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Deer Droppings
By Gary Thomas

How's this for a "marketing" story? The boss returned from vacation last summer with an idea for an item for our Holiday Gift Guide. During his travels he had come across bags of chocolate covered peanuts labeled as "Polar Bear Droppings."

He thought it was a clever idea, a great stocking stuffer and that we should develop our own "Illinois Deer Droppings." Most of us thought "Well, let's give it try. We might sell a couple of hundred bags."
Because a "couple of hundred bags" isn't enough packages for a candy maker to package individually into cellophane bags, we decided to prepare the bags ourselves, and we sterilized an unused office and set up a bagging and packaging operation. We designed the outer bag, purchased a few cases of the confection and we were ready to go. Four thousand bags later we're still bagging and selling the stuff.

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas last year, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources purchased dozens of cases of bulk double-dipped chocolate covered peanuts from an Illinois- based candy company, keeping the company on their toes with almost two shipments of chocolate weekly (and temporarily running them out of this confection on at least one occasion).
Those numbers are enough to get the attention of a candy-maker. But what if several other states also wanted to do a similar promotion — Nebraska Deer Droppings, New Hampshire Moose Droppings, Montana Elk Droppings or Wyoming Grizzly Bear Droppings, for instance? If several marketing directors got together and could guarantee the manufacturer an even larger order, the price would be even more reduced (and the profit even greater).
It's something to think about. And by the way, if you have any questions about the Illinois Deer Droppings program, call or e-mail Karen Rueter, our merchandiser at 217/782-7454 or krueter@dnrmail.state.il.us.

Deer Droppings By Gary Thomas
How's this for a "marketing" story? The boss returned from vacation last summer with an idea for an item for our Holiday Gift Guide. During his travels he had come across bags of chocolate covered peanuts labeled as "Polar Bear Droppings."
	He thought it was a clever idea, a great stocking stuffer and that we should develop our own "Illinois Deer Droppings." Most of us thought "Well, let's give it try. We might sell a couple of hundred bags." Because a "couple of hundred bags" isn't enough packages for a candy maker to package individually into cellophane bags, we decided to prepare the bags ourselves, and we sterilized an unused office and set up a bagging and packaging operation. We designed the outer bag, purchased a few cases of the confection and we were ready to go. Four thousand bags later we're still bagging and selling the stuff.
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas last year, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources purchased dozens of cases of bulk double-dipped chocolate covered peanuts from an Illinois- based candy company, keeping the company on their toes with almost two shipments of chocolate weekly (and temporarily running them out of this confection on at least one occasion). Those numbers are enough to get the attention of a candy-maker. But what if several other states also wanted to do a similar promotion — Nebraska Deer Droppings, New Hampshire Moose Droppings, Montana Elk Droppings or Wyoming Grizzly Bear Droppings, for instance? If several marketing directors got together and could guarantee the manufacturer an even larger order, the price would be even more reduced (and the profit even greater). It's something to think about. And by the way, if you have any questions about the Illinois Deer Droppings program, call or e-mail Karen Rueter, our merchandiser at 217/782-7454 or krueter@dnrmail.state.il.us.