SparkBlog by The Hartman Group

Less packaging leads to sustainability (and a playful ad campaign)

Recently The New York Times profiled Method’s new laundry detergent ad campaign. “Say no to jugs” and “Get off the jugs and get clean” are among the playful messages Method has crafted to appeal to consumers. Clever, no?

When asked in the context of sustainability what the most sustainable packaging is, many consumers will say “none,” yet, since packaging is still a necessity of modern goods, from a design standpoint simplistic, clean packaging that doesn’t shout at the consumer stands out among the sea of “product noise”.

In addition to offering packaging that features less head space, fewer layers, and less content, Method is striking a second chord with consumers here: short ingredient lists. Overly scientific formulations and long ingredient lists perplex consumers. Short ingredient lists typically cue quality (and not just for food), and consumers will pay more for high-quality products that intuitively work with their holistic wellness perspective.

While it’s the intrinsic contents or use of a product that determines a purchase, consumers within the World of Sustainability view sustainable packaging options as “simple” measures that all manufacturers can take; therefore, it is a minimum requirement for all products, even if the products themselves don’t resonate as sustainable. As consumers become increasingly engaged with sustainability behaviors and the social life of products, earth-friendly packaging is the first price of entry for manufacturers attempting to create a more environmentally responsible halo.

Packaging enhancements also present unique opportunities to surprise and delight consumers lulled into low expectations by commoditized sizes, shapes and designs (i.e., laundry detergents). In the long run, when combined with other corporate citizenship strategies (e.g., community, economic, social), a thoughtful focus on earth-friendly packaging may indeed be a significant influence on the tail that wags the green dog.

Weekly six: Food, glorious food

	Bye bye elbulli The world's best restaurant closes for two years... [via Time Magazine]
	9 hot dog variations Interesting variation of hot dogs from around the world. [via Off Track Planet]
	You dropped food on the floor. Do you eat it? Time saving flow chart to help you decide if you should eat that cupcake you just dropped on the floor [via SF Weekly]
	Performance art chefs Chefs show their passion for cooking in a stage show with catchy beats and speedy chopping. [via YouTube]
	14 cool and unusual food creations Maybe it's okay to play with your food after all! [via Toxel]
	Film food An appetizing look at some of the most memorable culinary scenes to hit the silver screen. [via Salt Lake City Weekly]

Enjoy!

Nothing Says Mmmm Tasty Like a High ORAC Rating

 

Do you know how your lunch rates on the ORAC scale? We recently received a VitalJuice newsletter article “Super Hero” foods announcing a new book and diet based on the ORAC scale (a measure of the oxygen radical absorption capacity in foods). VitalJuice on this new diet:

“The O2 Diet: The Cutting Edge Antioxidant-Based Program That Will Make You Healthy, Thin, and Beautiful by Keri Glassman, MS, RD, CDN is the most down-to-earth eating plan we've seen in years. Instead of counting calories, carbs or fat, you focus on delicious, nutritious bites that rev your metabolism and fight aging. The diet is based on the ORAC scale, which measures how well a food protects against free radicals, the bad guys behind aging, many forms of cancer and heart disease. By choosing ORAC-packed foods like green tea, artichokes and strawberries, you could naturally shed unwanted pounds and take years off your face.”

In other words, Glassman is advising us to eat real food. But haven’t we heard this before from the likes of the Dr. Perricone, Dr. Oz and Dr. Andrew Weil? Consumers have been talking about eating “real” and “fresh food for some time now, too. There is a growing interest in seeking generalized health and well-being through whole, natural food sources rather than “healthy foods (e.g., SnackWell’s). Consumers are also interested in foods that combine indulgence along with health and wellness benefits to achieve a higher quality of life.  Consumers are redefining quality in food away from science-based healthy foods toward a broader view of quality. At the end of the day, consumers don’t eat nutrients or ingredients, they eat food.

Message disconnect

Curious signage spotted at a TJ Maxx in Seattle. The “Labels for Less” retailer has historically offered an odd ball mix of “gourmet” inspired condiments and reduced price candy, best reserved for your great auntie’s sweet tooth. So we found it counter-intuitive that the retailer best known for last season’s designer labels would suddenly be promoting health via food. Buzz words like “organic,” “natural” and “no preservatives” certainly suggests food, yet there is no mention of actual food or better yet, fresh food.

On the same visit we overheard two Millemnials chatting at the checkout, each with an armful of assorted trendy togs. “Wow, organic pancake mix? That’s weird. I just wouldn’t think to eat anything from this place.”

Weekly Six: Color charts and toilet roll arts

	Toilet paper roll art Time to get inspired by an object that does anything but... [via The Design Inspriation]
	Charting the course of the crayon industry "Crayola's Law": The number of colors will double every 28 years (colors grow at an average of 2.56% annually). [via Boing Boing]
	What should I eat? Food court flowchart Just can't decide...enough said. (They should make a wallet-size!) [via Top Cultured]
	Street sleeps Photographer, Adrian Storey, chronicles sleeping in Tokyo public spaces [via CNN Go]
	Jobs of 2030: Memory Augmentation Surgeon, Waste Data Handler, Narrowcaster A little science-fictiony, so you may want to hold off on running new business card for now. [via Fast Company]
	WIN Human Recorder - wireless, real-time health tracker HRS-I measures and records electrocardiographic signals, body surface temperature and overall body movements, all while wearing it under your shirt. [via Dvice]

Enjoy!

At the intersection of food and technology: cool websites described as food

Found on

[via Kottke]

We're not Snackless in Seattle...

On a recent Trends Trek, we stopped by Snacks!, a bodega-style shop in Ballard, one of Seattle's hipper neighborhoods (local t-shirts read, "Ballard - A sleepy little drinking village with a Condo problem."). Snacks! is reminiscent of the grocery stores in Europe on every corner with something for everyone. And what a spot it was!

While kitsch is king here, with shelves lined with single-serve cereals, Pop Rocks and you never know when you might need a Scotch sponge. They really hit the mark when it comes to marketing to and owning an occasion. Snacks! hours reflects the fact that they know their Millennials audience:

Thurs: 5:00 pm - 2:30 am
Fri - Sat: 10:00 am - 2:30 am
Sun: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

The brainchild of late night hot dog cart owner, Dante's Dog's, knows his crowd. And this crowd is way hip and stays up way late. Forget the middle-of-the-week lunch scene, Snacks! is going for the after-hours munchies crowd, staying open until 2:30 am each weekend. In addition to their Thursday, Friday, Saturday bar-friendly hours, they capture a captive audience on Sunday with the overflow from one of the city's best year-round farmers' markets, which attracts an eclectic crowd of local farmers and artisans, street musicians and patrons from families to foodies.

Snacks! offerings of candies, snacks and booze gives a nod to this market fare with an emphasis on all things local, from local ice cream purveyors to sodas and candies. Here, you can also grab a food-focused spread like Skillet's Bacon Jam and an iconic Pabst Blue Ribbon, along with a thoughtful bright yellow rain poncho (great when it's pouring on your way out of the bar at 2am.) Snacks! hot dogs and soft-serve ice cream are regularly praised on Yelp. No website, just a Twitter account and a Facebook page suggest their clientele are ahead of the curve when it comes to social media. 

If you're in the area and craving a snack at 2 in the morning, check 'em out!

Intersection of food and cycling = Pedaling.tv

  Here's the concept according to their website:

Equipped with only two wheels and a love of communing, our social-savvy hosts embark on culinary bike tours throughout the New York City metropolitan area - exploring each unique neighborhood’s vibrant characters, scenic destinations, and memorable rides. PEDALING hosts will guide viewers through some of the city’s best nooks and crannies. Episodes will contain practical tips for urban cycling, including an inside peek at a professional bike fitting, traffic etiquette, and where cyclists in the area ride, eat, and live. Special guest stars and a few unexpected forks in the road lie in store for our PEDALING hosts.

The first few episodes are heavily food-centric with chefs, spice traders and visits to food trucks and a hefty dose of sustainability thrown in.

Nothing wrong with a bit of humor

From the "something a little different" file:

FRONT - Conversation Starters:

BACK - Conversation Stoppers:

 
 

Southwest has continually cultivated a brand that is just a little bit different. They've been able to do this time and again with just a bit of humor. Here again, Southwest creates a unique kind of culture that offers a bit of emotional appeal to make Southwest the airline you choose to "move about the country."

Weekly Six: pets, knits and bees

Pet pampering
Air Press chamber offers oxygen therapy for your pet

It's all in a name..."a stand"
AIAIAI A-Stand

Birds Chased By Bees
As the crow flies, Tokyo battles avian pest...with bees

ReKnit
This guy's mom takes an old knitted garmet and turns it into something new.
[via Josh Spear]

Meal exchange
I made chowder, you made pickles. Let’s trade.

LED, lighting the way...but not always
Energy-saving LED traffic lights potentially dangerous in snow storms

Enjoy!

The art of the process

As we enter this new decade, a reminder of the art of the process...

The making of an Eames fiberglass chair

[via Kottke]

When a box is more than a box...

We recently found this on the inside flap of a Logitech shipping box as part of Amazon.com's "Frustration-Free Packaging" initiative. Great example of "green" meeting both personal benefits (ease of use in opening, using and disposing of) as well as environmental benefits (minimal packaging, fully recyclable, direct to consumer distribution).

Unleash the Power of Free

"Most transactions hae an upside and a downside, but when something is FREE!, we forget the downside. FREE! gives us such an emotional charge that we perceive what is being offered as immensely more valuable than it really is."

- Dan Ariely, author
Predictably Irrational

Why do FREE?

"Free" engenders a sense of surprise, delight and excitement to your customers
"Free" is a welcomed invitation to generations of shoppers weary of price promotions
"Free" is the most powerful strategy to help your customers feel better during difficult times
"Free" also triggers powerful cultural norms regarding reciprocity

...At minimum, your customer will feel they owe you the favor of returning

How to do FREE right

Deploy free as an alternative to traditional price and promotion programs

• Free is always unilateral
• Free should never be predictable (e.g., every Monday)
• Free should never be tied to any other promotion (e.g., Purchase $10 worth of X and get a free Y)

Google recently announced a plan to sponsor free Wi-Fi to holiday travelers in 47 airports across America until January 15th. This is the best kind of FREE - something unexpected, very useful, and entirely unilateral.

We've written about unleashing the power of free in our latest download, Big Ideas and Things We Like (Plus Bacon). Download it for a great read on things to come in 2010.

Also keep your eyes and ears to HartBeat, our online newsletter, in the coming weeks as we expound further on the Power of FREE.