Thursday, April 30, 2009

hiatus

Excuse the self-imposed hiatus. I've been creating a website and it has literally taken all my "internet time." If it was up to me I'd be a millionaire vacationing in Hawaii but I'm not and I'm looking for a job. The APG course was great my team won a prize.


Just in case you're interested, hiring, "should-be-doing-work-but-is-reading blogs-instead" drop me a line and prove i'm not the only one who reads this thing. ref code: "cookies"
haha, I joke...no really.


my website is at: The Best Website In The World

Thanks!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Oh it’s a good day alright.


I’m beginning to like this blogging gig, you ramble about some painfully obvious fact and later come across angles that support or refute your point. So what, packaging is good for brands. The sky is bleu. We all know that right? Probably.



The folks at Tropicana do as well. You’ve probably come across this article on ad age. Unit sales for Tropicana dropped 20% following a package redesign hiccup. It’s called “wardrobe malfunction” in the world of brands. And if the recession seems like the likely variable -- think again, sales for rivals went up (ok, maybe they were cheaper rivals and the recession can be blamed for every malaise under the sky but I think otherwise).

So the question remains, are people that superficial? Or is their loyalty that strong? It’s like getting married to a supermodel and having their looks dramatically change after a few months. Would you rethink your decision? Be honest! Looks might have played a part when you said "I do" and in the aisle (pun intended) of the supermarket I’m guessing the same applies. Or maybe loyalty is comfort and change is not welcome when you’re comfortable. More on the subject of chatty packaging...later!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

paul smith on purity

Every so often, you come across a quote, saying, parable that resonates with your current state of mind. I'm here watching Come Dine With Me and on comes a man named Paul Smith and he mentions something about purity. I'm close to losing attention and attributing his musing to middle age mumblings but it's when he says (and I'm paraphrasing) 'earn money to support the purity of your passion' that I stop to listen. What does this mean to my 25 year old self, looking for the next big thing? Money is a means to an end. If ever there was such a thing as ''the end." Thanks for the tip Mr Smith!




Thursday, April 2, 2009

Packaging as an ice breaker



Have you ever used a brand because of its appearance? Do you judge brands based on how they look? They say beauty is skin deep and perhaps that applies to brands as well. You’ll only keep using a brand if it is any good. However, the words on the packaging are the equivalent to the first words uttered by a stranger. Or in the case of a known brand, think of the ads as the gossip magazines/publicity stunts and the packaging as the actual celebrity. Fuzzy analogies aside, I think the packaging of a brand is equally important as the advertising that backs it up.



Take the Tesco WAKE UP body wash for instance. I picked it up the other day because I thought it was cute. And yes, it helped that it was 3 pounds cheaper than Dove but…that’s another story. I gave it a try and it was worth it. If the sweet smell of raspberries in my morning shower doesn’t do it, it’s reading the words WAKE UP at a very appropriate time. It makes me smile.


Innocent is a successful brand built on natural ingredients, good ethics & quirky packaging. Who would’ve thought communicating to consumers via 250ml plastic bottles & 1 litre cartons would make a difference?

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Get married in the sky?

Opened up my inbox and was greeted with this today:


Clicked on it and I was informed on how gullible I was:


ah April Fools..I should've seen that coming! I thought it was cute and thought I'd send it to my sister who is not only getting married this year but in 2006 we flew on a virgin atlantic trip to LA where a lady proposed to her boyfriend, just like a scene out of a movie, she asked him to meet up in the bar and everyone cheered on. A few minutes later the flight attendant informed us all that he said yes. So I click on the "Forward to mate button" (the screenshot above is a copy I sent to myself) but to my dismay (oh Lord, why oh why) the message couldn't be sent:

mais non, pourquoi ca? I sent it to myself and it went through. Maybe because I am a flying club member, still it was a great way to promote flying club in such a relevant way. Maybe I'll write to Virgin about that -- or maybe I won't :)