For whatever reason, this ad that ran in various magazines like Manchester Life last year resonated. It drove in customers, it got people talking about JOY, and it ignited people to tell us stories. You can’t ask much more out of a print ad. Trying to figure out why this ad of me standing at my kitchen stovetop applying lip gloss wearing a Natori kimono was so effective has been easy compared to trying to figure out how to strike that magic again. The newest issue of Manchester Life has just come out and once again you’ll find a full page advertisement for JOY. How do we decide on the images to feature in our ads? What is the history behind our print ad strategy? And how far is to far to go when it comes to JOY?
I love magazines. Always have. We’ve placed JOY ads in magazines 
since we first opened in 2013. For the first couple of years, we ran ads with just words and information like this one on the right. No pictures, just the facts: logo, what we do, where we are, how to call us. At some point in 2015, I spoke to Lee Romano about our ads. He owned Stratton Magazine at the time and I asked him what he would think if we started adding images to our advertisements. I was a little hesitant because, you know…we are a bra and lingerie store and I worried that pictures of such might come across too 
sexy and put some people off. He told me he thought the community was ready for us to open things up a little and that he had confident that I would figure out the right image that sent the right message. We dipped our toe in with this type of ad for a while that mixed words and relatively safe imagery.
We started running some ads that were an extension of photos that we had been posting on social media that spoke to the emotion of joy. These transcended a vibe that I wanted to transcend and that it also represented our mission to help women find their joy from the inside out. Examples of this series are a photo of me in my pajamas drinking coffee with my niece. Another one that featured me and a woman that could be my step-daughter. We had a good laugh about that one. 
The kimono in the kitchen shot was just a lucky click on the iPhone camera as I was getting ready to head to a photo shoot down the road at the Barn Restaurant and Tavern. Their huge stone fireplace seemed like a perfect location for a holiday issue advertisement. Lo and behold, none of the images in front of the fireplace quite worked, but this “B-roll” photograph was a shot I kept going back to. (In film and television, “B-roll” is supplemental or alternative footage) The kimono, the lip gloss, the coffee cups, the tea kettle, the kitchen…I loved how I felt standing right there in the middle of all of that. I had a lot on my mind, but was enjoying that precious second to myself. The more I work with women, the more I realize how much we have in common. I thought other women would like the feeling in that image too.
That ad ignited conversations pretty much everywhere I went for a while. We ran it in three magazines last year: Manchester Life, Stratton Magazine summer issue, and Green Mountain Edibles. It brought in customers who said, “I love that ad with you in the kitchen.” It brought in a woman I am friendly with through golf who had never been in before. It spoke to one woman in a way that kind of haunts me to this day. She was very concerned about the sleeves of the kimono and the gas stove. She told me she was so worried about a fire and she was glad I was OK. I didn’t press the issue, but this photo conjured something up in her about a woman, a housecoat, and a fire.
Trying to find just the right images to run after the “kimono” has been a big game of how to top that past success vs. what image is of super-great quality vs. what image exudes our mission. This one of a brunette in a lovely lace set supplied by one of our vendors had it all. I thought the woman could be one of us. I liked her hands and jewelry. I liked that she wasn’t too skinny. I liked that like me in the kimono, she looked like she had a lot on her mind and places to go, but was taking a second for herself. And I thought that if we 
were going to go with a bra and panty set for the first time, this was a classy one to do it with. I like this set as much as I love that kimono. I thought it showed joy from the inside out.
The 2018 issue of Manchester Life is out now. You’ll find our full-page ad on page 7. Complimentary issues are available just about everywhere including at JOY. Cheers and thank you to the publisher and editor Marcia Lissak and her entire team for creating such a beautiful issue that showcases our town in an incredible way. Thank you, as always to Holly Mirenda, our “VP of Branding and Marketing,” who thank god just gets me and my crazy marketing ideas.
Thank you for being part of this journey before, after, and well beyond the kimono. Let’s rock.
Find your joy. Live it too. Each second.
Much love. Thank YOU.
Joy
