A week working out on the Kinesis Wall

I spent this week in Mexico City. Early morning, everyday before an exciting business agenda, I hit the hotel gym and worked out on this fabulous equipment called the Kinesis Wall. I loved it.

The corporate website says that the equipment incorporates stretching and workout routines that imitate natural movements such as lifting, bending down and reaching out. After a week using the Kinesis, which looks like it was designed by some cool Scandinavian design boutique, I felt absolutely great.... toned, energized and without the sensation of tense muscules I often feel at traditional gyms.

Miami's Design District

Last week-end, I went out to dinner with a friend who took me to the Sra.Martinez Restaurant in Miami's ultra cool Design District.





























We lived in the Miami area from 2000 to 2003 and at that time, the area north of midtown was pretty run down. I was amazed to see the transformation: art galleries, chic boutiques, renovated historic building housing an exciting gourmet scene, loads of people in the streets. Proof that, with the right planning and entrepreneurship, cities or degradated parts of town can morph in something amazing. What a refreshing makeover.

Click here to get more info on the place, in case you're heading to Miami anytime soon.

Those beautiful new gadgets we probably don't need

Don't we all just love these lists of the sexiest gadgets of the year?

Beautifully-designed gadgets we probably don't need but some way end up in our dream list. 

Check this one out from THECOOLIST*

Inspiration from potato chips

My good friend Flavio Maria just sent me a link to a fun article from Fast Company on how Iraqi Architect Zaha Hadid's love for snacks may be inspiring her fantastic work.

As a fanatic potato chip marketer, I loved the article, which is also a great reminder how inspiration for great design can come from anywhere.

"The sandwich came with potato chips, and Hadid examined one, turning it in her fingers, which were long and tapered and ended in bright-red nails, before putting it into her mouth. The twisty geometry of an ordinary potato chip, to say nothing of the curves in modern cars and phones, is a reminder of how few buildings look as if they belonged in the digital world. Hadid is devoted to helping architecture catch up."

Folding bikes and the art of innovation

I love bikes and I would like to be able to take my two daughters biking beyond our Sao Paulo neighborhood.  Unfortunately, our three bikes don't fit in our family bike (let alone in my Mini Cooper).  

For the past week I've been doing some online research on folding bikes, from very simple concepts to high-end folding mountain bikes. Some really fascinating projects.  

One video I found on YouTube, part of the Open University series, is absolutely fantastic because it has UK Industrial Desginer Mark Sanders  explain step-by-step the entire process he went through in creating his revolutionary Strida folding bike.  The video shows how he started off with a very specific brief inspired by baby strollers.  It goes on to show his rigourous approach to developing hypotheses, creating as many designs as possible, validating, screening, prototyping and testing, testing, testing.  I particularly enjoyed how, after launching the first commercial version, he incorporated consumer feedback to evolve and refine each aspect of his project.  At the end, he mentions a few ideas he has to take his project to the next level, confirming how great design and product development should be a continuous process.  

For those who love design and the innovation process, this is a truly inspirational video.

Spicing up Doritos in Brazil

This weekend a fantastic spicy new Doritos flavor will be hitting stores all over Brazil:

Sweet Chili.

We're super excited with this new flavor for a number of reasons. First, because for many years we have been only selling the classic nacho cheese - our fastest-growing snack - and we took extra care to develop a second flavor that would deliver an awesome product experience to Doritos fans. We tested and re-tested dozens of flavors and sweet chili was the clear winner, a perfect combination of hot chili pepper with a gentle sweet secondary note.

Another reason for our excitement has to do with Doritos Sweet Chili's packaging. For this project we're working with one of Brazil's coolest creative shops, Cubo CC. We immediately fell in love with their graphic work using characters from the world of toy art, which are being called 'Doritos Lovers', over a pure silver background that will certainly stand out at the point of sale.

The great story is that these 'Doritos Lovers' come alive once consumers place the packaging in front of a web cam. The technology used is augmented reality. On the back of each package, there's a symbol on the upper right-hand corner that needs to be placed in front a web cam to release the Doritos Lovers. This is the first-time ever in Brazil that this technology is used on a the package of a consumer product.

Take a look at the video tutorial that shows how the release-your-doritos-lovers works....

The new online experience for both Doritos and the new flavor launch was also developed by Cubo CC and is, by far, the best online work in our portfolio. Click here to take a look.

Another interesting aspect of this initiative is that the entire process was co-developed and each step validated by a Millennial Online Collaboration Panel we have with 40 university students located in four different regions of the country. Through a social-network style application, we maintain a weekly interaction with these collaborators checking everything from brand activation concept ideas, choice of flavors, language that resonates with the target, to what is hot in the world of graphics. The result is a higher probability to make a strong emotional connection with Brazilian millennials (certainly the most difficult demographic to be relevant to).

To make all this happen we have, what I call, our Doritos marketing dream team: Roberto Angelino, Carla Araujo (who will now lead the kids snacking team), Alexandre Chiavegati and Carol Gormezano (who love everything digital). To add more spice to the team, we're bringing in Marta Oliveira, who has done a fantastic job with our other millennial brand Toddy. In R&D, we have Sergio Julio, who brings the product concepts to life. A true dream team.

Here in Brazil.... we're in love with Doritos!

A simple approach to video recording

Don't you just love it when you se a killer product idea that completely changes the game in a given category.  Well it happened last week when I bought a Flip Video Camera.  Ok.... I know.... I was late to the game.  I admit it.  Flip has taken video recording and made it into a very simple, cool, experience.  A little bit like what iPhone has done to mobile phones.  Just a few simple buttons and you're ready to tell your story on YouTube.  A lesson in simplicity that all marketers can learn from.

Click here to read about the buzz that's being generated by Flip...

Small cars with big ideas

Since returning to Brazil two years ago, my wife and I decided to keep costs and our Family carbon emissions low so we opted to have only one car.  She drops me off at work in the morning and I catch a cab back home. It has forced me to walk more, bike more on week-ends and carpool. However, in the past few months I found myself in a few situations where I thought I needed my own transportation.  The other night, after speaking to students at a local university, I found myself walking under the rain at 11:00pm looking for a cab. 

So, this week-end I decided to go to a few dealers looking for a small car.  I test drove two fun imports:  a Mini-Cooper and Fiat's new Cinquecento, with the retro styling I love. 

I also read an interesting article about Toyota's totally new IQ - the world's smallest 4-seater.  I found this video posted on YouTube this week which reveals the six space-saving ideas that were incorporated in the design which the video says will be applied to future projects.  To make it a perfect choice, I wish it were electric. 

For someone like me living in a metropolis like Sao Paulo with tough traffic and limited parking space, these are the type of vehicles that make a lot of sense.

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Touchscreens showing up everywhere

When Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone the world became fascinated by the magic of a fingertip on the phone's screen controlling all the features. HP has done the same with its new TouchSmart family of PCs featuring software designed specifically for touch. Without using a keyboard or mouse, people can do a lot of different things like play music, access files and playlists, zoom in or out of photos or check the stock market (well nowadays maybe you don't want to do that...).

It's interesting to see how touch screen technology is showing up everywhere from check-in kiosks at airports to self-checkouts in supermarkets to digital photo processing at your local drugstore.

HP's new TouchSmart computer will certainly open a wide range of new applications. I'm guessing one of them will be providing elementary school kids with a more interactive and fun learning experience.

Click below to see the demo...

Tim Brown from IDEO on the power of play

This month posted on TED, a deliciously inspiring speech with Tim Brown, CEO of innovation and design firm IDEO, called "The Powerful Link Between Creativity and Play" as part of the 2008 Serious Play Conference.

He talks about how certain behaviors we have learned as kids (exploration, building, role play) can be powerful tools in the process of creative thinking.

Click below to be inspired...

For Brazilian consumers hungry to taste the world

This month, our snacks marketing team is coming out with a repositioning for our STAX® line - potato chips in plastic tubes for convenient on-the-go consumption. We have been in the market in Brazil with STAX® since late 2006 with three basic flavors: original, sour cream & onion and cheddar cheese.  We were in search of a brand idea that could help us better differentiate ourselves, as well as, a creative platform that can allow us to better execute at the point of sale.

The new positioning is STAX® For those hungry to taste the world - taking consumers on a journey of flavors from different parts of the world. As Brazil starts playing a growing role in the global scene, young adults have a natural curiosity for what's beyond our borders. In fact, traveling is high on the dream list of our core target group. Tapping into a an amazing portfolio of authentic flavors that have been developed in other International operations, we researched and identified four flavors that resonate well with local consumers (in addition to the original flavor for those who just love a traditional potato chip).  This the new flavor line-up:

Thailand - Sweet Thai Chilli

Argentina - Barbecue

England - Sour Cream & Onion

America - Cheddar cheese

The repositioning work was led by Roberto Angelino, Carla Araujo and her marketing team Alexandre Chiavegatti and Carol Gormezano. The packaging graphics was developed by Cornerstone - a NY-based design firm that has opened a studio in São Paulo. On the back panel, you can find cultural and gastronomic tips from each flavor destination. 

A brand all about guy gets girl

The new site for Axe® body deodorant in Brazil is graphically awesome, perfectly on target and is generating a lot of buzz within the local blogsphere.  For those who manage teen brands, this is definitely work worth learning from.  As you know, the brand is all about boy gets girl and the site embodies that from every angle possible.  There's even a very cool online game called 'Billions' that tests a guy's ability to get girls (I'm happy that our Doritos® brand is featured as a billboard within the game).  

Axe is a great example of a brand laser-focused on a very defined demographic with a perfectly crafted positioning. Well done. 

The Best Global Design of 2008

The 2008 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEAs) is an outstanding showcase of the world's best design.  This year, I was particularly happy to see Brazil ranked third with 12 awards, with the U.S. leading with 114 awards and South Korea in second with 19.  Click here to see the slide show featuring all the winners at Business Week, which sponsors the awards.

Helping the environment one envelope at a time

Everyone is looking for eco-friendly ways to save the planet.  So, it's wonderful when you see a good example of someone who not only had a great idea but actually created a business around it. I enjoyed reading the story of Ann DeLaVergne, who looking at a stack of used envelopes in her recycling bin thought that she could make a difference. She founded ecoEnvelopes™, a company that is creating a reusable envelope movement.

It's worth reading the story on their website...

“People find a purpose in their life and they pursue it, because it makes sense. That’s how invention happens,” recalls Ann DeLaVergne, founder of ecoEnvelopes. It was 2002 and while sorting the mail, she noticed an envelope with a request to, “Reuse this envelope.” Unfortunately, there was no easy way to do that.

As a former organic farmer and bee keeper who cared about the environmental, Ann already saved large envelopes to send out again—despite the complex camouflage they needed to be mailed a second time. “There should be an easier way to reuse envelopes,” she thought. “Why not one envelope instead of two?”

Combining her design experience and background in fine arts, Ann started making prototypes by hand at her kitchen table. The new eco friendly envelopes she came up with were functional, practical, and most importantly, helped the environment.

Ann used her sewing machine to speed up the process of making perforations in paper to make it easy to open her ecoEnvelopes. Her first mailing was ten envelopes she sent to friends across the country. Every one of them came back and she says with nostalgia, “I thought I was done. I mailed them, they came back….I was done,” she recalls. “No. That was the start. I made envelopes from scratch with my sewing machine for the next two years!”

In the next couple years, Ann devoted herself to perfecting ecoEnvelopes. She received grants from the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance and the Eileen Fisher Foundation and won supporter after supporter, including the former CEO of one of the largest envelope manufacturers in the U.S. Soon, Ann was in Washington meeting with the US Postal Service and key people in the industry. “It became a community whose goal was to help the environment, we were working on something that could make a significant difference,” she recalls.

Her timing was perfect. With consumers driving demand for environmentally friendly products, corporations greening their operations and the USPS supporting green initiatives, it was clear that ecoEnvelopes was an idea whose time had come.

A Conversation with Chris Nunes from Cornerstone Strategic Branding (NY)

A few weeks ago, Chris Nunes, CEO of Cornerstone Strategic Branding based in New York visited us and spoke to my team on Eco-Branding. I have known Chris for many years and his company is currently working on a packaging graphic project for one of our snack brands. I asked him to write about the theme for the blog. Here is what he sent me...

Small is Good Again - The Emergence of Eco-Brands

I have been on the road traveling to different markets reporting on the state of environmental branding and packaging, and espousing its benefits. As CEO of Cornerstone Strategic Branding in New York and Sao Paulo, Brazil, I have had the opportunity to work with a wide range of package goods brands competing in international markets such as the United States, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, South Africa, United Kingdom, South Korea, Pakistan, and many, many others. My company has been in business for 18 years and during that time I have secured and worked with clients in over 23 countries including those in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

A topic of continuing interest to me and to an increasing number of my clients are the trends to increased use of environmentally friendly packaging and the introduction of a new class of brands which I call “Eco-Brands”. With the help of some of my colleagues at CSB, I have researched these trends extensively and the result is a comprehensive presentation on the subject with a global perspective.

I discovered that there is a lot more activity going on in the use of environmentally friendly packaging than what we see here in the U.S. What was even more striking is the emergence of this new class of brands called Eco Brands.

These are brands which from the moment of origin are created with a mission, a brand positioning and “value set” that clearly focus the brand on behaving in a way that is protective of the planet. There are many ways that Eco Brands achieve this with their packaging, in addition to how they also reflect this in their product and everything that they do.

Some of these brands only use recycled materials in their packaging such as recycled/post consumer paperboard, recycled PET plastic resin (RPET), recycled glass, etc. Some of these brands use these materials in combination with new materials called bio- resins made from sustainable plant materials such as corn and cane sugar starches that replace traditional petroleum based resins, made from a non- renewable resource.

Some reduce their use of these materials altogether and eliminate complete “layers” of packaging to become more environmentally friendly, while reducing costs. Others do all this and also print their packaging using water and/or vegetable based inks with very low VOC’s (volatile organic compounds). These inks can replace traditional inks formulated with environmentally dangerous solvents high in VOC content.

The most interesting thing I learned about these Eco Brands is that some of these brands have been around for a while and how, in a very short period of time, have grown in sales significantly. Take for example the brand Burt’s Bees. Their website defines the brand ‘s mission as follows: “We create natural earth- friendly personal care products formulated to help you maximize your well being and that of the world around you”. The intriguing thing about this brand is that it has been around since 1984 and as recently as 2003 had only $8 million in sales. Just 5 years later, what do you think their sales are? Try $250 million.

Another example is the Eco Brand Seventh Generation. Seventh Generation is a household cleaning products brand with a line that includes dishwashing detergents, surface cleaners, paper towels, toilet tissue, disposable diapers, etc. The company and brand was established by Jeffrey Hollander who was once president of the Rainforest Foundation and on the Board of Directors for Greenpeace.

Seventh Generation was founded in 1988 and generated $1million is sales in 1989. Ten years later sales volume grew somewhat modestly and incrementally to reach $11 million in 1999 and grew to $25 million in 2004. What do you think their sales are now? Try approaching $100 million.

These examples illustrate the power of the Eco Branding concept, even if you start small. Consumers are not only now buying products that deliver demonstrable benefits equal to or superior to traditional, non –eco products, they are also buying into a value set that is aspirational to them.

The Eco Branding concept says that you can, in fact, start small, do good, build an environmentally positive track record and succeed. This approach is beginning to debunk the myth that many packaged goods companies have ascribed to for years that says new products have to be tested to validate wide scale share and volume potential in order to be commercially viable.

The most compelling news of late on this subject is that the continuing escalation of the price of oil, and it’s effect on rising costs of packaging materials and a host of product ingredients and materials, has now made the cost of goods for Eco Brands, which have historically been a bit more expensive than traditional brands, much more competitive now in many categories.

This was underscored by a recent article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Green Products Gain From New Price Equation”. One example given is a line of compostable dinnerware made by a Colorado company called Eco-Products. Eco Products manufactures their dinnerware using a bio resin made from corn starch and does not use a petroleum based resin. Therefore, their cost of goods has remained stable while the costs of petroleum based resins have continued to escalate, thereby now making Eco-Products dinnerware prices competitive to traditional dinnerware brands made out of petroleum based plastics.

The message to the marketing community is to take note of this phenomenon. Re-orient your thinking. Think small, do good, build a positive environmental track record and ride the Eco Branding wave.

With the continued escalation of oil prices into the foreseeable future, and the rising consumer demand for products that are friendly to the environment, the future of Eco Brands has never been brighter.

Christopher Nunes
CEO
Cornerstone Strategic Branding, Inc

Brazil's largest product design awards

Like in other countries around the World, Brazil finally has a large-scale product design awards: the IDEA/Brasil - Brazil's edition of the prestigious International Design Excellence Award, developed in partnership with IDSA-Industrial Designers Society of America.  In this first edition, 343 designs were submitted in 18 categories and 53 products were awarded.  

You can find the main awards in this month's edition of Epóca Negócios - one of Brazil's most influential business magazines. Click here to read more (article in Portuguese).

I was happy to see that one of the awards went to one of my favorite lamps, the 'Super Bossa' created and produced by Lumini®.  The pendant lamp can be easily adjusted up or down to adjust the light's intensity to help set the mood.  A simple design with a clear functionality.

The best in Brazilian interior design

We just got back from Casa Cor 2008 São Paulo, Brazil's premier interior design and architecture exhibition. This year's edition showcases 69 projects and it will be open until July 9 at the São Paulo Jockey Club.  Always a great place for inspiration.

Yves Behar at TED

For those who love great design, go to TED.com to watch Designer Yves Behar - known for amazing projects like the Jawbone headset or the $100 laptop - speak about his creative process.  I still find it fascinating how the internet allows us to watch inspiring lectures from great minds from the comfort of our home office.  Who needs network TV?

Wow! Packaging

Sometimes you see a product for the first time and say to yourself... "Wow! I wish I had worked on that project." At the Duty Free shop on my back to Brazil I saw a packaging design that I absolutely (no pun intended) loved...

  

ABSOLUT® Disco.... brilliant! 

The photo I took had even more meaning because the Absolut® bottle that represents everything that's new, daring and bold... was next to a brand that is all about heritage and tradition. Any interesting contrast.

Contemporary at Age 79

Last week in Barcelona, we went to visit the German Pavilion which was part of the Barcelona World Fair of 1929. The pavilion, now called the Mies Van der Rohe Pavilion, showcases the iconic Barcelona Chair, which was named because it was exclusively designed for the Fair. The design resulted from collaboration between the famous Bauhaus architect Mies van der Rohe and his long time partner, architect and designer, Lilly Reich. It's blows me away to see that a 79-year-old design can be so amazingly contemporary. 

Great design is certainly timeless.