People I Admire

Brand Interview: Dr. Elizabeth Chabner Thompson, Founder of BBFL Co (Best Friends For Life)

November 24th, 2012 | Posted in Blog, Brand-Interviews, People I Admire, Smart Business Practices | Comments Off
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Brand Interview: Dr. Elizabeth Chabner Thompson, Founder of BBFL Co (Best Friends for Life)

Dr. Elizabeth Chabner Thompson

How long has your company been in business? Please tell us a bit about your company, its mission, goals…
Athlete, mother of four, and Johns Hopkins-educated physician, Elizabeth Chabner Thompson, 44, of Scarsdale, NY, has focused her entire career on improving patient care. However, it wasn’t until becoming a patient herself that she came up with the idea for her company, BFFL Co. (Best Friends for Life), that strives to enhance the patient experience before, during and after a hospital stay or treatment.

After undergoing a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction, she found that there were many items she could have used for better comfort and care during her hospital stay and recovery. Elizabeth felt that while the surgeries and radiation treatment for diseases have rapidly evolved, the patient experience had not. For example, the surgical garments were designed in the 1970s and had not kept up with the medical progress and there was nothing for patient dignity in the Radiation Oncology space.

Also, she found that her own patients and friends were concerned and confused about their upcoming hospital stays: “What should I bring to the hospital? Why does this surgical bra hit just where my drains exit?  Why are these undergarments I’m supposed to wear during my prostate treatments so uncomfortable? What will help me to recuperate quickly after childbirth?”

Elizabeth decided to design a line of cheerful and attractive bags, surgical accessories and helpful patient amenities to address these issues. Just weeks later when a dear friend asked what she would need for her own mastectomy, Thompson created the first BFFLBag®, full of items to improve the care experience for her.

BFFL Co Breast Bag Contents

Since then, Thompson put her New York City oncology practice on the side burner and started BFFL Co. to make her idea a business. She has been busy inventing and customizing specialized products, such as post-mastectomy bras and prostate dignity briefs, to ensure her BFFLBags improve the comfort and care of a wider range of patients. Most recently, she launched her delivery and postpartum Mommy/Delivery BFFLBag and Prostate Cancer BFFLBag, which are available online at the company’s site, BBFL Co (Best Friends For Life).

Transitioning from oncologist and busy mom to the head of a rapidly growing business has been an adrenalin-filled experience for Thompson, who also holds a Masters in Public Health from Harvard. Today, she juggles seeing patients with attending meetings with potential distribution partners and hospital buyers, which provide the bag to leading hospitals around the country. She is proud to lead her company, BFFL Co., in greatly improving the patient experience and is excited that BFFLBags are taking off.

Lumpectomy Bag Wound Care from BFFL Co

Do you donate to charities? Tell us about that also and why.
Currently, each retail purchase includes a giveback of 15% of the net proceeds of profit. Eventually we will donate bags to underserved communities.

Tell us about your brand.
BFFL stands for Best Friends for Life. Our brand messages friendship, support, optimism, and recovery.

How did you know what typeface (font) would be right for your company wordmark or logo? If your logo has an illustration, describe why that art was the right thing, animal, place, object, etc…
We chose the font: omnes. It is rounded, soft and relays modernity and comfort.

BFFL Co logo identity and tagline

How did you decide on the right color palette to fit your company look and feel?
We chose colors that men and women of all ages could relate to—bold colors

How did you decide which type of designer to work with, or did you design your own identity and web presence?
I brought my ideas to a graphic designer who presented several ideas

In what order did you present your company to the world? Did you start with marketing and products, or website, blog and social media?
We started with a website, photos of our products, and testimonials. We then moved on to a blog, social media and marketing materials.

Prostate Tena BFFL Co products

How long after the launch of your company did you start pitching in social media?
About 6 months. It takes a long time to learn how to use Facebook, Twitter.

Did you do research or study any software, take webinars, teleclasses, before approaching any area of your marketing or web presence?
I listened to the webinars posted on Savor the Success.

Do you advertise locally in newspapers and/or nationally in magazines? Are they effective?
Not yet.

Do you advertise online using Google, Facebook or on other company sites? Are they effective?
I have not had any success with google adwords. We have not paid for any advertising other than the google adwords.

Which social media site to spend the most time on and how does it help marketing your business?
Facebook and Twitter but I am not sure if it leads to sales, just awareness for now.

BFFL Co GYN Bag Products

Do you belong to community sharing websites? Which ones and how effective are they in building your audience? What are the best features that help your business?
I am not aware of website sharing, what is that?

When you printed your products, packaging, business cards and other print marketing did you choose an online printer or visit a local vendor?
We use a local printer in NY

Did you know anything about different types of papers, when you wanted to print your marketing materials?
We loved the glossy finish and rounded edges. We try to keep the same feeling for all of our materials.

Have you ever used “green” technology in printing, using FSC certified papers or recycled paper and if not, how likely are you at trying this on a next project?
Would love to try this. Budget is always an issue.

If you sell products, are they produced in the USA or abroad?
About 50% of our products are produced in the USA. We would love to have 100% of our materials made in the USA.

Do you speak at events? If so tell us about that.
I speak at many events—Breast Cancer Toast to Survivors, NY, NY; Pink Tea in Mobile, AL.

What is coming up in the year or two we should watch for?
November 2012 I will receive the Ally award from American Cancer Society. I will give a speech at the event.

Is there anything you haven’t yet tackled, but will want to do soon?
We are thinking about HSN or QVC….

Mommy Product Contents for Hospital Stay BFFL Co

To learn more about Dr. Elizabeth Chabner Thompson and BBFL Co, please visit the links below:
www.bbflco.com
Facebook.com/bfflco
@bfflco
youtube: bffl co channel
LinkedIn – Bffl co

9 Lessons in Marketing a Brand I Learned From the Yankees

October 12th, 2012 | Posted in Blog, Branding, marketing, People I Admire, Smart Business Practices | Comments Off
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I have been a Yankee fan for many, many years, but recently I’ve been looking at them with fresh eyes.

Each time the team plays, I think a lot about how Joe Girardi has built the line up, what the order and pitching match up says about who they’re playing against. I think about the players themselves, as each represents their own brand and what that means when some are 1/20 or the opposite, pitching and batting like superstars. Some are doing well and others not, so how will it effect the team as a whole and each player. When they do well, their confidence is high, when poorly, nothing they do seems to go how they want it. Look at Alex and Curtis, we expect home runs and not much was produced expect Curtis’s home run tonight. Although we can always count on Jeter!

Yankee Stadium by Susan Newman

The ALDS just ended, Yankees against Orioles, each of the games were nail biters and it could have gone either way. We’re fans and we sway with their every move. We yell and curse at them when they’re failing, and scream, jump and clap when they exceed our expectations.

So what does this teach us about a top brand that we can apply to our own businesses?

1- Have confidence in your best assets and feature them consistently.

2- The HYPE is worth it, have and plan a goal and stick with it. When you do everyone wants you or to work with you.

3- Market slightly diffferent depending on who you face or for different reasons.

4- When someone or something isn’t performing the way you expect it to, don’t just cut it, figure out what it needs and support it.

5- Consistent branding between all components and bring in marketing partners that build the audience for all parties, however be sure that the brand mission is there. (Bruce, yeah!)

6- Being part of a team makes you see the big picture.

7- Give back to the community and promote those organizations so you’re building trust while doing good.

8- Concentration and focus, slow down and look at the details.

9- Savor the moments and don’t take them for granted.

I Will Always Miss You Whitney Houston

February 13th, 2012 | Posted in art, Blog, People I Admire, Uncategorized | 2 Comments
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Belle, My Mom In her Prime!

Belle, My Mom In her Prime, a Gorgeous Woman!

Each Valentine’s Day we show our love for friends and family, but today I’d like to thank Whitney Houston who helped me through a difficult time in my life.

In 1993 my Mother was diagnosed with Pancreatic and Liver Cancer and was struggling for her life. She was 72 years old, and just getting started on enjoying her retirement. Each weekend I would drive down to the Jersey Shore from Hoboken to Point Pleasant. I wanted to be with them and help them in any way I could. I was very close with my parents, as the baby in the family and the last to leave, so we shared so much and I trusted them and their guidance.

As I would drive on the turnpike and Garden State, the flocks of birds would swirl and soar around and Whitney’s song, “I Will Always Love You” would play on the radio. The combination of the birds soaring and Whitney’s amazing and powerful voice would fill me up and I would cry as I was driving. She helped me release the frustration and it was a way to grieve before and after being with my parents.

This past weekend when I heard about Whitney’s passing, it brought me back to that song and that time, and all the memories came flooding back. (…of course all those 9″ LPs, which I still have and would sing along to, like most.)

She had one of the most amazing voices of our time and I’m sorry she won’t be thrilling us all with what was coming next. I appreciate her gift to us all and especially for helping me when I needed it so badly.

My heartfelt condolences to her family and friends. May the outpouring of love from the world and gratitude help you through this very difficult time.