By Charisse Massay
At first I wondered, what do boiled peanuts have to do with marketing
and advertising? After thoroughly searching the site, I realize that
boiled peanuts have absolutely nothing to do with marketing and advertising.
Boiled peanuts are an everyday snack in a large portion of the southern
states. It is made by boiling raw (unroasted) peanuts in salt water
for a long time and eaten by breaking the warm soft shell (they are
best when warm) and swallowing the contents along with the brine.
Boiledpeanuts.com is a website maintained by the Lee Brothers in Charleston,
SC who produce the Boiled Peanuts Catalogue, 'your secret source for
the best southern specialties and gifts'. The link from the index
page takes the user to the online version of the catalogue with an
introduction (this one was the Winter 2001 with a new product 'fig
syrup' made from the leftover syrup from preserving figs) and the
catalogue segmented into areas including boiling equipment, various
types of pickles, wood cookware, milled grains and so on.
The website offers all sorts of secret southern goodies like 'Peach
Leather' and 'Hot Pepper Jelly' for personal purchase or gift baskets.
Tee shirts, cookbooks and cookware are also available. The Lee Brothers
also offered a 'Make-Your-Own Peanuts Kit' which included four pounds
of raw peanuts and a book. There is also a 'Questions and Answers'
link which leads the user to a series of commonly asked questions
about boiled peanuts and the company itself. The website itself has
a strange 'down home' feeling, there are no flashy applets or obnoxious
banners, it is a very simple layout that conveys its content in a
manner suitable for the company.
So how do boiled peanuts involve themselves in marketing and advertising?
It seems as if the Lee Brothers Boiled Peanuts Catalogue has upgraded
from a local family business to the world. Even though they have simply
put their catalogue online, they have increased their exposure to
all connoisseurs of Southern cuisine. On the website, they
give the user the ability to order online (there are no images of
the product, just descriptions) or request a print catalogue. This
small company has used the internet to market their product around
the world.