I recently completed a very fun project, the CD and package design for The Bent Nails, a band I have been involved with off and on for more years than I care to admit. I have always rather detested the classic ‘jewel case’, so I was eager to find a solution that was more compact and environmentally-friendly, but still provided room to feature the unique character of the band. In the age of downloads, the CD format itself may well be destined for the tar-pits (see comparison below) but it’s hard to sell downloads at a gig.

Working with Hemlock Printers, I found a cardboard sleeve that could be digitally printed on FSC-Certified 100% post-consumer-waste recycled stock and sealed with a small perforated transparent tab to avoid plastic shrink-wrapping (and the inevitable search for a machete to cut it open after five minutes of futile fingernail-fraying frustration)

Further discussions with the printer revealed that there was ample room on the press sheet for a few more items to be printed. In a fit of design efficiency I wedged in a postcard, a coaster and two business cards, all printed in full colour on both sides. I’m sure some cutter operator at Hemlock is still cursing my name.

The result is a coordinated package of material which, thanks to the photographic mastery of Clinton Hussey, captures the eclectic, rootsy blues feel of the band without toasting too many trees.

What about the carbon footprint of the whole CD and DVD process?

A recent whitepaper on the Environmental Leader website, sponsored by Microsoft and Intel, examined the carbon footprint of music delivery methods, all the way down to the final trip home in your car. They found that purchasing music digitally reduced CO2 emissions associated with delivering music to consumers by 40-80 percent, as compared to buying a CD at retail. Of course, as a study funded by two giants of the digital delivery industry, they probably measured against a Hummer driver cruising to a cross-town mall at rush hour, buying a double-plastic-wrapped anniversary edition of Devo’s Greatest Hits complete with commemorative plastic hat.

I like to think if you took the bus to the Bent Nails Gig at the Cottage Bistro (4468 Main Street, Vancouver) on October 17th and bought one of our 100% recycled-packaging  CD’s straight from the band, the carbon footprint would be almost equal.

Production Notes:

Design: Lorne Craig, Unicycle Creative
Producer: Shelley Stevens
Photography: Clinton Hussey
Printing: Hemlock Printers – Digital 4 Colour Process both sides.
Stock: 130lb Mohawk Options Cover PC White 100%PC FSC RECYCLED
Car: The Termite Taxi – Original 1947 Chrysler Town & Country, courtesy Tevie Smith

Michelin's In-Wheel Motor

It’s a daring leap of logic that could delight motorheads and granola crunchers alike. By taking the motor out from under the hood and putting electromotors in one or more of the vehicle’s wheels, engineers can now burn rubber without burning carbon.

In 2008, a company called PML Flightlink unveiled a Ford F-150 at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show. The truck was modified by removing the V-8 engine and adding four in-wheel motors. These gave the pickup more than 600 horsepower, about twice as much  as it had with the standard V-8. Each motor weighed only 30 kilograms and gained power from a 454-kilogram lithium-ion battery that provided the truck with a range of 100 miles (161 kilometers) before recharging.

600HP Electric Truck

The Michelin in-wheel system shown above contains the braking system, an active suspension system and the electric motor that actually drives the wheel. The in-wheel active suspension system is electrically operated and can react in 3/1,000ths of a second to automatically correct pitch and roll.

One of the greatest advantages of in-wheel electric motors is the fact that  power goes straight from the motor directly to the wheel. In city driving conditions, an internal combustion engine may only run at 20 percent efficiency. An in-wheel electric motor in the same environment is said to operate at about 90 percent efficiency [source: Lepisto].

Unfortunately, being engineers and not marketers, PML Flightlink called their truck  the HI-PA Drive. (“HI, PA…. I’m a goin’ to the feed store… want anythin’?”)

There’s a wealth of marketing possibility in a green vehicle with so much performance. Not to mention a whole new place to store your green groceries. Under the hood.

This past weekend I went with my family to the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup. It was a gorgeous day on English Bay as we showed up with about 50 or 60 other people to scour the beach and shoreline for litter.

As I kneeled in the sand, picking up lipstick-stained cigarette butts, bottle tops and unidentified styrofoam bits, I mused on how this event could be amped up from a branding perspective.

I found this event only after speaking with a colleague and telling him I was having trouble tracking down a volunteer ‘eco’ event to do with my son, Jaxon. I’ve been to the beaches several times over the summer, ride my bike around Vancouver, and frequent several of the usual local hippie haunts, but had not heard of this event until it’s final weekend. Where were the billboards? The beach teams of green-bikini-clad eco-babes (and buff dudes) building up excitement for the event? Perhaps they were there and I missed them. If so, I apologize. Especially to the babes. Maybe next year.

Imagery-wise, the peering frog on the banner was pretty cheerful.  But the whole event is begging for an icon. Something to add some FUN to the whole thing. After all, it’s basically spending a few hours picking garbage. It could use some smile. So I propose taking the frog idea and giving it a little attitude:

Second, was my experience with the online sign-in process. I think my last passport application had less fields to fill in. And once at the event, I had to put my name and email address down again as part of the waiver process.

That all said, I thought the organizing team did a very good job, briefing the teams and getting us organized. They were also very appreciative, which helped with my main objective, which was to start to get eco-volunteering into my son’s sphere of awareness. (How about an ‘I kicked butts today’ reward sticker!)

Stay tuned for more event reports as I continue the eco-education process. If you have any ideas fo other family-friendly volunteer events, please let me know.

UPDATE: I got a message from the cleanup coordinator listing the stats and unique finds from our particular group. I thought this was an excellent way to make the event personal, and instill a sense of pride. Here are the stats:

# of volunteers- approx 73
total distance cleaned – 0.5 km
amount of trash collected in lbs – 162.25
# of cigarette butts removed – 14,975!!!!
2nd most frequent item found – 545 caps/lids
3rd most frequent item found – 527 food wrappers/containers

odd items of interest found on our cleanup:
55 bandaids
12 sparklers/fireworks
1 hockey stick
5 pairs of 3d glasses 1 jug of red dye(???)
and…

2 baggies of marijuana!

Honda recently unveiled an indoor transportation unit they call the ‘U3X’, which is essentially, an electric Unicycle. (!) Powered by a lithium-ion battery which lasts for about 60 minutes,  it only weighs about 10 kilos. But the real trick of this thing is that it balances itself, making the unique sensation of unicycling more ubiquitous, much to the chagrin of those of us who have braved both bruises and ridicule learning to operate the real thing.

But one-wheeled purists likely have little to fear. There are no plans to release this techno curiosity to the public any time soon. And the ‘use’ they plan for it? Airport workers who need to get around.

I’m thinking they’ll need to make the seat a lot bigger as airport attendant butts gradually but inevitably widen from lack of exercise.

Come on, Honda. Get your engineers to work on an electric car that can get me to Whistler and back, and leave Unicycling to those foolhardy enough to do it for real.

The latest green initiative from London Drugs seems to be striking a chord with eco bloggers. A few weeks ago, as part of my work creating their ‘What’s the Green Deal’ program, I scripted and narrated a YouTube video to show their recycling process in action. Hardly the kind of filmmaking that would get me tossing back free martinis in back-room parties at the Toronto International Film Festival. Yet this humble tale of the styro-recycling story has been picked up by Trehugger.com, a New York based green living blog site that is one of the leaders in the space. It has since been picked up by a number of other blogs, including AGreenLiving.org, Brainicane.com and Zidee.com.

Check out greendeal.ca to find out more about the program. If you want to know more about the video, green blogs or marketing your sustainable initiative, talk to my people.

There’s now one more way for us to measure ourselves against the world. The Online Identity Calculator, created by the Reach Branding Club, promises to “…evaluate the strength of your online brand”, by having you enter in some statistics and leading you through a self-assessment of the  Google results on your own name. It’s a pretty basic exercise, but it is a good check-in point for anyone concerned about their personal web profile.

And that is something you should be interested in, even if you aren’t looking for a job or positioning yourself as a consultant. All those Facebook and LinkedIn profiles, blog posts and web bio’s add up. Do they say what you want them to?

If they do, you rate as ‘Digitally Distinct’, and get a link to their badge and an ego-boosting chance to spread the word, (like on this blog for instance) It’s a nice way to propagate a branding idea, and at the same time, flog book and consulting services for Reach Branding.

So if you’re comfortable giving some info up to a reasonably-reliable-looking source, (they do collect a nice tidy packet of info up front, which of course, they promise never to sell), take the test. If not, you might at least appreciate the stickiness of their brand promotion concept.

Either way, your personal online brand is well worth considering.

I love seeing a brand start out with a great idea.  An idea so strong and genuine, that with just a little ripening, it could set a new standard for its category.

On a recent trip to the Okanagan, I discovered just such an opportunity. The Beaumont Family Estate winery has 36 acres of grapes under cultivation in a lush corner of Westbank, BC. I was pulled off the road by their sign:  ‘Wine shop open. 100% Organically Grown Grapes’, adorned with a well-rendered if somewhat mysterious treble clef symbol . As I am a sucker for all things organic, musical and wine-like, I turned in.

Entering the  tasting room, a bar in the corner of their production area, the first thing I noticed was a keyboard, guitar, amps and PA set up in the corner. Owner Louise Lubchynski explained the set-up as she set up their range of wines for tasting. She said they often have musicians playing in their winery, and locals frequently drop by to jam. That’s when I noticed the phrase ‘Wine is friendship set to music’, featured on some of their marketing materials. This thought swirled in my head as we tasted our way through their offerings: Gewurztraminer, Gamay Rose, Pinot Gris, Gamay Noir, Pinot Noir and Heritage (a delightful blend of Gamay Noir and Pinot Noir)

Certainly the quality of their product is competitive. My favourites were the Gamay Rose, the Pinot Noir and the Heritage, and we took home a selection.  The organic heritage of the winery itself is also strong, having sold grapes to other organic wineries for years before opening their own label just this May. And, as an operation who started organic farming because of their children, the Lubchynskis have a strong family background story to tell. (Their daughter is now the winemaker) But for me, as a big brand idea, the musical overtones of this winery kept calling. So how can this young performer break through without spending barrels of marketing cash?

Green Briefs Marketing Recommendation

First of all, the musical angle should become the main marketing focus for the Beaumont brand. It’s a natural. Wherever musicians, organics and wines intersect, Beaumont should be there. Louise told me their wines have a strong fan base in the Kootenays. This would be a good place to start to generate some word-of-mouth with social media and some targeted sampling. Local festivals such as the Shambhala Music Festival, the Kaslo Jazz Etc Summer Music Festival and the Island Music Fest in Comox/Courtenay, just to name a few, would be excellent venues.

The Beaumont website could also benefit from some musical presence, as well as telling the excellent family story of Beaumont. Why not make it a place where local musicians can feature their music and downloads right next to the wines and the organic story?

Last, but not least, the packaging and identity could do much more to establish this brand as the musical friendship wine of choice. Certainly it is clean and functional, but when every bottle gets into the hands of a customer, it’s a shame not to have each one tell more of a story. I would even go so far as to rename their line, along musical themes, which would virtually guarantee more sales among  musicians and their fans alike.

After all, stories (and songs) are one of marketing’s most powerful tools.

As an example, Louise told me of one taxi driver who brought a tourist to their winery and stopped short when he saw their musical stage. He ran back to his cab, returning with a flute he had been carrying in his trunk.

“It has always been my dream to play in  a winery!” He exclaimed. “Then live your dream!” replied Louise. And the cabbie did, joining the musical jam.

Likewise, I hope Beaumont lives its dream. As should any brand with a unique niche. If you’ve got one, play it loud.

Social media did its thing last week when London Drugs Tweeted its followers on my Green Deal blog article about their innovative Styrofoam take-back and recycling initiative. (I write the blog for London Drugs’ What’s the Green Deal Program as part of my role as LD Green Marketing Consultant)

The message was re-tweeted more than 40 times, and generated some enthusiastic response among social-media savvy shoppers.

It’s actually a great program – basically, on anything you buy at London Drugs, you can take back the packaging for recycling – including those annoying and hard-to-dispose-of Styrofoam blocks. These are actually recycled, and we produced a cheery little video that shows how that’s done. (Have a look below)

So kudos to the LD team for getting the word out. And remember, if you’re looking at buying something packed in polystyrene, don’t get stuck with the Styrofoam! Shop at London Drugs!

(OK, that last bit was a shameless plug for my client. But hey – I never claimed to be an unbiased media source.)

It’s male logic taken to the next level. Why waste more water flushing the toilet when the shower is already doing a perfectly good job? Yes, this 45-second spot from Brazil is seriously recommending that people save water by peeing in the shower. Created by Saatchi & Saatchi, the spot features  animated shower silhouettes  – “men, women, children … the noble, the peasants … people who are half-man, half-monster” – happily peeing away behind the shower curtain. Children’s voices give the ad an innocence and playfulness that goes a long way in distracting from the ‘ick’ factor, and the fact that each toilet flush uses up to 12 litres of drinking water makes a pretty good logical side for the argument. The client for this campaign is SOS Mata Atlantica, a well-respected non-profit that has battled the destruction of the Brazilian rainforests. According to the article in the Globe & Mail, a representative at the Brazilian embassy this week said that after the TV network Globo did a story on the campaign, the spot went viral.

It all leads me to wonder – what other habits we might see in a new environmental light? How about turning your underwear inside-out to wear them again before wasting more laundry water? Eating over the sink to save washing dishes? Or drinking beer instead of bottled H20?

I was a bit uncertain about going on today’s ride, what with the local daily paper predicting widespread chaos and inciting drivers to rebel against the ‘illegal’ riders. But a sunny Friday lured me down to the Vancouver Art Gallery to sketch the scene and join the mass.
This was my second such ride, and again I was struck by the sheer ordinariness of most of the crowd. Sure, there were some people with angel wings, a tandem bike with a built-in keyboard and one guy riding a full-gym size stationary bike that he had rigged up to roll. But it was hardly a nude freak protest fest. And that’s the essence of my brand critique. More on that presently.

The media were out in full force, smelling their own self-generated blood, congregating around the more colourful personalities and looking to nurture controversy. A street team from Rogers was flogging a promo contest giving away free hand-held fans, and leading me to ask if Rogers head office officially supported Critical Mass. The rep on hand said she personally believed in it, but couldn’t speak for the corporation. It occurred to me that it would be somewhat hypocritical to be trolling the crowd and not have the corporate cojones to support the cause. At any rate, the ride took on it’s usual mellow vibe, and proceeded across the Cambie Bridge with nary a harsh word thrown that I could hear. To hold traffic back and mollify the drivers close enough to the front of the pack to do damage, the Critical Massers employ riders called ‘corkers’ who park in front of the roads to let the pack pass by relatively unmolested. It is an amazing feeling of freedom, power and joy to share a bridge with several thousand other cyclists, ringing bells, smiling and marveling at the solidarity of it all.

Green Briefs Branding Idea
The rally cry of the ride is, “We don’t block traffic, we ARE traffic.” Which seems to raise the hackles of the motoring public even further.
This led me to think that the whole Critical Mass brand might benefit from a refresh. Because, as one participant put it, this is really more of a festival than a protest.

So how about instead of Critical Mass, we rename it something more positive. Like the Love2Bike Ride, which would capture some of the ride’s positive spirit. Or the 2-Wheel Rush Hour, which might at least make motorists think twice about the mayhem they cause twice a day, every day.
Next, get some corporate sponsors (Rogers?) to donate swag or coupons that the ‘corkers’ can hand out to annoyed drivers, along with explanations of the purpose and international scope of the event.
It would be a start. Because this monthly ride is not going away, and as it grows, it has the opportunity to be much more than a group of self-righteous riders taking back the streets by force. It can, and should be an event that projects as much goodwill out to the community as circulates within the ride itself.

— Post From My iPhone