I am sure everyone has heard the term “Going Green” and for a while it just seemed like a trend. Eco-friendly packaging is here to stay, though, because it does one very important thing: reduces excess packaging waste.

In a 2011 report from the Grocery Manufacturers Association, companies in the food, beverage and consumer products industries plan to cut packaging waste by 4-billion-pounds between 2005 and 2020. The greenhouse gas emissions avoided by a 4-billion-pound packaging reduction have the equivalent impact of removing 815,000 cars from the road or 363,000 homes from the energy grid for one year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalency Calculator.

So how are designers and manufacturers cutting down on waste? The main way is by looking at the full cycle of the product and packaging and seeing how they can improve on its sustainability. Sustainable package design involves using environmentally friendly materials that are renewable, recyclable and compostable.

In a study conducted by Ipsos Marketing, it states that “global consumers have readjusted their priorities regarding food products.” Consumers prefer products that offer increased health benefits, fresher ingredients and environmentally friendly packaging. One of our favorite examples of a product is a 100% organic soap that also has compostable packaging made from 100% post-consumer content. The bar soapbox is inspired by egg cartons and is from Pangea Organics.

Start thinking about ways your product can be more eco-friendly because I guarantee you this trend is here to stay!

We're thrilled to have been a part of the formation of Red Chair Architects, based in Knoxville and announced yesterday. Here's what the Knoxville News Sentinel had to say about the merger:

And what about that unorthodox name? Cockrill said the team worked with a Nashville marketing firm called Locomotion Creative.

"I charged them when we first got started 'I'm going to set a goal that you cannot meet, but I want to achieve an iconic name of the firm that begins to rival the Nike swoosh or the McDonald's arches,'" he said.

They've got plenty of work to do before reaching that level of brand awareness, but Cockrill said red is a color that demands focus, while a chair is a component of architecture with a human scale to it.

Cockrill added that in conversations with employees about the name, he told them "if you like it or don't like it you're going to ask about it because it's so different. And they agreed."

Read the full post here: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/jan/04/community-tectonics-cockrill-design-planning

As a tribute to our hard-working, blue-collar neighborhood, we’ve spelled out our name on the wall in our reception area with letters that come from a different business in Nashville’s Melrose area.

Ah, but which businesses? Let us know what you think on our Facebook page.

1. Define your goals internally
This should include your both long term strategic objectives as well as your company's immediate expectations for results from a project or campaign. What is a success and what is a failure? A client recently came to us and said, "We’ve discussed this internally and agreed we'd like 5,000 more people to like us on Facebook. Let's make that our immediate goal. If we can achieve that goal we can then do a, b and c more effectively and that will help us with our long-term strategy of x, y and z." Brilliant.

2. List important dates
“As soon as possible” isn’t exactly a timeframe. Be specific. “We have a tradeshow coming up on September 1st. We’d like the site ready to launch August 7th to allow time for testing and review by management. We can deliver you the assets by June 15 from our end and we’ll need you guys to have concepts to us by that date as well.” By giving us the important dates we can build a production schedule backing out from there.

3. Cover your assets
Check out your photography, illustrations, copy, logos and other assets as much as you can and the agency will be able to give you a more accurate estimate on cost and completion. “We’ve got all our existing photography on a hard drive that will be delivered by next Friday. It’s all high res-300dpi- but you will probably need to do some color correction. We won’t be able to get you the native files from the last brochure, but we have press ready PDFs we can send over, and should be able to get you a vector EPS of all the logo files.” Now you’re empowering your agency to spend time on your marketing objectives rather than paying them to sort through old archives that may not even be relevant to your current project.

4. Define your budget internally
In broad numbers, get a sense of what your company thinks this project is worth. If it’s a Website, is it a $15,000 job or is it a $100,000 job? Your agency will be happy to create a solution that meets your price range and to tell you about various levels of functionality that can be achieved. We always try to offer creative ways to give you the most bang for your buck. I have one client that is great about always defining their expectations related to cost. “We have a sponsorship ad coming up in a charity program. It will only run once and we didn’t budget for it. Can you do something for a few hundred dollars?” Absolutely.

5. Identify and engage the decision makers
One of the best ways to do this is to outline your marketing plan and review it with senior management as early as you can. Let them know in general terms what events and initiatives you’re planning to support throughout the year and what your general sense of timing and cost is. What percentage of your annual budget should be devoted to revamping your website versus creating new printed sales materials and developing an advertising campaign and then buying media to broadcast it? Use big round numbers and let them know what your expectations are for a successful result. Then ask them what THEY think.

Organize product information in the same way

Design is very much about the organization of information. It’s important that customers can quickly find the information they need and it’s presented in a thoughtful way. It’s like anticipating their questions.

If your catalog is really well organized and customers and dealers love it, it only makes sense to translate that experience to web navigation.

Check out how we turned the table of contents from this catalog directly into the main navigation on the Website.

Read More:
5 Ways to Integrate Your Company’s Website with Your Other Communications: Part 1
5 Ways to Integrate Your Company’s Website with Your Other Communications: Part 2
5 Ways to Integrate Your Company’s Website with Your Other Communications: Part 3
5 Ways to Integrate Your Company’s Website with Your Other Communications: Part 4