The pair of razors came in the mail earlier this spring to Anderson Township resident Ginnie Gillette. Schick had sent them, and their strategy soon became pretty apparent: Gillette choses Schick.

        This was not just an ordinary razor, either.

        The Xtreme3 mega-brand is part of a three-product line that includes the company's first triple blade refillable razor, as well as two new disposable triple blade razors, Sensitive with Aloe and Vitamin E for women.

        The trip to the mailbox meant Ms. Gillette was now a cog in a national guerrilla marketing campaign developed by Weber Shandwick Worldwide, a New York city-based advertising agency hired to tout Schick products.

        “The letter was really cute,” Ms. Gillette says. “It said we'd been elected for a special campaign and that the company was asking us to change our razor — not our name.

        “I just thought it was clever: send out free razors all over the country and then get people to give testimonials.”

        The family tried out the pair of razors and, not surprisingly, liked them. Her son, Michael, a sophomore at St. Xavier High School, immediately confiscated the men's razor. The kit also came with a telephone number to call.

        Ms. Gillette rang it up and delivered a wonderful testimonial.

        “I really liked it,” she said. “So I thanked them.”

        Could a similar approach help a small business owner, a medium-sized company that sells products or a global consumer product titan?

        Ms. Gillette says there is no doubt that it could be effective for any company of any size.

        Sampling has worked for products for eons and will likely work for eons to come. It's why there are free chunks of stale cookies at bakeries.

        “If companies got creative like this, they could come up with some version that is suitable,” she says.

        “What it told me was that our family was special. You know, I'd never have tried it if they hadn't sent me one in the mail.”

Training with a twist

        Local companies looking for a new way to communicate to workers how diversity is immensely important to the workplace of the future, can do it by taking a journey into the past.

        The “Corridor of Courage” corporate diversity training initiative is being offered in half-day and full-day options at Sharon Woods Historical Village.

        The thrust of the program is ambitious: provide a hands-on experience from another century to enhance diversity training for community and corporate groups today.

        Other goals include:

        • Break down historical myths that shape how we live and work in the world today.

        • Create a workforce that values inclusion and respect for others.

        • Identify perceptions and pitfalls that influence actions.

        • Take cultural diversity training to the next level by getting workers to participate in a dialogue that is designed to bring about change.

        “Experiences gained in the drama can be used as a foundation for understanding prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination,” said Sandra Vogel, drama director and diversity trainer with the Corridor of Courage.

        For more information, reach her at 563-9484.

        E-mail jeckberg@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/eckberg.

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