Monthly Archives: May 2013

by | Tuesday, May 28, 2013 · 4:54 pm

The Fifth P – Packaging!

9Marketers know that there are more than just the traditional four “Ps” in marketing – product, promotion, price, and place. The fifth P should be “packaging” as this P has the most point-of-sale impact of the factors. Many times a flawed design on packaging deters shoppers from buying the product; and then there are other times where the package has a direct influence on the product sale and brand image.

Consider Apple’s clean white packages and limited graphics. We get the point – this company is clean, innovative, and elegant – and so are the people who buy Apple products. Packaging and design is also an important element for Beats by Dr. Dre. From the product design to the elegant packaging of headphones and speakers, Beats shouts that everyone who buys from it is knowledge and cool about music.

What are top package design rules? According to Omnicom Group’s Hornall Anderson, a design shop based in Seattle, the shop identified ten top elements for great packaging.

  1. Don’t over-explain.
  2. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
  3. Be real and honest.
  4. Use copy as a design element.
  5. Create urgency with limited editions.
  6. Go classic.
  7. Make it global.
  8. If you’re the leader, act like it.
  9. Don’t pink-wash.
  10. Cooperate

Look in your bag and on your shelf. What packages caught your attention – and dollar?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Have students show any packaged item that they have in their bags or backpack.
  2. Discuss: What are the key design elements? What works? What doesn’t work?
  3. Poll students: What are packages that they remember? Why are these memorable?
  4. Show the Ad Age Daily article with the 10 package illustrations: http://adage.com/article/news/10-secrets-eye-popping-package-designs/241044/?utm_source=daily_email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=adage&ttl=1367375992
  5. Divide students into teams. Using the 10 design rules have students design a new package for a product of their choosing. (Note: They must utilize at least five of the concepts listed and explain why.)

Source:  Ad Age Daily, 4/24/13

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by | Tuesday, May 28, 2013 · 4:52 pm

The Top 20 TED Talks Videos

8Nearly every college student and professor is familiar with TED Talks and its famous videos and speakers who cover topics ranging including global business, happiness, medicine, technology, joy, workers, innovation, science, biology, psychology, and much more. After all, TED is “dedicated to ideas worth spreading.”

But have you ever wondered which ideas have been spread the most widely from six years of TED Talks online videos? Which videos spark our interest the most?

Here is a list of the top 20 most-watched TED Talks. Go to http://blog.ted.com/2012/08/21/the-20-most-watched-ted-talks-to-date/ for the rest of the list and for links to these thought-provoking talks.

  1. Sir Ken Robinson – schools kill creativity.
  2. Jill Bolte Taylor – stoke of insight.
  3. Pranav Mistry – the thrilling potential of Sixth Sense.
  4. David Gallo – underwater astonishments.
  5. Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry – demonstrate Sixth Sense.
  6. Tony Robbins – why we do what we do.
  7. Simon Sinek – how great leaders inspire action.
  8. Brene Brown – the power of vulnerability.
  9. Steve Jobs – how to live before you die.
  10. Daniel Pink – the surprising science of motivation.
  11. Hans Rosling – the best stats you’ve ever seen.
  12. Elizabeth Gilbert – nurturing your creative genius.
  13. Arthur Benjamin – does mathemagic.
  14. Mary Roach – 10 things you didn’t know about orgasm.
  15. Dan Gilbert – why are we happy.
  16. Keith Barry – does brain magic.
  17. Stephen Hawking – big questions about the universe.
  18. Johnny Lee – Wii remote hacks for educators.
  19. Jeff Han – demonstrates his breakthrough multi-touchscreen.
  20. Barry Schwartz – explores the paradox of choice.

What TED Talks videos top your list?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Bring up www.TED.com and show a video that appeals to you. Prepare a handout to guide students in the video; include several questions that they can answer in group discussion.
  2. College students love TED Talks. Professors are sometimes surprised at the variety of subjects students seek out on TED. For this activity, divide students into teams and have each team select a topic to search on TED.
  3. Have each team select a video to show the class.
  4. Each team should prepare a sheet with at least five questions. The answers to the question are in the video. As students watch the video, they analyze and prepare answers to the questions for class discussion.
  5. Do this exercise for several weeks, perhaps over the length of the semester. Each week, a new team can present their video.

Source:  TedTalks.com

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by | Tuesday, May 28, 2013 · 4:51 pm

Order Pizza from Xbox

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The only mystery about this new application is why in the world did it take so long? Gamers have been waiting for an app like this one for a long time!

The new app from Pizza Hut is for Xbox gamers who do not want to break from their video game to pick up a phone for necessary sustenance. This app lets gamers order a pizza via their Xbox 360 through using options such as voice input, the game controller, or Kinect movements. Why this app? Gamers around the world love pizza, making this a natural application for pizza companies.

While pizza-ordering apps are not a new concept, the Pizza Hut app takes the idea to a new level by having celebrity endorsements from pro gamers. To launch the app, Pizza Hut gave 15% discounts to first-time purchasers during the first two weeks after product launch. Other companies won’t be far behind with new applications targeted at the lucrative gamer market. What else could a gamer want?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss the characteristics of a target market of video game players. What are the demographic and psychographic aspects?
  2. Show the YouTube video about the product: http://youtu.be/6xOuK4rketM
  3. Are there other products that could be sold in a similar way?
  4. Divide students into teams.
  5. Have each team list 20 other products that could be sold using an app on Xbox.
  6. Have each team do a competitive analysis of the pizza industry. Examine  the leading companies, revenue, products, scope, employees, pricing, promotion, etc.
  7. How effective are discounts? What else could Pizza Hut to promote this new application?

Source:  Brandchannel.com, 4/24/13

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