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Archive for April, 2010

So, Your Company Doesn’t Use Twitter Huh?

Friday, April 30th, 2010

With all of this buzz about Twitter and social media, it’s hard to decifer exactly how or why we should use them as marketing mediums. We know social media isn’t a trend but it’s new and hard to quantify its relation to our bottom line. To even make a strong commitment to a social media marketing strategy, it’s difficult to visualize the opportunities of these social universes. It’s fantastic to run across research data like the following to help us understand the magnitude of social media.

Research by internet marketing firm Hubspot shows that once a B2C company has more than 100 followers on Twitter, its monthly lead generation dramatically improves. 101-500 followers is the lead “Sweet spot”.

A B2C company with 1-20 followers will generate an average of 11 leads per month while the average grows 27% to 14 leads with 21-100 Twitter followers. The most significant lead growth happens when a B2C company enters the 100-500 range of Twitter followers. At that point the lead average growth is 146% or 35 leads.

However, according to the research, lead growth does not grow after 500 followers. B2C companies with 501 or more Twitter followers report an 8.6% decrease in leads to 32. Hubspot suggests that this is due to the challenge of growing engaged followers. Engaged followers will retweet content to their own followers and be more active in general in following the company.

B2C companies who use Twitter generate two times more leads overall than companies who do not have a Twitter account. These results stay consistent relative to company size. Hubspot recommends that B2C companies use Twitter to build relationships with individuals who prefer shorter content to build their Twitter reach by following companies related to their industry. These are the users who are most likely to be engaged followers.

More info:
Hubspot Blog
Marketing Vox

Tags:lead generation, Marketing, Social Media, tweet, Twitter
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

Schools Recycle 48,000 Pounds of Aluminum Cans

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

When researching the relationship between packaging and sustainability, beverage packaging is the trigger for lots of debate. Plastic or aluminum? Which one is more eco-friendly? The debate goes on…

All the while, schools took part in sustaining our environment by competing last fall in the 2009 Aluminum Can Counsil’s (ACC) America Recycles Day (ARD) National School Challenge. The contest lasted 12 weeks and involved 133 schools which represented over 70,000 students. Collectively, over $53,000 was raised during the competition while more than 48,000 pounds of used aluminum beverage cans were recycled.

Congratulations to all of the schools who participated! Here were the top 3 winners for further recognition:

1st Place- Twin Lakes High School, Monticello, Indiana. Teaming up with Ball Corporation’s metal beverage packaging facility, they recycled 7,092 pounds of aluminum cans (9.8 pounds per student). The school fund the band’s new uniforms with the $3,556 that they raised.

2nd Place- Collins Intermediate School, Conroe, Texas. They also teamed up with Ball Corporation’s metal beverage packaging plant in Conroe to recycle 3,845 pounds of aluminum (7.44 pounds per student). The school contributed their earnings of $2,832 to the school’s Parent Teacher Organization.

3rd Place- Academy of St. Rose Phillipine Duchesne, St. Louis, Missouri. They teamed up with Metal Container Corporation in St. Louis to recycle 6.7 pounds of aluminum cans per student.

While packaging companies look for eco-friendly packaging options to provide to consumers and businesses, we must also look beyond that and focus on what else we can do to make an environmental impact. We commend the schools who participated in the recycling challenge. They brought their “Can-do” attitudes forward and made a great statement in enviromental sustainability.

More info:
Aluminum Can Counsil
Packaging Digest

Tags:aluminum, beverage packaging, environment, packaging, pop cans, recycle, schools, sustainable
Posted in Eco-Friendly | 1 Comment »

Barnum Changes Packaging, Raises Social Awareness

Monday, April 26th, 2010

You know this package above. It probably brings back memories. Sitting in a shopping cart while your parent(s) were getting groceries and seeing the all too familiar animal cracker package with all of the aminals (I mean animals) and shouting, “Can I get these? Can I get these? Please??” Or if you have kids it might be in a much more recent memory bank. I know my little one has been know to ask persistently for them while we’re cruising the isles. One big observation here: The packaging for Barnum’s Animal Crackers (The animals and the primary colors) haven’t changed a bit since I can remember.

Well guess what? They’ve made a temporary departure from the classic package design to raise social awareness. Barnum made a $100,000 contribution toward protecting endangered Asian Tigers through the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) and for a limited time, are putting a Lilly Pulitzer-designed package on the shelf. Pulitzer’s company is a long supporter of environmental organizations so it was a great fit!
The Lilly box design features animals drawn in her fanciful style and a pastel color palette. Quite different from Barnum’s traditional packaging design approach. The package also incorporates a call-out for the brand’s donation to WWF and WWF’s panda logo. The design helps contemporize the brand by associating it with a relevant, timely issue. One million of the boxes have hit retail shelves in March.

Pulitzer and Barnum’s Facebook and Twitter pages have been the primary source of promotion for the new box. Through social media, the campaign has generated tremendous buzz online about the design change and support of the Asian Tigers. The effort has also created great business results so far for Barnum. including a healthy sales lift.

More info:
Lilly Pulitzer
Media Post

Tags:animal crackers, asian tigers, branding, endangered species, lilly pulitzer, Marketing, package design
Posted in Marketing, Packaging Design | No Comments »

Earth Day, Everyday

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

In honor of Earth Day, Sunrise Packaging wants to highlight the importance of taking care of the environment. But more than just on a business level. We all know there are several ways for each of us to be “green” at home and in our everyday lives, 365 days a year.

We can switch out our light bulbs with newer energy efficient types. We can get rid of the old refrigerator and update to an energy star model. We can turn out the lights when we leave the room. All of these examples are great but we want to dig a little deeper and share with you some less obvious ways to be “green” so you can add them to your eco-repertoire.

1. Get rid of your junk mail- Nobody will be twisting your arm for this. Who wouldn’t want to get rid of all of their credit card offers? But how? You can opt out of pre-screened credit card offers. Simply click here.

2. Make your own household cleaners- Not only does this reduce waste by not buying an array of house cleaners from the store, it will save you money! A few simple ingredients can assist you in most cleaning situations. Here are a few recipes:

*All purpose cleaner- Mix half vinegar and half water. Add 4 tablespoons of lemon juice to give a fresh scent.
*Glass cleaner- Mix half white vinegar and half water.
*Carpet deodorizer- Mix 4 parts baking soda with 1 part cornstarch.
*Mildew and mold cleaner- Mix lemon juice or white vinegar and salt.
*Oven cleaner- Mix baking soda, salt, and hot water.
*Drain cleaner- Pour a quarter cup of baking soda down the clogged drain, followed by a half cup of vinegar. Close the drain tightly until fizzing stops, then flush with boiling water.
*Toilet Bowl Cleaner- Mix 1 part baking soda with 4 parts vinegar, pour into basin and let it set for a few minutes. Scrub with brush and rinse. A mixture of borax (2 parts) and lemon juice (one part) will also work.

3. Get green power- Sign up for green power with your utility company. The term “green power” is used to define power generated from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, geothermal, hydropower and various forms of biomass. Find out where you can get green power by clicking here.

4. Go to the car wash- Few people realize that washing our cars in our driveways is one of the most environmentally un-friendly chores we can do around the house. The water that runs off from your car goes right into storm drains — and eventually into rivers, streams, creeks and wetlands where it poisons aquatic life and causes other ecosystem damage.

On the other hand, federal laws in both the U.S. and Canada require commercial carwash facilities to drain their wastewater into sewer systems, so it gets treated before it is discharged back into the great outdoors.

5. Compost your waste- Food and yard waste can be put into a composter rather than into a plastic bag or landfill. By composting, you’ll produce a rich soil filled with nutrients for your garden and plants. The soil is a natural fertilizer that is safe and eliminates the need of dangerous chemical fertilizers.

So what can be composted? Things like coffee grounds, eggshells, fruits and vegetables, grass clippings, leaves, shredded newspapers, etc. You can easily make a compost bin too and it’s cheap! Click here to learn how.

More info:
World Watch
Simple Mom

Tags:composting, Earth Day, Eco-Friendly, environment, Going Green, green power, household cleaner
Posted in Eco-Friendly | No Comments »

The Measure of Package Design

Monday, April 19th, 2010

Most companies instinctively know that good design makes good business sense. However, companies are at a loss on how to quantify its effectiveness. Without measurable data, package design will always be seen as an expense rather than an investment.

It is so important to understand the impact packaging can have on a product in order to justify it. To understand the impact we need to know what role packaging design is going to play in a particular instance.

The primary role of packaging design of course is a brand identifier. For new brands, packaging is a link to other symbolic associations, playing more of an educational role. By accepting design as a link to brand meaning rather than the brand meaning itself, it becomes easier to specify the quantifiable measures that packaging and design can be evaluated on.

Effective packaging will have a direct impact on the growth of a brand. This can be measured in volume or value of sales. Consumers are driven by emotions and purchase instinctively. Packaging can be a heavily persuasive influence on a consumer if it stands out and link’s to a consumer’s positive perception. With established brands, if packaging changes, you have sales figures to measure against that help identify the impact that design can have on growth.

Margin is another measurable factor that package design has on a product. A brand’s margin is affected by the prices it sells and the costs related to producing the product. Packaging design will directly influence the retail price of a brand. If a product is packaged effectively it will send strong triggers of its brand’s world, reinforcing consumer links to the product. At that point, the purchase will be made no matter the price. Elements in package design that initiate those triggers give their brands opportunities to generate higher margins.

So while packaging design is an expense for a company, it should also be looked at as an investment. Seeking influential package design should be based on what type of role that the packaging will play. If done effectively, packaging certainly contributes meaningfully to a company’s bottom line.

More info:
Brand Packaging

Tags:brand awareness, branding, consumer decision, gross margin, package design, product growth
Posted in Custom Packaging Products, New Products, Packaging Design, Product Information | No Comments »

Practical Packaging

Friday, April 16th, 2010

It is so imaginative when packaging features a practical purpose beyond protecting and identifying the product itself. Take this cologne bottle developed by Lebedev Studio. Strangely enough, the scent is designed for a carpenters and labor workers alike. The Levelus eau de toilette is a blend of calabriane bergamot, rosemary, and clementine oil, which go along with wood notes of birch, cedar (this is a nod to the profession, indeed) and sweet iris root and cardamom.

Going beyond the fragrance, the bottle actually works perfectly as a tool for indicating whether or not a surface is level. For frequent use, you can buy replacement perfume containers that slide back into the frame of the design.

Packaging is important. It serves as protection to a product as well as a tool to inform a consumer as to what’s inside. Some consumers consider packaging to be a waste of resources and materials. The challenge today for a packaging companies and designers is to be innovative and create custom packaging that is not perceived as wasteful. Most of the time that means sustainable or eco-friendly packaging. But in cases like this Levelus spirit level perfume bottle, adding packaging practicality so it can function as something beyond its primary purpose is innovative and looked at as resourceful.

More information:
Lebedev Studio

Tags:carpenter, cologne, custom packaging, design, innovative, labor, perfume, repurposed
Posted in Custom Packaging Products, Packaging Design | No Comments »

Twitter Buzz: Promoted Tweets

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

There is a lot of buzz and mixed reviews regarding Twitter’s new ad program called Promoted Tweets. The program delivers contextually relevant ads in a user’s search results. The Promoted Tweets will appear at the top of your search results based on the context of your search terms much like Google’s AdSense program.

The first advertising partners that are going to invest in testing Promoted Tweets include: Best Buy, Red Bull, Bravo, Sony Pictures, Starbucks, and Virgin America.

Twitter says the messages will be clearly labeled as “promoted” and will function just like any other tweet with the ability for users to retweet (repost), reply, or bookmark the message. In fact, what users do with these Promoted Tweets may be crucial to the success of Twitter’s new advertising program. Further, if people don’t interact with a particular Promoted Tweet, it will disappear from the search results. The company is also considering pushing Promoted Tweets into your Twitter stream even if you’re not following a specific advertiser.

Both users and companies are split about the program. 26% of companies say they would try the program without knowing the cost of advertising. The companies interested would pay $50 per month on advertising through Twitter to see its effectiveness. 43% of the companies were unsure while 31% had no interest at all.

42% of users lacked confidence in the program and seemed to think it would be no better than spam. 31% are reserving judgement until they can see the Promoted Tweet in action. On the flip side, 27% believed this program was a sensible model to bring ads into the Twitter universe. Here’s what some of the users are saying:

“Great, twitter is going to inject spam into timelines .”

“I don’t understand why a company like @Starbucks gains more from buying a twitter sponsored ad than from just interacting with customers.”

Whether or not Promoted Tweets will be thought of as spam or relevant messages depends largely on how users respond to the ads. Moreover, how users respond will determine the program’s success. Companies are not going to pay for advertising if there’s no interaction taking place.

More info:
Emarketer.com
Twitter Blog
Reuters

Follow Sunrise Packaging on Twitter

Tags:advertising, internet advertising, Marketing, promotion, social networking, spam, tweet, Twitter
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

Are You Prepared For the Green Consumer?

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Yes, we’re somewhere in the midst of the worst economic downturn in history. For obvious reasons, consumers have taken more interest in searching for value in the products that they purchase. Because of this, price is playing a major role in the buying decisions for more consumers than in a stable economic environment.

Despite the weakness in the economy, sustainable packaging is growing and the green consumer is not going away! Recent statistics show that only 11% of consumers have heard the phrase sustainable packaging. Of those 11%, half of them thought sustainable packaging meant durable packaging. However, when we analyze consumer trends, we find that these statistics will not hold true for very long. In fact, they were probably outdated as soon as they were published.

Consumers are becoming more educated on sustainability and its role in packaging. While still looking at price, consumers are increasingly interested in their personal impact on the environment and are demanding more from manufacturers. Many consumers believe that products have too much packaging. Because of this manufacturers are downsizing and lightening the protective covering that goes around their products. Those manufacturers are seeing benefits from these efforts by realizing material savings and increased demand from green consumers.

Most observers don’t expect any changes in the growth of sustainable packaging, no matter what the state of the economy is. If we’re seeing growth through these difficult times, the importance of sustainability to the consumer is fairly obvious. What might change is the demand for more clarity around the messaging. As consumers are becoming more educated, they’re going to be looking closely at what is really sustainable. We might expect to see more discussion about codes, standards, and oversights. Consumers are going to hold manufacturers more accountable for making sure that they’re staying true to their message.

More info:
Packaging Digest

Tags:consumer trends, economy, green consumer, green packaging, manufacturing, packaging trends, recession, sustainability, sustainable packaging
Posted in Eco-Friendly, Packaging Design | No Comments »

Filtered Tap Water on the Go

Friday, April 9th, 2010

We all know by now the massive impact that bottled water has on the environment. Each day an estimated 60 million plastic water bottles are thrown away. Wow! Besides the sheer number of plastic bottled produced each year, the energy required to manufacture and transport these bottles to market severely drains limited fossil fuels.

Introducing the 321 Water Bottle created by the Australian company Half A Teaspoon. It’s filtered tap water on the go- French press style. This beautifully-designed reusable water bottle has a plunger mechanism with a built-in filter so you can fill it from any tap to produce fresh filtered water. The 500ml screw top bottle easy to use and BPA-free. It features a wide neck drink opening and is easy to clean.

How much do they cost? The 321 Water Bottle is selling for $32.10.

So where can you get one? You’re going to have to wait. They’re not quite in production yet. The word is that they’ll be available this Summer!

Facts on the effects of US bottled water consumption:
*More than 8 billion gallons of bottled water is consumed annually in the US representing $11 billion in sales.
*An estimated 1.5 million barrels of oil are required to make the plastic for the bottles. (That’s enough to power 100,000 cars for a year.
*Nearly 90% of water bottles are not recycled.

More information:
321 Water
The Dieline
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Tags:bottled water, Eco-Friendly, environment, filtered water, innovation, pollution, sustainable, water
Posted in Eco-Friendly, New Products, Packaging Design | No Comments »