Nearly synonymous to "cradle-to-grave" and "end-to-end" phraseology, "soup to nuts" is an English idiom conveying the meaning of "from beginning to end". It is derived from the description of a complete meal, where the courses ranged from soup to a dessert of nuts. It is comparable to expressions in other languages, such as the Latin phrase ab ovo usque ad mala ("from the egg to the apples"), describing the typical Roman meal.
This antiquated phrase seems misplaced and is used to denote a new and improved way of describing an all-encompassing service. A Google search shows 110,000 hits to the search phrase "soup to nuts" +marketing. However, the phrase isn't just limited to marketing services. It is used today because many people, especially non-foodies, are not familiar with the reference; and thus, ignorance breeds creativity? Ahh, whatever. You simply don't want to give customers the impression that your service offering has anything to do with something as small and insignificant as a serving of nuts.
References:
http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19961125
http://www.word-detective.com/back-m2.html
