As we celebrate our nation’s holiday this year, let’s have fun and honor our country, without harming our environment.  The Environmental Blog provided 5 tips for a “green” 4th of July:

1.  Buy organic food. Support local farmers markets by buying their organic fruits and vegetables.  Buy local and cut down on transportation.  You could even shop with reusable shopping bags.

2.  Bust out the silverware. Avoid wasting paper plates, napkins, cups, and plastic utensils.  Save money by using your own plates and washing them.  If you must use disposable plates and cups, try to find biodegradable alternatives.

3.  Grill on the “green” side. Use a non-toxic cleaner on your grill. Cut back on grilling and carbon emissions by eating fresh veggies, or grill food that will cook quickly, such as thin meats, fish, marshmallows, or veggies.

4.  Buy “green” charcoal. Use 100% all-natural hardwood lump charcoal.  They don’t have any chemicals or fillers, they burn faster, and produce less ash.  This leftover ash from all-natural charcoal can be sprinkled around your plants to keep the bugs away.

5.  Substitute lighter fluid. Try using a chimney starter, instead of toxic lighter fluid.  They are inexpensive and you don’t have to worry about the toxic fluids cooking into your food.

Don’t forget to use these tips and add a little “green” to your red, white, and blue festivities this year.  Not only would you be more environmentally-friendly, but you could save money as well!

Last month, we talked about companies using social media networks for cause marketing.  Now we are focusing on a company that actually redesigned their packaging for a cause.

Recently, Tide changed their packaging to go along with their Loads of Hope campaign.  That is a pretty big deal for a brand that has not significantly changed their packaging in their sixty years of history.  The Loads of Hope campaign raises funds for disaster relief support.  The new design features photos of disaster victims that Tide has provided aid for, such as Hurricane Katrina victims.  The newly designed bottle also says, “You can help” on the yellow cap to help draw attention to the charity and the company’s social responsibility efforts.

This change in Tide’s packaging design shows that they take social responsibility seriously.  It is a program that they are continuing to support, and it enhances their brand image.  Consumers are more likely to buy products from a socially responsible company, rather than the competition if the products are similar.  So not only are they giving back to the community by helping disaster victims, but they are also boosting their brand image, which could increase sales and the traffic flow to their web site.  The design and custom packaging that they are using helps inform and remind consumers what they are doing to help others.  And most importantly, they are doing their part to give back to the community and those in need.

Name: Kristina Reis

Do you have a nickname: I prefer Kristina.

Last book you read: Mary Higgins Clark “No Place Like Home”.

Favorite hobby: Spending time with my 2 dogs.

If you could meet anyone dead or alive, who would it be? Why? Mozart, because he wrote such beautiful music for violin.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Why? I would like to fly so that I can get everywhere I want to go without delays!

What attracted you most about working at Sunrise? The size of the company.

Microsoft is rolling out their latest window’s upgrade. So, of course we were curious about the packaging and checked out the Windows Blog to see what they had to say. One of the challenges Microsoft was facing in designing its packaging was the stigma of the Vista packaging which almost needed dynamite to open it.

A quote from Microsoft about their packaging reveals, “We approached the packaging for Windows 7 the same way we approached the product – by listening to what our customers told us they wanted: make it a simple clean design, easy to open, and reduce waste.” So, rest assured, Microsoft listened and has improved the packaging.

Their theme is: Simple, Clean and Easy To Open…

Simple:
The graphics are clear and bold. They text font is larger and easier to read. Each version has its own distinct color which makes it easy to identify which version of the operating system you are picking up.

Clean:
The cover graphics are simple and minimal which gives the packaging a fresh and clean feel.

Easy To Open:
The upgrade disc comes in an easy opening, recyclable, frosty clear DVD style case. The case is shaped with the iconic curve on the upper right corner. For security reasons, there will be a seal on the top of the case which is claimed to be removable with little effort.

Reducing Waste:
So how green is it? The entire package is 37% lighter than previous packaging. They accomplished this by using less material to make the case. And the case is recyclable. In fact, the entire package consists of only 3 elements:

1. The upgrade disc
2. A “Getting Started” manual
3. And the recyclable case

So, we give kudos to Windows for listening to consumers and giving them the packaging they want.

More and more we are hearing about companies “going green” and offering eco-friendly products.  There is a growing concern being shown for the environment, but is that one of the main factors shoppers are looking for when making purchasing decisions?

GreenBiz pointed out that consumers are becoming very eco-conscious.  According to a study by Ipsos Marketing, consumers are tending to choose healthier food products with fresh ingredients and green packaging over products with more convenient packaging and food preparation.  They even scored higher than improving the taste of the food.  But taste should not be taken out of consideration.  Taste is key to food choice and to many, taste and fresh ingredients go hand in hand.

Deloitte, along with the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), also conducted a study of over 6,000 customers on how sustainability affects purchasing decisions.  They determined that a substantial amount of consumers take social and environmental benefits into serious consideration when choosing a product.

What does this mean for you?  Clearly green packaging is deciding factor in purchasing decisions, and environmental concerns are not going away.  So if you want to stay on top of the market by paying attention to consumers’ concerns and help the environment, try using green packaging.

When rock legends come together to form a new band, the packaging must be bold and original to represent the excitement of the new collaboration.  Chickenfoot did just that.  Their new band formation includes guitar hero Joe Satriani, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith, and former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and frontman Sammy Hagar.

David Bellm from Packaging Digest pointed out the innovative design by Todd Gallopo for Chickenfoot’s debut album.  The design for this album features new thermal ink developed and patented by Chromatic Technologies Inc. (CTI), a special effect inks and coatings manufacturer.  This ink causes the album cover to change with heat, which could be simply just touching it with your hand.  When heat is applied, pictures are revealed on the front cover, as well as song titles on the back.  Chickenfoot’s self-titled debut album was released earlier this month by Redline Entertainment.

Custom CD packaging can help boost CD sales over iTunes or illegal downloading, because the physical album becomes more of a collector’s item that fans would love to have and are willing to pay for.  Make your album a “must-have” for every fan with the Permavue One turned edge case that has your artwork printed on the cover.  Or there are always stock jewel cases that you can personalize with your own creative artwork.

According to the New York Times, many studio companies are now using DVD cases that are smaller and lighter in weight to reduce their environmental impact, as well as save on costs.

Warner Home Video, the largest distributor of DVD entertainment, just started releasing all of its new and library titles in cases with 20 percent less plastic.  Some feature a thin layer of plastic, while others have cutouts in the walls.  One of the main forces is to lessen the load on the environment; it will reduce Warner’s home entertainment division’s carbon emissions by 31 percent.  Not only do these improvements help the environment, but they also cut costs for companies by using less raw materials and by spending less on shipping.  Companies are looking to save money wherever they can, especially in this struggling economy.

Warner is not the only studio making changes in DVD packaging.  Just last month, Sony Pictures Entertainment released their own 20 percent reduced DVD cases.  Walt Disney Company is also coming up with their own green home entertainment ideas.  And don’t forget that Disney, Century Fox, and Sony were the ones to really push the shift to Blu-Ray discs, in which cases have a 30 percent smaller impact on the environment.

Using lighter DVD packaging helps the environment by reducing waste and carbon emissions, while still storing and protecting your DVDs.  And don’t forget about the money you’ll be saving on raw materials and shipping!  Lighter DVD packaging could include DVD cases with cutouts in the walls, Blu-Ray cases, slim DVD cases, c-shells or square-shells.

When you walk into a store, what is it that makes you want to buy a product?  Is it the actual product itself or the presentation of the product with custom packaging that grabs your attention?  It is usually a combination of both.  Consumers typically have at least somewhat of a need or want for the actual product itself if they are going to buy it, but the creative packaging is really what makes it stand out on the shelf over the competition.

So what is it about creative packaging that draws us in?  The bright colors, the different shapes and sizes, the unique design.  It’s not something we see everyday, it’s new and exciting, our curiosity wants to see more.  The packaging is such a huge part of marketing, because products are so similar and the packaging could be the slight differentiation from the competition.  Meterdown displayed some creative packaging designs that they found:

Box designed to custom-fit the shoes.

Coca-Cola holiday bottles look like ornaments.

See your dream sports field as you open your new athletic shoes.

Workout with your sports drink.

Eco-friendly paper water bottles.

Unique shoe box.

Innovative milk carton.

Banana case to protect from bruising.

Make sure no one eats your sandwich.

Creative boxes that look like the texture of fruit.

Custom packaging can truly turn your product into a creative masterpiece that gets consumers to stop and stare.  It adds value to your product with an exceptional look that is fit to meet your needs.  Consider getting an eye-appealing customized package for your product or your next project and you could see the results that a quality product presentation gives.

If you’re like me, you love to read books, but can’t ever seem to find the time to do it.  That is why audiobooks are so handy and have growing popularity.  You can listen to them while driving, walking, or wherever you take your CD player or mp3 player/iPod.

But the costs add up for audiobooks, especially if you go through a lot of them quickly.  For one title alone, it can cost around $15-25 in the iTunes store.  This is where Booksfree comes in.  They offer a rental service that is much like what Netflix does with DVDs.  For a monthly service fee, you can continually rent audiobooks from a huge selection without having to worry about late fees.  And you don’t have to pay extra for shipping, each audiobook you receive in the mail comes with a prepaid envelope for you to send it back in.

The amount of your monthly service fee will depend on the membership plan that you sign up for.  Prices are higher if you choose to be able to rent more than one audiobook at a time, or if you prefer the CD membership over the mp3-CD membership.  But you can get a plan for as little as $13.49/month.  If you typically buy at least one audiobook each month, you would be saving money with this membership.

This rental service is both good and bad for authors and publishers.  They get paid for the number of books sold, not by how many times they are rented. But this is not any different than a library offering titles, and it helps them gain exposure for more possible customers in the future.  A rental service is great is you plan to go through a lot of audiobooks, but we hope that they are using extremely durable cases if they are continually being rented and sent back and forth in the mail.  And if you like to keep your wide collection of audiobooks on display and available at all times, you may just want to stick with buying audiobooks and being able to keep them as your own.

Advertising agency, Colenso BBDO, which is located in Auckland, New Zealand, created this anti-litter ad campaign, “The Heart of the City: Rubbish”:

Each day, the litter around the bus stop was collected and placed inside the bus stop.  This ad was intended to show how quickly litter can add up when people don’t put in the effort to recycle or throw their trash in the garbage can.  It may just seem like a big deal to litter one wrapper, but if everyone does it, it really adds up.  If we all come together and be more environmentally-friendly, we can really make a difference.  Who wants to look at trash all over the city anyway?  Let’s just hope people don’t start to think the bus stop is the new garbage can!