Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Radio

Tim had a fun experience today. She was live on a popular FM radio station this afternoon talking about her business.

When she left this morning, she told me that she had to deliver holiday baskets to some people. For the New Year's holiday, Thais deliver gift baskets to friends, family and business contacts. The baskets are usually purchased at a grocery store and are filled with a variety of products.

Until very recently, they would also include a bottle of whiskey. Johnny Walker Black Label and Red Label were often popular choices. A new law this year prohibited the inclusion of alcohol in the basket on the grounds that it "forced" people to buy alcohol. Of course, its their law and the Thais are certainly free to make whatever silly laws they want and ignore the fact that there were always baskets available that didn't contain alcohol.

Tim has had a lot of baskets to deliver over the last few weeks. It is a good way to get face time and build relationships with important clients, business partners and government officials. Today she was delivering a basket to someone in the radio business. They chatted a bit and then the recipient told her that he had to go to be on the radio. He asked her if she wanted to join and she did. So she spent a few minutes on the air talking about her company. A little free advertising for the price of a basket is not too bad.

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