you sign up to become a person against dirty, you get the chance to help us with the naming process. 

we worked closely with our fragrance partners, and the result is this fresh, fruity hand wash with top notes of vibrant mandarin, mid notes of ripe mango, and accents of white nectarine. sounds tasty, right? 

method hearts bloggers

we came, we met, we blogged.  rachel (pr manager) and i (community manager) attended this year’s blogher conference in chicago.  we showed up, wide-eyed and fairly overwhelmed, along with 1,500 women bloggers, and a few humble goals in mind:

  ·      connect irl (in real life) with blogger friends of method

  ·      attend conference sessions to catch up on the latest within the blogging communities that relate to our brand (moms, foodies, eco-bloggers, design-focused, to name a few)

  ·      check out how other brands are engaging with bloggers, what’s resonating, and what’s obnoxious

  ·       explore new ways to interact with bloggers and their audiences to help get the word out about method’s mission and make a positive impact on the blogging community

  ·       throw a party, of course

as brand representatives, we weren’t quite sure how attendees would react to us mingling at parties, attending sessions and speaking up during q&a sessions to offer our perspective. after all, we are not daily bloggers, per se. although blogging is part of how we communicate from inside our company, it’s not a huge part of our day-to-day at method. would we be the kids who crashed another school’s prom? 

lucky for us, bloggers love method, and they even applauded (yay!) when anna got up to ask a question during one panel discussion. but we chose to fly under the radar at the conference this year.

in a word, we chose to not ‘overbrand’ our brand. as first-time attendees, we wanted to soak it all up and decide if/how our presence would make sense for future blogher conferences. and although we missed out on the opportunity to have hundreds of influential women at the leading edge of trends go home with a bottle of beautiful method hand wash in their gift bag, we stayed true to who we are as a brand. that felt good. 

that’s not to say we wouldn’t consider blogher sponsorship opportunities in the future. after all, major sponsors (with major budgets!) are the ones that keep conference fees low for attendees, making it accessible for so many. as a brand, it really is a fantastic opportunity to show support and to validate the importance of bloggers and the power of their voices.  

and of course you  know how much method likes a party so we threw a casual get-together in our hotel suite on friday night. whole foods catered organic snacks, and our method mojitos were a huge hit among thirsty bloggesses. we even had danny seo on hand to teach a ‘detox your purse’ session.

 

all in all, i’m really happy with how we participated in blogher ’09. we connected with some incredible women, and learned valuable lessons about how to work in a respectful and mutually beneficial way with this influential crowd. 

in closing, a few blogs/bloggers that inspire us:

-          designmom.com

-          mindfulmomma.com

-          velveteenmind.com

-          ecochicorganizer.com

-          alphamom.com

-          mommywantsvodka.com

-          momspark.net

-          debontherocks.com

-          ishouldbefoldinglaundry.com

-          mom101.com

-          greenyourdecor.com

-          mochamomma.com 

tell us – did you attend blogher ’09? what are your thoughts on how brands should participate in the conference?

we can’t wait for blogher ‘10 in nyc!