A Gift Bag is So Much More with Madison & Mulholland
The Luxurious Madison & Mulholland Gift Bag. Photo by David Lion Rattiner
By David Lion Rattiner
The goodie bag. It is sort of a Hamptons staple. You head out to a party or a charity fundraiser and you get a goodie bag. Sometimes you get a t-shirt, maybe a key chain, maybe a free drink card to a restaurant. Whatever is in them is always fun, it’s like getting a little Christmas present after attending a party.
Madison & Mulholland, owned by Jane Ubell-Meyer, brings the idea of a gift bag to a whole new level of marketing a product, and her business has been hitting the Hamptons in the form of events, branding, shopping technologies, and of course, gift bags. It all started nearly a decade ago when, “About nine years ago a friend of mine said to me, ‘why don’t we do gift bags in the Hamptons?’ and at the time I said okay what does that mean?” Jane explains.
In 2001 that conversation started up a company called Buzz Bags, which started delivering bags of goodies for parties. Finding some success, Jane wanted the concept to expand and created Madison & Mulholland. Today, thanks to her company, the gift bag business goes much further than just a gift bag at a party. This year her gift bags have a lot more legs thanks to the Hampton Luxury Liner and its not just about the gifts in the bags, its about extending the brand. “It’s not just a product in a bag any more, they also get media exposure,” Jane explains.
She went further to describe an event that can extend the brands and the products that her company represents. “We’re doing all kinds of events this year. For example, we’re creating an onboard dating boot camp July 17 with Tamsan Fadal, the morning anchor of WPIX television and her husband Matt Titus, who have a dating company. So we are going to have dating games and mini seminars on board the Luxury Liner for people who sign up. You’ll be able to find a date as you travel out to the Hamptons.”
This has brought in a lot of companies who are interested in the service. Some clients to name just a few are John Varvatos, Porsche Design, The Artists Alliance of East Hampton, Smith River Kitchens, Annana’s Spa, Harper Collins, Equinox, William Greenberg Desserts who do New York’s best black and white cookies, Altoids Smalls and others.
On top of this, the company is offering a catalogue to read on the bus, which is sort of like the in-flight magazine, “Sky Mall” but will be located on the Hamptons Luxury Liner. The catalogue will offer products that can be purchased through a new technology that allows consumers to buy with their smartphones. Jane is calling the entire service and experience Shopmobi. Using very advanced technology and a camera phone, Shopmobi offers a new experience in shopping. “People can use the barcode and take a picture of it with their smart phone then be directed to the website where you can make a purchase or get more information automatically. This is being used today in Europe and in Asia. We’re launching Shopmobi on the Hamptons Luxury Liner on July 31 which is the same weekend as Super Saturday, so you can start shopping on board as you head out,” she explains. “You can also make reservations for dinner with the program, make spa reservations and a lot of many different things.”
This new technology is really amazing having seen it in action.
A goodie bag is no longer just a “gift bag”–it’s now a powerful vehicle to reach thousands of people through product placement, social media and traditional media. Imagine you place a product in a gift bag and in one weekend, it’s e-blasted to 26,000 Hampton Luxury Liner subscribers, 50,000+ Dan’s Papers readers and thousands more through television, the web and magazines. Madison & Mulholland has created an affordable “multi-layered” approach for small and large businesses, which include PR, advertising, and sampling opportunities for an affluent demographic.
Who would have thought so much could go into a gift bag?
August 29th, 2010 
Jane 
