So you want to help the environment by being more eco-friendly and increasing your green efforts, but think that it is too expensive? Many people wonder if they should cut back on green marketing and their green efforts in a struggling economy, but in fact you should do quite the opposite. I read in the September issue of Deliver, a marketing magazine, that it is actually a “hook to getting through them”. They say that green marketing improves your efficiencies, increases customer loyalty, and differentiates your brand.

Take for instance, Wal-Mart’s green efforts. Wal-Mart’s “Earth Month” green marketing efforts included print ads for 10 different green products under $10 and “rollbacks” on environmentally-friendly products. Customers are looking for ways to save money in a tough economy, and Wal-Mart is helping them do that, while still having a positive environmental effect.

Green marketing also increases customer loyalty. Frito-Lay’s SunChips brand gained customers by showing them that green is both good for them and the environment. They started this marketing plan after seeing market research from 2006 that showed that people who care about their personal health also care about the planet. SunChips have 18 grams of whole grain and zero trans fat. Since these chips are healthier than regular potato chips, their campaigns played off this, their nature-related name, and their sustainability investments, which includes producing a compostable bag. They promoted their compostable bags with an online video showing them decompose, as well as print ads that included a tear-off sample for consumers to test it out themselves in their compost piles. Green marketing helped SunChips become one of the fastest-growing snack brands at Frito-Lay.

Green marketing, done correctly, also differentiates your brand from the competition. IBM took a different route by connecting with the community in their green efforts. Their Smarter Planet initiative used direct mail to encourage individuals, businesses, and institutions to change the way they work. They also started a series of jams, or brainstorming sessions, that bring people from around the world together to solve an issue. Their “Congestion Challenge” collects innovative ideas to fight transportation congestion, and the winner receives $50,000, as well as the development and implementation support for the idea.

With the ever increasing popularity of USB flash drives, also known as jump drives or thumb drives, companies are coming up with more and more creative designs for these devices. Here are some that we found at Gadget4all:

Care for a flash memory shot?

This one is a mp3 player, voice recorder, AND a flash memory stick:

Like to eat/cook? There are plenty of creative food designs:

Don’t go without protecting these valuable devices. When you need to package all of your creative USB flash drives, give Sunrise a call. We can help create a custom package to go with your unique devices that can help prevent them from being lost/damaged.

(All pictures from gadget4all.com)

When customers are running through a store, they don’t have time to search through the shelves to find what they want. They want packaging to be distinctive and descriptive. Successful packaging will not only be eye-appealing and attract the customer’s attention, but it will also convey the message you are trying to send and show them what they are getting.

Here are some great descriptive packaging examples that we found:

You only have a few seconds to catch the customer’s attention. What are you going to do with your packaging to stand out on the shelf above your competition?

We have talked many times about the significance of product packaging and design. Not only does it need to stick out and “pop” on the shelf, but there also needs to be brand recognition for your loyal customers.  If consumers can’t easily find your product on the shelf, they will turn to another product, your competition.

An example of this was the Tropicana repackaging fiasco you may have heard of from earlier this year. Since Tropicana is such a large, well-known company, they depend on brand loyalty.  THey are known for their fresh-squeezed juice, and this was displayed with their traditional packaging with  the straw sticking out of the orange.

In  January, they decided to change their packaging by going with a very simple design.  They removed their trademark orange picture, went with lighter colors, and changed the font of their brand name. Many customers were not able to find the Tropicana juice they wanted in a hurry, or they thought the new design looked cheap and generic.

The numbers proved it.  From Jan.1 to Feb 22, unit sales dropped 20 percent and dollar sales went down 19 percent, or roughly $33 million.  Count that loss with the $35 million that they spent on the ad campaign for the new packaging, and one can see they made a costly mistake. Not only did Tropicana’s sales decrease, but their competitors, such as Minute Maid, Florida’s Natural, and Tree Ripe showed double-digit unit sales increase during that time.  Ultimately, they had no choice but to return to the old packaging.

We can all learn from Tropicana’s mistake.  First of all, packaging matters.  Secondly, as a company with brand loyal customers, you cannot change the design to drastically, because brand recognition is vital.

We cannot stress enough how important it is to differentiate your product from the competition.  If there are comparable products, one of the main ways to differentiate your product is with packaging and design.  A creative and unique package will help your product stand out and “pop” on the shelf.

Coca-Cola did just that with their special edition bottles and cans of soda.  With custom packaging, they can create their own distinctive design that the competition can not compare to.  And since there is a limited amount of these designs produced, they could become collectors’ items.  Since they are eye-appealing with creative design, along with the fact that they are rare, these bottles are likely to be snatched up from the shelves.  Here are some of our favorite special edition Coca-Cola bottles and cans that we found online:

You can package your product in a simple white paper sleeve or paperboard mailer and we can help you with that. There are lots of projects that this type of packaging is perfect for.

However when you are talking about products for the retail market, either on-line or at a bricks and mortar store, movie and music enthusiasts choose the physical product over a download for one reason… The Packaging.

The following is a short list of movie and music reviewers and their thoughts on the packaging and the value it adds:

Rev/Views DVD & Television blog

Review of the first season of the TV series “Chuck“:
“Now I am a bit of a packaging enthusiast, mostly because I feel I’ve invested money in purchasing DVDs and as such I want them to look nice on the shelf and work well.”

Creative Review blog

Review of “Glastonbury The Movie“:
“At a time when you can get online and simply download music and films, really it’s down to the packaging of albums and DVDs to make the tangible music or film product a viable option to the consumer.”

Pulse Wrestling blog

Review of the WWE “Randy Savage Ultimate Collection“:
“As someone who collects a lot of disc based stuff (hardcore video game collector here), I like it when the stuff occupying my shelf looks good.”

MamaPop blog

Review of “Wilco (the album)”:
“certain bands, you need to buy the physical recording, because there’s packaging that speaks to what the album is and isn’t.”

NSRMTB blog

Review of “Tipping Point“:
“To all those out there that would rather download a DH DVD than buy one you are going to miss out on some cool packaging and shame on you.”

Bring on Mixed Reviews blog

Review of “The Dear Hunter“:
“The album’s packaging is also something to behold. The time and effort put into the old timey photos that double as track lyrics/notes, is simply amazing. If you have The Prize Fighter Inferno‘s album “My Brother’s Blood Machine” then you know what I am referring to, it returns my faith in the CD medium, where so many have abandoned it for hollow digital downloads.”

These are just some of many comments that prove that the packaging adds value to an album or movie.  You could decrease piracy and downloads by investing in custom packaging that is creative and eye-catching.  By doing this, you are making the physical product of your album or movie a must-have for every fan.

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.