Marina Maher Communications

I love visiting factories! While not the typical pastime of NYC women in PR, a trip to a plant where products are actually made has always excited me.  As a young girl I watched with fascination as many family members went to work turning trees into paper at the Cantonment, Florida paper mill.  Working in marketing communications today, I am still enthusiastic about the process of creating consumer goods.

This week I had the opportunity to visit the Post Cereal plant in Modesto, California.  The producers of a new television series asked to film the process of creating Post Grape Nuts for an upcoming segment.  I jumped at the chance to help bring the 100-year-old all natural cereal to life for consumers.

The pride at the Post plant was apparent starting with the employee of the month parking space located at the front door to the safety award clothing worn by many workers on the line.  Ty, the plant manager, expertly walked us through every step of the simple, yet ingenious, cereal-making process from unloading the grain truck to wrapping pallets of finished product.  Every box of Post Grape Nuts eaten in the world is made in this Modesto facility!

As a PR pro, I spend a great deal of time informing and influencing consumers and meeting business objectives.  But, this week I was inspired by the opportunity to turn my attention to the joy of actually creating consumer goods.  My goal is to retain the thrill of creating great products as I look for new and exciting ways to market them to consumers.