Get To The Grapes

Cafe Au Lait and Beignets at Cafe Du Monde

The housing industry is coming back to life as evidenced at the 2013 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) in New Orleans. Although there were no major appliance manufacturers at the show, there were a lot of exhibitors, new products and enthusiastic home products professionals.  And, it was a great show for media outreach.

Two key clients we supported at the  2013 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show included NanaWall and True.  We were able to garner tremendous press coverage for them by setting up interviews at their respective booths.  We set up more than 60 media meetings with publications such Veranda, Architectural Digest, Dwell, This Old House and more. We also had the DIY Network and HGTV stop by both booths for filming.

We worked hard and played hard – enjoying Cafe Au Lait and Beignets at Cafe Du Monde and Jambalaya and Gumbo at Mother’s Restaurant.  Needless to say, we wasted no time during our off hours!

Overall, it was a great show and we’re looking forward to more successes at Design and Construction Week 2014. This show will combine  Kitchen & Bath Industry Show and IBS (The International Builders’ Show) and is expected to draw more than 75,000 specifiers, builders, dealers and suppliers and 2,000 exhibitors in Las Vegas in February 2014.

Our client, True showing off their newest products and configurations.

Our client True being filmed for “I hate my Kitchen” on the DIY TV Network with host, Jim Young.

April Keene of Nanawall Systems talks to media at KBIS 2013

Todd Kilstrom of Nanawall Ststems talks to media at KBIS 2013

Merlot Marketing heads to KBIS 2013 to check out all of the new products, new technologies and new designs being introduced at the show!

We are excited to see the new trends that will be gracing homes in 2013 and beyond!  We are supporting some key clients at the show, two of which are NanaWall and True. We have media tours set up in their booths with some of the top media across the country including Veranda, LUXE magazine, This Old House magazine, the DIY TV Network, Metropolis and more! It’s going to be very busy and productive show!

Want to see the latest in great kitchen and bath design? We’ll be sure to provide a recap from KBIS 2013!  Meanwhile, here’s a sneak peak!

TRUE – Booth #2034

True Refrigeration^® is the number-one refrigeration choice of celebrity chefs, upscale hoteliers and top sommeliers throughout the world. True Professional Series™, a division of True, offers commercial-grade undercounter refrigeration that is beautifully refined for the home.

The True Professional Series booth at KBIS 2013 was designed by top interior designer Marshall Watson and multiple Emmy Award-winning set designer Michael Hotopp.  True will be unveiling its new 15-inch Beverage Dispenser.  Good things really do come in small packages and now the ultimate entertainer can have perfectly chilled beer on tap without taking up too much space in the kitchen, or den, office, library, billiards room or any other place you might enjoy a perfectly chilled beverage.  www.true-residential.com

NANAWALL – Booth # 3947

The only window or glass company at  KBIS 2013, NanaWall Systems is the industry leader of opening glass systems in North America providing flexible solutions to architectural openings. NanaWall Systems provides countless style options, unsurpassed durability and superior performance.

From La Marina restaurant in New York City to The View’s Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s new home, NanaWall systems open up design possibilities…literally. www.nanawall.com

Merlot recently attended the 2013 International Builders’ Show (IBS) where we saw the upcoming year’s hottest and most innovative products in the building and construction categories. The tradeshow was packed with various manufacturers, resellers and media representatives, all surrounded by the “glitz” of Las Vegas. By the end of the show our team was ready to settle into a nice glass of Merlot.

One of the announcements that came out of the show is that the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA), and the Kitchen Bath Industry Show (KBIS), in an agreement with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), have decided to co-locate with IBS for “Design and Construction Week” beginning in February 2014 in Las Vegas.

The combined conference will feature these shows and two associations all in one place. This larger event will ensure a wider variety of manufacturers will have the opportunity to showcase their latest products to an even greater audience, many of whom would otherwise not have an opportunity to experience the full array of ancillary products in related design and construction categories. There will be no better place to identify the latest trends in the home and building products segment and it will serve as a central hub to network with industry peers and influencers.

Additionally beginning in 2015, the conference will expand further with the addition of SURFACES and StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas making it the ultimate on stop “shop” for designers, architects, builders and industry professionals.

As we prepare for KBIS 2013 in New Orleans this April, we look forward to the evolution of these shows and the industry and are optimistic about what 2014 and 2015 will bring.

Merlot Marketing represents several brands in the high-end home products category and on behalf of our clients, we’ve been actively participating on a weekly TweetChat titled #IntDesignerChat.  The chat, which consists primarily of engaged designers, has been around for about two years and the average impressions per chat is 6-10 million!   The chat is a really great opportunity to keep our fingers on the pulse of new trends, as well as, designer desirers and behaviors.   In a recent chat, we asked the group “Where do designers get their inspiration?” The top four responses were:

1. Houzz – For designers and consumers alike, it’s a site driven by visuals and features a collection of interior design and decorating ideas on the Internet, including kitchens and bathrooms.
2. Pinterest – A content sharing site that allows members to “pin” images, videos and other objects to their pinboard.
3. Printed Magazines – IE: Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, Interior Design, etc.
4. Modenus – Primarily for designers, the interior design resource and interior design blog with a curated collection of interior design products, directory of interior designers, and directory

I thought this was very interesting because although social media has obviously become a prominent resource with the design community, traditional print magazines still hold strong.

Is there life out there for the print publication industry?  I hope so because I still enjoy sitting down and thumbing through my favorite magazine.

Product manufacturers make way for marketers to move into the bathroom!

Numi by Kohler

Technology continues to make its way into every room in our homes, and bathrooms are no exception. First it was steam showers and automatic faucets and now it’s televisions in our mirrors and toilets with iPod docking stations and speakers! Let’s be real about this, people have been taking magazines into their bathrooms for years and advertisers have been forever grateful.  Now, with docking stations in what critics have coined the “iPoo,” marketers can promote movies, music, books and more in every room of the house.  Hand sanitizer, anyone?

This story is taken from Sacbee / Business / Bob Shallit: Published Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Sacramento’s Merlot Marketing continues to rake in contracts to promote upscale home products. The latest deal: an agreement to represent PR-111, a Brazilian manufacturer of exotic and sustainable hardwood flooring.

Merlot execs recently flew to Miami to pitch their ideas for the account and apparently wowed BR-111′s president with proposals to stage product showcases in crowded venues such as Times Square – and to build “floating” glass ceilings above the displays that visitors could walk on and then gaze down at the flooring.

As company president Debi Hammond recalls it, BR-111′s Ricardo Moraes at first found the ideas a little, uh, wild.

In a heavy accent, he inquired: “So exactly what do you guys ‘grow’ in Sacramento?” Implying that the Merlot team might be smoking what it was growing.

Hammond replied that wine sometimes stimulates ideas at the company. Never anything stronger.

The team left on a high note, so to speak, with what Hammond calls a “very big account.”

For the Original Story: http://www.sacbee.com/shallit/story/2300988.html or back columns: www.sacbee.com/shallit

Okay, so even I’m shocked by this one.  Gourmet magazine will publish its last issue November 2009.  The magazine has been in publications since December 1940.  Yes, 1940!

The New York Times reported that Conde Nast was up in the air between which food title they were going to shut down – Gourmet or Bon Appetit – and given that Gourmet was considered the more upscale of the two, they decided to keep the book for the ‘masses.’  Given the economy, it seems consumers are looking for more value than ‘gourmet.’

The magazine has won numerous awards over the years for photography and editorial, so it’s a sad day in the publishing world – as well as for the close to one million people who either subscribe to or purchase the magazine on the newsstand. 

According to Mediabistro, Time Inc. today announced that the September/October issue of Southern Accents will be its last.   The magazine has been in publication for more than 30 years.  Our clients have graced many Southern Accent pages over the years, so it’s sad to see it go. However, in this economy it’s survival of the fittest.  There were too many shelter titles and the best ones are rising to the top.  Other shelter magazines already buried include: Country Home, Cottage Living, O at Home, Home Companion, Home Magazine, Blueprint, House & Garden andHouse Beautiful SIPs… Who’s next?  If you need to get your Southern Accents fix, the website will supposedly stay in operation: http://www.southernaccents.com/

Merlot Marketing walked away from the CAPPIE Awards Show with two GOLD and four SILVER CAPPIE awards including:

GOLD CAPPIE AWARDS

Client: Walker Zanger

Title: “All-Over Pattern Micro-Trend Finally Come to Tile”

Category: Writing; Feature Writing

Walker Zanger’s Contessa Collection

Client: Merlot Marketing

Title: Merlot Holiday Card

Category: Self Promotion

Merlot Marketing's Holiday Survival Guide

Check it out for yourself: Click here

SILVER CAPPIE AWARDS

Client: Merlot Marketing

Title: The Water Cooler ‘Merlog’

Category: New Media; Blog

What will find? What else? Water Cooler talk...

Client: Everpure

Title: Everpure Aqua Party 2008

Category: Special Event/Media Event

Client: Everpure

Title: Everpure Water Bottle Display

Category: Promotional Device

Client: Everpure

Title: Everpure Exubera Brochure

Category: Brochure

Here are a few more products that caught my eye at the show.

Although I mentioned Poggenpohl in my last post, I can’t help but to highlight a few more things about this line.  First, the quality is impeccable and the product line somehow merges sleek and sexy design with functional attributes. And given its European heritage, it optimizes every inch of space with unique niches here and perfectly organized partitions there.  www.poggenpohlusa.com

A place for everything...

...everything in its place.

New kid on the block Italian range maker, Fratelli Onofri, introduces some beautifully detailed products including a new ‘hammered’ finish as well as the very sexy “Divina.’

The new Divina Range

Toto came to the show in a big way introducing some amazingly beautiful new products in what I believe to be their biggest booth ever! One product that had more bells and whistles than I am comfortable with in that particular product category was the Neorest 600.  With its sleek and minimal exterior and seemingly easy-to-use gagetry, I did become a little more comfortable with the whole idea of this hands-free experience. Given that the toilet is self-cleaning, self-closing and helps keep the nether-regions exceptionally clean and dry, I think this product could very well be the best thing you ever did for your marriage, I mean, your home.

Neorest 600: Saving marriages one toilet at a time.

If you want to be pleasantly distracted by shiny objects then visit the Rohl booth at K/BIS. Modern, traditional, classic or country, they feature an amazing array of luxury faucets and fixtures for the home. Taking a more minimal approach, Rohl introduced its Vincent Bath Collection featuring subtle angles and straight lines that are as contemporary as they are timeless.   

Vincent Bath Collection by Rohl

So this last product is more personal preference than the best product found at K/BIS.  I have this asian-themed bathroom with a bamboo mirror and saw this faucet and fell in love! It’s the South Sea Collection by Danze. It’s all about the finishing touches…

South Sea Collection by Danze

 There were a lot of other amazing products at the show, but now we’re going to move on to something a little more fun! Stay tuned…