Friday 7th August:
What can a soft drink learn from coffee, dialysis, cancer drugs and RFID scanners?
Ever had one of those moments where all you wanted was a Diet Black Cherry Vanilla Coke, but all you could get was regular old Diet? Coca-Cola is addressing the problem by introducing a new beverage dispenser. Heralded as the ‘fountain of the future’, the Freestyle – which was first unveiled under the code name ‘Jet’ back in April – offers more than 100 flavour options. There are traditional sodas, flavoured waters, carbonated or noncarbonated beverages, energy drinks and more.
The Freestyle has a touch-screen interface so you can select a product, such as Fanta, and then the screen gives you several flavour options. Make your selection (‘grape, please!’) and the machine mixes the drink for you right there and then. It can even mix flavours in ways that are not traditionally offered. The ‘PurePour’ technology was originally developed to measure extremely precise amounts of dialysis and cancer drugs. Beyond that, RFID scanners are used to match cartridges to dispensers, and the onboard computer confirms everything is in place.
Existing soda fountains use five-gallon concentrate bags and lots of backroom labour. Now all that’s required is a highly concentrated 46-ounce cartridge inside a self-contained machine. The Freestyle’s dispenser even sends business data back to Coke’s headquarters in Atlanta, including data about beverage consumption, peak-use times and popular locations. Coke can also talk back to the machine and let it know if a particular flavour needs to be discontinued or recalled, which the machine will then immediately stop serving. Freestyle machines are currently being tested in Georgia, California, and Utah, and there are plans to place 60 test dispensers around the country by the end of the summer.
Ref. http://www.trendbird.co.kr/2645
Tagged with: Drink, Personalisation, Retail
Monday 13th July:
How can you help your customers shape your future?
Think like Starbucks who’ve introduced ‘My Starbucks Idea’. This is based around customers knowing better than anyone about what they want from Starbucks. And however simple or revolutionary the idea, Starbucks want to hear it. The call is for people to share and discuss their own and other people’s ideas, and then vote on their favourites.
And the team then let you know about the ideas they’ve launched…
Ref: http://mystarbucksidea.force.com/ideaHome
Tagged with: Drink, Food, Retail
Monday 23rd February:
How can you develop a distinctive and iconic brand that’s also capable of continually adapting to the world around it?
Think like Tel-Aviv agency, designlab, which has developed a modular packaging format for milk that can change shape and colour according to the weather or the value of the dollar. (Thanks, Dr Woo).
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/5401/dag-designlab-tal-mor-and-shlomi-azulay.html
Monday 9th February:
How can you do the ‘right thing’ and build brand loyalty?
Think like restaurateur Peter Ilic of Little Bay restaurant in London’s Farringdon. He’s come up with a radical way of keeping his eatery afloat during the credit crunch: for February only, he’s doing away with bills and inviting customers to ‘pay what you think it’s worth’. “It just seemed the right thing to do with everyone under the cosh and feeling pretty miserable,” he said. “We’ve seen so many more City folk coming into the restaurant lately looking for a better value lunch. This is the ultimate value meal.”
Mr. Ilic was convinced that he would not be left with empty pockets while his customers ate for free. In fact, takings were up almost straightaway, “On the day we started we got at least 20 per cent more than if we’d priced the food ourselves”.
While Mr Ilic is taking the ‘credit crunch lunch’ to a new level, restaurants across the UK have been offering promotions and discounts since late last year in an attempt to entice consumers through the doors.
This looks to be a growing trend as people try and support their customers through tough times. Denny‘s, the family restaurant chain and an icon of middle-America, has gone one step further by giving away an estimated 2 million free breakfasts to customers, as it strives to revitalise its flagging fortunes.
Denny’s said it would serve its popular ‘Grand Slam’ eggs, bacon, sausage and pancake breakfast for free between 6am and 2pm in what is believed to be one of the biggest promotions of its type ever.
“‘Free’ works far better than any other offer in this economy”, said Nelson Marchioli, Denny’s chief executive. Mr. Marchioli said the free breakfast promotion was a way of ‘re-acquainting’ people with Denny’s as a low-cost dining option.
“People are having a tough time in this economy. They’re jumping all the way to fast food, or back to the grocery store. We’re telling them they don’t have to do that.”
Ref http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8ded90c0-f194-11dd-8790-0000779fd2ac.html
Saturday 7th February:
How can you develop a distinctive and iconic brand that’s also capable of continually adapting to the world around it?
Think like Tel-Aviv agency, designlab, which has developed a modular packaging format for milk that can change shape and colour according to the weather or the value of the dollar. (Thanks, Dr Woo).
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/5401/dag-designlab-tal-mor-and-shlomi-azulay.html
Friday 6th February:
How can you look at every surface as a possible place to begin your brand story?
Think like GoGORILLA Media whose latest guerilla marketing innovation, CoffeeMedia, gives advertisers a way to tap their catchy slogans out in chocolatey powder and broadcast them to unsuspecting audiences – in this case customers enjoying the relative solace of a quiet cafe.
Ref http://www.psfk.com/2009/01/a-low-fat-latte-thats-also-commercial-free.html
Opting for a traditional ad rather than a piece of guerrilla marketing to celebrate the inauguration of the 44th US president, Krispy Kreme gave away a free Americano coffee to anyone who entered one of their stores and declared, “Yes we can!”, the now famous election Obama/Biden slogan.
Ref http://springwise.com/food_beverage/free_obama-themed_coffee_love/
Tagged with: Drink, Media
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
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
Friday 16th January:
How can you transfer the approach from world into yours?
In much the same way as Hester Blomenthal has brought chemistry to restauranting, and confectioners Bloomsberry Chocolate have adopted a medical emergency approach, Melbourne RMIT design student Zoran Konjarski has brought the laboratory to beer!
A moulded blister pack with a rip-off plastic seal that contains all the legally required pack information creates a cool, scientific packaging style that allows the drinker to pop or push the bottles through.
Ref. lsnglobal