Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

In addition to being absolutely gorgeous (even in his 80s), Paul Newman was a class act. And, he was a master at marketing.

He took his celebrity, sense of humor and some recipes and built a multi-million dollar business - which in turn has done great good. You could feel good about buying his products…and seeing that smiling mug of his on the label didn’t hurt either. His personal brand translated well into the business brand.

From Retail Wire’s excellent discussion of his business approach (registration required):

…Much of its (Newman’s Own) success can be attributed to good product from a taste perspective as well as staying ahead of trends. Newman’s Own Organics, a label for pretzels, cookies, fair-trade coffee and even pet foods, became a division of the company in 1993. Despite its celebrity endorsement (Mr. Newman’s smiling face is on all labels), the product is also reasonably priced at retail.

Perhaps as much as Ben & Jerry’s, Newman’s Own is also well known for its charity connections. All its profits, more than $200 million, have been donated to charity. Much of the money was used to create a number of Hole in the Wall Gang Camps, named for the outlaw gang in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” in which Mr. Newman starred alongside Robert Redford. The camps provide free summer recreation for children with cancer and other serious illnesses. Actively involved in the project, Mr. Newman even chose cowboy hats as gear so that children who had lost their hair because of chemotherapy could disguise their baldness.

And, having read it, I also recommend the book.

On the business side, Mr. Newman is also known for Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good, a book co-written with Newman’s Own co-founder A.E. Hotchner.

“It’s an absolutely wonderful blueprint for starting a company just using your common sense,” said publisher Nan Talese of the book, which was recently reissued in paperback. “Paul’s legacy is a whole new image of philanthropy.”

Hmmm…maybe this weekend I’ll pull out my copy of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (in which Newman and Elizabeth Taylor are at their personsal peaks of gorgeousness. Fun to watch Burl Ives chew on the scenery too.)

Read More: Dan Siegel, Paul Newman: Celebrating A Citizen Philanthropist

Tags: marketing, marketing troubleshooting, branding, advertising, Paul Newman