Peace Frogs
Like most college students, Catesby Jones needed some extra cash, so he decided to create beach volleyball shorts to sell around campus at the University of Virginia. He wanted an unusual design that would appeal to his target market, so he arranged an eye-catching assortment of national flags all over the boxer shorts. To put flair into his design, Catesby added a frog holding two digits in the air, forming a peace sign. After receiving numerous orders, he began manufacturing and selling the unique shorts from his dorm room. Soon, he began selling other items featuring the creative peace-signing frog, such as the T-shirt featured in Figure 1.1.
Figure 1.1 Peace Frogs Hope T-shirt. Used with permission of Peace Frogs, Inc.
Catesby saw the potential in his creation, so he and a few buddies decided to place a $15,000 direct marketing advertisement in Rolling Stone magazine. The advertisement generated a total of 1,000 orders. By the time Catesby had finished his degree in international relations, he was already four years into what would become his passion and a very successful business.
Peace Frogs began to dispense products through multichannel distribution, using a mail-order catalog, retail stores—company-owned and licensed (from wholesale to department stores and specialty retailers)—and on the Internet at www.peacefrogs.com (see Figure 1.2). These channels allowed the company to distribute its products to a vast number of consumers and save resources through cross-marketing. They also helped create brand recognition and loyalty because the consumer could see the merchandise at many different outlets.
Figure 1.2 Peace Frogs Web page. Used with permission of Peace Frogs, Inc.
Now a million-dollar company, Peace Frogs operates a 37,000-square-foot distribution center at its home office in Gloucester, Virginia. This multipurpose facility houses Peace Frogs’s merchandise, ordering systems, and a retail store. The 25 employees who work in the distribution center try to ensure that customers are completely satisfied.
The company not only has unique clothing, it has also found a distinctive way to distribute merchandise—by psychedelically painted VW vans driving the roads and highways of the United States. Peace Frogs chose this vehicle, shown in Figure 1.3, both as a means of transportation and as a marketing statement, a representation of ‘reliability and freedom.’ As it did with its products, the company has taken something ordinary and transformed it into a unique message that leaves a distinct impression and has a positive impact on its customers. The peace frog and its related ‘positively peaceful thinking’ message have become a significant symbol to which many can relate.
Figure 1.3 Peace Frogs van. Used with permission of Peace Frogs, Inc.
The company’s line now includes T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, boxer shorts, lounge pants, jewelry, accessories, and school supplies. In the process of building a business through direct marketing, Catesby Jones showed that with dedication and hard work, and by daring to be a little different, people can make an impact.
