Garbage turns into gold

I found this interesting report at trend spotter Cassandra Daily. A great way to start living more sustainable: Urban residents worldwide generate 1.3 billion tons of garbage per year. At this rate, The World Bank estimates that annual waste tonnage will reach 2.2 billion by 2025. To reduce this level, new services that encourage city dwellers to alert others of unwanted, but still usable, items have emerged, thereby upcycling potential waste to keep it out of landfills. Goedzak: Too often, people throw away items in good condition rather than donating or selling them. To prevent this, Simon Akkaya of Dutch design studio Waarmakers created Goedzak, a translucent bag with a yellow stripe that signals to passersby that the contents have value. People are encouraged to fill Goedzaks (which means “do-gooder” in Dutch, and combines the words for “good” and “bag”), and leave them on curbs for others. Akkaya and his partner Maarten Heijltjes also are piloting a program with a chain of secondhand stores in Amsterdam, through which bags are collected and the items within them can be resold or recycled. Trashswag: Trashswag is a Toronto-based website and app that crowdmaps items and materials that have been abandoned on curbs. Users upload photos of disposed goods, write accompanying descriptions, and pin them on a map. There’s also an option to report objects via email or Twitter with the hashtag #trashswag. By signing up for email alerts, users can discover what’s currently available in their areas. Founder Gavin Cameron came up with the idea when working on a project with artists who texted each other pictures and addresses of useful items left on the street. Cameron hopes to expand the “Craigslist for dumpster divers” to other cities. ReBounty: ReBounty is an app that lets New Yorkers list and find items they no longer want or have spotted on the street. Much like with Trashswag, users can upload pictures and descriptions to the site, through the app, or via email. They also can receive alerts to stay informed about unwanted goods found by others. What sets ReBounty apart, however, is the ability to contact item owners directly, thereby allowing for a wider—and potentially more valuable—variety of objects to be posted. The app, still in beta, won Best App for City Crowdsourcing at Reinvent Green, a sustainability hackathon where it was created last year.

Ad placement gone WRONG

II found this on Quirkology blog. Too funny!! Or tragic... 

"@Letitia_Potorac brought my attention to this great site containing unfortunate positioning of ads and CDs.  Here are my favourite three….

Second hand shopping get styled by new app - Instagram meets Gumtree

For several years we have seen houses being styled into perfection just before going on the market. A flat that looks dull is quickly transformed by new white cushions and a vase full of lilies, perhaps a bowl of limes and a smell of cinnamon.

We all know the real estate agents are faking it, and that the apartments will look just as dull the minute the kids toys are spread around the house and the flowers have died. But still... we love beauty, and we love the feeling of possibility - of potential glory.

This is why a new app for second hand sales - think Gumtree - that combines sales with the power of filters like the once at Instagram, is making purchasing old stuff more glam! The new Swedish app Osom presents your used old bikes and lamps in an appealing way, as if they were art objects, and this will lure the eye, the brain and the common sense.

I find shopping online boring since the objects are presented against a sterile white background, without the holistic touch of senses you get in a normal shop, and upon that you will pick the item up in a beige box at the dreadful post office! But with this kind of app, screen shopping will get more interesting. I will fore sure love the product more,  having got the first impression of it in an emotionally attractive setting. What about you?

Turn a potato chip into an experience - beautiful and brilliant packaging

Today I am in love with this packaging design! In times of consumer needing to be constantly entertained, involved and engaged, a brand has to use every opportunity to stop them on their hamster wheel. To get their desired attention for another second. This is a brilliant way of making a generic product more interesting.

This Icelandic brand of chips eliminate the problem of loud crunchy noise and full on dirty hands digging into shallow chip bags; it's a box that folds out into a bowl! 

Designed by Edda Gylfadóttir, Guðrún Hjörleifsdóttir, and Helga Björg, Iceland

http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2011/4/18/orflogur-microchips.html

Sorry for not posting

Hi everybody. I have not posted in a while; I am just too busy at the moment. Promise to be back soon :)

Love Branding book 5 Us dollar

My book "Love Branding" is now for sale at Amazon, Kindle version. Only 5 dollar!! Unfortunately the format is a little odd... if you prefer me sending you a pdf, just email and I send a paypal request. Thanks

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Branding-people-brand-ebook/dp/B00BKQ5QA2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361856099&sr=8-1&keywords=carolin+dahlman

Can I have a pizza and that blue table please?

Springwise reported in their latest newsletter about a pop-up restaurant in Netherlands that is not just letting diners choose the dish, but also the furniture, the table cloth and the decoration. Interesting how bored we all must be to need all these odd little unnecessary enjoyments to make life a little richer. I guess deep down the pleasures from love, a dip in the sea or a hug will be what really counts, but in a society hungry for multiple impressions, we need more, more, more. Cool idea for sure :)

"We’ve seen personalization in the dining world through the Hoppit site, which allows a user to select a restaurant based on ambience. Similarly, the IkHa temporary restaurant in the Netherlands recently allowed customers to select their choice of Ikea furniture to populate the space while they dined.

Created by Oatmeal Studio, the café was erected as part of last year’s Nordic Film Festival and aimed to make the experience of eating out more customizable for diners. Upon arriving, customers filled out their preferred furnishings – and meal choice – in pencil onto a paper slip, much like the process found in the Ikea store. As well as selecting from a range of tables, chairs and decorations, diners could cut their own tablecloth from wallpaper hanging from the walls. The space invited those using it to personalize it according to their tastes, providing a more engaging experience for diners, as well as doubling as a showroom for Ikea – despite the company not being officially involved in the project.

While the festival is now over, the IkHa restaurant is still available to hire. How else can others in the hospitality industry offer customers a greater role in designing the spaces they use?"

Oh, and the cute pic is just to cheer you up :) 

Be meaningful, different and salient - SHINE

Wisdom from Millward Brown.

GROW VOLUME THROUGH BEING SALIENT

If growing volume is the goal, then salience is the next most important consideration after meaning. But salience is not simply top-of-mind awareness triggered by the category name; our pilot work confirmed that salience is best measured in association with category needs. For example, British Airways was the strongest brand on traditional top-of-mind awareness for the airline category in the UK. But when we applied a needs-based approach to salience, it was easyJet that came through as the most salient brand. That's because easyJet has built an extremely strong association with low price, one of the most important category needs. So, to build salience, you must not only shout louder than the competition, but you must shout about things that relate to category needs.

TO COMMAND A HIGHER PRICE, BE DIFFERENT

If your objective is to sell your brand at a higher price, focus on being different. For an example of great brand differentiation, we can look to Apple, the most valuable brand in the world according to the 2011 BrandZ Top 100. Though Apple does well on each element, its most outstanding performance in nearly every category and country is on being different. The basis for this success is Apple's consistently great product innovation, but Apple also goes beyond functional differentiation to project a unique personality and a clear set of values.

Not all product innovations can capture people's imaginations as the Macintosh, the iPhone, and the iPad have done, but all brand owners should work to establish genuine points of meaningful product differentiation. And even where there is limited scope for functional differentiation, brands should still strive to differentiate through their personality and values.

CONSIDER THE POWER OF THREE

The most successful brands are not just meaningful, just different, or just salient—they are all three. Don’t sell your brand short by using a myopic model of brand building that only acknowledges one of the three ingredients. Instead, acknowledge the importance of all three and use consumer insight, knowledge of the category, and brand objectives to identify the best area of focus.

Wow, this is branding!! Well done Virgin

From PSFK:

With a series of innovative and luxurious airport lounges, airline Virgin Atlantic has truly perfected the art of waiting. Their Clubhouses have been designed to provide travelers with an oasis of comfort and relaxation amid their busy travel schedules. Recently, PSFK had the opportunity to take a closer look at Virgin Atlantic’s Clubhouses at JFK and London Heathrow Airports. The stylish lounges offer a refined and elegant experience for the discerning traveler.

The new JFK-based Virgin Atlantic ‘Uptown’ Clubhouse offers a range of amenities for their premium passengers. The Clubhouse features the first ever complete airport spa in the US, with stylists and registered masseurs on staff to knead away travel stress. The full service salon is stocked with organic Dr. Hauschka products and staffed with Bumble & Bumble trained stylists. The salon overlooks the tarmac and luminescent flight control tower, creating a calm oasis amid the hustle.

The spacious lounge opens up with a cozy reading library and well equipped internet cafe-style computer bay for professionals who need to work on-the-go. For those who would prefer to catch up on some sleep, a section of comfortably equipped and private sleeping alcoves might be just what they are looking for. As all of the Virgin Atlantic flights from JFK depart at night, at the center of the lounge is the sleek ‘uptown’ style cocktail bar complete with full restaurant service and billiards lounge. The clubhouse at JFK has a little something to offer for everyone.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the flagship lounge at London Heathrow offers the ultimate airport experience. The sumptuous and sleek interior is designed to enhance any travelers experience, whether they are looking to relax, work, play, dine, or sip. The airside spa offers travelers the chance to completely refresh themselves before a long trip with showers, spa treatments, and a full salon. Along with restaurant service, the clubhouse at Heathrow features an entertainment den, fully equipped desks for working, several relaxation lounges each with a unique theme, and the indulgent Grey Goose Loft Bar with wide open views of the sky above.

Virgin Atlantic has created peaceful enclaves to make traveling a truly luxurious experience. With 10 Clubhouses currently in service across the globe, we hope to be able to try them all.

Check out more images in the gallery below:

Images via: Virgin & American Architects