Marketing isn’t dead you know, though listening to many social media gurus, you’d think it was.

The above bag of fava beans arrived on my desk today accompanying s sample of Chianti Rufino (a review of which is coming soon).

These fava beans came along with a little note on how to prepare them, along with a subtle hat tip to Silence of the Lambs (“A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti”).

The point is that these are now magic beans. Why? A little bag of beans brought a little moment of surprise and delight.

This tiny moment, this mental and physical smirk it created sets what’s called a “somatic marker” – an idea that sticks in memory. And that’s fundamentally what great marketing is about.

Major applause goes to Searson’s, from their magic beans great ideas will grow and spread.