Tagged: Scott Boilen

If you have a single marketing bone in your body, you really should study everything Snuggie does. Case in point - Snuggie holds a fashion show yesterday. Some would ask why. Word of mouth...that's why. That Fashion Show has been reported on by numerous news outlets (Time Magazine, Gothamist, etc.), and then spreads across Twitter, Facebook, etc.

As word begins to spread, people start searching online. As more and more people perform a specific search, the term starts popping up and presenting itself to others. So here's an example, revealing that the Snuggie Fashion Show is one of the top searches on DogPile right now (too bad those dogs on their home page aren't wearing Dog Snuggies).

While we are on the subject of marketing, I would be remiss if I didn't congratulate Scott Boilen and All Star Marketing on their Direct Response Marketing Alliance Marketer of the Year Award. They've gone from 4 million Snuggie sales in January to over 15 million today. Umm...HOLY DANG!

So, as I said, All Star/Snuggie has rewritten the playbook when it comes to marketing in today's environment. Simply put - NO ONE gets more free advertising than Snuggie. It's to the point now that all they have to do is launch a new commercial and all the media outlets clamor to cover it and give free airtime. Here's a clip that exemplifies this phenomenon - wait for Willie Geist to finish on his Kanye West take and he'll then air a free Snuggie ad on his show about a minute into this clip.

With all this said, I'm prepping a 10 day/10 part series on how you can use Snuggies to market your own business or brand, offering up ideas on how you can get hundreds of thousands of eyeballs. Get ready for fun in fleece.

Update 3/11/09 - Harpo Productions has had the YouTube videos removed. They were not mine, I simply embedded them on this site, but the source files were from someone else on YouTube...so if you want to see Oprah in a Snuggie, I guess you'll have to find a re-run...or you could just watch out for Tyra in a Snuggie, which is due to hit any day now.

You will have to settle for my original description of what you could have seen in the video, if Harpo Prods hadn't brought down the copyright hammer.

Oprah chats with Mr. Snuggie, Scott Boilen, about the success of the Snuggie. The panel on Oprah's show, which included Tyler Perry in a Zebra Snuggie, seemed to doubt that people would wear Snuggies out in public, to theaters, etc.

Although Scott didn't point Oprah's viewers to SnuggieSightings.com (sigh) for proof of Snuggies in Public, he did mention that people are out Pub Crawling in Snuggies. For more on Snuggie Pub Crawling, check out SnuggiePubCrawls.com (which is on the 1st Page of Fark.com right now and getting slammed with traffic). They also discussed people wearing Snuggies in theaters. Here is a pic of a Snuggie wearer at an opening night midnight screening of the Watchmen movie. Our first Snuggie Sighting in a theater is here.

Oprah Snuggie Video is here

It now officially does not matter that warm weather is fast approaching. The Snuggie is going to do just fine through Spring and Summer, thanks to someone whom you may already know...Oprah, a.k.a. O. (You know you are big when you can be referred to as the first letter of your name...this isn't quite as 'Artist Formerly Known as Prince / Funky Hieroglyphic' big, but 'tis big enough for your own TV Show, Magazine, etc.)

On Friday, March 6th, Oprah devoted time to the Snuggie. For the first time, new Snuggie lines made an appearance. These new prints are known as Designer Snuggies. Prints available are Leopard, Zebra, and Camel. And also Snugglettes, Snuggies for Kids - Check out Oprah in the Pink Snugglette. You go, girl! And notice how Tyler Perry can cradle his coffee cup because his arms are not restricted by a blanket.

Oprah, thanks to the Snuggie People, was able to give away Snuggies to the entire audience. I will have this video up at some point of the crowd's joyous reaction to the news. Snuggie = Mainstream.

Here is a quick visual glance of the more notable media mentions that SnuggieSightings.com, SnuggiePubCrawls.com, and SnuggieBook.com have received (if you don't want to read all that text down below).

This site is dedicated to the cultural phenomenon known as the Snuggie and was conceived on January 10, 2009. You can read about the formative days and inspiration behind this site on my EngageMentality website.

SnuggieSightings.com was mentioned in USA Today on January 28th as well as CNN's Headline News Morning Express with Robin Meade.
SnuggieSightings.com hit #1 on Google Trends on January 29, 2009. SI.com mentioned SnuggieSightings.com on January 30th.

SnuggieSightings.com was featured as the Daily What's Favorite Site of the Day on February 13, 2009. On February 15, 2009 SnuggieSightings.com was featured on the Front Page of BuzzFeed.com as well as a mention in Trend Hunter Magazine.

CollegeCandy.com called SnuggieSightings.com their latest obsession on February 16th, 2009.

91X FM in San Diego featured SnuggieSightings.com on their Tuesday, February 17th Morning Show.

MediaPost mentions the first ever Snuggie Pub Crawl, as reported by SnuggieSightings.com, on February 24, 2009. The next day, February 25th, WalletPop.com featured both SnuggiePubCrawls.com and SnuggieSightings.com.

Additionally on February 25, 2009, Life&Style Weekly Magazine published their March 9th edition; featuring SnuggieSightings.com in their 'What's Hot' section. If you are a Life&Style Weekly Magazine reader, be sure to check out our welcome devoted to you.

On March 6th, 2009, SI.com Extra Mustard linked to SnuggiePubCrawls.com . The next day, March 7th, found SnuggiePubCrawls.com featured on the front page of Fark.com.

The Fark.com spotlight brought dozens of radio stations into the SnuggiePubCrawls.com conversation, bringing a lot of new visitors on Monday, March 9th.

On March 11, Steven Zampieri wrote an article for Fast Company Magazine called Pimp My Snuggie 2.0, mentioning and linking to SnuggiePubCrawls.com and SnuggieSightings.com.

March 15 - All-Star Marketing Group CEO Scott Boilen was quoted in the Tennessean, saying 'It is hard to single out one specific site, but the Snuggie Sightings site is excellent and certainly helps in getting the word out.'

March 16 - Announced the official launch of SnuggieBook.com - the Social Network with Sleeves (you really should join).

March 18 - Italian Fashion Magazine 'Gioia' (translated 'Joy') published a Snuggie article, mentioning SnuggieSightings.com.

March 19, 2009 - DigitalCity.com writes a Snuggie Mania article, highlighting my website trifecta of SnuggieSightings.com, SnuggiePubCrawls.com and SnuggieBook.com. The is the first major media mention for SnuggieBook.com, which is only 4 days old at this point.

March 20, 2009 - Maholo.com lists SnuggieBook.com on the 'Maholo Top 7' List on the Mahalo Snuggie page. The Social Network with Sleeves is not yet 5 days old at this point in time.

March 27, 2009 - Appeared on the first page of BuzzFeed.com again.

March 27, 2009 - The San Francisco Chronicle called SnuggieSightings.com the 'Snuggie Information Clearinghouse'.

March 29, 2009 - Launched BabySnuggie.com to try and make sense of the Peekaru and its viral spread.

March 31 - Appeared on Dr. Blogstein's Radio Happy Hour about halfway through the show.

April 2 - SnuggieSightings.com was featured on Dallas Radio Station KRLD's 'Other Side of the News'.

April 2 - SnuggieSightings.com was referrenced by di Carlotta Magnanini in Marie Claire Italia.

April 6 - I was an in-studio guest with Michael DelGiorno on 99.7 WTN in Nashville, discussing the upcoming Snuggie Concert for the next day.

April 10 - Sarah Joi with Glamour Magazine mentioned SnuggiePubCrawls.com in her 'What Have You Done to Laugh Lately?' article.

April 20 - Greta Van Susteren mentions SnuggiePubCrawls.com on her show. Thanks to Dr. Blogstein for capturing this clip.

April 21 - Mr. Snuggie Sightings experiences his first random Snuggie Sighting.

April 22 - SnuggieBook - the Social Network with Sleeves makes a brief appearance on CNBC's 'As Seen on TV' special.

May 12 - L'edition Speciale on Canal+ (Paris, France) covers the Snuggie and features SnuggieSightings.com.

June 13 - Interviewed for a Lighter Side of the News Television Pilot while wearing a Zebra Snuggie through the streets of Nashville, during the CMA Festival. Updates on this project will be coming soon.

June 14 - Daily Telegraph Australia covers the Snuggie craze and quotes from this site regarding upcoming Snuggie Pub Crawls in Australia.

July, 2009 - This website is featured in the latest Snuggie infomercial to air across Australia.

July 29, 2009 - Launched SnuggieDogSightings.com. Several Affiliate Marketing companies quickly copy me with their own versions, which go unnoticed by anyone but me :)

July 30, 2009 - Gawker links to this site, covering the Snuggie for Dog news.

November 5, 2009 - Huffington Post links to SnuggiePubCrawls.com when they can't decide what is more annoying, the Snuggie commercial or the fact that there are Snuggie Pub Crawls.

November 23, 2009 - PC Magazine names SnuggieSightings.com one of their Favorite Blogs of 2009. Mom is proud.

December 11, 2009 - MSN Money points out Snuggie Pub Crawls as well as how hard it is to resist everyone's favorite blanket with sleeves.

December 21, 2009 - Village Voice declares 2009 as the Year of the Snuggie, providing a handy timeline of historic Snuggie dates. All of my Snuggie sites garner mentions. Perhaps Mr. Snuggie Sightings played a part in the Snuggie's success? Hmm...
January 28, 2010 - The Boston Globe features SnuggiePubCrawls.com in advance of their own crawl on January 29.

July 26, 2010 - Advertising Age mentions this site, along with SnuggiePubCrawls.com in their coverage of another As Seen on TV hit, Bumpits.

SnuggieSightings.com hearts the media.
Here is a short site description which you may freely use in your publication, program, etc. whenever you would like to mention this site:

'SnuggieSightings.com chronicles the warm-and-fuzzy fashion feats of Snuggie enthusiasts worldwide. From arc welding in a Snuggie, to Snuggie Scuba Diving, this website proves there are thousands of things you can do in a Snuggie that you would never dream of attempting in a restrictive, soul-crushing blanket.

Visit SnuggieSightings.com and submit your very own Snuggie Sightings. You too can become a Snuggie Star, shining brightly through the universe like the Snuggie complimentary booklight.'

ENOUGH ABOUT ME...LET'S TALK ABOUT YOU

Photo submissions, video submissions, and press inquiries may be sent via email to photos (at) snuggiesightings.com. Please note that Video submissions must be hosted and available on YouTube or Vimeo (or other sites that host videos and provide an easy embed option) - simply email the link to your video.

Due to volume, I cannot publish every photo or video received. I encourage you to get creative with your Snuggie Sightings. You can also connect with SnuggieSightings.com on Twitter or Facebook to receive updates and correspond.