Friday 30th January:
How can you soothe shoppers’ troubled minds?
Think like Tide: shout less to reduce the ‘visual noise’ that causes sensory overload, and place more emphasis on clean, more refined graphics that focus on a simple message instead. . . Aaaahh doesn’t that feel better?
Ref. http://www.thedieline.com/blog/articles/page/3/
Thursday 29th January:
There’s a growing trend to ‘make do’ with what you got, so how can your brand make less stuff and still do well?
Take inspiration from Nokia, which, as part of its new ‘we:’ strategy to save energy and reduce waste, will ship its N79 Eco without a charger (the idea is to use your old one), this means it can also come in a smaller box.
The smaller box may not sound terribly significant, but when you operate on the scale of Nokia the little things really do add up. For example, between Feb 2006 and the end of 2007, Nokia shipped 250 million phones in smaller packages –resulting in 5,000 fewer truck journeys and saving themselves €100 million. In 2007, Nokia saved 15,000 tonnes of material (that’s about 55,000 trees) and 100,000 m3 of water (that’s around 18,000,000 toilets flushes).
The phone costs the same as the regular N79, but for each one sold, Nokia will donate £4 ($5.56) to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). You could view this as Nokia’s savings passed on to charity–though that would also show just how little a charge costs to make! To help this succeed, how about letting consumers save some money as well as the environment. Does this last sentence make sense, Greg?
Ref. http://www.psfk.com/2009/01/nokias-less-is-more-eco-strategy.html
Wednesday 28th January:
Self-help is on the rise so how can you make the most of it?
Think like PatientPak – a collection of antimicrobial and other hygiene items for those planning a hospital visit. Its aim? To kill 99.99% of bugs, including nasties such as MRSA, salmonella and E. coli.
For £16, you get a set of 14 different germ prevention items, ranging from hand, surface and fabric sanitizing sprays to an advice leaflet, disposable pen and polite bedside sign to remind others to wash their hands.
PatientPak was made available from UK stockists such as Amazon.co.uk, Tesco and Mothercare late last year. Separately, much of the pack’s contents are readily available, but by bundling a range of products for a specific purpose, the brand has created a new product that should speak both to consumers’ worries and their desire for convenience.
Ref. http://www.springwise.com/index.php?page=2
Tuesday 27th January:
How can your brand act with a sense of humour in these tricky times?
Think like women’s hair removal brand, Veet, which capitalised on Dubya’s departure with this punchy little ad.
Ref http://brandstrategy.wordpress.com/
Monday 26th January:
How can you make the most of people’s retro skills?
Think like Oxfam who’ve tapped into the older generation’s ability to make the most of limited resources. They’ve recruited a team of ‘Green Grannies’ to advise the UK public on everything from how to darn socks to how to make delicious food from leftovers.
Part of Good Ideas Unltd, Oxfam’s new lifestyles campaign, the service aims not only to help UK consumers save cash, but also to encourage recycling and help tackle climate change – which it notes has hit the world’s poorest populations particularly hard. To get the grannies’ advice out there, Oxfam has launched a YouTube channel – a recent clip describes how to stay warm at night without running the heat – and will soon debut its ‘Ask a Granny’ service on the Oxfam website.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/applications/blogs/goodideasvideo/
Ref. http://springwise.com/eco_sustainability/green_grannies_serve_up_recess/
Tagged with: Credit crunch, Retail, Sustainability
Friday 23rd January:
How can you take advantage of mobile ordering?
Think like Chipotle, the burrito-centric Mexican(-inspired) grill, which recently launched an iPhone application to order your meal from your phone and then pick it up once it’s prepared. Users could find the nearest location, customize their order, pay for their meal and even save favorites for later. The application was built on their already efficient online ordering system, but took it a step further to a smooth graphic user interface for the popular iPhone.
Ref. http://www.psfk.com/2009/01/chipotle-launches-mobile-ordering-iphone-app.html
Thursday 22nd January:
What packaging format can you adopt from a different industry?
Think like South African’s The Company of Wine People who’ve unveiled their new eco-friendly design, the wine pouch, a product that on first glance resembles a Capri Sun for grown-ups!
According to South Africa’s The Company of Wine People, wine pouches consume about 20% of the energy for production that a glass bottle does and has around 20% of the carbon footprint of glass (Tetra Paks use only about 5% of the energy of a glass bottle and has 5% the CO2 footprint). Pouches weigh 20 times less than bottles, which means they are a lot easier to lug to the curb and take up less space at the landfill.
Ref. http://www.psfk.com/2009/01/a-pouch-full-of-wine.html
Tagged with: Design for good, Drink
Wednesday 21st January:
How can you appeal to the new sobriety?
A whole new generation of consumers is facing the current economic slowdown with the exacting approach to quality and ethics they have acquired over the last few years. Packaging takes a sober turn, adopting a no-nonsense approach to attract consumers in search of a product and brand they can trust.
Limited colour palettes, and bold typography with little ornamentation and patterning offer clarity in a sea of choice, with a sincere tone of voice that suggests a considered product of value lies within. The new functionality can still be about art, integrity and beauty, but is also about purity, weight and consequence.
Ref. http://www.lsnglobal.com/inspire/view/199/2
Tagged with: Credit crunch, Design for good, Drink
Tuesday 20th January:
How can you tap into the simpler things from times gone by?
Think like North Carolina-based Happikins who’ve remember that not everything used to be disposable, we used to for example re-use hankies and napkins! Zeroing in on paper napkins – USD 200 of which the average kid uses each year Happikins recently launched an eye-pleasing line of reusable lunch box napkins.
Available in packages of five, Happikins are 12-by-12-inch cotton or cotton-blend napkins featuring kid-friendly colours and designs. Each set comes with a durable pouch that fits neatly in a lunch box and can even be written on with a dry-erase marker to send little messages to the kids who use them. Both the napkins and the pouch are machine-washable, and Happikins can even be monogrammed. Sets include designs on the themes of “Critters and Creatures,” “League of Sports” and “Sugar and Spice.” Pricing begins at USD 29.95 per set of five. Bulk orders for “Clean Cafeteria” and fundraising programs are also available.
Ref. http://www.springwise.com/index.php?page=2
Tagged with: Design for good, Sustainability
Monday 19th January:
What can you take from another industry and make a fresh impact in your brand’s world?
Think like French dairy company Yoplait which has created Dizzy – a sparkling, refreshing milk-based drink aimed at young adults. (Thanks to Joe in Oz for this one). Dizzy is presented in a style of packaging and brand universe that adopts a polysensory, psychedelic decor taken from ‘clubland’ to distinguish the drink from its competitors and to impose itself in an extremely crowded market segment.
Ref. http://www.dexigner.com/graphic/news-g16518.html
Tagged with: Drink