STUDIO H

I realize there are better reasons to wake up in a panic at 3 a.m… An overlooked car payment, the report that has been on your ‘To Do’ list for a month and is now due on Tuesday, and whether or not ‘Whitney’ is going to get cancelled before the full season is over. However, my 3 a.m. panic was centered around luggage.

Hara and I have a saying around STUDIO H… “I love you more than my luggage.” Now I am putting a LOT of faith in Hara when she says this to me because I have never actually seen her luggage. I have a sneaking suspicion that my Converse-loving friend most likely has similar taste in suitcases, but in my case, I can state with all sincerity, that if I love something more than my luggage, it is no small matter. 

While my obsession with footwear is well-documented among my friends and therapist, my love affair with luggage is known and whispered about only by those in the sacred circle. ‘Lola’ (doesn’t EVERYONE name their luggage?) is a large, sassy, red crocodile-print Brighton. ‘Lizzy’ is her smaller, purple crocodile-print carry-on sister.  

Lola and Lizzy have been on all my favorite adventures. They have viva Las Vegased, made the scene in Seattle, and walked the red carpet in LA. But on our last adventure Lola was manhandled by luggage gorillas and sustained some abrasions and contusions on her once perfectly polished exterior. I find this particularly ironic since I had to pay $50 just to get her there. You would think this price would not only guarantee she would get to our destination without a scratch, but ensure she’d be sipping complimentary champagne on the journey. Lizzy, safe and sound with me in coach, made it to California looking as beautiful as the day I bought her. I vowed I would never again subject Lola to such shabby treatment… and in my new mantra of cheap and cheerful never pay $50 ON TOP of my airfare to check a bag (fabulous or not) when I fly.

Which takes me back to my 3 a.m. panic. In my excitement for my upcoming LA excursion (the Liz Taylor jewelry exhibit has been consuming my thoughts for over a month now) I had forgotten about this solemn vow I made to Lola and now was faced with the daunting task of packing for a 4-day vacation in (insert gasp of horror here) sweet little carry-on Lizzy! Lizzy has never been forced to do the heavy lifting. Usually reserved for nothing but shoes and a curling iron, how could she be expected to be my everything? That is a lot of baggage for baggage! 

So 3:05 finds me standing in my closet trying to figure out how to pack 4 days worth of clothes, shoes and accessories in a bag designed to fit in an overhead bin. I’m pretty sure if given an ENTIRE overhead bin I could not get this accomplished. 

3 hours and 22 minutes later I had achieved the impossible. I had paired down to the bare essentials. Two pairs of pants, 3 sweaters, 3 scarves, pajamas, a make-up bag and one (hard to type through the tears) pair of shoes. All of this included with the carefully strategized outfit I will wear on the plane (another blog in itself).

I began the process of laying out everything I had planned to take with me on the bed. First of all I don’t think Lola AND Lizzy could have accommodated all of those things. Just the hair products could have easily filled one bag. I put myself in the ‘if you were stranded on a deserted island’ mentality. After a 10 minute diversionary scenario that involved Pina Coladas and Gary Sinise I returned to the task at hand. 

Long story short I realized I could do without the back-up outfits, shoes that were only feasible for sitting down for lunch at The Ivy, and enough lotions, potions and pharmaceuticals to fill Rite Aid. 

And now for the clever transition to how this pertains to advertising (cue dramatic music). 

In an economic climate where every advertising dollar counts, have you revised your strategy to maximize the effect of your bare essentials? Have you laid out all the bits and pieces and decided what the bare essentials are? Have you tested each element to see what should stay and what should either go or be replaced? Are there odds and ends like collateral or sponsorships that need to be reviewed and evaluated? 

STUDIO H can help you come up with a revised media strategy as well as provide you with the essentials you need to pack your Lizzy and send your business on a whole new trip. We’re all about the journey… especially if it involves Pina Coladas and Gary Sinise.

Kristi Erban