Of Wolves and Magic
Today I’m going to write a Pulitzer Prize winning novel…. ….today I’m going to dance like Fred Astaire…..today I’m going to fix a nation’s economic woes…..all because of the mystical powers of my freshly broken in “Three Wolf Moon” shirt.
For those of you who haven’t been following the news, this week the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development named the “Three Wolf Moon” the official t-shirt of New Hampshire economic development. Created by Keene-based t-shirt manufacturer The Mountain, the shirt, which features three wolves howling at the moon, became an overnight viral Internet sensation when Brian Govern, a student at Rutgers University, authored a satirical comment about the garment on Amazon.com. That led to a barrage of similar reviews which propelled the sales of the shirt to a number one ranking in Amazon’s apparel line and the movement of over 400,000 units.
Why “Three Wolf Moon” you say? In some respects, our designation of the shirt is an homage to a rising New Hampshire company that is both creative and industrious. However, it is also about being willing to go out on the edge and create a buzz that will draw the eyes of a new audience to the many business and quality of life opportunities afforded to those fortunate enough to live and work in New Hampshire.
Last year, the New Hampshire Economic Development Advisory Council, a Governor-appointed group of 25 business leaders, tasked the Division of Economic Development with reaching out to a younger audience and apprising them of all New Hampshire has to offer. You don’t do that with press releases and brochures; you don’t do that with long winded oratories and government speak; you do it by capturing their attention.
That’s why we created the “No Bull Business Blog,” an unconventional State sponsored business blog that generated 19% of unique visitors to the parent NHEconomy.com site at the blog’s launch in June to 43% in December. Think about that – nearly half of the unique user traffic to the economic development site of the State of New Hampshire are venturing to the site to view a blog that is willing to engage viewers and take chances. Think that people are tired of “business as usual?”
Similarly, when we made the “Three Wolf Moon” announcement earlier in the week, we did so knowing that The Mountain is a true New Hampshire success story and that we would also generate a lot of online discussion between emerging hipsters and upwardly mobile young professionals from across the nation and around the globe….the type of people who typically wouldn’t be drawn to a government economic development Web site. The response? Newspaper coverage from the Hartford Courant, the Boston Globe and beyond, radio coverage from as far out as Hawaii, a great video package on WMUR blog postings on sites in Australia and France and over 15 pages worth of comments on Twitter.
Do I believe in the magical powers of the “Three Wolf Moon” shirt? Yes, I do. I also believe in the hard work of an enterprising New Hampshire company that recognized and capitalized on an opportunity, a garment that has spent nearly 200 days on Amazon’s Top 100 List and in taking a creative chance when significant reward is at stake. By ignoring the conventional and seeking a way to stand out from the pack, New Hampshire has given the business community something to howl about.
Steve Boucher is the Communications & Legislative Director at the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development and a proud wearer of the “Three Wolf Moon” shirt that can be ordered via Amazon.com. To learn more about The Mountain, check out www.themountain.me. You can also visit me on the “No Bull Business Blog” at blog.nheconomy.com, sign up for our Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/Nobullblog, check out No Bull TV at http://www.youtube.com/user/nobulltv or become one of our Facebook fans at www.facebook.com/nobullbusiness.
For those of you who haven’t been following the news, this week the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development named the “Three Wolf Moon” the official t-shirt of New Hampshire economic development. Created by Keene-based t-shirt manufacturer The Mountain, the shirt, which features three wolves howling at the moon, became an overnight viral Internet sensation when Brian Govern, a student at Rutgers University, authored a satirical comment about the garment on Amazon.com. That led to a barrage of similar reviews which propelled the sales of the shirt to a number one ranking in Amazon’s apparel line and the movement of over 400,000 units.
Why “Three Wolf Moon” you say? In some respects, our designation of the shirt is an homage to a rising New Hampshire company that is both creative and industrious. However, it is also about being willing to go out on the edge and create a buzz that will draw the eyes of a new audience to the many business and quality of life opportunities afforded to those fortunate enough to live and work in New Hampshire.
Last year, the New Hampshire Economic Development Advisory Council, a Governor-appointed group of 25 business leaders, tasked the Division of Economic Development with reaching out to a younger audience and apprising them of all New Hampshire has to offer. You don’t do that with press releases and brochures; you don’t do that with long winded oratories and government speak; you do it by capturing their attention.
That’s why we created the “No Bull Business Blog,” an unconventional State sponsored business blog that generated 19% of unique visitors to the parent NHEconomy.com site at the blog’s launch in June to 43% in December. Think about that – nearly half of the unique user traffic to the economic development site of the State of New Hampshire are venturing to the site to view a blog that is willing to engage viewers and take chances. Think that people are tired of “business as usual?”
Similarly, when we made the “Three Wolf Moon” announcement earlier in the week, we did so knowing that The Mountain is a true New Hampshire success story and that we would also generate a lot of online discussion between emerging hipsters and upwardly mobile young professionals from across the nation and around the globe….the type of people who typically wouldn’t be drawn to a government economic development Web site. The response? Newspaper coverage from the Hartford Courant, the Boston Globe and beyond, radio coverage from as far out as Hawaii, a great video package on WMUR blog postings on sites in Australia and France and over 15 pages worth of comments on Twitter.
Do I believe in the magical powers of the “Three Wolf Moon” shirt? Yes, I do. I also believe in the hard work of an enterprising New Hampshire company that recognized and capitalized on an opportunity, a garment that has spent nearly 200 days on Amazon’s Top 100 List and in taking a creative chance when significant reward is at stake. By ignoring the conventional and seeking a way to stand out from the pack, New Hampshire has given the business community something to howl about.
Steve Boucher is the Communications & Legislative Director at the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development and a proud wearer of the “Three Wolf Moon” shirt that can be ordered via Amazon.com. To learn more about The Mountain, check out www.themountain.me. You can also visit me on the “No Bull Business Blog” at blog.nheconomy.com, sign up for our Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/Nobullblog, check out No Bull TV at http://www.youtube.com/user/nobulltv or become one of our Facebook fans at www.facebook.com/nobullbusiness.
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