I was traveling around town the other day and saw something kind of interesting; it was a restaurant specializing in Vietnamese sandwiches. My first thought was, “What the …?” Then I thought, “Maybe I’ll see if it lasts and then visit it.”

Fast forward a few days. I get an email from one of our great bookstores here in Bellingham about upcoming events and what do you know, the author of a book on Vietnamese sandwiches is going to speak! The advertisement did not say it was the owner of the restaurant speaking but it occurred to me what a way to engage people in your business or store – especially if it’s something sort of out of the ordinary or something no one would have thought of. Not to say that any sandwich other than ham or turkey are out of the ordinary but the thought of a Vietnamese sandwich never occurred to me before, let alone that you could make a business out of sandwiches from other countries.

The timing of the book may just be a coincidence but it occurred to me: What a way to publicize what you do – especially if you’ve found a niche most of your potential customers have never thought of.

When I say write about it, I mean sort of write around the edges. This person came up with a cookbook – here I’m again assuming the author has something to do with the restaurant. A cookbook is very nice,not in your face way to spread some knowledge that will be good for business. It’s fun and of interest to those who may not be sandwich eaters at this point but are cooks.

So the next time you have an idea for a product or business and are wondering how well received it will be, think outside of the typical PR box and write something that answers the questions:

• 1. What is this?
• 2. Why should people care?
• 3. What’s fun and interesting about this?

Then sit back and enjoy the results- with a good sandwich.