Jeff Davis, Business Storyteller

I'm accomplished communications and PR executive where writing and creative ideation have been cornerstones of my career. 

Whether for websites, press materials, media pitches, white papers, or social media content, my no-nonsense and conversational writing style delivers a refreshing take on most types of business writing.

SamplingLab Mobile Product Sampling •

(Website) SamplingLab Mobile Product Sampling

Consumer product sampling vanished almost overnight in 2020, making it nearly impossible for CPG brands to get their newest products into consumers’ hands. Countless product launches were delayed or completely canceled, forcing brands to miss out on one of CPG marketing’s most valuable tools. With product sampling returning to some sense of normalcy, SamplingLab is re-launching as a mobile sampling service that follows current CDC guidelines to keep everyone safe.

It Doesn't Have to be Difficult (LinkedIn Article)

It’s easy for CPG brands to offer free samples, whether in stores, supermarkets at public events or on street corners. People love getting free stuff, and will grab almost anything you hand them...then go on about their business. There's the rub. Why invest the time, money, product costs and other resources to make that initial touchpoint with consumers, to then get virtually nothing in return, particularly when endearing your brand to consumers is often a goal of product sampling and trial. I

Turn Around the Bad CX (LinkedIn Article)

Brands love receiving consumer complaints, or at least they should. Negative customer feedback on a product or service — whether a direct complaint or negative online review — opens the door for brands to create a game-changing relationship, and even change the minds of current and future customers. Sadly, many brands either gloss over the opportunity to change the narrative and turn the customer experience around, or lazily fall back on generic, canned responses that mean nothing or further p

Deep Breath Forum Event Abstract (PDF)

Specialty food makers, marketers and their agencies sometimes become overwhelmed and stressed out in their regular battle to overcome what feels like a never ending list of headaches. Despite you knowing your business better than anyone else, there can be days when you feel like you’re flying by the seat of your pants, only to become further confused by what once worked just doesn’t any more. Then there are those times when you feel smacked around by circumstances for which you have zero control. When this happens, experts advise to stop; take a few deep breaths; re-focus your energies, and approach things from a new angle.

Your Customers Are Lying to You (LinkedIn Article)

Consumer brands – particularly food brands – face it every day. You invest time, money and product to conduct in-store samplings or execute brand activations at public events. The feedback is positive, and you feel good about how it all went down. But hold on. Don’t "high five” just yet. The truth is, consumers – particularly Millennial consumers – rarely give honest feedback during in-person samplings when they don’t like your product. In fact, they’ll often straight up lie to avoid offendin
Vericlave •

Vericlave Website

They can’t attack what they can’t see. They can’t exploit what they can’t extract. They can’t infect what they can’t access. Vericlave is focused on preventing increasingly destructive and costly attacks on the critical assets & systems of enterprise and government entities by hiding networks, and protecting data in secure enclaves, and preventing malware from executing on servers and workstations. Vericlave’s network security is comprised of a unique combination of a hardware root of trust.

Press Release: Zoës Kitchen Introduces Heat-and-Serve Turkey Dinners This Holiday Season

PLANO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bringing friends and family together over the holidays has never been easier or tastier, thanks to a new and complete Mediterranean-inspired Holiday Turkey Dinner from Zoës Kitchen (NYSE: ZOES), a fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant group. With its unique, festive offering, Zoës is rolling out this limited time Holiday Turkey Dinner across 20 states in the United States and while supplies last. Grounded in the fresh, flavorful spirit of Mediterranean cooking, Zoë

Why, Why, Why? (LinkedIn Article)

For whatever reason, I occasionally receive PR pitches from agencies for their clients. They usually head straight for the trash (I don't create editorial food content), but today I paused briefly before hitting delete. What first caught my eye was being among about 75 recipients cc'd (not bcc'd) who received a harmless, promotional pitch from a top five national agency for a major restaurant chain. Because I and 75 others saw who received the pitch, it started out on a wrong note, because I th

Focus Groups, Your Days are Numbered (LinkedIn Article)

New CPG product introductions occur all the time, and I've been surprised to learn how many consumer brands conduct little, if any, consumer testing before bringing a product to retail shelves. Unless your brand dominates a product category and has the luxury of “owning” the retail or supermarket shelf where consumer research is less critical, wouldn’t you want to know what consumers think about your product before making the investment in manufacturing, packaging, distribution and marketing?