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It's possible that every single surface will soon be turned into a screen of some sort, flashing and blinking messages at us twenty four hours a day. These screens will be inescapable, appearing shortly on end of aisle displays and even on packaging.

While the developers of this technology seems at pains to suggest how efficient and green their solutions are, but compared to what? E-Ink is a giant leap from static packaging and the technology involved in producing it is considerable. Add on the layers of shipping and assembly and you have a production process that is likely to consume a lot of energy.

While early stage advertisers in this new media may not care about the environmental impact of someone else's technology and be looking for ways to stand out on the shelf, it will be interesting to see if retailers like Wal-Mart endorse this form of packaging, given their stricter demands on the environmental performance of their suppliers.




Posted by Ed Cotton The challenging thing about all this sustainability stuff is that it's never done.

As soon as you think it is a competitor will come along and find a way to trump you, to do something that's more sustainable than your offering.

It's a no-brainer, we buy billions of pre-packaged salads every year and while an increasing number of them are now organic, no one gives a thought about the incredible packaging waste that goes along with this seemingly good purchase.

The UK grocery chain, Sainsbury's has thought about this and has recently introduced its salads in compostable packaging.




It's a nice illustration that this job is never done and there's always going to be ways to improve your offering to make it more sustainable. I think its important for brands to be aware of this when thinking about their sustainable actions because they should never be declarative and tell people that they've found the solution, instead, they need to communicate that they are constantly trying to make improvements to make sure their products are more sustainable etc...

Posted by Ed Cotton Marketing is a really a game of trying anything you can to create some form of differentiation for your brand. The beauty of it being that this innovation can from anywhere and impact anything. The flavor of the moment is packaging because it can materially impact the product experience.

Denny's is a brand is more known for it's challenges, rather than innovation.

However, It appears it has done some homework.

The brand has something of a problem competing with fast food joints for those valuable breakfast dollars.

It can be safely assumed that the sit-down chain offers a superior breakfast when compared to its fast food cousins, but in a time pressed world- who has time to sit down in a restaurant?

This is where packaging innovation comes in and here's the brief.

"Create packaging that protects the integrity and quality of our breakfasts, while delivering the foremost in portability"

The solution for Denny's is a dome.

I will say no more and leave it to the company press release to tell the rest of this incredible story.

"We know that Americans love breakfast....all day long.... but it has not been an easy meal to carry out. Who wants cold eggs, a soggy biscuit in a wrapper or wilted pancakes from fast-food restaurants? We know that the demand for our signature real fresh breakfast is there. The challenge has been perfecting the portability factor that our competitors haven't been able to do. Our proprietary Dome positions us for a homerun."

The innovative "Denny's Dome" packaging is custom-designed to allow made-to-order meals to travel well and stay hot and fresh. Denny's is known for generous portions at great values and classic breakfast combinations like the Grand Slam(R) or Country Fried Steak & Eggs. The dome is designed to carry a full breakfast....pancakes, sunny-side up eggs, hash browns, or any other Denny's meal, in one container while maintaining overall quality. The base of the Dome is divided into a ventilated area to keep crispy foods like hash browns, french fries and bacon crisp, and a closed area to keep moist foods like eggs and sausage, moist. On top of the base, an insert plate holds French toast or pancakes in an ideal environment, while sealing in the foods below it. Topping it off, a clear lid allows customers to see their order at a glance."

 

Posted by Ed Cotton When I first read about Pepsi's can design challenge, it seemed to me to be more of the same.

How many brands are have let consumers, artists and designers play with their pack design?

As a marketing concept it appears done to death.

The trouble with my cynicism, is that it takes no account for execution.

I was forced to reverse my thinking when I came across this can design.



It allows the artist to dominate the can, rather than the brand, which makes for a fantastic design.

The can's designer is JKaczmarek.

Will we ever see this can on grocery store shelves?

Posted by Ed Cotton