Living Organism

Hard as it may seem to believe, Thanksgiving is just around the corner. With it comes the mad dash to January we’ve come to know as “the holidays.”

Always one of the craziest times of the year, this holiday season promises to be particularly challenging in light of the economic downturn. Nearly everyone is looking for ways to trim their budget and cut back, which is a strange thing to face considering that the holidays have traditionally been a time of spending. Certain things that were maybe taken for granted before – like the annual office holiday party – now take on new meaning.

At Vitamin, though, we continue to see these challenges as an opportunity. People aren’t completely withdrawing, they’re just looking for ways to spend their money more intelligently. The two keys to standing out in this environment remain creativity and innovation.

Any business or service provider who can excel in those two areas, and then find an effective way to get the word out, will have a leg up over the competition. It’s not easy, but it is simple.

We’re currently seeing this concept in action with one of our own partners, Big Steaks Management. Owner Steve de Castro has recognized the difficulties facing holiday party planners this year. In response, he’s set up a special, “tiered” holiday menu at his restaurants in Maryland, North Carolina and New Jersey. The goal, according to David Sadeghi, the Big Steaks COO, is “taking the guess work out of budgeting.” Prices range from $30 to $75 per person and include many of the restaurants’ most popular options, and tax and gratuity are included.

Makes sense to us. With this system, holiday party planners can take “worry about what the bill’s going to look like” off of their to-do list and focus instead on getting the most for their money (and having fun).

It’s the kind of forward-thinking program that separates success from failure. Couple it with an effective PR and marketing program, and suddenly the down economy doesn’t seem quite as scary.