Chris Kilham

Summary:

When we began working with Medicine Hunter Chris Kilham, he was Explorer in Residence at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and author of 13 books including Hot Plants, Psyche Delicacies, Tales from the Medicine Trail, and Kava—Medicine Hunting in Paradise. His global trek in search of health-promoting botanicals with traditional and scientific efficacy landed him in exotic outposts including the Himalayas, China, Siberia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Syria, the Amazon, Peruvian highlands and Vanuatu in the South Pacific. Our challenge was to expand his reputation and credibility as an ethnobotanist beyond his natural affinity group in the LOHAS community and natural products industry to the mainstream market.

Strategy:

We succeeded in featuring The Medicine Hunter in prominent print publications including the Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37092-2004Oct15.html, International Herald Tribune, Prevention, Psychology Today, Woman’s World, First for Women, and Outside magazine. With these stepping stones, we were able to arrange for Kilham to be featured on ABC’s 20/20 in a landmark segment they called “Sex: Myths, Lies and Straight Talk,” which spotlighted his work with Maca producers in Peru, and his Maca-based line of health supplements, Hot Plants http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8M72DMaOc0 . Subsequently, we organized for his story to appear on the front page of the New York Times Business Section with an accompanying multimedia presentation online.

Results:

Today, Kilham’s reputation as a sustainable educator and thought-leader is legendary. He’s Fox News Channel’s official Medicine Hunter and shares his ideas domestically and internationally online and on TV as well as in his weekly Fox News Health column. He’s also become a member of Dr. Oz’s Medical Advisory Board.