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(1888, 4, '2013-11-19 14:49:21', '2013-11-19 14:49:21', 'Rick Barrack, Chief Creative Officer and Founder of CBX, has over ten years experience working in the creative industry. In this article, he describes the ten lessons he has learned over ten years in design.I have two young daughters, and every year at their birthday parties, as they lean in to blow out the candles on their cakes, I find myself reflecting back on every single year of their lives. So you might imagine that I’m also feeling sentimental about the tenth anniversary of CBX, the brand agency I helped found with some colleagues back in 2003.\nI’ve seen a lot of changes in the branding game over the course of a decade, and I’ve seen even more changes within our own company. My staff, my clients and my fellow partners have all taught me valuable lessons – at least one per year for the last ten years. And let me tell you: They’re not at all what you’d expect. Along the way, we’ve made Fem Care cool, drug stores chic and learned the hard way to “Keep it simple, stupid” (what I say to myself, not to my staff).\nSo here are some of the most significant things I’ve learned, in no particular order:</br>\n<strong>1. Black is the new black.</strong>\nIn 2009, CBX was asked to help position Kimberly-Clark’s U by Kotex* brand for Millennials, an audience who previously hadn’t given Kotex the time of day. After research proved that this audience wanted products that reflected who they really are (not just their mother’s daughters), we made a bold decision to use black packaging – the polar opposite of the whites and pastels used by other brands – in our packaging. The boxes popped off the shelf and had real attitude, and as a result, U by Kotex* shook up the category and created a new paradigm in feminine care.</br>\n<img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-7268\" title=\"11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_2\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"431\" /></br>\n</br>\n<strong>2. Design can feel good.</strong>\nWe all know that design can look good – but it can also feel good, which I learned when CBX create a strategy and retail presence for Fare &amp; Square, a supermarket in Chester, PA, for non-profit organization Philabundance. Located in a Delaware Valley “food dessert,” Fare &amp; Square helps the residents of Chester – which has been without a grocery store since 2001 – gain convenient access to “good food right around the corner,” including fresh produce, meats, dairy, seafood, and frozen foods. We helped establish a warm look and feel for this prototype store, and it felt damn good to be involved in such a kick-a&amp;* project.</br>\n<img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-7269\" title=\"11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_3\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" /></br>\n</br>\n<strong>3. You can improve upon a classic.</strong>\nIf you told me when I was 25 that I’d be working with M&amp;M/Mars one day, I would’ve said, “Come on.” Helping iconic brands stand the test of time and continue to attract new audiences is my passion. Our packaging for M&amp;Ms put a fresh spin on a beloved classic. By playing into the Pavlovian reaction that customers have when they hear the product being poured into a bowl, we’ve featured a bowl full of M&amp;Ms right on pack. Our seasonal designs also personified the candies in a way that had applications across various holidays, including Christmas, Halloween and Valentine’s Day.</br>\n<img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-7270\" title=\"11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_4\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"471\" /></br>\n</br>\n<strong>4. Pets are people, too.</strong>\nOne of the categories that’s seen the most growth since CBX’s inception is the pet food category. Our packaging design for Milo’s Kitchen, a new brand in the “real meat treat” category for dogs, was built around the idea that dog owners treat their pets as members of their family, and as such, want to give them the kind of food they themselves eat. The final brand name and packaging graphics highlight the connection between human beings and their dogs, one that I totally relate to now that we’ve added a dog into our family mix.</br>\n<img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-7271\" title=\"11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_5\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"478\" /></br>\n</br>\n<strong>5. Beverage tastes come and go, and go, and go.</strong>\nOur clients are always telling us that our people are what make CBX so special, and why they come back to us again and again. We’ve been lucky enough to work with Snapple continually since our inception, and have seen the brand go from beverage leader during the ice tea boom days to a brand moving into new territory such as bottled water. From redesigning a new Snapple iced tea to Snap2O, we’re happy to ride the kooky refreshment wave with Snapple, no matter what is going on in the industry.</br>\n<img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-7272\" title=\"11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_6\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"459\" /></br>\n</br>\n<strong>6. Drug stores can be chic.</strong>\nChic, you say? Yes, chic – and cool, too. We helped NYC’s biggest drug store chain stave off the competition and bring its new positioning, New York Living Made Easy, to life by rolling out new and innovative designs for more than 250 stores; creating five private label brands with a distinctly New York sensibility; and developing unique marketing collateral like The Duane Reader. Products ranging from coffee to nuts got a dose of New York iconography and branding on their package. We also created my personal favorite, Brew York City – a growler bar where customers can fill growlers with dozens of different beers.</br>\n<img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-7273\" title=\"11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_7\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" />\n</br>\n<strong>7. Private label design is the new luxury.</strong>\nIt takes a lot to surprise me – but perhaps the biggest surprise I’ve had in the last ten years is the way that the private label category has stepped up its branding and design, giving national brands a reason to shake in their boots. It’s been an honor and a privilege to create amazing work for Duane Reade, Walgreens, Giant Eagle, and KMart. By seizing the day and recognizing what it takes to stand out in the drug store aisle (smart strategy, kick ass design), these private label brands have reinvented the way we think about the category.</br>\n<strong>8. Less is more.</strong>\nThere is a saying, “Keep it simple, stupid,” that gained popularity in the 1960’s, and I must think about that saying on a daily basis. Brands like Apple and Target have always recognized that it’s better to create a clear, concise message and design with a lot of white space than the bog down packaging with text and overwrought design. Fortunately, in the past ten years since CBX was created, a lot of brands have jumped on the KISS bandwagon, and I believe this is for the better. We’ve incorporated “KISS” into our work for so many of our clients, namely Walgreens Nice!, Milo’s Kitchen, Pillsbury Simply and Miracle-Gro Culinary Herb Garden, all of which utilize considerable white space, bold photography and clear messaging to make the product the star.</br>\n<img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-7274\" title=\"11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_8\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"418\" /></br>\n</br>\n<strong>9. Condom packaging can be hot (outside the bedroom).</strong>\nI could make some lewd jokes about our work for LifeStyles condoms, but the truth is, it’s one of the projects that makes me feel incredibly proud. Like our work for U by Kotex*, Lifestyles presented an opportunity to speak to a new audience through a bold new look, naming convention and package design. By highlighting the “Y” in some of the sub-brand names – Kyng, Wyld, Thryll – (for Y chromosome), communicating the brand’s sensorial promise, and switching to all-vertical packaging that maximized shelf space, we were able to help alter the LifeStyles brand perception and its place in the market. And there’s nothing hotter than that.</br>\n<img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-7275\" title=\"11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_9\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"354\" /></br>\n</br>\n<strong>10. Politics are anything but boring.</strong>\nLook, I’m not really a political guy. But I AM a design guy, which is why I sit up and take notice during election years – of the party logos, that is. In 2010, after the Democratic and Republican parties unveiled boring new logos, my team and I took a stab at redesigning them, as well as one for the Tea Party (which still had credibility at the time). Posted on the FastCoDesign blog, our designs generated a good amount of debate, proving my belief that controversy is not just a stage for politicians. Design can create debate too.</br>\n<img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-7276\" title=\"11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_10\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/11_15_13_OpinionSeries_RickBarrack_10.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"410\" /></br>\n</br>\nSo there you go – my top ten lessons from the past ten years. Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me in honor of CBX’s 10th anniversary. The truth is, there are dozens of invaluable lessons I’ve learned, and each one is more inspiring than the next. Now bring on the next ten!</br>\n</br>\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2013/11/19/ten-years-ten-lessons-in-design.html\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2013/11/19/ten-years-ten-lessons-in-design.html</a>', 'Ten Years, Ten Lessons in Design', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'ten-years-ten-lessons-in-design', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:48', '2018-09-27 17:58:48', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/ten-years-ten-lessons-in-design', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1889, 4, '2013-11-22 17:52:59', '2013-11-22 17:52:59', '<strong>Merchants Must Assess Whether There Is a Match Between Opportunities to Distinguish Themselves From the Competition as Well as Their Capability to Leverage These Opportunities, CBX Executive Writes</strong>\nWhile savvy merchants go out of their way to differentiate themselves from the pack, a strategic approach to change is essential to survival in today\'s increasingly competitive retail environment, writes Joseph Bona, President of Branded Environments at brand agency and retail design consultancy CBX, in a guest commentary that appeared earlier this month on <a href=\"http://chainstoreage.com/article/staying-same-not-option?ad=exclusives-analysis\" target=\"_blank\">www.chainstoreage.com</a>, a retail management publication.\n\nIn the column, titled, \"Staying the Same is Not an Option,\" Bona states that retailers can neither afford to operate stores whose appearance, merchandise mix, level of service and other attributes closely resemble or mirror those of their counterparts, nor rely on previously effective tactics to sharpen their competitive edge. \"Gone are the days when a lagging chain can take a \'me, too\' approach and try to eke out an existence by copying successful innovators,\" writes the veteran store designer. \"Nor can you save a bad retail proposition by making incremental improvements alone -- things like cleaner floors, brighter lighting or a new customer-service manual geared toward plastering smiles on the faces of your employees. Tweaks such as these might have worked 10 or 15 years ago. Today these kinds of changes are table stakes.\"\n\n\"But if staying the same is not an option, how should retailers tackle the challenge of change?\" he asks, noting that the first step for merchants entails assessing whether they possess the prerequisites for capitalizing on opportunities for transformation. \"Once you identify an opportunity in the marketplace -- something like the brand-building and cost-saving potential of private-label products or the trend toward prepared food -- the next step is to take an honest look at whether this opportunity matches your capability,\" he advises. Retailers must determine if they have the corporate culture, back-end systems, financial strength and human resources necessary to support the potential change and, if not, whether the opportunity merits the effort required to attain them, Bona contends.\n\nEnsuring that changes under consideration jibe with \"brand attributes\" is equally important, Bona observes. For example, he notes that a chain widely regarded for its fast, personalized service would be ill-advised to implement a new program designed to slow down the shopping experience, under the pretext that longer dwell times will lead to increased customer spending.\n\nBona also counsels retailers to accept that change entails risks, but does not necessitate embracing every trend. \"The focus should be on how individual technologies and services can bolster and fit into the overall mission,\" he writes. \"Where does the company need to be in the marketplace? Who does it most want to serve? What do these customers want, and how can you meet or exceed their expectations?\"\n\nThe executive concedes that although innovating in retail is hard work compared with staying the same, remaining on the leading edge is possible when retailers are honest and realistic about the limits of their brand and the actual capabilities of the company. \"Otherwise,\" he concludes, \"you fall prey to inertia, which is no option at all.\"\n', 'Careful Approach to Change Is Key for Retailers', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'careful-approach-to-change-is-key-for-retailers-bona-advises', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:56:34', '2018-09-27 17:56:34', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/careful-approach-to-change-is-key-for-retailers-bona-advises', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1890, 4, '2013-12-04 21:55:41', '2013-12-04 21:55:41', 'By Joe Bona\r\nPanera Bread recently announced plans to open hundreds of branded convenience stores in major markets across the United States. The Chicago-based chain, which posted sales of $3.7 billion in 2012, said the new stores will be hybrid versions of its popular fast-casual restaurants, but with fuel pumps, snacks and other c-store mainstays as part of the mix. The rollout could begin as early as 2014.\r\n\r\nBefore you react with alarm or bewilderment to the paragraph above, I should point out that nothing in it is true — except for the part about Panera generating $3.7 billion in 2012. But if the idea of going head-to-head with Panera made you uneasy, even for a moment, this is understandable.\r\n\r\nUse a Venn diagram to compare the attributes of c-store and fast-casual food strategies and the overlap is considerable. Both sectors target on-the-go shoppers who need to get in and out in a flash. Both aim to broaden their appeal by combining higher-quality food ingredients with sparse, easy-to-understand menus. And as they seek to innovate, both c-stores and fast-casual chains are paying much closer attention to brand-reinforcing graphics, store design and the total customer experience.\r\n\r\nFor its part, the fast-casual sector has honed this formula to near-perfection, with impressive results. According to research firm Technomic Inc., “Fast-casual makes up just 14 percent of the total $223 billion limited-service restaurant segment, but its sales continue to outpace other operators. Fast-casual sales increased 13 percent in 2012, and the largest chains did even better, growing by 16 percent.”\r\n\r\nBut despite all the overlap in the aforementioned Venn diagram, rarely if ever does the c-store sector look outside itself for new and innovative approaches. For years now, a few chains — the likes of RaceTrac, Wawa and QuikTrip, to name a few — have led the pack and spawned quite a bit of imitation, with some of their competitors repeatedly taking “best practice tours” in which they visit these innovators’ new stores in search of creative ideas.\r\n\r\nInnovation is different from imitation, however. Given all the channel blurring in food today — with dollar stores, drugstores, c-stores, quick-service restaurants and other businesses increasingly competing for the same customer — looking outside your own sector is arguably not just a best practice; it is a strategic imperative.\r\n\r\nIf c-stores want to build their brands around stronger food offerings, they would do well to branch out and study what is happening in sectors with which they share some commonalities. Panera and Pret A Manger sell sandwiches, which are precisely what so many of the better c-store retailers are focused on these days.\r\n\r\nWhy have consumers responded so enthusiastically to fast-casual chains? How do these chains approach preparation, distribution, traffic flow, presentation and signage? Like c-stores, today’s fast-casual chains contain a number of self-serve elements, such as fountain-drink stations, coffee services and beverage coolers. Pret A Manger, in particular, is all grab-and-go — a convenience store, minus the smokes and the gas.\r\n\r\nWhat successful elements from this could be adapted for a c-store context? Picture what Panera or Chipotle might actually look like as a hybrid convenience store/fast-casual restaurant. What would have to change? What could stay the same? Operationally, how large would a c-store company have to be before it could launch its own commissary and begin stocking its stores with prepared foods worthy of the best in fast-casual?\r\n\r\nIn all likelihood, asking such questions would not lead to a total remake of the decades-old c-store model. But it could very well spark some creative approaches that yielded real benefits for those brave enough to try.\r\n\r\nNaturally, risk-taking is a part of this. The typical evolution involves launching a test concept and spending a lot of money to work out the kinks. Tests fail, which is perhaps why so many c-store chains tend to favor low-risk, equipment-based solutions to their foodservice offers. But the upside of automated approaches, such as savings on labor and storage space, should be considered along with the potential downside: namely, a perpetuation of the consumer perception that c-store food is greasy, unhealthy and stale.\r\n\r\nStealing pages from Panera Bread or Pret A Manger, by contrast, would entail a high level of commitment, with different skill positions, a bigger investment in people and infrastructure, additional training and more storage space. And yet, you can bet the millions of Americans who regularly patronize fast-casual restaurants spend plenty of time visiting c-stores as well. These consumers have more choices today than ever. They are accustomed to switching from one brand to the next. And their frantic schedules actually favor more one-stop shopping at convenience stores.\r\n\r\nConsider Technomic’s 10 Trends for 2014 report. Published in November, it highlights the breakdown of traditional meal times as a trend to watch. “Consumers are less likely to eat according to a three-square-meals schedule; they nosh, skip meals, eat breakfast for dinner and vice versa,” the researchers explain. “More restaurants are introducing innovative breakfast items…often available all day. And while breakfast- and lunch-only concepts are building a niche, other operators are promoting late-night breakfast menus, often in conjunction with 24-hour drive-thru service.”\r\n\r\nThat sounds an awful lot like a national to-go order for more convenient approaches to food. Will the c-store sector rise to the challenge?\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.csnews.com/print-topstory-lessons_from_fast_casual-64892.html\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.csnews.com/print-topstory-lessons_from_fast_casual-64892.html</a>', 'Lessons from Fast-Casual', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'lessons-from-fast-casual', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:44', '2018-09-27 17:58:44', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/lessons-from-fast-casual', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1891, 4, '2013-12-15 20:36:41', '2013-12-15 20:36:41', 'By Sandra Creamer\r\n<em>Sandra Creamer looks at how elf cosmetics has reinvented its image for its flagship store.</em>\r\n\r\nConsumer products companies occasionally take brands from the shelf to a freestanding retail store to elevate their offerings in the eyes of consumers and establish a stronger connection.\r\n\r\nThe Chobani store in Soho, Spanx mall outposts and the McCormick World of Flavors store in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor are three terrific examples that have helped each brand boost its caché.\r\n\r\nIn the beauty category, we’ve seen prestige brands go from shelf to store, but for mass brands this is less common.There is one value brand in particular that is breaking this prestige shelf-to-store mold in a very big way: e.l.f. Makeup &amp; Cosmetics.\r\n\r\n<strong>e.l.f. cosmetics Opens Its Flagship\r\n</strong>\r\nDrugstore makeup brand e.l.f. (which stands for eyes, lips, face) opened a flagship called e.l.f. Studio this past spring in New York City.\r\n\r\ne.l.f. was once a small, independently owned brand, started by an NYU student and a veteran of the cosmetics brand Hard Candy, that first offered products online before getting mass distribution. The story goes that a major beauty magazine wanted to ensure, prior to providing national PR for the brand, that e.l.f. products – at that point only sold regionally – would be available nationally to their 2MM+ reader base.\r\n\r\nTo do so, e.l.f. quickly established an online outpost and was on its way. It was 2004, after all. Interest grew, and e.l.f. was able to gain distribution at mass retail. Then, quite a few years later – May of 2013 – e.l.f. officially opened its flagship doors.\r\n\r\n<strong>\r\nEnhancing the Brand\'s Image</strong>\r\n\r\nWhat makes this shelf-to-storefront tale so unusual is that e.l.f. had launched originally as an “extreme value” brand, with most products at $1 or $3.\r\n\r\nOpening a flagship would seem unusual for such a low-cost brand, except for this fact: Having real estate and a retail presence would enhance consumer perception of the brand, and allow e.l.f. to showcase new, more expensive product lines that might seem out of place/difficult to merchandise next to cheaper products at, say, a Target or a Walmart.\r\n\r\nMuch like the shelf-to-storefront objectives of other category brands, the e.l.f. Studio environment serves to up e.l.f.’s cool caché and enhance the perception of the brand.\r\n\r\nThe store vibe is clean and inviting, with shiny floors, white fixtures and a row of flat panel screens flanking the aisles reminiscent of the Saks or Bloomingdale\'s cosmetics floor.\r\n\r\nThe product packaging also paves the way to reach for the premium pricing tier: Sleek solid black packs are on par with the standard for premium products set by M*A*C, Chanel and popular European brand FACE Stockholm.\r\n\r\n<strong>\r\nThe Strategy</strong>\r\n\r\nFor a brand such as e.l.f., which is seeking to expand beyond its value play, opening a flagship store serves a very strategic purpose.\r\n\r\nIt not only connects with the consumer in an upscale, controlled environment, but it also allows the coexistence of low and more expensive lines to tackle the barrier of up-selling for a value brand, which is very challenging indeed.\r\n\r\nValue brands should take note!\r\n\r\nOriginally printed in Beauty Packaging.', 'From Mass to Class: A Beauty Brand that Breaks the Mold', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'from-mass-to-class-a-beauty-brand-that-breaks-the-mold', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:42', '2018-09-27 17:58:42', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/from-mass-to-class-a-beauty-brand-that-breaks-the-mold', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1892, 4, '2013-12-19 21:01:57', '2013-12-19 21:01:57', 'By Gregg S. Lipman\r\nI\'ve often equated growing a business to raising a kid (much to my staff\'s chagrin). At first, she needs your utmost attention -- feed her, nurture her, coddle her. Pookie can\'t survive without you. Your influence will help shape what she will become.\r\n\r\nAt every stage of development, the relationship you have with your child changes, your role changes and his/her needs change, too. I\'m happy to say that I\'ve got two relatively happy (hey, they\'re teenagers), healthy, productive kids. I also have a relatively happy healthy, productive company (it\'s also a teenager). Having given birth to CBX with my co-parents, uh, co-founders just over ten years ago, I feel qualified to share some of our parenting experiences.\r\n\r\nAll companies face significant challenges as they go from startup to grown-up. Most of them are not unique, but they are unique to you -- especially when you are a first-time parent (I still have nightmares about the period right after my daughter was born). Success is not without its pitfalls and roadblocks, but the companies that succeed are the ones that have the wherewithal to be open-minded, introspective, and have the resolve to push through the hard times and, importantly, learn from these experiences.\r\n\r\nFive things to consider in raising a company:\r\n\r\n<strong>Stay True to Your Culture</strong>\r\n\r\nYour child has innate traits and will also be influenced by her environment. I can\'t tell you how many times our clients have said to me, \"You know why we keep coming back to you guys? Yes, it\'s the work -- but it\'s also the people.\"\r\n\r\nAnd those people were all asked to join our team because they fit into a particular culture we try to cultivate here -- one built on the philosophy of \"dirty hands, creative minds, straight talk, and good manners.\" (I\'m quoting our web site, where we call out \"Culture\" as its own category).\r\n\r\nSure, it\'s important that they fit the job description, but it\'s almost more important that we understand how they conduct themselves as human beings. We are definitely not looking to create the Stepford Company at CBX -- we are the proverbial melting pot of approaches and experiences. But we\'ve definitely made the mistake in the past of hiring disruptors -- people who wowed us with their resumes and accomplishments, but not, once they actually worked here, with their personalities.\r\n\r\n<strong>Plan to Grow, and Shrink, and Grown Again</strong>\r\n\r\nEvery kid goes through growing pains. Some even discover beer. From physical space to managing people, it\'s always crucial to plan for growth, whether that means having enough space for the staff (real estate commitment is a Top 5 \"watch out\" for businesses) to providing training for staff (at some point osmosis doesn\'t quite cut it).\r\n\r\nInfrastructure changes by the numbers: five is different than 15, than 25, than 50 than 100, and so on. Putting the right structure in place for your business and modifying the rules of engagement in digestible doses makes all the difference. Businesses that evolve with purpose tend to adapt to a future state more comfortably and sustainably than those that wretch forward and use a lot of duct tape to keep things together.\r\n\r\nAnd while you\'re planning for the good, don\'t forget to plan for the bad. Clients and customers are fickle and the market changes. Yes, you could have a bad year. Think about what you\'ll do now, should that happen -- hopefully, you won\'t go down that road. But if and when you do, it won\'t be a shock and you\'ll better prepared to deal with it and move forward.\r\n\r\n<strong>Strike a Balance Between Fluid and Structured</strong>\r\n\r\nKids ride their scooters at breakneck speeds and snowboard down mountains with abandon. They\'re not scared to take risks, even if it means getting lots of bruises in the process. Of course, good parents make sure the kid has a helmet on and some pads.\r\n\r\nWith growth comes complexity. Fifteen people? You\'re in each other\'s business, so rules need not apply. Twenty-five or more? Process and protocols are in your future, but how do you maintain the entrepreneurial spirit while establishing the structure that allows things to run smoothly?\r\n\r\nHere\'s a clue: the truth is usually in the middle. I\'m usually interested in the results over the process, and to empower your staff, they need to be able to create their own navigation. That said, we try a codified approach with the caveat that it\'s a guideline more than a rule, and we want people to be able to get where they\'re going through their own style (as long as the expected results are there).\r\n\r\n<strong>Be Able to Let Go and Trust Your People</strong>\r\n\r\nYeah, I cried watching Finding Nemo, too. The whole idea of a parent trusting their child really got me choked up. It sort of reminds me of that classic corporate retreat game where you close your eyes, fall backwards and hope that your co-workers will catch you. I basically play that game every day because I have to trust the people we\'ve hired to be responsible for the business I helped found. It\'s one of the reasons why we lean so much on culture -- mutual respect over a period of time leads to trust, and with trust you can do great things.\r\n\r\nPresident Reagan had a phrase that we put to use at our agency as well: \"Trust, but verify.\"\r\n\r\nWhile we preach individual empowerment and responsibility, we also build in a system of checks and balances to protect each other.\r\n\r\n<strong>Keep Things Sexy (So to Speak)</strong>\r\n\r\nEnough with the kids already. Any marriage therapist will advise her patients to \"keep things sexy,\" and the same holds true for a business. The early days of a start-up, like a relationship, are energized, vibrant and unpredictable. It\'s all passion, all the time. Everybody\'s in it together.\r\n\r\nBut as time goes by, things become a little more -- let\'s face it -- ho-hum and expected. The excitement is gone, replaced by the day-to-day reality... or as some call it, the \"rude awakening.\" The real challenge is to shake things up every once in a while, keep things sexy, and your employees on their toes. Present a challenge to the staff. Throw a party. Change the seating arrangements (we\'re actually doing this right now). Whatever it takes to get people engaged and excited to come to work each day.\r\n\r\nSo now that CBX is ten years old, do I consider it a fully functioning \"grownup,\" as the title of this piece would imply? Well, no, not exactly. I suppose I would say we are entering into those awkward tween years, where we know in our heart what we do best, but are still pushing the boundaries to be as good as we can be. Personally, I\'m excited for the uncertainty that lies ahead, and plan to use the top five lessons above to guide me through the next ten years.\r\n\r\nRead More: <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gregg-s-lipman/5-challenges-agencies-face-as-they-mature_b_4454516.html\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gregg-s-lipman/5-challenges-agencies-face-as-they-mature_b_4454516.html</a>', 'From Startup to Grownup: 5 Challenges Agencies Face as They Mature', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'from-startup-to-grownup-5-challenges-agencies-face-as-they-mature', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:42', '2018-09-27 17:58:42', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/from-startup-to-grownup-5-challenges-agencies-face-as-they-mature', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1893, 4, '2013-12-06 21:40:31', '2013-12-06 21:40:31', 'By Nancy Brown<em>\r\nFind creative new ways to celebrate holidays, seasons, and special occasions through your product and packaging to keep your brand top-of-mind all year long.</em>\r\n\r\nBrands have long capitalized on those holidays for which their products are well suited, such as candy for Halloween, Easter, and Valentine’s Day, snacks and beverages for the Super Bowl and the NCAA Final Four, and stationery products for Back-To-School.\r\n\r\nBut with every brand in a category providing a seasonal offering, how can you avoid simply being just another “me too”? How can your brand leverage holidays and other relevant opportunities to break through at shelf and drive incremental sales?\r\n\r\nThere are several approaches brands can use to move beyond the obvious—and limited—seasonal merchandising strategies they’ve been using, and instead keep their brands fresh, relevant, and top-of-mind throughout the year.\r\n\r\n<strong>Capitalize on your season</strong>\r\n\r\nThanksgiving is a natural promotional fit for every food brand out there, which is why it’s exciting to see brands thinking out-of-the-box when it comes to this holiday. One of the best examples of this kind of creativity is the holiday-themed packs put out by Jones Soda a few years ago. Thanksgiving flavors included Tofurky &amp; Gravy Soda (a vegan-friendly, sugar-free flavor), Green Bean Casserole, and Mashed Potato &amp; Butter…and believe it or not, Tofurkey wasn’t that awful.\r\n\r\nThe offerings were so successful that Jones followed them up with a Christmas edition, including Christmas Tree, Egg Nog, and Sugar Plum sodas, and a Chanukah package with Latke, Apple Sauce, Chocolate Coins, and Jelly Doughnut sodas. Other special occasion series include Halloween flavors, a Valentine’s Pack, Easter flavors, and a Dessert Pack. The package designs all play into the look of the holiday, and are completely on brand with Jones’ typically fun spin.\r\n\r\n<strong>Make it your season too</strong>\r\nBrands have figured out that you don’t necessarily need to be an obvious fit with a holiday/season in order to “own it.” Certain unexpected partnerships use promotions as a way to capitalize on special occasions. For example, a Kraft string cheese/Crayola crayon promo for “back-to-school” that makes the string cheese look as if it were packaged in a Crayola crayon box, comes to mind, while others simply do this through packaging (see pwgo.to/316).\r\n\r\nOne of the best back to school promotions is the Bath &amp; Body Works “lunch box bundle” of hand sanitizers. In scents including Marshmallow Treat, PB&amp;J, Honey Pretzel, Juice Box, and Bag of Grapes, these sanitizers were a huge hit with young girls (and their moms) everywhere.\r\n\r\nAnother brand that has figured out ways to “own” certain holidays and seasons is Lego. For example, Lego has gotten in on the Easter action by creating a product and special packaging for a bunny with his Easter basket made out of Legos. Kleenex “slice” boxes—made to look like watermelon, lime, and orange wedges—were created exclusively for Target to sell during the summer months, and injected new life into the brand in the off-season, making them mouthwatering in more ways than one. Kleenex followed up the designs the next year with equally adorable boxes that featured scoops of ice cream.\r\n\r\n<strong>Create (and leverage) seasonal assets</strong>\r\nSome people bemoan the commercialization of the holidays—especially Christmas. But it’s interesting to note that one of the most cherished icons of that holiday, Santa Claus, was actually a marketing creation of the Coca-Cola Company in the 1930s. By promoting Santa—who up until that point had been visually portrayed in many different ways—as a big, jolly man in a red suit with a white beard, Coca-Cola not only created an emotional link with one of the world’s most recognized holidays and created brand associations in its “off-season,” but it also commercialized the gift-bearing folklore with an accessible personification. This visual was so strong that it could have become a brand character, but instead, it transcended that role to be much more universal. Years later, Coca-Cola did for polar bears what it had done for Santa:\r\nmade them synonymous with Christmas.\r\n\r\nIn the same vein, M&amp;Ms has leveraged its personified M&amp;Ms characters and placed them into holiday and seasonal situations (such as a yellow M&amp;M getting frisky with holiday lighting) to take ownership of these holidays in a way that seems honest and innovative.\r\n\r\n<strong>Create new holidays</strong>\r\nThese days, special events can be created, or novel ways of promoting less mainstream events established, to connect with consumers. For example, Solo cups posts ideas on Facebook for how to use its products to honor unexpected events like National Boss’ Day and National Hamburger Day.\r\n\r\nMany brands show their support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month by creating some form of pink packaging in October, but Danish bread manufacturer Kohberg went one step further by packaging their Rye Bread Buns in a pink bag that made the buns look like breasts in a bra. While understandably controversial, it did get noticed and created attention for the cause as well as the company.\r\n\r\nNo matter what holiday, season, or occasion you choose for your brand, there are options for forging authentic connections on-pack. Here are five guidelines that will help you get noticed on shelf at all times of the year:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Engage your audience:</strong> Create something that shoppers will not only notice, but will also talk about, laugh about, and best of all, care about enough to want to buy.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Stay true to your brand:</strong> Build long-term equity, not just short-term sales boosts, by figuring out a connection that seems authentic, not hokey.\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Be controversial</strong>: Whether it’s the holiday you select for your brand or what you do with that holiday tie-in, go for it and push the envelope. A little controversy can go a long way.\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Create an idea with longevity</strong>: Get consumers excited about your season, create buzz around your brand, and make them look forward to and anticipate next year’s offering.\r\n\r\n5. <strong>Spare no expense</strong>: Graphics and structure matter, so dream big with a unique structural package and proprietary graphics that take your package to the next level.\r\n\r\nRead More: <a href=\"http://www.packworld.com/package-design/promotional-package/every-brand-there-season\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.packworld.com/package-design/promotional-package/every-brand-there-season</a>', 'To every brand, there is a season', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'to-every-brand-there-is-a-season', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:50', '2018-09-27 17:58:50', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/to-every-brand-there-is-a-season', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1894, 4, '2013-12-12 21:57:41', '2013-12-12 21:57:41', 'By Peter Burgoyne\r\nAs we approach the New Year, I’ve been taking a step back and take the proverbial “30,000 foot view” of where things stand in the world of retail design.\r\nI spent a lot of time over the past year flying around the world to visit stores and malls in France, Turkey, the Philippines, Morocco, Spain, Italy, the U.K., Canada and on both coasts of the United States. Again and again on these travels, I was struck by creative, high-quality retail design and architecture.\r\n\r\nRead More: <a href=\"http://vmsd.com/content/grand-tour\" target=\"_blank\">http://vmsd.com/content/grand-tour</a>', 'Grand Tour, Why you should feel bullish about retail in 2014', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'grand-tour-why-you-should-feel-bullish-about-retail-in-2014', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:42', '2018-09-27 17:58:42', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/grand-tour-why-you-should-feel-bullish-about-retail-in-2014', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1895, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:21', '2018-09-27 16:52:21', '', 'DR_bag_logo', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'dr_bag_logo', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:21', '2018-09-27 16:52:21', '', 1603, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/DR_bag_logo.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1896, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:21', '2018-09-27 16:52:21', '', 'DR_bag_logo-1', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'dr_bag_logo-1', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:21', '2018-09-27 16:52:21', '', 1603, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/DR_bag_logo-1.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1897, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:22', '2018-09-27 16:52:22', '', 'LIFESTYLES3_mainline', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'lifestyles3_mainline', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:22', '2018-09-27 16:52:22', '', 1605, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/LIFESTYLES3_mainline.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1898, 4, '2014-01-07 20:42:59', '2014-01-07 20:42:59', 'To start off the New Year and lead up to the judging of the first annual Vertex Awards International Private Brand Design Competition I sat down with each of the judges and asked them five questions about Private Brands, package design and differentiation – their answers present a unique global perspective and depth of knowledge of the retail brand space.\r\nToday’s conversation is with Rick Barrack, Chief Creative Officer &amp; Managing Partner, CBX of the U.S.\r\n\r\n<strong>1. What do you look for in great Brand design?</strong>\r\nBreaking through the obvious.\r\nDesign that communicates a clear and concise message with a point of difference. Something that differentiates in the marketplace and from the competition. Don’t just push product with basic product shots, benefit statements and a cheaper price. Look to make a paradigm shift in a category, celebrate your brand’s unique difference in the marketplace.\r\n\r\n<strong>2.How can Design help retailers and their brands differentiate?</strong>\r\nRetailers all have some attributes that are unique to them — whether that be the way the arrange their goods, the way they make their goods, their service, etc. Design shows how to put those unique attributes on a pedestal — make those unique elements the hero and thus create a lasting image in consumers’ minds as to why they can get something from that retailer that they can’t get from anyone else — and that’s the most important piece of retail today because if they can get it someplace else, it’s a price game.\r\n\r\n<strong>3. How do you help retailers select great design instead of obvious or easy design?</strong>\r\nReminding our clients the value of good brand design is not just about being a national brand equivalent, but standing for something more than that and building brand equity and loyalty.\r\n\r\nDesign is about solving a particular puzzle (all the variables: physical, merchandising needs, space constraints, consumer desires, etc.) in an elegant way where the end solution makes a total impact greater than the sum of all the parts. Design is about creating more for less. Design puts together a puzzle of needs in a way that creates more impact with less resources. Great design has to solve for certain challenges within certain constraints. If it does that well, in a way where the investment is less than the net experience, then you have great design. However, great design doesn’t have to mean design that’s never been done before. Great design takes the core idea of “obvious” and makes it special, unique, nuanced and desired.\r\n\r\n<strong>4. What advice do you have for retailers working with design consultancies/branding agencies?</strong>\r\n\r\nTrust them. Partner with them. Trust in the process and recognize that the creative process is iterative.\r\n\r\nTake the time upfront to work with the team to understand what all the possible opportunities are. Only then will you be able to make decisions confidently along the way because you’ve explored the alternative paths and know why you did or didn’t pursue them. If you dive right into design, thinking you know what you want, in the short term you may have less confidence in all the decisions that must be made along the way, and in the long run you might regret not stretching your ideas further because retail design is a long term investment.\r\n\r\n<strong>5. How can retailers avoid the mistakes of the past and the missteps of national brands?</strong>\r\n\r\nThe biggest mistake national brands make is not “sticking with it”. Whether that be good values, advertising, their customer base, their long-term equities or any other unique-ness. Particularly in public companies where the pressure to grow is constant, too many brands and retailers will try anything new to light sales. But, creating consumer awareness of what you’re doing is quite expensive and is likely to wipe out the margin that might have been gained in increased sales. When brands “Stick with it,” they build on the momentum that has been banked over the long-term.\r\n\r\nRead More: <a href=\"http://mypbrand.com/2014/01/07/5-questions-the-vertex-judges-rick-barrack/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mypbrand+%28Myprivatebrand%27s+Blog%29\" target=\"_blank\">http://mypbrand.com/2014/01/07/5-questions-the-vertex-judges-rick-barrack/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mypbrand+%28Myprivatebrand%27s+Blog%29</a>', 'The Vertex Judges: Rick Barrack', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '5-questions-the-vertex-judges-rick-barrack', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:50', '2018-09-27 17:58:50', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/5-questions-the-vertex-judges-rick-barrack', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
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(1900, 4, '2013-11-26 21:23:40', '2013-11-26 21:23:40', 'Interested in investing in beverage companies Coca-Cola , SodaStream , and Dr Pepper Snapple Group ? Exploring this week\'s news in the beverage industry may help you decide.\r\n<strong>Partnerships and innovation</strong>\r\nCoca-Cola\'s Honest Tea subsidiary recently took its zero-calories Unsweet Lemon Tea national. Feeling good about the success of its Just Green Tea drink, Honest Tea thinks it can capitalize on the robust tea market. On the innovation front, Drinks Business Review nominated Coca-Cola for the 2013 DBR Drink Innovation Award. Last month in Japan, Coca-Cola introduced a Canada Dry Hot Ginger Ale drink in a can designed to maintain the carbonation when the drink gets heated from a \"chemical concoction\" within the container.\r\n\r\nSodaStream increased the convenience of making soda at home in the United States by introducing SodaStream caps. You essentially take the pre-measured one-use capsule and pour it in the bottle to make a drink. This will certainly add to its appeal for the environmentally conscious consumer. Moreover, it may appeal to the convenience-oriented consumer who doesn\'t want to measure the amount of syrup to make a drink.\r\n\r\nIn an effort to expand their presence as well as combat waning sales in the perceived \"unhealthy drinks\" arena, beverage companies -- via partnerships or their own research team -- are bringing new products to market to entice consumers. Dr Pepper Snapple Group intends on using excess distribution capacity to expand the range of products it sells. Last month, the company partnered with Sunny Delight Beverages to sell the Sparkling Fruit2O flavored water. More recently, Dr Pepper Snapple teamed up with Bai Brands, makers of Bai 5-Calorie Antioxidant Infusions to bring its natural beverages to major markets.\r\n\r\n<strong>Packaging and advertising</strong>\r\nAccording to a Beverage World article, Dr Pepper Snapple has engaged brand agency CBX to revamp its Sunkist logo and bring back its iconic sun ball graphic. D. Pepper Snapple felt that its current packaging lacked differentiation and lost connection with its \"California beach story.\" The company wants the brand revitalized for the younger demographic. With that said, it can use all the help it can get, considering that its carbonated soda volume fell flat in its most recent quarter.\r\n\r\nCoca-Cola invested in its first dairy cooperative, Fair Life, which owns Core Power, a high-protein shake. With the resources of Coca-Cola, Core Power executives want to sell the public on the \"sex appeal of vitality\" that comes from drinking the protein shake, according to Beverage Daily. Core Power executives utilized Coca-Cola\'s distributions system to take its brand national.\r\n\r\n<strong>Trends</strong>\r\nIn a recent article, Beverage World cited statistics that offer reassurance to the long-term shareholders of eco-friendly companies such as SodaStream. According to the article, over 75% of the 4,000 people polled increasingly consider environmental factors such as recyclability and environmental friendliness of packaging in their purchasing decisions. In an interesting contrast, another Beverage World article talks about the falling rate of recycling during the 10-year period from 2000 to 2010. The article cited a \"national wasting rate for 2010 at 63 percent\" versus 59% in 2000. The article suggests that if recycling became more convenient via the increased availability of recycling bins, then the rate of recycling might follow. If more consumers can incorporate an eco-friendly mentality, then companies like SodaStream may thrive even more.\r\n\r\n<strong>Foolish takeaway</strong>\r\nThese headlines point to the understanding on the part of the beverage industry that consumers increasingly want healthier drinks and eco-friendly packaging. As a result, companies are stepping up with new products either internally generated or through partnerships and acquisitions.\r\n\r\nRead More: <a href=\" http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/11/26/the-latest-news-in-the-beverage-industry-coca-cola/\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/11/26/the-latest-news-in-the-beverage-industry-coca-cola/</a>', 'The Latest News in the Beverage Industry: Coca-Cola, SodaStream, and Dr Pepper Snapple', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-latest-news-in-the-beverage-industry-coca-cola-sodastream-and-dr-pepper-snapple', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:49', '2018-09-27 17:58:49', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/the-latest-news-in-the-beverage-industry-coca-cola-sodastream-and-dr-pepper-snapple', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1901, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:23', '2018-09-27 16:52:23', '', 'T1', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 't1', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:23', '2018-09-27 16:52:23', '', 1606, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/T1.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1902, 4, '2014-01-16 17:17:52', '2014-01-16 17:17:52', 'By Joe Bona\r\n“City hardware store survives despite bigger retail options.” So ran the headline last November in the local newspaper for Pottsville, Pa. (population 14,229). The story focused on the seemingly unlikely survival of Pottsville’s Centre Street Hardware, which had managed to keep its doors open since 1992 despite the rise of price-busting big-box hardware stores.\r\n\r\nJason Brown, a crack mechanic who manages the family business, told the newspaper its success owes to diversification. “We sell multiple things, such as bagged coal and wood pellets, all along with the regular hardware retail,” he said. “The small engine repair and service work we do, that’s our biggest thing, really.”\r\n\r\nWalk into Roswell Hardware Co., in Roswell, Ga., and the story is much the same. It happens to be an exclusive dealer of a best-in-class barbecue grill called the Big Green Egg. It is a hot item, no pun intended, and about half the store is filled with BBQ-related stuff. By the way, good luck finding Big Green Egg in the big-box stores.\r\n\r\nThe notion of connecting with customers comes up so often in retail these days that it might seem like a meaningless cliché. But as the examples above illustrate, when a business can build strong relationships with local consumers, it can do what some consider nearly impossible—compete with the biggie chains. Indeed, the cavernous big-box stores might even be at a disadvantage in this regard. In a world of commoditized and homogenized retail, there is undeniable appeal to walking into your corner hardware store and chatting with people who know your name.\r\n\r\nBut you cannot just look the part. The key is to actually elevate service in ways that are immediately recognizable to your shoppers. When they ask for help finding an item, walk them to the exact spot. Once there, engage with them by asking about the project they are working on. Find out if they need other help—and make sure you know enough to actually help them. Aside from service, organize your store so that it works for shoppers, not against them. Remove clutter, set store shelves so that categories are easy to navigate, and give those who want to be left alone lots of easy-to-read, way-finding signage.\r\n\r\nBut having clean, bright and organized stores is just cost of entry. More important is to have a differentiating strategy along the lines of the examples above. Find your own Big Green Egg. Maybe it is a top-tier leaf-blower or weed-trimmer that is unavailable in the big boxes but the clear favorite of professional landscapers. Maybe you offer the quickest, best and most affordable equipment repair services in town. And don’t be afraid to steal a few pages from the big boys: Hold classes and other events that drive traffic and simultaneously educate people about your store. Such outreach helps forge even closer ties to the community, which is precisely your goal.\r\n\r\nFor local independents, find your unique story, history or special service and celebrate it. Let your store symbolize all that is good about one of America’s most cherished values: independence.\r\n\r\nRead More: <a href=\"http://www.hardwareretailing.com/independents-day-smaller-stores-can-stand-up-to-their-behemoth-rivals/\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.hardwareretailing.com/independents-day-smaller-stores-can-stand-up-to-their-behemoth-rivals/</a>', 'Independents’ Day', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'independents-day-smaller-stores-can-stand-up-to-their-behemoth-rivals', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:43', '2018-09-27 17:58:43', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/independents-day-smaller-stores-can-stand-up-to-their-behemoth-rivals', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1903, 4, '2013-12-10 17:23:13', '2013-12-10 17:23:13', 'CBX, a brand agency based here, recently assisted start-up company LIQS™ with the design of innovative packaging and the formulation of other branding initiatives for its eponymous line of super-premium, ready-to-drink cocktail shots.\r\nThe CBX design team worked with LIQS Co-founders Michael Glickman and Harley Bauer on a variety of efforts, including strategic alignment and development of the LIQS’ brand mark and package design. “We took our design cues from LIQS’ target customer, a sophisticated millennial who loves spontaneous get-togethers with friends, whether poolside, at the beach or boating,” said Gregg S. Lipman, CBX managing partner.\r\n\r\nSunny and stylish Miami, where LIQS was launched and is based, offered CBX inspiration for the package designs. The firm reinterpreted a sunburst in a series of colorful graphic bursts to correspond with each LIQS flavor -- red-orange for Tequila Cinnamon Orange; yellow-green for Vodka Cucumber Lime; aqua-blue for Vodka Kamikaze; and red-pink for Vodka Lychee Grapefruit.\r\n\r\nProduced in the USA, each LIQS product comes in a 50ml recyclable, crystal polystyrene shot glass that’s sealed and tamper-resistant. The product is sold in a multi-unit package that offers three individually sealed shots of a single flavor. Each shot, as well as the outer packaging, carries the burst graphic.\r\n\r\n“After many years of witnessing the love that consumers have with shots, and the lack of being able enjoy them at home as if made by a bartender, we set out for a solution that would give people access to quality shots they can take anywhere,” explained Glickman. “LIQS is a convenient and attractive alternative to a bartender and bar setup and a far cry from ‘test-tube’ style shooters. With the new packaging, we’re delivering mixology with the mixologist.”\r\n\r\nLIQS is currently available at numerous liquor stores in Florida in advance of a strategic regional rollout.\r\n\r\nAbout LIQS™\r\nFounded in 2013 by Michael Glickman and Harley Bauer, LIQS developed and markets its eponymous line of super-premium, handcrafted cocktail shots. Innovation, quality and convenience are the core principles for which LIQS has been created. LIQS is the first of its kind, offering customers a handcrafted, portable shot made from only the highest quality ingredients and spirits. www.LIQSshot.com', 'CBX Designs Innovative Packaging for Liqs™ Super-Premium, Ready-to-Drink, Cocktail Shots', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cbx-designs-innovative-packaging-for-liqs-super-premium-ready-to-drink-cocktail-shots', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:56:35', '2018-09-27 17:56:35', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/cbx-designs-innovative-packaging-for-liqs-super-premium-ready-to-drink-cocktail-shots', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1904, 4, '2013-10-02 17:34:26', '2013-10-02 17:34:26', 'With a design reminiscent of what consumers would find in a for-profit supermarket, Fare & Square debuted in this metro-Philadelphia area food desert last week.  The nation’s first nonprofit grocery store of its kind is housed in a former grocery building purchased by hunger relief organization Philabundance  and offers nutritious food with a focus on fresh produce, fresh meats, deli, dairy, seafood, frozen foods and a full range of food staples at everyday low prices. \nThe new 16,000-square-foot store represents Chester’s first grocery store in more than a decade.  Fare & Square gives residents of Chester — one of the 35 food deserts in the Delaware Valley according to the USDA — easy access to a full range of fresh and national and private brand foods that have not been available since its last full-scale grocer closed in 2001. Philabundance hopes to replicate this model in other communities in the Delaware Valley region. \n\nWhen planning the prototype, the organization asked New York City-based CBX, the brand agency and retail design consultancy, to create an environment that would “reflect the hopeful and respectful nature of Philabundance’s goal to serve Chester residents through a store that could look at home in any community,” explained Joseph Bona, CBX president of branded environments.  In the works for nearly a year, the resulting store features fixtures, lighting, flooring and other elements that would be at home in for-profit supermarkets, but includes a one-of-kind mural designed to showcase the spirit of the City of Chester.\n\nThe colorful Fare & Square logo—a simple drawing of a purple carrot with green tops attached and the words “Fare & Square” set in a rounded-corner square—designed by Philabundance and LevLane Advertising, provided CBX inspiration for the overall palette of bright green and shades of saturated purple with splashes of yellow and orange.  Modern elements such as light wood and stainless steel trim round out the palette. “The palette is designed to make Fare & Square an energizing and inspiring, but comfortable, place to shop and congregate,” said Bona. \n\nCustomers entering the store will immediately see large displays of produce arrayed on tilt-style tables, while pendant lighting above the displays draws attention to its freshness and quality. A wide variety of additional fruits and vegetables can be found in fresh food fixtures lining the walls.  Consistent with for-profit grocery stores, Fare & Square perimeter departments also include dairy, deli, fresh meat and seafood.  \n\nShoppers can easily navigate the store’s central core for canned and packaged staples as well as frozen foods, thanks to hanging aisle-marker signage and enticing end-cap displays. Flooring throughout is vinyl, which is easy on both the backs and feet of employees and customers. \n\nNear the store’s exit, a centralized checkout with multiple lanes has been designed to quickly assist shoppers through the bagging process. “In the same spirit as we welcome customers through the front door, we also wanted that last image as they exited the store to leave a positive impression,” Bona noted.\n\nUnder its not-for-profit grocery store model, Fare & Square strives to provide a customer-focused shopping experience and partners with local organizations and businesses to provide a range of services to the community in a meaningful and memorable way. “We designed a neighborhood store that’s clean, well lit, functional, convenient and friendly, but it’s also a place that the community can call their own, instilling a sense of optimism, pride and connection,” Bona summed up. \n\n“Convenient access to nutritious food is a growing and complex problem across the country and in the Delaware Valley, and one that requires a complex solution,” said Bill Clark, president and executive director of the Philadelphia-based Philabundance. “We have worked on this concept for seven years, and are thrilled to see it come to fruition to help the residents of Chester.”\n\nAbout Philabundance\nPhilabundance reduces hunger and food insecurity in the Delaware Valley by providing food access to people in need in partnership with organizations and individuals. Philabundance provides a full plate of services through neighborhood distribution programs and a network of close to 500 member agencies in 9 counties. Philabundance serves approximately 72,000 people per week at a cost of 50 cents per meal. There are more than 900,000 people in the Delaware Valley who are at risk for chronic hunger and malnutrition. In 2012, Philabundance distributed nearly 25 million pounds of food. For more information about Philabundance, visit www.philabundance.org or call 215-339-0900. Visit us on Facebook, Facebook.com/Philabundance and follow us on Twitter, Twitter.com/Philabundance. If you or someone you know is in need of food assistance, please call Philabundance’s Food Help Line, 800-319-Food (3663).\n', 'New Prototype for Fare & Square, a Not-for-Profit Grocery Store Targeting Food Deserts, Opens in Chester, PA', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'new-prototype-for-fare-square-a-not-for-profit-grocery-store-targeting-food-deserts-opens-in-chester-pa', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:45', '2018-09-27 17:58:45', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/new-prototype-for-fare-square-a-not-for-profit-grocery-store-targeting-food-deserts-opens-in-chester-pa', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1905, 4, '2013-03-08 17:15:08', '2013-03-08 17:15:08', 'Saks Fifth Avenue has completed a major renovation of its Beverly Hills men’s store, creating what it calls a “stand-alone lifestyle store” under the name The Fifth Man.\nThe 54,000-square-foot, four-level unit on Wilshire Boulevard opened in 1995 in a landmark building that was designed by Timothy Pflueger and formerly housed an I. Magnin. The revamp includes several new designer shops, the largest men’s shoe presentation on the West Coast and a new underground home for denim and cocktails, called D-Bar.\n\n“The store has very beautiful bones,” said Tom Ott, senior vice president and general merchandise manager of men’s wear. When it opened, Saks “put in some shops and enhancements to make it more masculine. But the business has changed and we’re trying to create a wonderful store that caters to the Beverly Hills and California market and is not New York-centric.” Ott said the redesign was executed by Los Angeles-based designers to ensure it has “a local flair. Even though we’re a big national company, we pride ourselves on understanding and assorting for local markets.”\n\nArchitectural features include exposed ceilings, hand-distressed European white oak floors that lead customers through the selling floor, as well as sustainable composite flooring. It features furniture from Matter, Porro, Boffi NY and Julian Chichester, and custom fixtures designed with Amanueal, Van Stry and CBX.\n\nIn terms of merchandise, Ott said the first floor now offers “a big sportswear statement,” with new or renovated shops for Salvatore Ferragamo, Giorgio Armani and Brunello Cucinelli. “This sends a message of a more-casual lifestyle in Beverly Hills,” he said. “It’s still all about luxury, but it’s less serious.” He said a Zegna shop on the main floor will be renovated this spring.\n\n“And we’ve really enhanced our footwear presentation,” Ott continued. “We have 680 sku’s of shoes, which our intelligence tells us is the most pairs of men’s shoes on the West Coast. It flows from sneakers to fine dress shoes. There are sneakers for $100 to hand-made Kiton shoes in the high-$3,000s. And there’s a big statement in designer footwear. It’s very dramatic.”\n\nNewly added brands include Del Toro, Giuseppe Zanotti, Kiton, Louis Leeman, Martin Margiela, Pirelli and Riviera. Lanvin will be added to the mix in the future. The space is divided into three sections, one for classic brands such as Ferragamo, Rosetti and Pierre Corthay; one for designer brands including Gucci, Prada, Dior and Alexander McQueen, and one for contemporary brands such as Paul Smith, Vintage, Viktor &amp; Rolf and Marc Jacobs.\n\nThe shoe department opened last week, Ott said, and business is “off the charts. We’re trying to push the envelope so it’s not so predictable.”\n\nAlso on the main floor, the company is opening the first hard shop for the Saks Fifth Avenue Men’s Collection, a line that  has grown into the company’s largest men’s resource since its introduction in 2009. The 2,000-square-foot boutique has taken the space formerly devoted to shoes. Ott said the New York flagship will add a boutique for the collection over the summer.\n\nThe lower level is now home to the company’s assortment of denim collections and contemporary apparel. D-Bar was designed by California architecture and design firm Marmol Radziner and includes a lounge with an orange-felt-top pool table; a floor-to-ceiling, street-art-inspired mural by artist Karl Clay; boardwalk wood walls; a neon light installation; custom and found furniture in velvet and leather, as well as decorative lighting from Marmol Radziner, Organic Modernism, Pfeifer and Moooi. A John Allan’s Salon was added as well.\n\n“We really believe in the denim and contemporary business,” said Ott. “It’s been one of the fastest-growing categories for us over the last several years. This is our opportunity to take Beverly Hills to the next  level.”\n\nAmong the brands that are being offered are AG Adriano Goldschmied, Diesel, DL196, J Brand, Joe’s, Hudson, Nudie, Prps, Rag &amp; Bone, Seven For All Mankind and True Religion, as well as new offerings from up-and-coming Los Angeles-based designers such as Diana Keinejad. “There’s a lot of exclusive product,” he added. “The assortment will be different than the other stores, even New York.”\n\nOn the second floor, which is devoted to more-classic vendors, the store has introduced Charvet, redone the Armani clothing shop, is planning a renovation of the Zegna shop and will install a Kiton boutique. “This is the floor for the guy who is more suited up,” Ott said.\n\nThe third floor is now devoted exclusively to “pure designer” merchandise. “Without denim and contemporary there, the offering is more polished. We have a designer room like we do in New York and there’s a new Hugo Boss Red shop.” Other vendors on that floor include Burberry, Dsquared2 and Ralph Lauren Black Denim.\n\nIn its totality, the store is being called The Fifth Man, a tag line conceived by Terron Schaefer, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, that is short for The Saks Fifth Avenue Man. “It calls attention to us as a men’s store,” Ott said.\n\nAlthough the company declined to provide a volume figure for the store, Ott believes the renovation is “a great opportunity to showcase these brands.” He said the location in Beverly Hills is one of the “most competitive strips” in the country, with Neiman Marcus and Barneys New York flanking the unit. “We have to offer something new and unique,” he said. “So we’ll have the large brands we’re known for, but inject [the store] with some newness.”\n\nOtt declined to say if any of the concepts that are being unveiled in Los Angeles will be rolled out to other stores in the chain. Saks operates men’s-only stores in San Antonio, Boston, Chevy Chase, Md., Chicago and Palm Beach, Fla. He also declined to provide details on plans for the company’s men’s store on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, which sources said is the next unit slated for a change. “Chicago will be one notch up,” Ott said. \n\n“\n\nThere are a lot of things out there for men’s in the next 12 to 18 months,” he added. “Men’s has outpaced growth [at the company] and Steve [Sadove, chief executive officer] and Ron [Frasch, president and chief merchant] are putting capital into men’s. We have a lot of great stores, but they were built in the Nineties. They stood the test of time but we’re updating them to do something fresh and unpredictable.”\n\nHe said that while the other upscale retailers are strong competitors, “our biggest competition is online. So to drive traffic to our stores, we have to create theater and a certain service standard for our customer. That’s our great differentiator.”\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.wwd.com/menswear-news/retail-business/saks-revamps-beverly-hills-mens-store-6833449\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.wwd.com/menswear-news/retail-business/saks-revamps-beverly-hills-mens-store-6833449</a>', 'Saks Fifth Avenue Renovates Men\'s Store', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'saks-fifth-avenue-renovates-beverly-hills-mens-store', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:47', '2018-09-27 17:58:47', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/saks-fifth-avenue-renovates-beverly-hills-mens-store', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1906, 4, '2013-04-08 19:48:51', '2013-04-08 19:48:51', 'Food companies are launching campaigns for products they call crazy. Instead of grossing out consumers, it\'s creating a nation of \'loco-vores.\'\nAt a certain point, we mature past eating food on a dare. If someone describes something by using the phrase, \"That\'s crazy,\" you generally wouldn\'t put it in your mouth. But some food companies are making money hand over fist on products that they freely admit you have to be kind of nuts to eat. Why does this work?\n\nFirst, let\'s take a look at the masters. Yum Brands (YUM), which owns KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, has nailed this formula. On April 3 the company introduced its \"Crazy Cheesy Crust\" Pizza, which it deemed \"an explosion.\" In Pizza Hut\'s own language from the press release:\n\n\"The mere name of the pizza is quite fitting. It\'s Crazy -- featuring 16 dough pockets at its outer edge -- Cheesy -- each pocket is filled with a blend of five Italian cheeses -- and Crust(y) -- the element of a pizza that Pizza Hut has a rich tradition of revolutionizing all around the world.\"\n\nYum, it would seem, is bilingual in \"Crazy.\" During its fourth-quarter earnings call on February 5, President Richard Carucci trumpeted the success of its \"Doritos Locos Tacos,\" -- essentially a meat, cheese, and salt bomb wrapped in a taco shell made from a Doritos chip. Yuck, right? Wrong. Genius.\n\n\"During 2012, Taco Bell sold 325 million Doritos Locos Tacos,\" Carucci said. \"That\'s more tacos than there are people in the United States and makes it one of the most successful product launches in [quick service restaurant] history.\n\nCompanies besides Yum have gone the crazy route. Four Loko was wildly popular before the FDA deemed it dangerous, banning the caffeinated sugar booze in 2010. Kellogg\'s (K) Pop-Tarts breathed life into the brand with their \"Crazy Good\" campaign, which launched back in 2004 and is still  going today. Kellogg\'s maintains its marketing strategy -- in which \"crazy\" is a positive modifier -- by various means including sponsoring concerts by the likeable, saccharine Carly Rae Jepsen\n\nThe word \"crazy\" works particularly well for food because it hones in on the current zeitgeist. \"I think \'crazy\' is definitely skewing towards millennials and even younger,\" says Andrew Pierce, U.S. President of brand consultancy firm Prophet. \"If you do a Google Image search for the word \'crazy\' (please turn your safe search filter ON) all you see is Homer Simpson, cats, and cartoon characters.\" These are things young people like.\n\nThus, \"crazy\" food can mean fun, creative food, which lines up with our evolving national taste. \"What\'s happening is that the American palate has moved from boring to bold,\" says Nancy Brown, a partner at branding firm CBX.  About six years ago, she says, marketers went after teen males by calling products \"extreme.\"\n\n\"I think \'crazy\' is what \'extreme\' was because \'extreme\' has kind of run its course,\" Brown says. And trends do. Companies should beware, says Pierce, because just as \"OMG\" is now old news in the youth lexicon, \"crazy\" too, shall pass.\n\nThese promotions tend to take that factor into account. Doritos Locos and the new \"crazy\" crust pizza are billed as limited-time-only engagements. These are flash-in-the-pan hot items that companies can yank from the shelves before the branding strength of \"crazy\" runs out.\n\nWorst-case scenario, these promotions create buzz for the brand in the fiercely competitive quick-service restaurant category, which always runs the risk of becoming mundane. If, like Taco Bell, you hit gold, the sales boost is just Dorito-encrusted icing.\n\nSo \"crazy\" works on two kinds of consumers, suggests Pradeep Chintagunta, a marketing professor and consumer behavior expert from the University of Chicago\'s Booth School of Business. One is the heavy junk food consumer, generally young and male, who is looking for new ways to spice up his favorite foods. Convincing him a product is \"crazy\" can get him in the store or at least generate buzz.\n\nBut the second target group for \"crazy\" food marketing reflects an interesting trend in our national food psyche. That is, people tend to perceive their eating habits as a kind of balance, says Chintagunta. And many consumers are waking up to the country\'s issue with obesity-related heart disease and diabetes. They really are working hard to eat healthier. So when they want to splurge, they don\'t just want a Snickers bar, they want something so crazy that it balances out the rigidity of the rest of their diet.\n\n\"People like to balance virtue and vice,\" says Chintagunta.  \"They\'ll say, \'During the week, I was a good person. I ate my lettuce, I ate my salad. Now it\'s the weekend, and I want to cut loose a little bit. If I try something, I want to try something a little bit crazy.\'\"\n\nLucky for them, there\'s a cheese-pocket filled pizza with their name on it. Problem solved.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2013/04/08/crazy-cheesy-crust-pizza/\" target=\"_blank\">http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2013/04/08/crazy-cheesy-crust-pizza/</a>', 'Why pizza, tacos, and Pop-Tarts have gone \'crazy\'', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'why-pizza-tacos-and-pop-tarts-have-gone-crazy', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:52', '2018-09-27 17:58:52', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/why-pizza-tacos-and-pop-tarts-have-gone-crazy', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1907, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:25', '2018-09-27 16:52:25', '', 'Brooks-External', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'brooks-external', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:25', '2018-09-27 16:52:25', '', 1607, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Brooks-External.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1908, 4, '2013-04-16 13:55:21', '2013-04-16 13:55:21', 'CBX, a brand agency based in New York City, collaborated with The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company to launch the packaging redesign of the Ortho(R) brand, the product line providing solutions for pest problems inside and outside your home.The goal was to simplify the shopping experience for consumers. Consumer research showed that communication on shelf was overly complicated, leading to a 30% walk-away rate, and requiring a cleaner way of communicating product benefits while improving the shopability.\n\"CBX developed a visual strategy to communicate the Ortho(R) repositioning by simplifying the architecture which improved the shopping experience,\" says Rick Barrack, Chief Creative Officer, CBX. \"By making the master and sub-brand of equal importance, it was easier to read and therefore shop on shelf.\"\nThe CBX team redesigned the brand mark to reflect that of a home, communicating the benefits of this contemporary household brand. This subtle, yet innovative shift, reassures consumers that Ortho(R) is the singular, effective brand to have in and around their homes.\nCommunication on-pack was a key focus. The CBX team cleaned up the design by simplifying font treatments and implementing color changes. Meaningful visual equities such as photography were incorporated to communicate the problems consumers face and the end solution desired.\nStructure was an essential component in the redesign. A redesigned bottle structure, launched in 2012, has a unique shape differentiating it from category standards. This makes for a greater impact at shelf and separates Ortho(R) from its competitors. The arcs within the artwork were meant to mimic the shape of the bottles, providing a clean, simple feel in contrast to the complex shopping experience typically found in this category.\n\"The redesigned packaging instantly communicates that we are taking the guesswork out of the controls aisle and inviting consumers to choose Ortho(R) for their insect, weed, and animal control needs,\" says Clary Leffel, Director, Ortho Marketing, The Scotts Company. \"Once again, we are offering the simplest, most effective, do-it-yourself solutions from a brand that consumers know they can trust.\"\n\n<a href=\"http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130415-905872.html?mod=googlenews_wsj\" target=\"_blank\">http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130415-905872.html?mod=googlenews_wsj</a>', 'CBX Overhauls the Ortho Brand', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cbx-overhauls-the-ortho-brand', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:03', '2018-09-27 17:58:03', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/cbx-overhauls-the-ortho-brand', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1909, 4, '2013-04-16 14:22:57', '2013-04-16 14:22:57', 'You’re not crazy. The words premium and snack really are popping up on chain-restaurant menus everywhere. Crazy is making some appearances too.Why are these the latest restaurant buzzwords? And why are they supposed to resonate with customers? Let’s take a look.</br>\n<strong>Crazy\n</strong>\n\nSensible food is boring. Fast-food fans — young ones especially — supposedly want something different, something a little, well, crazy. A Fortune post noted that crazy and similar terms have accordingly been showing up on chain-restaurant menus. Most obviously, there’s Pizza Hut’s new Crazy Cheesy Crust Pizza, which features 16 dough pockets stuffed with extra cheese around the pizza — a design that indeed seems pretty crazy.\nWhy has crazy become the menu term du jour? “What’s happening is that the American palate has moved from boring to bold,” Nancy Brown, a partner at branding firm CBX, told Fortune. “I think crazy is what extreme was because extreme has kind of run its course.”\n\nOne of the fast-food players known for being “extreme” a few years back was Pizza Hut’s sister at Yum Brands, Taco Bell. The chain began offering items like the Extreme Cheese and Beef Quesadilla in the late ’00s. It has since moved on to menu offerings that are “crazy,” or more precisely “loco,” with last year’s introduction of the highly successful Doritos Locos Taco.</br>\n<strong>Premium\n</strong>\n\nA 2011 Technomic report found that premium was the most persuasive menu term for getting customers to order an item with beef; 28% of surveyed consumers said they’d be more likely to order beef with the word premium, and they’d be willing to pay a 5% premium for their premium order. Well, surprise, surprise, a study conducted by Mintel for BurgerBusiness last year reported that usage of the word premium on restaurant-chain menus has soared. By its count, there were 138 “premium” offerings on chain menus last year, compared with just 69 in 2007.\nThe word premium “connotes high quality or high price without committing to being either,” BurgerBusiness noted. “Premium sounds upscale, special, with a sophistication that deluxe lacks.”\n\nToday’s fast-food “premium” selections go well beyond beef. In a recent count at the McDonald’s menu, there were 12 “premium” sandwiches and wraps, plus nine “premium” salads, as well as “premium” roast coffee and “premium” roast iced coffee. Burger King, meanwhile, boasts the Premium Alaskan Fish Sandwich, and Sonic Drive-In has a lineup of “premium beef” hotdogs.</br>\n<strong>Snack\n</strong>\n\nSnack has been proliferating at restaurants for several years now, with usage of the word tripling from 2007 to 2010 on fast-food menus. McDonald’s now has 10 varieties of “snack wraps” and snack-size orders of items like Fish McBites. For that matter, bites, a word that signifies food that’s easy for snacking, is also popular on menus — Pretzelmaker Bites, KFC Original Recipe Bites and so on.\nWhy the rise in menu items that aren’t quite meals? One reason is that restaurants are trying to attract customers during the normally dead moments of the day that aren’t quite mealtimes — the in-between hours when diners aren’t up for a full meal, but could go for a quick snack. Snacks can also serve as up-sell items that customers add on in addition to their meal order. And, most of all, snack is spreading because the word is appealing to consumers on two key levels: it’s easy on the waistline and wallet alike. It’s “just a snack,” after all.\n\nNation’s Restaurant News reported that Arby’s is now testing the possibility of launching a “snack ’n’ save” menu as a replacement for its value menu — value being another buzzword that fast-food customers are well acquainted with.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://business.time.com/2013/04/11/latest-unavoidable-fast-food-buzz-words-the-rise-of-crazy-premium-snacks/\" target=\"_blank\">http://business.time.com/2013/04/11/latest-unavoidable-fast-food-buzz-words-the-rise-of-crazy-premium-snacks/</a>', 'The Rise of Crazy, Premium, Snacks', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-rise-of-crazy-premium-snacks', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:49', '2018-09-27 17:58:49', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/the-rise-of-crazy-premium-snacks', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1910, 4, '2013-04-16 14:50:28', '2013-04-16 14:50:28', 'By Gregg S. Lipman\nRecently, I’ve noticed that charity, that noble concept of giving back to those less fortunate, has fallen to victim to—no surprise here—commercialism.</br>\nCharitable efforts continue to play a significant role in our culture, traditions, and identity, as they have since the beginnings of civilization. According to Giving USA’s Annual Report on Philanthropy, Americans donated nearly $300 billion dollars in 2012. (BILLION, folks. That’s more than the GDP of say Greece. Or Finland. Or the Kardashians.)</br>\nAs you’ve probably noticed, there’s been a veritable explosion of charitable initiatives in recent years. Not from your local church, Red Cross, or United Way, or even the Girl Scouts (Thin Mint or maybe the nouveau Dulce de Leche, anyone?) but from the vast galaxy of for-profit consumer brands. Why this explosion? Call me a cynic, but we marketers have the data to back up the fact that Americans across socio-economic strata want to get involved and make an impact, and will reward a company that they perceive as making charitable contributions on their behalf. Good for the consumer–good for the brand—good for those in need. A win-win-win.</br>\nOne noteworthy example is the venerable Newman’s Own, which started giving away all of its after-profits to charity way back in 1982.</br>\n<a href=\"http://www.newmansown.com/charity/\" target=\"_blank\">Paul Newman’s brainchild</a> paved the way for hundreds of other companies, and it inspired the one-for-one purchase-to-donation model practiced today by <a href=\"http://www.toms.com/\" target=\"_blank\">TOMS shoes</a> and trendy eyewear company <a href=\"http://www.warbyparker.com/do-good/#home\" target=\"_blank\">Warby-Parker</a>. Most recently, <a href=\"http://www.joinred.com/\" target=\"_blank\">the (RED) campaign</a> has partnered with companies including Nike, Gap, Bugaboo and Starbucks to help eliminate HIV/AIDS in Africa, and the <a href=\"http://one.laptop.org/\" target=\"_blank\">One Laptop Per Child</a> and Charity. Water initiatives have both achieved a great deal of success and garnered enormous amount of media attention and goodwill. Each of those campaigns appear to provide seemingly altruistic programs for the common good, without an overly zealous attachment to its host.</br>\nBut has the whole idea of branded charity and its almost ubiquitous presence at retail, on packaging, in advertising, on television, via celebrity endorsements, on apparel, etc. become so widespread, so expected that consumers will become progressively numb to it? Are charitable campaigns perilously close to becoming counter-productive? Have they become white noise that actually begins to demotivate consumer behavior?</br>\nTake, for example…</br>\n<a href=\"http://www.skenergyshots.com/\" target=\"_blank\">StreetKing</a>, an energy drink that wears its gang-cred on its graffitied sleeve, is endorsed by 50-Cent and, by the way, also provides a meal to a hungry child through the United Nations’ World Food Programme, with every purchase made.\n<a href=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/sk1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-6236\" title=\"sk\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/sk1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"621\" height=\"63\" /></a></br>\n<a href=\"http://www.sheetz.com/main/community/charities.cfm\" target=\"_blank\">Sheet<img class=\"size-full wp-image-6235 alignright\" title=\"ftk_logo\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/ftk_logo.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" height=\"95\" />z</a>, the massive convenience store chain, sells two private label charity products: <em>Buy this Water. Help Kids. (water) and Buy this Energy Drink. Help Kids</em>. (Yup, this is an energy drink talking.) That reminds me of the original cover of National Lampoon: ‘Buy this magazine or I shoot this dog.’</br>\n<a href=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/images.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-6238\" title=\"images\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/images.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"106\" height=\"137\" /></a><a href=\"http://oregonpublichouse.com/\" target=\"_blank\">The Oregon Public House</a>, a pub in Portland, purports a lovely sentiment and/or subversive marketing ploy.\nHmmm. Drinking for charity? I’ll buy into that, however far-fetched it may be.</br>\nSo, I ask, what’s next? <em>Fly Business Class, Give Hope? File your Taxes, Prevent Malaria?</em></br>\nLook, I get it. Businesses are playing a relevant role in helping pull the loose change out of your pocket (which you might not have done on your own) and redistributing it to a worthy cause. But given this undeniable rise in branded charity, can marketers simply choose charity as a marketing strategy without the gimmicks, the spin, and the self-congratulatory back-patting?</br>\nTell me that your charity work is a pillar of your brand. Tell me you do it all the time instead of sometimes. To be effective, differentiated, and become a positive voice for change, branded charity–like “regular” charity—needs to be well intentioned and believable. Not accompanied by a shot of 50 Cent’s favorite energy drink.\n</br>\n<a href=\"http://www.mpdailyfix.com/corporate-charity-work-give-back-without-gimmicks-or-give-me-a-break/?adref=nlt041613\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.mpdailyfix.com/corporate-charity-work-give-back-without-gimmicks-or-give-me-a-break/?adref=nlt041613</a>', 'Give Back Without Gimmicks', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'give-back-without-gimmicks-or-give-me-a-break', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/give-back-without-gimmicks-or-give-me-a-break', 0, 'thinking', '', 0);
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(1911, 4, '2013-04-16 16:06:43', '2013-04-16 16:06:43', 'By Joseph Bona\nSurvey the retail landscape in Europe or the United States and you might conclude that unprecedented shifts are under way that promise to change the basic dynamics of the business from now until the end of time.\n\nIn the United States, for example, the term “showrooming” has become one of the biggest retail buzzwords. The basic idea is that smartphone-addicted shoppers are waltzing into big-box stores, scrutinizing various flat-screen TVs and other merchandise in person, and then buying these items on their phones for the cheapest possible prices.\n\nIn the wake of the Wall Street meltdown and the collapse of the housing market, meanwhile, American consumers are watching their suburban regional malls lose tenant after tenant.\nSome of these 20- or 30-year-old malls — primarily in secondary and tertiary markets — clearly are doomed and will have to be converted into outlets or nonretail uses. U.S. strip center landlords, too, are wringing their hands as big-box chains such as Walmart, Target and Best Buy shrink their store footprints, in part as a response to both the rise of online shopping and the implosion of consumer demand.\n\nSomething similar is happening in Europe and elsewhere with the slowdown of hypermarket expansion. Such factors as pricing pressures, the drive to maximize shareholder value, spiraling labor costs, economic uncertainty and the high barriers to entry have all conspired against the hypermarkets. Headlines about Carrefour’s Singapore pullout; Auchan’s struggles in Spain, Portugal and Italy; and Tesco’s slashed expansion plans in Britain have prompted some observers to ask, “Is this the beginning of the end of the hypermarket?”\n\nWith the high cost of gasoline and the growing concerns about climate change, fewer consumers are keen on driving miles from town to shop at cavernous hypermarkets. They would much rather stay at home and shop local alternatives.\n\nWhile such changes might seem seismic in their scope and scale, they should be kept in proper perspective. Retail has always been in flux and has always been a cyclical business. Change — along with the sense of newness and excitement that accompanies it — is, in fact, part of what keeps retail vibrant. And yet sometimes we forget about the positive side of change.\n\nTechnology is a good example of this. For far too long, online shopping and mobile commerce have been seen as threats to the vibrancy of brick-and-mortar retail. But what about the myriad ways in which the rapid evolution of technology has allowed retailers to reach new audiences and improve customer service? This is not to mention the dramatic improvements in back-office logistics, fulfillment and more.\n\nEarlier this month Bloomingdale’s 59th Street store in New York debuted something called FaceCake — a virtual fitting room that allows shoppers to “try on” clothes without taking off what they’re actually wearing. The device uses Microsoft’s Kinect sensor and camera along with a high-resolution, flatscreen display. As shoppers stand in front of the screen they can make various hand gestures to see what different outfits would look like on their bodies.\nThey can move around, change the angles and experiment with a wide variety of colors and styles. It is an engaging, fun experience that also happens to be a convenient time-saver. In other words, we are starting to see technology that makes a difference at the store level and is neither a threat nor a mere marketing tool. This technology, along with everything else, will evolve and improve over time, creating new possibilities for brick-andmortar stores.\n\nThe movement toward smaller-format stores is often cast as a negative (see business headlines trumpeting “The Death of Big-Box Retail”). But destruction and creativity are always intertwined in retail. By spending less on massive store rollouts and investing more time, money and energy in smaller-format, well-located stores, retailers can dramatically improve both the quality of the in-store experience and their level of customer service. Done right, this should translate into greater productivity. A 200,000-square-foot hypermarket has less appeal today than, say, a smaller format specialty food store along the lines of Trader Joe’s — the Aldi-owned U.S. chain known for its engaging signage, quirky products and gregarious clerks. Rather than wandering aimlessly through endless hypermarket aisles, the Trader Joe’s shopper can partake of the “thrill of the hunt” and come home with something new and novel.\n\nBut there is no reason why the large emporiums of today cannot reinvent themselves along these smaller-format lines, and this is precisely what we are now seeing in the United States from Target, Walmart and Best Buy. Back in April, Tesco announced plans to sink more than $1.6 billion into store improvements in a bid to revive its declining market share. The strategy has shown some early signs of success. Over the long term, however, hypermarket chains such as Tesco might consider shrinking their retail space to food and perishables. This would allow them to sublease more space to branded players in other categories — a great way to drive traffic and differentiate from the competition. One could even imagine a small-format Best Buy moving into a Tesco or a Carrefour.\n\nRetail purists in the United States sometimes fret about the fate of older brands such as J.C. Penney, Kmart or Sears. It is true that these decades-old nameplates do face challenges.\n\nIf Starbucks is about gourmet coffee and Apple is about cutting-edge computing devices, then the Penneys of the world have much more complicated brand identities. A retailer like Penney is essentially a house of brands. How can it set itself apart from its competition? As a Forbes magazine columnist recently put it, Penney chief Ron Johnson, the former Apple executive, has a vision for Penney’s stores that includes “wider aisles encircling a central location called The Square, a place where moms practice yoga and children receive haircuts. The individual modules that ring The Square will be grouped by brands or by theme, accompanied by spiffy technology — iPads, of course … and impressive Oracle gadgets.”\n\nDon’t be fooled — the iPads here are not the point. What Johnson is really trying to do is find meaningful connection points with Penney’s consumers. Ditto for Target, which is bringing in mini-shops that will sell exclusive merchandise as part of sublease agreements. As noted by Reuters, “The Shops at Target” concept features boutiques such as Boston’s Polka Dog Bakery, Miami’s The Webster and San Francisco’s The Candy Store.\n\nBy contrast, a retailer such as Kmart appears to be doing precious little to update and improve its stores, which increasingly seem tired and irrelevant. This helps illustrate the truth that change, far from being a threat, is actually a necessary part of running a successful retail business. In the case of Kmart, lack of change — which is another way of saying the absence of newness — is the cause of a relevance crisis.\n\nUltimately, those retailers that understand technology and know how to use it in service to the fundamentals of retail (having the right product at the right price in the right location with an engaging in-store experience and topnotch customer service) will win.\n\nThe iPad will eventually give way to something else, but these fundamentals go back millennia to the very beginnings of retail itself. Imagine walking up to the Roman Coliseum in, say, 80 AD. The place would have been teeming with shoppers (indeed, you could think of the Coliseum as a prototypical mall or supermarket) with market stands out front selling anything and everything. When a retailer like Target brings in a novel and new mini-shop, is it any different than adding, say, a new saffron vendor out in front of the Coliseum?\n\nSet and setting will inevitably change, but the retail fundamentals are as stable and constant as the law of supply and demand.', 'Change Helps Keep the Retailing Scene Vibrant', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'change-helps-keep-the-retailing-scene-vibrant', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:56:35', '2018-09-27 17:56:35', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/change-helps-keep-the-retailing-scene-vibrant', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1912, 1, '2014-01-17 16:55:04', '2014-01-17 16:55:04', 'Actually, scratch that. RadioShack\'s new top management pulled the plug on \"The Shack\" moniker when they green lighted a brand overhaul just shy of a year ago.\r\nAnd change was needed. The storied Fort Worth, Texas-based retailer that ushered in the personal computing era with its TRS-80 microcomputer in 1977-once dominating Apple, IBM, Commodore and Wang-had been struggling for years against vertically integrated brands, as well as big-box and mass merchants.\r\n\r\nBut industry veteran and current Radio Shack CEO Joe Magnacca is working to change that. With more than 20 years in retailing, Magnacca joined RadioShack from Walgreens, where he is credited for the turnaround of its Duane Reade stores. Magnacca in turn recruited Mike DeFazio, also a key player in the Duane Reade reinvention effort, as senior vice president, store concepts.\r\n\r\nLast year, Magnacca created a buzz with a fast track plan to reinvent the company. Founded in 1921, RadioShack is one of the country\'s oldest retail brands and one of the largest, not to mention ubiquitous. It operates some 4,300 stores stretching across the United States, as well as more than 1,200 international units. The retailer\'s merchandise includes 7,000 SKUs-from adapters and antennas to flashlights, batteries, radio-controlled toys and two-way radios-nearly 70 percent of which are private label.\r\n\r\nRationalizing Radio Shack\'s assortment was a big part of Magnacca\'s vision, although RadioShack will continue to sell mainline brands, such as Apple. \"We wanted to become a destination for our own brands, because that will keep customers coming back to just us,\" DeFazio says. For that reason, RadioShack merchants are working to source new and proprietary goods.\r\n\r\nMagnacca also wanted to pay homage to the brand\'s heritage as a place for fun and Innovative products, and a \"Let\'s Play\" platform became the foundation on which to build an advertising campaign, as well as in-store communication. However, both stores and merchandise needed to be embraced by existing mobility customers while wooing women and younger customers who were not Radio Shack loyalists. So, the CEO tamed to New York-based CBX for Its store design and packaging expertise.\r\n\r\nThe first remodeled RadioShack store opened at Sundance Square In Fort Worth last May, followed by a New York location at Broadway and 81st Street In June. Both concept stores, averaging 2,000 sq. ft., showcase a number of new features to be rolled out throughout the Un1ted States and internationally over time. At the end of 2013, the retailer had made Improvements to nearly every one of its stores, ranging from new paint and graphics in it’s \"Brand Statement\" stores, which represent its smallest footprints or revenue generators, to major resets that include custom fixturing in the higher-volume\r\nconcept stores.\r\n\r\nThe 2,357-sq.-ft. Fort Worth flagship sports a mid-century modem feel, and has been dubbed a \"retro\" store. It features an authentically styled \"radio shack\" inside-a nod to the structure that houses a ship\'s radio equipment, complete with retro knobs and dials, and the term that supplied the chain\'s name 92 years ago.\r\n\r\nInside, a variety of vintage photos, old radios and technology as door suggest the store is part museum. \"It\'s all about playing on our name and heritage, while telling a whole new consumer base who we are and what we stand for, \" DeFazio says.\r\n\r\nWhile the Fort Worth store clearly is a customized homage to its headquarters, all stores will eventually feature a refreshed color palette and logo. The former red, black and white palette Radio Shack signature colors-has given way to burnt orange, deep metallic brown and stainless steel. Inside, customers will find a well-lit, visually open store with plenty of room to move, as well as a reordered experience.\r\n\r\nThe new design is easier to navigate thanks to large, simplified departmental signage calling out \"Power It, \" \"Rock It, \" \"Create It\" and \"Discover It.\" From a product point of view, the store Is no longer overwhelming,\" says Joseph Bona, president of branded environment, CBX. \"We wanted customers to easily find what they\'re looking for, but we also wanted to encourage Interaction with the products, so the displays needed to be\r\nmore accessible. \"\r\n\r\nNewly configured custom fixtures highlight a wide range of products from mobile phones to flat screen TVs. A conveniently located touchscreen computer allows customers an opportunity to enter their choice of phone or other device, and have their technical questions answered, or learn product benefits. A new speaker wall with a control console allows customers to test any or all speakers 1nd1vidually by playing music from their own Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices. A 65-ln. television allows customers to control the size of what\'s displayed (all the way down to 19 in.) In order to give them a sense of how televisions of various sizes will look In their home. There\'s also a headphone display with working headphones ranging In style and price, as well as a presentation of several GoPro camera models.\r\n\r\nBut, it\'s not only high touch. Helpful \"Texperts\" can answer shoppers\' question about RadioShack services and products. There\'s also an in-store kiosk that makes it convenient and easy fur customers to order items not in stock. Given its prime real estate, Radio Shack customers can stop by stores to place orders by kiosk for home delivery. And because part of Magnacca\'s vision included omnichannel selling, product packaging, already part of the RadioShack reinvention plan took on additional importance. In the months following the launch of the first amped-up stores, DeFazio explains, \"We\'ve made some tweaks. We feel we\'ve done all the things necessary to make it a good interactive experience, a comfortable environment that\'s easy to navigate and get around.\r\n\r\nWill it be enough to regain a share of consumers\' wallets in the highly competitive electronics sector? Only time will tell, but DeFazio says customers already are showing the love by spending money and driving revenue up in these first remodeled stores. So, when the time comes, don\'t call it a comeback-RadioShack\'s been here for years.', '\"The Shack\" is back and on a roll', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-shack-is-back-and-on-a-roll', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:56:32', '2018-09-27 17:56:32', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/the-shack-is-back-and-on-a-roll', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1913, 1, '2018-09-27 17:56:32', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', 'To start off the New Year and lead up to the judging of the first annual Vertex Awards International Private Brand Design Competition I sat down with each of the judges and asked them five questions about Private Brands, package design and differentiation – their answers present a unique global perspective and depth of knowledge of the retail brand space.\r\nToday’s conversation is with Rick Barrack, Chief Creative Officer &amp; Managing Partner, CBX of the U.S.\r\n\r\n<strong>1. What do you look for in great Brand design?</strong>\r\nBreaking through the obvious.\r\nDesign that communicates a clear and concise message with a point of difference. Something that differentiates in the marketplace and from the competition. Don’t just push product with basic product shots, benefit statements and a cheaper price. Look to make a paradigm shift in a category, celebrate your brand’s unique difference in the marketplace.\r\n\r\n<strong>2.How can Design help retailers and their brands differentiate?</strong>\r\nRetailers all have some attributes that are unique to them — whether that be the way the arrange their goods, the way they make their goods, their service, etc. Design shows how to put those unique attributes on a pedestal — make those unique elements the hero and thus create a lasting image in consumers’ minds as to why they can get something from that retailer that they can’t get from anyone else — and that’s the most important piece of retail today because if they can get it someplace else, it’s a price game.\r\n\r\n<strong>3. How do you help retailers select great design instead of obvious or easy design?</strong>\r\nReminding our clients the value of good brand design is not just about being a national brand equivalent, but standing for something more than that and building brand equity and loyalty.\r\n\r\nDesign is about solving a particular puzzle (all the variables: physical, merchandising needs, space constraints, consumer desires, etc.) in an elegant way where the end solution makes a total impact greater than the sum of all the parts. Design is about creating more for less. Design puts together a puzzle of needs in a way that creates more impact with less resources. Great design has to solve for certain challenges within certain constraints. If it does that well, in a way where the investment is less than the net experience, then you have great design. However, great design doesn’t have to mean design that’s never been done before. Great design takes the core idea of “obvious” and makes it special, unique, nuanced and desired.\r\n\r\n<strong>4. What advice do you have for retailers working with design consultancies/branding agencies?</strong>\r\n\r\nTrust them. Partner with them. Trust in the process and recognize that the creative process is iterative.\r\n\r\nTake the time upfront to work with the team to understand what all the possible opportunities are. Only then will you be able to make decisions confidently along the way because you’ve explored the alternative paths and know why you did or didn’t pursue them. If you dive right into design, thinking you know what you want, in the short term you may have less confidence in all the decisions that must be made along the way, and in the long run you might regret not stretching your ideas further because retail design is a long term investment.\r\n\r\n<strong>5. How can retailers avoid the mistakes of the past and the missteps of national brands?</strong>\r\n\r\nThe biggest mistake national brands make is not “sticking with it”. Whether that be good values, advertising, their customer base, their long-term equities or any other unique-ness. Particularly in public companies where the pressure to grow is constant, too many brands and retailers will try anything new to light sales. But, creating consumer awareness of what you’re doing is quite expensive and is likely to wipe out the margin that might have been gained in increased sales. When brands “Stick with it,” they build on the momentum that has been banked over the long-term.\r\n\r\nRead More: <a href=\"http://mypbrand.com/2014/01/07/5-questions-the-vertex-judges-rick-barrack/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mypbrand+%28Myprivatebrand%27s+Blog%29\" target=\"_blank\">http://mypbrand.com/2014/01/07/5-questions-the-vertex-judges-rick-barrack/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mypbrand+%28Myprivatebrand%27s+Blog%29</a>', '5 Questions The vertex Judges: Rick Barrack', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:56:32', '2018-09-27 17:56:32', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/?post_type=thinking&#038;p=1913', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1914, 1, '2014-05-29 20:26:38', '2014-05-29 20:26:38', 'Every year, millions of people shop at Walmart -- but few of them are as inspired by what they find in the aisles as artist Brendan O\'Connell. O\'Connell, who has been the focus of several TV news segments and magazine articles, has been painting on canvas what he finds there: everyday household products like JIF peanut butter, Velveeta cheese and Wonder bread, as well as the people who go there to purchase them. O\'Connell\'s subject matter is not dissimilar from that of Andy Warhol, another artist who made a career out of portraying the designs that our agency, and others like it, spend days and late nights creating as art. But do we -- or even the brands that engage us -- get any benefit or credit (or even compensation) from Mr. O\'Connell for the subject matter that so inspired him?\r\nIn the age of Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, et al., there seems to be an ever-growing blur between art and commerce. Except for when it comes to the business (i.e., the money part) behind the creativity. There the lines become pretty black and white. While artists -- like illustrators, photographers and musicians -- who develop commercial materials continue to leverage business concepts around copyright usage and the like (Shutterstock founder Jon Oringer just made the billionaire\'s club), clients have put more and more demands on agencies in order to get the work they want for the price they want. Agencies generally perform under \'work for hire,\' relinquishing ownership over final creative product (online you can get it for $399). It\'s a competitive environment, but creativity, at least quality creativity, continues to be commoditized.\r\n\r\nCan anyone really divine how long it will take to develop a logo? More importantly, what will its worth be in market? One of my idols, the agency legend David Ogilvy, once advised prospective clients to \"insist on paying 16% to your agency [ed. note: 15% commission was once a standard in advertising]. The extra 1% won\'t kill you...and you will get better service.\" I couldn\'t agree more -- but then again, I\'m the agency.\r\n\r\nRead more: &lt;a href=\"www.huffingtonpost.com/gregg-s-lipman/art-vs-commerce_b_5399195.html\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;www.huffingtonpost.com/gregg-s-lipman/art-vs-commerce_b_5399195.html&lt;/a&gt;\r\n\r\n&amp;nbsp;', 'Art vs. Commerce', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'art-vs-commerce-2', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:56:33', '2018-09-27 17:56:33', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/art-vs-commerce-2', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1915, 1, '2014-05-29 20:16:40', '2014-05-29 20:16:40', '<strong><em>Food and beverage packaging is providing product support, with designs that call out to targeted segments</em>.</strong>\r\nWith natural and organic brands continuing to inundate the marketplace, processors are turning to market segmentation to claim their niches. Packaging is providing essential support, with designs that call out to targeted segments.\r\n\r\nThe trend is occurring in both North America and Europe, within natural and organic categories ranging from peanut butter to sparkling water. In some instances, segmentation hinges on consumer values — like a desire for on-the-go convenience or locally sourced food. In other cases, demographic segmentation is the preferred strategy.\r\n\r\nIn the U.S., Hain Celestial Group Inc., Lake Success, N.Y., recently redesigned the distinctive black packaging for its Terra brand chips to emphasize the root vegetables from which the product is made. The new package graphics, which feature elegant photography of the chips and a fresh visual architecture, also reinforce the brand’s positioning as a premium, gourmet-quality natural snack.\r\n\r\nIn the redesign, “there were three key elements that we wanted to focus on,” says Sam Garfinkel, senior brand manager for the Terra brand. “The biggest thing we wanted to communicate was … our real vegetables. That gets to the heart of what separates us from all the other players in the snack category.”\r\n\r\nSecond, he says, “we wanted to modernize the brand. We had a brand that was so premium, but wasn’t as modern as some of the other players in the category.”\r\n\r\nRunning “a close third” was improved \"portfolio navigation.\" To help consumers navigate the Terra portfolio, which includes more than 20 varieties and some 50 stock-keeping units in various sizes, the package redesign changed how product varieties and seasonings are presented.\r\n\r\n“I think the clearest example of how we standardized and improved navigation was with our flavor banner,” Garfinkel says. On the old package, the location and size of the flavor banner varied by flavor. On the new bag, the product variety appears immediately below the Terra logo, and the seasoning cue is right under the variety: “Terra,” “Exotic Potato” and “Sea Salt,” for example.\r\n\r\n“We set up a clear architecture for communicating brand, flavor and seasoning, all in a very structured manner … across the brand, so that people would get to the shelf, quickly recognize it as Terra and then easily navigate to their flavor of choice,” Garfinkel explains.\r\n\r\nThe package’s glossy black surface and high-quality rotogravure printing position Terra as a premium brand, and artistic photography on the bags supports the modernization and real-vegetable communication.\r\n\r\n“Stylistically, it’s a very modern angle and look, but [the photography] also helps us highlight all those diverse vegetables that you see in the blend,” Garfinkel says. “It really helps tell that full story in just one image.”\r\n\r\nAugmenting the large product photo on the bag, a row of icons across the bottom of the package shows which vegetables are included in that particular flavor.\r\n\r\nBrand agency CBX, New York, worked with the brand team on the strategy for the redesign and also created the new package design.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-full wp-image-8059 alignright\" title=\"2_SkippySingle\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2_SkippySingle.jpg\" width=\"214\" height=\"178\" />Meanwhile, on-the-go consumers are the target market for a different type of natural snack — peanut butter. In May 2014, Hormel Foods Corp., Austin, Minn., launched Skippy Natural Creamy Peanut Butter Spread and Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter in single-serving multipacks. The company calls the format Skippy Singles.\r\n\r\nEach resealable canister of Skippy Singles holds six 1.5-oz. cups of peanut butter. The small, sealed, individual cups make it easy to transport the product for an away-from-home treat teamed with other foods, or as a snack unto itself.\r\n\r\nThe canister, with a transparent front panel that displays the cups, simplifies pantry storage and also provides a visual reminder to restock the product as the supply dwindles.\r\n\r\n<strong>Happy European cows and bees</strong>\r\n\r\nRørosmeieriet, Røros, Norway, that country’s largest organic dairy, is redesigning all its packaging to attract consumers interested in locally produced organic products.\r\n\r\nThe first of the dairy’s redesigns, for its one-liter cartons of milk, launched this March throughout Norway. The company worked with Stockholm-based brand development agency Grow to execute the redesign.\r\n\r\nAll of Rørosmeieriet’s products “are organic and based on milk from farms in the Røros region and surrounding counties,” says Kjersti Svang Olsen, account director/director brand development at Grow.\r\n\r\nThe brand’s identity is wrapped up in the “culinary traditions and professional craftsmanship that the area is famous for,” she adds. These include dairy techniques that have been used for many generations in the region.\r\n\r\nTo communicate these local and traditional attributes to its target market, Rørosmeieriet’s new milk cartons are decorated with a full-size image of an old-fashioned glass milk bottle.\r\n\r\n“Compared to the general packaging in the milk [section] in Norwegian grocery stores, it represents a distinctive expression through the use of different graphical means,” says Olsen.\r\n\r\nA combination of photography and hand-painted watercolors communicates the milk’s provenance, with an emphasis on Røros, cows and traditional dairy equipment. Inspiration for the new logo came from dairy tools and milk-pail lids.\r\n\r\nGoing forward, Rørosmeieriet will work with Grow to redesign packaging for the dairy’s sour cream, cottage cheese, skjørost cheese, yogurt and butter.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"wp-image-8061 alignright\" title=\"3_Nectaflor-Honey\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/3_Nectaflor-Honey1.jpg\" width=\"213\" height=\"178\" />Also looking to capture local-minded aficionados is Nectaflor, Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. This natural-food company chose a simple but upscale package design for the launch of its limited-quantity, regional honey varieties. Each of the three varieties is named for its region of origin: the Swiss Jura Mountains, the Ticino region or eastern Switzerland. The products launched in summer 2013.\r\n\r\nNectaflor’s local honey “is a modest luxury product … for people who appreciate good local products,” says Christoph Schlatter, creative director at creative agency Allink GmbH, Zurich, Switzerland, which designed the packaging.\r\n\r\nThe 225g honey package is a stock container, a glass flip-top jar decorated with an elegant letterpress-printed tag. This design emphasizes the product’s natural quality and the brand’s personality.\r\n\r\nThe tag, which is attached to the jar by hand, “conveys the personal attribute,” Schlatter says. “The product does not assert itself as [a] mass product but as a product from your local beekeeper. The ‘non-design’ puts emphasis on the honey.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Babies and children</strong>\r\n\r\nDemographic segmentation is another way processors are slicing and dicing the natural/organic market.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"wp-image-8062 alignright\" title=\"4_Stonyfield_Pouches\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/4_Stonyfield_Pouches.jpg\" width=\"250\" height=\"178\" />Babies and kids — and their parents — are demographics of keen interest at Stonyfield Farm Inc., Londonderry, N.H. The company recently took a page from the baby food category’s packaging playbook, launching Stonyfield Organic YoToddler, YoBaby and YoKids refrigerated yogurts in spouted stand-up pouches. The company will continue to sell the products in multipacks of cups.\r\n\r\nStonyfield’s pouch products for babies and kids launched in the U.S. earlier this year. A co-branded version, created in partnership with organic food processor Happy Family, New York, will launch in July 2014. Both Stonyfield and Happy Family are owned by Danone, Paris.\r\n\r\nThe co-branded pouch products will be sold under the brand names YoTot, YoBaby and YoKids Squeeze! in pouches carrying both the Stonyfield and Happy Family logos. Fill size for the YoTot and YoKids pouches will be 3.7 oz., and for YoBaby, 3.4 oz. The reclosable stand-up pouches will be sold in four-packs and individually.\r\n\r\nAlthough the babies/kids market segment is not a new one for either of these brand owners, the products and packaging are pioneering new territory in their own way.\r\n\r\n“This is the first organic, refrigerated pouch yogurt, and what that allows us to do is have the real, live, active cultures” in the yogurt, says Seth Beamer, brand manager for the babies’ and kids’ products at Stonyfield. Other pouched organic yogurts on the market, including Happy Family’s, are shelf-stable.\r\n\r\nThe pouch format also provides parents with functional benefits vs. yogurt cups. “Convenience is certainly at the forefront,” says Beamer. “We know how busy moms are, and this gives them a convenient offering [for] yogurt on the go. It’s much easier for parents to feed their kids with these hand-held pouches.” In addition, the pouch products are “less-mess — almost mess-free.”\r\n\r\nFilm for Stonyfield’s form-fill-seal pouches is supplied by Clear Lam Packaging Inc., Elk Grove Village, Ill.; the caps are from Georg Menshen GmbH &amp; Co., Finnentrop, Germany. The pouch material is a multilayer film made from linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and polyester, and the closures are polyethylene.\r\n\r\n<strong>Women with a thirst</strong>\r\n\r\nFor Something Natural brand sparkling water, a new focus on the female demographic led to a recent packaging redesign.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-full wp-image-8063 alignright\" title=\"5_SomethingNatural\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/5_SomethingNatural.jpg\" width=\"250\" height=\"178\" />Something Natural, Boston, launched the product in 2010 in a cobalt-blue glass bottle printed with the abstract image of a flock of birds. The product is now distributed throughout the U.S. in chains such as Safeway, Target and Stop &amp; Shop and also in local natural-foods stores.\r\n\r\n“Through being in the marketplace … they had identified a couple areas where we could strengthen the design,” says Pamela Long, director/client services at Little Big Brands, White Plains, N.Y. Little Big Brands created the original package design, and the redesign, for Something Natural.\r\n\r\nMaking the color coding for the five flavors more prominent was one focus of the redesign. “But more importantly, [Something Natural] decided to put a stake in the ground in terms of their target audience. Instead of being for everyone, they really felt like they had a bigger opportunity with the female market,” Long explains.\r\n\r\n“They were getting some sales data and some anecdotal data back from stores that … purchasing was 90 percent female,” she adds. “[They thought,] that’s who’s picking us up, so maybe we could skew a little more in that direction.”\r\n\r\nRather than throw out the original design and start over, Something Natural elected to evolve the brand’s look and feel. The result, graphically, was to keep the birds but make a more female-oriented statement with them.\r\n\r\n“Initially they had this blue bottle, and they had the name ‘Something Natural.’ The thing that came to mind to us was: What’s more natural than a flock of birds?” recalls John Nunziato, Little Big Brands’ founder and creative director.\r\n\r\nIn the redesign, the 11-oz. bottle remained the same, but the graphics changed from a flock of birds to five individual birds color-coded by flavor. And the new logo is more feminine than the old one, using a hand-drawn cursive font drawn out as a mono-weight line. The old logo was rendered in a rectilinear, businesslike sans serif font.\r\n\r\nNow “each logo is a piece of string that’s in the bird’s mouth, and each one ends differently on the ‘L’ in ‘Natural,’ so that piece of string runs a little bit differently to meet up with the bird,” Nunziato says. The concept plays to the female market in that “the bird is collecting string to build [a] nest.”\r\n\r\nThe bottles were decorated using applied ceramic labeling (ACL), a screen-printing technique. The designers leveraged the strengths and limitations of ACL to give the printed graphics a natural look while making the color coding more noticeable.\r\n\r\n“We switched to color coating a larger area of the bird to get a larger area of ink,” says Nunziato. “But we knew it was going to misregister. This type of printing has a tendency as it goes through the run to register an eighth of an inch left of center and an eighth of an inch right. So when we drew the [birds’] color coding, we drew it irregularly knowing that sometimes it would register and sometimes it wouldn’t.”\r\n\r\nHe adds that the variability of the printed design is “the beauty of it,” echoing the brand premise of “something natural.”\r\n\r\nLong characterizes the redesign as “a good example of a brand owner who listened to [its] retail partners and tried to capitalize on what was working for the brand and improve upon what they were hearing from the marketplace — how the brand could grow and become more powerful for consumers.\r\n\r\n“It’s a pretty simple package,” she says, with “just a couple main elements. They had a beautiful structure to begin with. It was really just about decorating it in a beautiful way.”\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2014/packaging-for-organic-and-natural-foods/\" target=\"_blank\">www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2014/packaging-for-organic-and-natural-foods/</a>', 'Packaging Provides A Segment-Specific Billboard For Organic And Natural Foods', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'packaging-provides-a-segment-specific-billboard-for-organic-and-natural-foods', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/packaging-provides-a-segment-specific-billboard-for-organic-and-natural-foods', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1916, 1, '2018-09-27 17:42:11', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', 'Friendly Express is joining forces with global brand agency CBX to update the design and branding of its 42-store network of convenience stores in southeast Georgia.\r\nAccording to CBX, its assignment is to update the chain’s logo and redesign the interiors and exteriors of Friendly Express\' convenience stores, which range in size from 2,000 to 3,500 square feet. The stores, which offer gasoline, are located in several different southeast Georgia communities, including Waycross, Jesup, Folkston, Brunswick and St. Simons Island.\r\n\r\n“Friendly Express, which has been in business for more than 25 years, is known for its strong commitment to the communities it serves,” said Joseph Bona, president of branded environments at New York-based CBX, which has extensive experience in the energy and convenience store channel. “In keeping with that commitment, the company’s management team is eager to exceed customer expectations by working with CBX to adopt next-generation approaches to the c-store experience.”\r\n\r\nThe strategic goals of the project include bolstering design and branding elements of important categories and areas of the store, particularly the coffee and overall foodservice experience, noted Bona.\r\n\r\nThis is in keeping with broader trends across the U.S. convenience store sector, in which higher-quality foodservice is one of the biggest growth areas, he added. “Nowadays, consumers expect more from convenience stores, in part because so many players out there — names like Wawa, RaceTrac, Sheetz and Thorntons — continually seek to innovate and push the boundaries,” he explained.\r\n\r\nFriendly Express has already scored a hit with its loyal customers through its proprietary and locally produced DeDe’s doughnut brand. “There is an authenticity to DeDe’s and we might well incorporate elements of this story into the rebranding project,” Bona said. “Today’s c-stores really need to ‘own’ coffee and bakery and, among other improvements, we aim to help Friendly Express do precisely that.”\r\n\r\nAs befits its name, Friendly Express is known for its friendly customer service, as well as its strong commitment to local communities. From providing coats for children in need to supporting research to fight breast cancer, giving back is one of the retailer\'s top priorities.\r\n\r\n“Friendly Express is excited to team up with such a reputable company as CBX,” said Danny Smith, CEO of Friendly Express. “After checking their references and meeting with them personally, we realized they have a passion for what they do and a willingness to do whatever it takes to deliver on their service. They understand our business, our financial challenges and our desire to evolve without reinventing ourselves. Most importantly, they listen and they always, always ask questions to better understand what we want to be when we grow up.”\r\n\r\nFriendly Express traces its origins to Lewis Oil Co. (now Lewis and Raulerson Inc.).\r\n\r\nCBX specializes in corporate identity, consumer branding and retail. The company\'s client base includes Wawa, BP, Aloha Petroleum and PetroChina. In addition to its New York City headquarters, CBX has an office in Minneapolis and operates offices around the globe through the CBX Worldwide Partnership.\r\n\r\nRead more: &lt;a href=\"http://www.csnews.com/industry-news-and-trends/corporate-store-operations/friendly-express-enlists-cbx-chainwide-makeover?cc=3\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;www.csnews.com/industry-news-and-trends/corporate-store-operations/friendly-express-enlists-cbx-chainwide-makeover?cc=3&lt;/a&gt;', 'Friendly Express Enlists CBX for Chain wide Makeover', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', 'friendly-express-enlists-cbx-for-chain-wide-makeover', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:42:11', '2018-09-27 17:42:11', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/?post_type=thinking&#038;p=1916', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
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(1918, 1, '2014-05-29 07:19:50', '2014-05-29 07:19:50', '<strong>CBX to help with design and branding initiative focusing on next-generation approaches to the c-store experience.</strong>\r\nGlobal brand agency CBX will help Friendly Express update the design and branding of its 42-store network of community-focused convenience stores in southeast Georgia.\r\n\r\n“Friendly Express, which has been in business for more than 25 years, is known for its strong commitment to the communities it serves,” said Joseph Bona, president of Branded Environments at CBX, which has extensive experience in the energy and convenience store channel. “In keeping with that commitment, the company’s management team is eager to exceed customer expectations by working with CBX to adopt next-generation approaches to the c-store experience.”\r\n\r\nUnder the assignment, the firm will update the chain’s logo and redesign the interiors and exteriors of its convenience stores, which range in size from 2,000-3,500 square feet. Friendly Express stores, which also offer gasoline, are located in several different southeast Georgia communities, including Waycross, Jesup, Folkston, Brunswick, and St. Simons Island.\r\n\r\n“The strategic goals here include bolstering design and branding elements of important categories and areas of the store,” Bona noted. “In particular, we will be working with the company to improve and highlight the coffee and overall foodservice experience.” This is in keeping with broader trends across the U.S. c-store sector, in which higher-quality foodservice is one of the biggest growth areas, he added. “Nowadays, consumers expect more from convenience stores, in part because so many players out there—names like Wawa, RaceTrac, Sheetz and Thorntons—continually seek to innovate and push the boundaries,” Bona said.\r\n\r\nBut CBX will not need to create new brands from scratch: Friendly Express has already scored a hit with its loyal customers through its proprietary and locally produced DeDe’s doughnut brand. “There is an authenticity to DeDe’s, and we might well incorporate elements of this story into the rebranding project,” Bona said. “Today’s c-stores really need to ‘own’ coffee and bakery and, among other improvements, we aim to help Friendly Express do precisely that.”\r\n\r\nMany of Friendly Express’ rural stores already serve as community focal points where people congregate, eat and shop, noted David Weinberger, vice president, engagement director at CBX. “I visited one store that had a separate dining area, which is unusual even for many of today’s best-known c-store chains,” he said. “That speaks to the already strong commitment to food at Friendly Express.”\r\n\r\n“Friendly Express is excited to team up with such a reputable company as CBX,” said Danny Smith, CEO of Friendly Express. “After checking their references and meeting with them personally, we realized they have a passion for what they do and a willingness to do whatever it takes to deliver on their service. They understand our business, our financial challenges and our desire to evolve without reinventing ourselves. Most importantly, they listen and they always, always ask questions to better understand what we want to be when we grow up.”\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.csdecisions.com/2014/05/29/friendly-express-updating-georgia-c-stores/#_\" target=\"_blank\">www.csdecisions.com/2014/05/29/friendly-express-updating-georgia-c-stores/#_</a>', 'Friendly Express Updating Georgia C-stores', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'friendly-express-updating-georgia-c-stores', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:42:11', '2018-09-27 17:42:11', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/friendly-express-updating-georgia-c-stores', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1919, 1, '2014-05-28 21:35:07', '2014-05-28 21:35:07', '<strong>Design and Branding Initiative Focuses on Next-Generation Approaches to the C-Store Experience</strong>\r\nGlobal brand agency CBX will help Friendly Express update the design and branding of its 42-store network of community-focused convenience stores in southeast Georgia.\r\n\r\n\"Friendly Express, which has been in business for more than 25 years, is known for its strong commitment to the communities it serves,\" said Joseph Bona, President of Branded Environments at CBX, which has extensive experience in the energy and convenience store channel. \"In keeping with that commitment, the company\'s management team is eager to exceed customer expectations by working with CBX to adopt next-generation approaches to the c-store experience.\"\r\n\r\nUnder the assignment, the firm will update the chain\'s logo and redesign the interiors and exteriors of its convenience stores, which range in size from 2,000 to 3,500 square feet. Friendly Express stores, which also offer gasoline, are located in several different southeast Georgia communities, including Waycross, Jesup, Folkston, Brunswick, and St. Simons Island.\r\n\r\n\"The strategic goals here include bolstering design and branding elements of important categories and areas of the store,\" Bona noted. \"In particular, we will be working with the company to improve and highlight the coffee and overall foodservice experience.\" This is in keeping with broader trends across the U.S. c-store sector, in which higher-quality foodservice is one of the biggest growth areas, he added. \"Nowadays, consumers expect more from convenience stores, in part because so many players out there -- names like Wawa, RaceTrac, Sheetz and Thorntons -- continually seek to innovate and push the boundaries,\" Bona said.\r\n\r\nBut CBX will not need to create new brands from scratch: Friendly Express has already scored a hit with its loyal customers through its proprietary and locally produced DeDe\'s doughnut brand. \"There is an authenticity to DeDe\'s, and we might well incorporate elements of this story into the rebranding project,\" Bona said. \"Today\'s c-stores really need to \'own\' coffee and bakery and, among other improvements, we aim to help Friendly Express do precisely that.\"\r\n\r\nMany of Friendly Express\' rural stores already serve as community focal points where people congregate, eat and shop, noted David Weinberger, VP, Engagement Director at CBX. \"I visited one store that had a separate dining area, which is unusual even for many of today\'s best-known c-store chains,\" he said. \"That speaks to the already strong commitment to food at Friendly Express.\"\r\n\r\n\"Friendly Express is excited to team up with such a reputable company as CBX,\" said Danny Smith, CEO of Friendly Express. \"After checking their references and meeting with them personally, we realized they have a passion for what they do and a willingness to do whatever it takes to deliver on their service. They understand our business, our financial challenges and our desire to evolve without reinventing ourselves. Most importantly, they listen and they always, always ask questions to better understand what we want to be when we grow up.\"\r\n\r\nAbout Friendly Express\r\nFriendly Express is a community-focused convenience store network with 42 locations across southeast Georgia. As befits its name, the company is known for its friendly customer service as well as its strong commitment to local communities: From providing coats for children in need, to supporting research to fight breast cancer, giving back to the southeast Georgia community is one of Friendly Express\' top priorities. The company, which traces its origins to Lewis Oil Company (now Lewis and Raulerson, Inc.), has operated in southeast Georgia for more than 25 years.\r\n\r\n<strong>As seen in:</strong>\r\n<a href=\"http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cbx-help-friendly-express-georgia-133000309.html\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Yahoo Finance</em></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.designretailonline.com/displayanddesignideas/industry-news/Friendly-Express-to--11596.shtml\" target=\"_blank\"><em>design:retail</em></a>', 'CBX to Help Friendly Express Update Its Georgia C-Store Network', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cbx-to-help-friendly-express-update-its-georgia-c-store-network', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:04', '2018-09-27 17:58:04', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/cbx-to-help-friendly-express-update-its-georgia-c-store-network', 0, 'thinking', '', 0);
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(1920, 1, '2014-05-20 19:08:25', '2014-05-20 19:08:25', 'By Todd Maute\r\nPrivate label emerged when retailing was still relatively straightforward. Today, the proliferation is such that we are no can longer rationalize creating a new brand for countless categories. “I have 21 brands and I don’t know what half of them are,” an executive recently said to me. “If I don’t know what these brands mean, how are our shoppers going to?” Every private brand in a retailer’s portfolio needs to tell a compelling story. They also need to have a strategy that addresses consumer mindsets, as well as items that give shoppers a reason to return.\r\n\r\nAs consumer trends have diversified, product categories have expanded to the nth degree. Historically, with each new trend (organic, natural, gluten free, low fat, high protein, etc.) came a new private brand. And with time, this strategy resulted in extreme brand proliferation. Now that companies have upwards of 10 to 20 unique brands in their private brand portfolios, they should start to consider a new paradigm. Move away from product-led strategies and instead focus on brand-led strategies that deliver against business goals. Instead of creating a new brand for every product, consider developing a brand centered around a role, purpose or consumer target brand, and use design as a marketing tool to communicate differences not just communicate functional attributes. Will consumers be able to discern between organic and low sodium, even if they come from the same brand? If you do it right… you bet. So what’s the challenge? Determining how to measure success.\r\n\r\nIf you don’t have a brand for every trend, are you more or less successful than if you do? I’m arguing that you can be more successful, if you look at the measurement criteria with a new lens. Most companies focus on quantitative data – share and penetration. But is penetration enough? Is share of market enough? What about qualitative metrics – equity and loyalty? Private brands can have high penetration, but zero loyalty. Hardly a secure position. But think of the difference a brand-led strategy can make: If that gluten-free customer simply can’t find your private brand elsewhere –that “gets her” like yours does – you win. Penetration and share of market are important, of course, but “mind share” means consumers are coming back to you specifically to get the products that speak directly to them. Go for mind share first and market share will follow and give you the credibility to grow and expand the brand if you thought it out properly.\r\n\r\nLittle wonder more retailers are going through brand-led, brand-consolidation processes that make more practical and emotional sense. So next time you have a conversation around private label metrics for success, think about these questions: How are you going to market? What are the roles of the brands? Have you considered the power of equity and loyalty? Who are we creating this brand for and why? Once you do…chances are your bottom line will thank you.\r\n\r\nRead more: www.mypbrand.com/2014/05/19/how-do-you-measure-success', 'How Do You Measure Success?', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'how-do-you-measure-success', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:43', '2018-09-27 17:58:43', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/how-do-you-measure-success', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1921, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:32', '2018-09-27 16:52:32', '', 'DUANEREADE11_delishonwhite', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'duanereade11_delishonwhite', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:32', '2018-09-27 16:52:32', '', 1608, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/DUANEREADE11_delishonwhite.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1922, 1, '2014-05-15 21:48:37', '2014-05-15 21:48:37', '<strong>About</strong>(Previously Del Monte Foods’ Pet Products) “Big Heart Pet Brands is the largest standalone producer, distributor and marketer of premium quality, branded pet food and pet snacks for the U.S. retail market. The company’s brands include Meow Mix®, Kibbles ‘n Bits®, Milk-Bone®, 9Lives®, Natural Balance®, Pup-Peroni®, Gravy Train®, Nature’s Recipe®, Canine Carry Outs®, Milo’s Kitchen® and other brand names. Big Heart Pet Brands’ portfolio enjoys strong U.S. market share, and is #1 in the dog snacks category, #2 in Dry/Wet Cat and #3 in Dry Dog.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Design by</strong>\r\nCBX\r\n\r\n<strong>Related link: CBX Press release</strong>\r\nAt the core of the visual system is a dynamic new \"heartpaw\" logo that reinforces the company\'s love for pets and desire to continually create better solutions for them. The logo represents both a pawprint—to root the company in the pet category—and a heart to convey the bond between pet and pet parents. The highlight \"shine\" marks used within the broader visual identity symbolize positivity, energy and innovative thinking. \"Simple yet impactful, the identity signals a strong position in the pet space and a bright future for the company and the pets it supports,\" said Rick Barrack, Founding Partner and Chief Creative Officer at CBX.\r\nRead the full press release:<a href=\"http://http://www.cbx.com/press/cbx-collaborates-on-new-company-name-and-identity-for-big-heart-pet-brands/\" target=\"_blank\"> CBX Collaborates on New Company Name and Identity for Big Heart Pet Brands</a>\r\n\r\n<strong>Logo detail:</strong>\r\n<img class=\"size-full wp-image-8018 alignleft\" style=\"margin-bottom: 50px;\" title=\"big_heart_pet_brands2_logo_detail\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/big_heart_pet_brands2_logo_detail2.jpg\" width=\"650\" height=\"379\" />\r\n\r\n<strong>Business cards:</strong>\r\n<img class=\"wp-image-8011 alignleft\" title=\"big_heart_pet_brands3_BusinessCards\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/big_heart_pet_brands3_BusinessCards.jpg\" width=\"650\" height=\"379\" />\r\n\r\n<strong>Brochure:</strong>\r\n<img class=\"size-full wp-image-8017 alignleft\" title=\"big_heart_pet_brands4_brochure\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/big_heart_pet_brands4_brochure1.jpg\" width=\"650\" height=\"379\" />\r\n\r\n<strong>Reception:</strong>\r\n<img class=\"wp-image-8013 alignleft\" title=\"big_heart_pet_brands5_reception\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/big_heart_pet_brands5_reception.jpg\" width=\"650\" height=\"379\" />\r\n\r\n<strong>Cafeteria:</strong>\r\n<img class=\"wp-image-8014 alignleft\" title=\"big_heart_pet_brands6_cafeteria\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/big_heart_pet_brands6_cafeteria.jpg\" width=\"650\" height=\"379\" />\r\n\r\n<strong>Opinion/notes</strong>\r\nThe \"heartpaw\" icon is kind of cute, except that it\'s not really a paw and it barely registers as a heart. Look at how paw prints are usually represented and here the toes are far too thin and the forced heart is the inverted paw pad — before reading the release I thought it was a dog snout, shiny from the wetness of dog snouts and the sunburst-y rays were the dog smelling. The typography is fairly serious and heavy-handed for the fun-loving attitude they were aiming for. At least it\'s not called the prescriptive \"Del Monte Foods\' Pet Products\" anymore.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/new_name_logo_and_identity_for_big_heart_pet_brands_by_cbx.php#.U3TVMy8meSD\" target=\"_blank\">www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/new_name_logo_and_identity_for_big_heart_pet_brands_by_cbx.php#.U3TVMy8meSD</a>', 'New Name, Logo, and Identity for Big Heart Pet Brands by CBX', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'new-name-logo-and-identity-for-big-heart-pet-brands-by-cbx', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/new-name-logo-and-identity-for-big-heart-pet-brands-by-cbx', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1923, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:32', '2018-09-27 16:52:32', '', 'Brooks-External-1', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'brooks-external-1', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:32', '2018-09-27 16:52:32', '', 1607, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Brooks-External-1.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1924, 1, '2014-05-14 21:52:53', '2014-05-14 21:52:53', 'Coca-Cola, Tiffany &amp; Co., and John Deere have all leveraged color to a point where it has become synonymous with their brand identities. But just how does a brand go about identifying color and trends that generate relevance in order to connect with consumers in a meaningful way? Start by using color resources and listening to what consumers have to say about their favorite brands.\r\nOne such resource is the Color Marketing Group (CMG), a non-profit association that provides color direction and forecasting for a broad range of industries, products and services—including branding and packaging. The group’s forecasts, which are released under the NEXT moniker, detail colors that have made their way into the marketplace or are about to be introduced.\r\n\r\n“CMG forecasts are considered color directions and are not directives,” John West, vice president of color forecasting explains. “They show the course that colors are likely to take and are open for interpretation across industries, products and packaging.”\r\n\r\nWest goes on to explain that CMG members collaborate at regional color workshops called ChromaZones which take place throughout the year to determine the NEXT colors. These outputs are then collectively shared at an end-of-year international summit conference. Members interpret the direction of color based on many types of global influences. These are consolidated into a final color forecast of about 60 to 70 total colors that will influence Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and Latin America regions.\r\n\r\n<strong>Differentiation and disruption</strong>\r\n“Memory structures in the brain are what cause us to recall a product, package or an advertisement,” Donna Sturgess, executive in residence at Carnegie Mellon University, and president and co-founder of Buyology, says. “Color is an aid to creating and refreshing the memory structures that are an important component of decision-making and buying. Our non-conscious mind processes color at a subliminal level and reinforces a brand framework and cues that leads to long-term distinctiveness. Brands need to look towards distinction and to find a place to be. This can be achieved through the use of form and color choice.” She goes on to add, “Brands must stand out with distinctiveness, and without confusion for customers to recognize and recall the brand in buying situations. Color is a meaningful element to deliver upon this distinction.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Back in black</strong>\r\nOne color making a bold statement across several categories is black. In combination with bright, vibrant colors, or with spot varnishes, patterns and textures, black is showing up in unusual verticals—such as personal hygiene, produce and nuts, and dairy— to convey a sense of luxury, youthfulness, beauty, fashion, power, and in some cases, masculinity.\r\n\r\nDanone Yogurt for Men is a perfect example. When Danone wanted to release a yogurt specifically marketed to young men, it found that men not only had specific preferences when it comes to product—a distinctive taste, higher fat content and thicker consistency—but also wanted clearer, simpler and bolder packaging.\r\n\r\nWorking with development partner Greiner Packaging, Danone created a stylish, sleeved yogurt cup with a deep black color scheme. The minimalistic graphics and text combinations applied to the cups communicated a sense of strength.\r\n\r\nThe black packaging used by Wonderful brands to market its pistachios and almonds makes the brand stand out in the food aisle. The solid black packs combined with neon green and orange copy offers a minimalistic, impactful brand blocking presentation at shelf. This youthful, bold-and-upscale looking approach is something that has gained noticeable traction with the millennial audience.\r\n\r\n<strong>Cutting through a sea of sameness</strong>\r\nWhen Kimberly Clark enlisted CBX as the branding firm to design its U by Kotex line of women’s personal care products, it became evident to them that to compete with brands such as Always and Carefree, the packaging was going to have to find a way to connect and relate to 18- to 24-year-old females. Consumer research found that the target market had an innate sense of collectivism and characteristic of sharing everything. It became imperative that the brand become something worthy of being shared.\r\n\r\nIn an effort to break through traditional conventions and the preconceptions of women’s personal care products being branded in pink and pastel color palettes, CBX developed a black pack design that felt more like a beauty cosmetic, trendy and fashion forward that challenged the category norm and created disruption. “Research results suggested that consumers were giving us permission to go with the black packaging,” Allison Koller, creative director at CBX, says.\r\n\r\nCombined with distinctive patterns, vivid accent colors and consistent brand messaging, the packaging and colored product wrappers offer up an unexpected surprise and delight. Taking this contrarian approach has paid off.\r\n\r\nKoller reports that consumer feedback showed that women would be comfortable displaying U by Kotex products in their bathrooms or taking the women’s personal care products out of their purses in public, which was really something the category had not experienced before.\r\n\r\nIn today’s marketplace, it is becoming more and more difficult for brands to be distinctive and standout on shelf. As the retail space becomes more and more saturated with competing brands and private label offerings, product packaging needs to be disruptive in order to capture the attention of consumers. When done in the right manner, this can be achieved through the use of form and color. While color can often be a subjective topic of debate, especially when developing packaging and branding, it is hard to argue the fact that it holds the power to persuade, stimulate and connect with consumers, on both physical and emotional levels.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.packagedesignmag.com/content/the-hue-for-you\" target=\"_blank\">www.packagedesignmag.com/content/the-hue-for-you</a>', 'The Hue for You', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-hue-for-you', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:49', '2018-09-27 17:58:49', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/the-hue-for-you', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1925, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:33', '2018-09-27 16:52:33', '', 'nov2010_12', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'nov2010_12', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:33', '2018-09-27 16:52:33', '', 1609, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/nov2010_12.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1926, 1, '2014-05-08 13:29:34', '2014-05-08 13:29:34', '&lt;strong&gt;Dan Munford, Insight managing director, &lt;a href=\"http:// http://bit.ly/SAXSzL. \" target=\"_blank\"&gt;introduces Retail Vision viewers to Wawa’s Florida store&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt;\r\nThe millennial generation just don’t eat at home much any more, he says.\r\n\r\n“Eating out is the new eating in and that presents a huge opportunity for convenience retail. Let’s take a look at one of the best in the US - Wawa.”\r\n\r\nWawa opened its first, new large store in Florida about one and a half years ago.\r\n\r\nCustomers clearly rate the store, praising its reasonable prices and very friendly staff.\r\n\r\nCustomers frequent Wawa regularly, visiting daily for breakfast and lunches, for example.\r\n\r\nShoppers Munford speaks to say they love the freshness of the offer versus pre-packed products at rivals. The coffee offer is a favourite too; while the store’s lay out is another bonus.\r\n\r\n“You can find everything you need and it’s a place with everything in it, all in one shop,” customers tell Munford.\r\n\r\nMunford notes that customers love the service but suggests that’s no accident and Wawa has done that by design because it puts so much effort into looking after its employees.\r\n\r\n&lt;strong&gt;Investment in staff&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\nMunford interviews a colleague, with a career in foodservice, who says he’s never worked in a better place and that Wawa is now paying and supporting him through college.\r\n\r\nTodd Souders, director of operations at Wawa in Florida, provides insight into Wawa’s history. He has worked for the company for 14 years.\r\n\r\nWawa was founded in 1964 in Pennsylvania and is celebrating its 50th birthday this year.\r\n\r\nWhen Souders joined the business in 2000, Wawa was just getting the fuel side of the business up and running.\r\n\r\nNow Wawa has well over 300 fuel stores, up from 20 locations at the turn of the century.\r\n\r\nWawa has also been busy advancing its foodservice offer with fresh foods and more variety to cater for all the day parts.\r\n\r\n&lt;strong&gt;The leap to Florida&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\nSouders reveals why Wawa took the leap from Pennsylvania to Florida.\r\n\r\nThe company had put together a team and researched the market in a hunt for the best food and fuel potential. It decided Florida was the state to enter, Souders says.\r\n\r\nThe move introduced a step change in store design, which showcases the fresh food offer, with a more upscale, relaxing look and a calming exterior.\r\n\r\nSouders tells Munford Wawa worked hard to develop a 5,600sq ft store format, which was able to accommodate the full offer but could be flexed, according to property lots.\r\n\r\nInside the store features a super sized customer service counter plus touch screens for ordering, delivering a highly efficient service.\r\n\r\nCustomers refer to the store as a restaurant with gas pumps rather than forecourt with food, Munford says.\r\n\r\nAccording to Souders, that has been a clear aim - to get customers beyond the fuel pumps and to think about fresh food.\r\n\r\n“The focus has been on fresh foods and convincing customers about the quality of the offer,” he says.\r\n\r\nAccording to Munford, the industry is at a crossroads as gas stations strive (and succeed) in being famous for fresh food and reckons the future will see more stores emerging like Wawa.\r\n\r\n&lt;strong&gt;Local store design&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\nJoe Bona, president of branded environments at CBX, worked with Wawa on the Florida store format.\r\n\r\nBona thinks Wawa’s new store represents the state of the industry and that in future stores will have a more developed food offer. As a result, stores such as Wawa will be competing with retailers like Subway as well as traditional convenience chains.\r\n\r\nElevating the food experience within a convenient environment will be key going forward, Bona says.\r\n\r\nBona says Wawa’s entry into Florida was eased by making it look like a local retailer. The store design features a clapboard siding, pastel colours and an open porch, reflective of the local architecture. The aim was to “communicate from the street” that Wawa was a local retailer, he says.\r\n\r\nCBX was able to be a collaborative partner with Wawa on the store project. According to Bona, Wawa doesn’t do anything casually. Attention to detail is paramount and the resulting store is a true test of Wawa’s expertise and knowledge to really make things work.\r\n\r\n&lt;strong&gt;Future expansion plans&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\nMunford questions Souders on Wawa’s expansion plans. Souders reveals the company built 27 stores last year, representing an investment of over $100m.\r\n\r\nHe praises the effort on the the ground in Florida and the teams back at Wawa’s HQ for the success of the opening.\r\n\r\n“We are extremely happy about how it’s working out today,” he says.\r\n\r\nExpansion beyond Florida is not ruled out but is not likely for five to 10 years, Souders says.\r\n\r\n&lt;strong&gt;The immediate focus is firmly on Florida.&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n“Florida is a big state. We feel we could get hundreds of sites in Florida, which could be very profitable and accepting to the customers,” Souders says. “The focus is on making Florida successful and spreading as many Wawas as possible.”\r\n\r\nSource: Global Convenience Store Focus, May 2014 issue', 'Retail Vision: Inside Wawa’s New Florida Store Format', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'retail-vision-inside-wawas-new-florida-store-format', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:47', '2018-09-27 17:58:47', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/retail-vision-inside-wawas-new-florida-store-format', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1927, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:33', '2018-09-27 16:52:33', '', '0011', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', '0011', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:33', '2018-09-27 16:52:33', '', 1610, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/0011.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1928, 1, '2014-05-07 13:29:38', '2014-05-07 13:29:38', 'Wawa is one of the US market\'s leading convenience store retailers. This exclusive Retailvision film introduces viewers to its highly successful new large store format in Florida, featuring interviews with customers and Wawa\'s Director of Operations in Florida.\r\nWatch the full video: <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPE_xyABACk\" target=\"_blank\">www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPE_xyABACk</a>', 'Wawa', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'wawa', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:51', '2018-09-27 17:58:51', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/wawa', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1929, 1, '2014-05-06 17:50:00', '2014-05-06 17:50:00', '<strong>The beleaguered electronics retailer wants to get back to its roots: being MacGyver to MacGyvers.</strong>\r\nDuring the Super Bowl, RadioShack aired an ad that kicked off the retailer\'s new \"Do It Together\" marketing campaign. Two zoned-out red shirts stand in an old outlet-mall RadioShack store. The doors bust open. Enter Hulk Hogan, Cliff from Cheers, Mary Lou Retton, Alf, Sargeant Slaughter, and others. They scour the premises for their favorite stuff and carry everything out the door, leaving the red shirts standing alone in the dust. The tagline? \"The \'80s called. They want their store back.\"\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"//www.youtube.com/embed/n5i91rOlFMY\" height=\"425\" width=\"640\" frameborder=\"0\"></iframe>\r\n\r\nCool ad, but it missed the point. It\'s the Radio Shack of the 2000s, and even the 2010s, that people hate. Some crappy smartphone outlet store replaced the RadioShack many of us knew and loved. Many of us are still nostalgic for the original do-it-yourself store of the \'80s--a place of weird computers, cool robot kits, strange circuit breakers, and random electronic circuitry that taught many of us to love tech. That\'s the store--in spirit, at least--that we want back. And thanks to a team-up with CBX, the same branding firm that reimagined Duane Reade, RadioShack is trying to get back to the roots of what made the company great.\r\n\r\nIn recent years, RadioShack has found itself in serious trouble. In fact, compared to what its stock was worth in July 2007, RadioShack\'s stock has lost more than 95% of its value in just the past seven years. In 2013, RadioShack lost $3.04 per share; the losses causes the once ubiquitous electronics outlet in March to announce the closure of 1,100 stores. And in 2012, the board fired the company\'s CEO as well as replaced most of the senior executive team. The message was clear: RadioShack either needs to find its way in a post-Apple age, or die out for good.\r\n\r\nAs part of an aggressive redesign across its 8,000 retail locations, the electronics retailer is trying to marry the RadioShack of the \'80s--a neighborhood meeting hall for tinkerers, makers, and electronics enthusiasts--with the sophisticated experiential design today\'s consumers have come to expect.\r\n\r\n\"When we started talking to customers to see how to remake RadioShack, what we discovered was whether they loved us or hated us, they still had a lot of passion for the brand,\" says RadioShack chief marketing officer Jennifer Warren. \"For the people who hated it when RadioShack started focusing on smartphones, they still had positive memories of RadioShack from the \'80s as this place where inventors and makers got their start.\"\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-7947\" title=\"3029533-inline-new-york-custom-concept-store-interactive-toy-display\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/3029533-inline-new-york-custom-concept-store-interactive-toy-display.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" />\r\n\r\nFor its rebranding, RadioShack is trying to get this mojo back. The company is embracing the maker spirit, turning space back over to such gear as 3-D printers and robot sets. In RadioShack\'s new Boston custom concept store, there is meeting space in the back to encourage DIY types to come in and collaborate on projects. And although much of RadioShack\'s floor space still goes to smartphones, the company is trying to do a better job of integrating the phones into the company\'s maker heritage.\r\n\r\n\"It\'s important to realize that mobility has been a part of RadioShack\'s heritage ever since the days of pocket FM radios,\" says Merianne Roth, RadioShack\'s vice president of communications. \"We might not have gotten the balance right in the past, but if you look at how people use smartphones these days, it\'s the thing that connects all these other things in your life. It\'s how makers control all of the cool things that they make. And that\'s something we really want to highlight.\"\r\n\r\nAnother central tenet of the RadioShack redesign is interactivity. In an age of ubiquitous online shopping, people go into physical stores to experience the products they want to buy before actually buying them. The new RadioShack lets customers try out headphones or speakers for themselves and lends a hand with sleek touchscreen displays that let shoppers compare and contrast different models with just a tap.\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"//www.youtube.com/embed/gNSzTEtBS8I\" height=\"427\" width=\"640\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"></iframe>\r\n\r\nAs part of its rebrand, RadioShack is also trying to more clearly establish the store\'s position as a part of local heritage. In three custom concept stores, the nearly 100-year-old chain incorporates distinctive visual elements of each location--Fort Worth, Manhattan, and Boston--into the in-store aesthetic. Not every store will get this personalized treatment, but in the case of the recently opened Boston custom concept store, the store\'s sleek interactive interior is set in relief by reclaimed wood and hemp rope evocative of the tall clipper ships of Boston Harbor\'s famous waterfront.\r\n\r\nBut, ultimately, the rebrand is about is getting back to a place where makers once more feel comfortable walking into a RadioShack and making their inventions a reality. RadioShack intends to rigorously pursue this initiative as it continues to rebrand its retail stores in 2014.\r\n\r\n\"Historically, RadioShack has been the MacGyver for MacGyvers, the place where makers who know how to do 80 percent of what they want to accomplish go to get the next 20 percent,\" Roth says. \"So that\'s what we\'re trying to get back to. The only difference is that everyone is a MacGyver now, which means we\'ve got to step up our game.\"\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.fastcodesign.com/3029533/with-rebranded-stores-radioshack-tries-to-find-its-way-in-a-post-apple-age#8\" target=\"_blank\">www.fastcodesign.com/3029533/with-rebranded-stores-radioshack-tries-to-find-its-way-in-a-post-apple-age#8</a>', 'How RadioShack Got Its Groove Back', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'how-radioshack-got-its-groove-back', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:43', '2018-09-27 17:58:43', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/how-radioshack-got-its-groove-back', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1930, 1, '2014-04-28 20:01:04', '2014-04-28 20:01:04', 'By Joseph Bona\r\nWhen Norman Rockwell’s portrait of a pharmacist appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post back in 1939, it rang true to readers. The painting showed a moustached pharmacist mixing up a concoction for a child with a doozy of a toothache. It reminded people of their own local druggists, who played central roles in the town and donned many hats in a given day—weatherman, advisor, storyteller, comedian and debate moderator, among them. At the typical small-town drug store, the pharmacist stood behind the counter all day filling prescriptions and chatting with regulars. Old-timers told fish stories and lounged on benches out front. Children filed in after school to buy penny candy from glass jars.\r\n\r\nBut if this sounds like an era long past, think again. While the setting has certainly changed remarkably since Rockwell’s time, community pharmacies still boast many of the same characteristics that made drug stores such iconic hubs of American life during the 20th century.\r\n\r\nFor starters, Americans continue to report feeling extraordinarily connected to their local pharmacists. Some consumers will even change stores to follow a transferred pharmacist to another location. And just as they always have, Americans still shop drug stores for sodas, snacks and any number of daily needs items, candy included.\r\n\r\nNonetheless, today’s chains aim to strengthen this sense of community even more. In our Twittering, Facebooking, smartphone-obsessed age, they are wisely focusing on strategic initiatives geared toward humanizing the in-store experience.\r\n\r\nRite Aid’s “Wellness Ambassadors” are but one example. The basic idea is to use these friendly, knowledgeable associates as a kind of bridge between the front of the store and the pharmacy. Wearing light-blue coats and armed with iPads, the ambassadors help people find products and are there to answer questions about over the counter medications, vitamins and supplements. They act as liaisons between consumers and the stores’ licensed pharmacists, and they even go out to visit senior communities and fitness centers to discuss wellness, set up flu clinics and organize health fairs.\r\n\r\nRite Aid recognizes how frustrating it can be for time-pressed shoppers to stand in the middle of the store feeling ignored. “What it comes down to is being able to talk to the customer,” says Amanda Morrison, an ambassador profiled on Rite Aid’s website. “You really do have to care about people.” Rite Aid is on the right track here.\r\n\r\nSo, too, is Walgreen Co., which has redesigned its stores to lower the wall between pharmacists and customers. This physical barrier might not seem so important at first glance, but the imposing wall formerly created emotional distance between druggists and their regulars. Bringing down the wall and lowering the counters sent a new message: “We can see and hear each other. Let’s talk.” You cannot have a strong sense of community without accessibility.\r\n\r\nAnd as they seek to build community even further, chains might consider reinforcing that Main Street vibe by exploring such initiatives as:\r\n\r\n• Taking a Starbucks-like approach to employee training. Your local barista has been carefully trained to learn the first names of regulars and to show “emotional intelligence.” Good baristas know that folks who walk into Starbucks at 7:30 a.m. are more likely to be grumpy and impatient without that first jolt of java; the same is true of a harried mom stuck in the drug store drive-through line after a hard day at the office.<br>\r\nBest-in-class customer service involves much more than repeating pat greetings and behaving in prescribed ways. It is as deep, rich and complex as the gamut of our daily social interactions. From a hiring and training perspective, your employees’ felicity with social interactions is critically important; give it the weight and attention it deserves.<br>\r\n• Strengthening all things local both inside the store and out. When Duane Reade rebranded its New York City stores, the chain took a savvy, locally oriented approach to the marketing, packaging and merchandising of private label brands such as Delish. The goal was to convey a New York attitude and feel. In addition, Duane Reade\'s newsletter/circular, The Duane Reader, was full of city-specific information like the skate times at Rockefeller Center. The logic here is catching on across retail.<br>\r\nSan Francisco International Airport, for one, has ramped up the selection of local vendors in its retail areas. When you shop or dine inside the airport, the thinking goes, you should know you’re in San Francisco. For drug store chains with hundreds of locations across the country, this is admittedly a more challenging undertaking. But when managers are encouraged to find ways to make the in-store experience reflect the local community, good ideas will bubble to the surface. Could a digital bulletin board be installed to allow locals to post their “lost dog” signs or notices about bike club outings or upcoming volunteer opportunities? Could the pharmacist be more visible out in the community? Individual markets have unique needs. Empower store managers to find ways to recognize those needs and respond to them.\r\n\r\n• Consider the role of design in your community-building strategy. In the c-store sector, the Pennsylvania-based chain Wawa has scored a hit with shoppers through its stronger emphasis on community and customer.<br>\r\nFor its rollout in the Florida market, Wawa used natural materials, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, warm colors, an outdoor seating area and a redesigned, highly visible kitchen/sandwich-making area to turn its stores into comfortable hangouts. Demand at many of these locations was so great Wawa had to beef up the staff and expand the kitchen and stockroom areas.<br>\r\nThe chain has been innovative with social media as well. To date, Wawa’s Facebook page has racked up more than 1.1 million “likes.” Visit a Wawa store on a Saturday morning, and you’ll likely find the place packed with contractors contractors, outdoors men, families and other locals gearing up for their busy day.<br>\r\nIn some markets, chain drug stores could strengthen their community feel by installing benches and tables, serving hot coffee and making other hangout-friendly design changes. These stores are already loaded with convenience items. In select markets, there is an opportunity to further engage.<br>\r\nVisually, the community pharmacy will never be able to return to the Norman Rockwell era, of course, but the industry is smart to recognize that despite all the talk about technology, people still crave human connection. By some estimates, in fact, Internet sales still account for only 6% of total retail sales. Yes, online sales are rising at an eye-popping rate, but the vast majority of retail transactions still happen inside brick and- mortar stores, just as they did in the 1940s.\r\n\r\nBy bolstering community, today’s drug store chains stand to give their customers even more reason to shut down the laptop and head to the store.<br>\r\n<br>\r\nSource: Chain Drug Review - April 28, 2014', 'Community Sense Key to Today’s Pharmacy', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'community-sense-key-to-todays-pharmacy', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:56:36', '2018-09-27 17:56:36', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/community-sense-key-to-todays-pharmacy', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1931, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:35', '2018-09-27 16:52:35', '', 'DUANEREADE14_skyline', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'duanereade14_skyline', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:35', '2018-09-27 16:52:35', '', 1611, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/DUANEREADE14_skyline.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1932, 1, '2014-04-24 17:22:19', '2014-04-24 17:22:19', 'By Gregg S. Lipman\r\nI asked a contractor doing some work on our house for an estimate. The first pass was a lump sum, and he was reticent to line item it. I explained that I too am in the service business, and that I had no issue with him making a fair profit. I just needed to know what the base cost was, and what premium my wife was adding to the party. I\'m sure my clients sometimes wonder the same. So here are three things to keep in mind when dealing with your agency.\r\n\r\n<strong>1. Talk About Value... Even if It\'s Awkward</strong>\r\n\r\nValue is generally understood as the ratio between price and quality. We get it -- in the service business, the value equation is hard to peg. In work for hire, agency models are most often based on time -- the goal is to get the best work in the shortest amount of time. Clients use leverage to minimize cost (and therefore time). But, fact of life, creativity needs time to \"bake\" -- it is an iterative science where mistakes are made (see Creative Inc., Ed Catmull\'s [head of Pixar and Disney\'s] new book about creative management], since the creative idea is not a tangible thing, it is not as efficient as, say, making widgets).\r\n\r\nEven though we all know that value often boils down to dollars, it\'s a known fact: Whether in friendship, marriage or business, money makes things a little more awkward. But while money is necessary to keep companies afloat, at the end of the day, the opportunity to do great work simply jazzes us creative types up. So please, let\'s have a candid conversation. We recently went through an RFP process where the client was moving to an agency relationship (from working with individual freelance vendors), for stability and consistency of high-quality work and service. The budget, however, did not change to address the new strategic partnering objective. Champagne taste: beer pocket, as they say. To be clear, you needn\'t kill a fly with a bazooka either. Define your own expectations, and recognize the market parameters.\r\n\r\n<strong>2. Good Partnerships Are Mutually Beneficial</strong>\r\n\r\nIn most healthy relationships, there\'s a fair amount of give and take. Each partner needs to feel like they\'re getting something in return for what they\'re giving. In the service business, however, the requirement is to give before receiving. The truth is, most agency people -- I\'ll speak for CBX -- are like puppy dogs; we want you to love us and give us treats because we want to please you more than anything (it is an emotional business, and trust me, you want it that way). It is amazing what the little things mean, like saying \"thanks for the effort,\" or saying you\'re sorry that the team worked the weekend. Don\'t worry -- you don\'t need to remember birthdays or buy flowers (that\'s our job). Just be aware and respectful and we\'ll bend over backwards for you. Hell, like a well-treated waiter who offers dessert on the house, we\'ll even give you more than you were looking for. After all, there\'s nothing like working for someone who appreciates what you\'re doing. We\'re currently working with a client who was formerly on the agency side. He\'s good enough to verbalize that he is empathetic because he\'s been on our side. He then unapologetically asks for deliverables in unreasonable amounts of time. The thing is, we are more than pleased to deliver as best we can because our client, while demanding, is straight with us. He\'s part of the process, quick to praise and as a result, our relationship is strong.\r\n\r\n<strong>3. Trust</strong>\r\n\r\nRespect is something earned everyday. Respect earned over time equals trust. And trust is everything. As an agency guy, I\'m most proud of our long-standing relationships with clients. Nice guys who do mediocre work don\'t last too long. Great work done by jerks is not sustainable either. Truly great firms have a secret sauce -- a magical combination of business-oriented thinking driven through a highly creative environment with delightful white glove service. We strive to be intimate with our clients -- because our relationships are where the value truly lies. Signs of a trusting relationship show that we can anticipate on your behalf, communicate without speaking, motivate teams on all sides, and innovate to further the business without formalities. Added bonus -- trust is wonderful in good times, but its value is clearly felt in the toughest situations.\r\n\r\nThe results of our work together will be judged by the success or failure of your brand and its products. At CBX, we believe that connectivity to the lives of people is what matters most -- it is our mandate. But make no mistake, the metric that underscores these connections is money, and that\'s the truth.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gregg-s-lipman/the-business-of-creativity-partnership_b_5198129.html\" target=\"_blank\">www.huffingtonpost.com/gregg-s-lipman/the-business-of-creativity-partnership_b_5198129.html</a>', 'The Business of Creativity: 3 Ways for the Client/Agency Relationship to Work', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-business-of-creativity-3-ways-for-the-clientagency-relationship-to-work', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:49', '2018-09-27 17:58:49', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/the-business-of-creativity-3-ways-for-the-clientagency-relationship-to-work', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1933, 1, '2014-04-17 14:22:22', '2014-04-17 14:22:22', 'Wal-Mart’s bold entry into the booming organic food market sets a lofty goal for the company: offering a wide range of products bearing the coveted USDA certified organic seal at stores across the United States.\r\nBut experts say that the target may be impossible to live up to in a country where less than two percent of farms grow organic crops.\r\n\r\n“There\'s no way in hell that Wal-Mart is going to be able to carry a line of organic products that all bear the certified-organic USDA seal,” Darrin Duber-Smith, president of the natural and organic products strategic planning firm Green Marketing and marketing professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver, told IBTimes. “There’s a huge supply problem in organics. Demand outstrips supply by 25 percent in the industry.”\r\n\r\n\"Organic\" is a loaded term with specific meanings outlined and regulated by the USDA. While most USDA-approved products made with at least 70 percent certified organic ingredients can print the words “made with organic” on their labels, in order for a product to carry the USDA’s green “Organic” seal, it must contain at least 95 percent certified-organic ingredients.\r\n\r\nWal-Mart contends that it will be able to meet its goal of selling a line of nearly 100 products -- of which nearly 90 percent are certified organic -- at all of its stores as well as on its popular website. The company hopes to achieve this goal through an exclusive supply partnership with Wild Oats, a brand owned by the Los Angeles-based investment firm Yucaipa Companies.\r\n\r\n“They are USDA certified-organic products. Ninety percent are USDA-certified organic,” Wal-Mart spokeswoman Danit Marquardt told IBTimes via phone, adding later that “it will initially roll out to 2,000 stores. The intention is to roll out across the chain. It will also be available on Walmart.com later this summer.”\r\n\r\nThat imminent launch appears on its face to be untenable given the shortfall in organic farms’ productivity. But Duber-Smith offered a caveat to his assertion that the chain will not be able to pull off such an ambitious organic roll-out, saying that Wal-Mart may have quietly laid the groundwork necessary to do just that. And the evidence suggests that he might be right.\r\n\r\nThe process for converting a traditional farm to an organic-certified one lasts a minimum of three years, which means that the plans any new organic farms Wal-Mart may be relying on for the ingredients in its organic foods would need to have been underway since 2011 at the latest. According to Bill McCue, a spokesman for Wild Oats, that is the year “Wild Oats Marketing LLC was formed by the Yucaipa Companies … to bring back the much-loved and trusted Wild Oats brand.”\r\n\r\nThe company has not explicitly stated whether or not it or Wild Oats has set up a network of new organic producers to supply the ingredients needed to make the certified-organic goods it plans to sell, and Marquardt would not say what the company has done to ensure a supply of organic ingredients. But she did state that Wild Oats is “a company that we’ve been working with for the past couple years on this project.”\r\n\r\nThe Bentonville, Ark.-based retail chain has also indicated that it will be offering Wild Oats products at rock-bottom prices, in keeping with its corporate mantra. For instance, the company wrote on its website that Wal-Mart’s six-ounce cans of Wild Oats tomato paste will sell for 58 cents, which is 41 percent cheaper than that of other national organic brands sold at competing groceries. Likewise, 32-ounce cans of organic chicken broth will cost 88 cents -- 43 percent less than equivalent products elsewhere.\r\n\r\nThat Wal-Mart -- the second-largest company on Fortune’s Global 500 list, with more than $469 billion in revenues and $17 billion in profits -- hopes to sell large quantities of the nation’s limited supply of organic goods at prices far below what the market currently bears is a courageous gamble on its own.\r\n\r\nThe company reported that 91 percent of Wal-Mart customers it polled said they would be interested in purchasing reasonably priced organic goods. But in order to turn that interest into sales, Wal-Mart also needs to convert a swath of shoppers who are not used to purchasing organic goods into doing so at its stores, which may be a tough sell given that organic goods are typically more expensive than their nonorganic counterparts.\r\n\r\n“How will that translate to actual sales? Of the 91 percent that say they’d like organic products at a reasonable price, what’s reasonable?” asked Nancy Brown, a founding partner at the global brand agency CBX. “How low will Wal-Mart need to go to convince their customers to try organics? Because you know there’s still going to be a price differential.”\r\n\r\nBut if it does work, the surge in sales and possible expansion of consumer base will increase demand and drive prices for organic ingredients even higher, potentially adding further strain to its commitment to offer inexpensive organic products. Certainly, a network of its own organic farms would go a long way toward addressing that issue.\r\n\r\n“I think in the short run prices will go up because supply has been so squeezed. It’s going to mean much higher prices in the whole industry,” Duber-Smith predicted, adding that the company’s massive size does give the company a unique ability to keep its prices low.\r\n\r\n“They must control their supply chains. When you have control over them you control pricing. As the head of the channel they can dictate price points … Wal-Mart has all the power, which means they can squeeze every penny out of organic suppliers the way they have with conventional suppliers for years.”\r\n\r\nThat could be the key to success for its Wild Oats plan. Marquardt emphasized that the way the company is able to leverage its position as the nation’s largest retailer, and the demand assurances that come with such prominence, to sell products at lower price points than smaller groceries can offer.\r\n\r\n“The benefit that we have is that we’re able to use our scale to deliver quality organic products to our customers for less. And when we do this it’s a win-win-win situation for our customers, our suppliers and our company,” she explained.\r\n\r\n“Our customers can trust that they’ll save money at Wal-Mart, our suppliers can count on us for the demand and we’re able to offer innovative new products. At Wal-Mart, we’re able to make agreements with our suppliers to provide scalable savings to our customers.”\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.ibtimes.com/wal-mart-quietly-building-organic-empire-fuel-its-wild-oats-rollout-1570870\" target=\"_blank\">www.ibtimes.com/wal-mart-quietly-building-organic-empire-fuel-its-wild-oats-rollout-1570870</a>', 'Is Wal-Mart Quietly Building An Organic Empire To Fuel Its Wild Oats Rollout?', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'is-wal-mart-quietly-building-an-organic-empire-to-fuel-its-wild-oats-rollout', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:43', '2018-09-27 17:58:43', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/is-wal-mart-quietly-building-an-organic-empire-to-fuel-its-wild-oats-rollout', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
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(1935, 1, '2014-04-14 14:32:01', '2014-04-14 14:32:01', '<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Brand agency, CBX, received awards from Graphic Design USA for 8 recent projects. The annual competition celebrates well-designed graphics, in addition to the power of using design to advance a brand\'s promise and to forge an emotional link with consumers.</p>The awarded projects include:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Gold Bond Men’s Essentials</strong>\r\n<img class=\" wp-image-7916 alignleft\" title=\"AGDA2013_GoldBond\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/AGDA2013_GoldBond1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"450\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Green Giant Veggie Chips</strong>\r\n<img class=\"size-full wp-image-7917 alignleft\" title=\"AGDA2013_GreenGiant Chips\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/AGDA2013_GreenGiant-Chips.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"370\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Pillsbury Baguette Chips</strong>\r\n<img class=\"size-full wp-image-7918 alignleft\" title=\"AGDA2013_Pillsbury\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/AGDA2013_Pillsbury.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"370\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Bertolli Frozen Dinners</strong>\r\n<img class=\" wp-image-7919 alignleft\" title=\"AGDA2013_Bertolli\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/AGDA2013_Bertolli.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"379\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>American Heritage Chocolate</strong>\r\n<img class=\"wp-image-7920 alignleft\" title=\"APDA2014_MarsHeritage\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/APDA2014_MarsHeritage.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"370\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Pyrex</strong>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-full wp-image-7922 alignleft\" title=\"AGDA2013_Pyrex\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/AGDA2013_Pyrex.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"379\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Nature’s Recipe Cat &amp; Dog Food</strong>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-full wp-image-7923 alignnone\" title=\"AGDA2013_NatureRecipy\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/AGDA2013_NatureRecipy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"450\" />', 'Graphic Design USA awards American Package Design Awards to CBX work', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'graphic-design-usa-awards-american-package-design-awards-to-cbx-work', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:42', '2018-09-27 17:58:42', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/graphic-design-usa-awards-american-package-design-awards-to-cbx-work', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
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(1937, 1, '2014-04-04 21:01:38', '2014-04-04 21:01:38', '<strong>You\'ll never have breakthrough ideas if you\'re living life entirely through a screen. Which is why Rick Barrack, chief creative officer at branding firm CBX, recently dumped 10 pounds of sand on a conference room floor.</strong>\r\nBy Rick Barrack\r\n\r\nRick Barrack, the chief creative officer at the branding firm CBX and the man responsible for Duane Reade\'s successful redesign, believes that a life lived entirely through a screen is one that\'s probably short on genuine creative output. Which is why at CBX, it\'s all about the tactile. The objects around his team, Barrack says, help them dream up new directions and identities for their clients\' products. CBX\'s office, he says, is \"built around the spirit of theatrics\" that has gone as far as filling a room full of sand to re-create the feel of a beach. Here, he shares his creative case for stuff.\r\n\r\n<em>This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>Stuff Is The Stuff Of Inspiration</strong>\r\n\r\n\"One of the areas that we find really important, particularly in this day and age of the computer and social media and such, we find it necessary and critical to get back to our roots. What I mean by that is, as a branding agency, our consumers and the audience that we speak to are picking up product and living with brands that are tangible and are not necessarily always viewed through a monitor. We find it really important when being briefed and initiated into a given project to immerse ourselves in what we call \"stuff\"--stuff that inspires us, stuff that motivates us, stuff that provokes thought and interest, and helps us live the brands that we\'re so lucky to initiate with.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>Really Live The Brand</strong>\r\n\r\n\"I think living the brand is really important and you can live the brand in many ways. What we really ask people here to do is to immerse themselves in analysis and thought through physical and tangible tools. We\'ve even set the culture up in a manner that manifests that, such as having areas within the company that are more communal, that allow for the collection of material products, analogs, and other things that you would find out in the marketplace off the shelf.\r\n\r\n\"It doesn\'t stop there. It goes as far as having examples and representative materials that would speak to what a given consumer would be experiencing in their lives that would be associated with or adjacent to the product or brand initiative that we\'re engaged in. If we\'re being asked to create a new brand for a liquor product, for example, we would immerse ourselves in products that would be associated with those liquor products, or products that people would experience adjacent to those liquor products. So that\'s things such as glasswear or tobacco products, or things that would be found at a typical bar.\r\n\r\n\"We are pushing out on this idea much further than we ever have before. We are creating not only war rooms but conference rooms that are experiential in everything not just from the work, but the products that are adjacent.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>An Experiential Office Space Is a Creative Office Space</strong>\r\n\r\n\"Our office is built around the spirit of theatrics. Much of the work that we do needs to create or provoke an experience. In our office, we want people to feel from the moment they walk in that they are stepping into an experience. And that experience is one that is comfortable to them, is familiar to them. We have living room space throughout the office--little living rooms that are set up not only for communal ideation but also to provoke free thought. Our furniture themes are very warm and living-room like. Our space is very communal.\r\n\r\n\"We do not have necessarily specific breakout rooms, where ideation needs to happen. Ideation can happen anywhere. I have my own office; I work around a circular dining room table versus a traditional desk. It helps foster the same spirit that the rest of the office provokes: communal conversation, ease and approachability, and the ability to have free thought.\r\n\r\n\"It\'s really important for people, in order to inspire creativity, to have comfort and familiarity. If people are familiar and comfortable in their environment it actually allows for free thought and it allows for people to take a breath and relax and think through things. My office is my comfort zone.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>Get Creative Tools</strong>\r\n\r\n\"I encourage my teams to live the brands that they are working with every day, to use the products that we\'re actually working on, and to shop at the stores where the products are sold that we\'re working on. While I don\'t have a specific recommendation on how to get inspired, I do know what has worked for us: Think freely about how one immerses in problem solving and think about the tools differently.\r\n\r\n\"The analogs can provide greater insight than the actual product. Another good example, for a beverage project that we did here at the office: as opposed to building a conference room and pinning up designs on the wall, we actually created an entire experience within that conference room. We brought in paraphernalia and accessories and tools. We even changed the color of the conference room, painted the conference room, laid sand in the conference room. The product was having fun in the sun, so we brought in things that were about what people have fun with in the sun and what people’s perceptions were. Instead of having an area rug in the conference room, we brought in 10 pounds of sand. It was a nightmare to clean up at the end, but during the process it got people into the mindset immediately.\r\n\r\n\"Find the tools that allow you to get into the mindset of what that brand is about. That’s what my idea of living the brand is: transforming experience.\"\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-7891\" title=\"CBX-105\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/CBX-1051-1024x682.jpg\" width=\"279\" height=\"185\" />\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/1212-MP-InsideTheStudio_7.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-7889\" title=\"1212 MP InsideTheStudio_7\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/1212-MP-InsideTheStudio_7.jpg\" width=\"279\" height=\"185\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-7893\" title=\"3028545-slide-s-2\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/3028545-slide-s-21.jpg\" width=\"279\" height=\"187\" />\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-7888\" title=\"1212 MP InsideTheStudio_2\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://www.cbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/1212-MP-InsideTheStudio_2.jpg\" width=\"279\" height=\"186\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.fastcompany.com/3028545/agendas/the-creative-case-for-stuff\" target=\"_blank\">www.fastcompany.com/3028545/agendas/the-creative-case-for-stuff</a>', 'The Creative Case For Stuff', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-creative-case-for-stuff', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:49', '2018-09-27 17:58:49', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/the-creative-case-for-stuff', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1938, 1, '2014-04-04 20:26:55', '2014-04-04 20:26:55', 'By Brian M.\r\nBrand agency author suggests putting the patient at the center of pharmaceutical product/package design rather than the condition.\r\n\r\nThe drugs and therapies developed by pharmaceutical [companies] often fail to meet expectations, and not just because of their formulations, dosing regimens, or side effects. They fail because the industry at large operates in a way that still believes that once the drug is approved by the FDA, makes it to a pharmacist\'s dispensary, and is accompanied by a rockstar ad campaign, the job is done.\r\n\r\nAnd to be fair it is a long haul from discovery to approval—anywhere from 12 to 20 years and up to $1BB. But that\'s precisely when the critical job of connecting with people—motivating, inspiring, educating, and cajoling them into following their treatment regimen—begins.\r\n\r\nAfter all, what good to anybody is an untaken drug? Not to the pharmaceutical [industry], which loses an estimated $188 BB in revenue in the U.S. alone,[1] and not to patients and their payers who spend $290 BB[2] on otherwise unnecessary medical care as a result of untaken drugs. More unfortunate is the added irony that the very skills and processes of laboratory science that are foundational to developing these new drugs for patients are antithetical to the making of empathetic connections with people.\r\n\r\nIt used to be called compliance, and today, professional caregivers still speak of a patient\'s “non-compliance\" with a recommended therapy. In another era, doctors alone had the last word on what was best for the patient. But new philosophies for approaching holistic patient care, patient bills of rights, and the growth of technologies that ping, call, and nag us to take our medicine have converged to make compliance not just paternalistic, but dated.\r\n\r\nToday, the term of choice for those in the know is adherence. It\'s a more accurate term in its nuanced understanding of the balance of power between prescriber and prescribee. We are no longer compliant to another\'s orders, we are adherent—we literally stick—to the agreed to plan. If there were a scale that measured warm and fuzzies, adherence would barely register much higher than compliance. It almost sounds like it was produced on the same machine that spits out the pills we have been prescribed. Adherence XQ, the pill that helps you take your other pills.\r\n\r\nUltimately, what word we use to describe it is less important than how we define it. Commonly we shorthand it by thinking of it as simply “remembering to take our meds,” but there\'s more to it than that.\r\n\r\nTake, for example, The Adherence Estimator®,[3] a three-item scale that is useful in predicting any given patient\'s propensity for intentional non-adherence: How convinced am I that this med is important? How concerned am I that it is harming me in some way? Is it going to be too painful to my wallet? Its cousin, unintentional non-adherence, also a clinically cold mouthful, covers plain old forgetfulness, accidentally taking a med the wrong way, or at the wrong time, or storing it incorrectly, all of which lead to reduced overall adherence.[4]\r\n\r\nShouldn’t we also include all of the gradations of our messy, real lives? The moments that may not be completely thought out but are more semi-conscious? Call it spontaneous non-adherence, like when you get an unexpected, unpleasant reaction, which albeit is within normal range but freaks the beans out of you causing you to chuck the rest in trash?\r\n\r\nIntentional, yes, but not really intended. Or it tastes bad or depresses you or there’s a social stigma attached to your diagnosis or its packaging is just a pain in the glutes.\r\n\r\nHow about we continue the work of evolving adherence by drawing on the tools of brand development? For starters, we can begin to think of patients as consumers and approach adherence much like consumer brands would approach retention or loyalty.\r\n\r\nJust as Starbucks defines coffee as everything that goes on around the actual cup of joe, let’s define adherence holistically.\r\n\r\nLet\'s define adherence from a consumer-first point ov view as: any barrier that will get in the way of a consumer’s well-being and best interests. Cost and education, for sure. Imperfect memories, you bet. But let’s also add to that the realities of our hectic lives, cultural dynamics, and throw in a general mistrust of “Big Pharma” for good measure. Let’s make it about them and their real lives, not just a hypothesis on what’s preventing them from achieving their best selves.\r\n\r\nJust as Help Remedies thinks of the person first when designing its products, let’s put the person at the center of the process, not the disease.\r\n\r\nLet’s reframe how we address the entire arc of drug development: from targeting a disease to marketing a brand-name pharmaceutical. Keep in mind that a drug is not just the unpronounceable chemical compound in small print. It’s also the What (form), the When (frequency) and the How Much (dose), all the stuff that we need to be able to incorporate into our lives. Let’s aim to develop solutions that are based on the person and not solely the condition.\r\n\r\nJust as Method Home designs décor you want to display first and household cleaners you need to use second, let’s aim to fit into our patients’ lives.\r\n\r\nLet’s really understand their lives not as patients but as people whose identities are only partially defined by whatever ails them. What motivates them? What do they think and feel about their lives? What hopes and dreams do they have? How do they live their day to day? What makes them feel whole? Let’s aim to fit into their lives instead of asking them to adhere to a new, incremental behavior.\r\n\r\nJust as Blueprint Cleanse connects to our desire to socialize dieting, let’s find a way to connect with our consumers’ deeper motivations.\r\n\r\nLet\'s look beyond the rational, cognitive drivers of adherence, what we consciously agree to, what we say we understand, what we promise to do but then somehow don\'t for no reason at all. Let’s consider how emotional, non-verbal arguments can be made with design and the language of form so that we only design brands that connect with people emotionally and get invited into their lives, brands that say, “You’re doing great, Good Job, Keep Going!”\r\n\r\nLet’s build brands, not just drugs. Let’s help people help themselves. Let’s solve holistically.\r\n\r\n<strong>References:</strong>\r\n<em>[1] Capgemini Consulting: Estimated Annual Pharmaceutical Revenue Loss Due to Medication Non-Adherence, 2012\r\n[2] New England Healthcare Institute: Thinking Outside the Pillbox: A System-wide Approach to Improving Patient Medication Adherence for Chronic Disease, 2009.\r\n[3] Merck Sharp &amp; Dohme Corp, 2008\r\n[4] Gadkari and McHorney: Unintentional non-adherence to chronic prescription medications: How unintentional is it really? BMC Health Services Research 2012 12:98</em>\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.healthcarepackaging.com/package-feature/safety/approaching-patient-adherence-challenges-through-consumer-lens\" target=\"_blank\">www.healthcarepackaging.com/package-feature/safety/approaching-patient-adherence-challenges-through-consumer-lens</a>', 'Approaching Patient Adherence Challenges Through a Consumer Lens', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'approaching-patient-adherence-challenges-through-a-consumer-lens', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:56:33', '2018-09-27 17:56:33', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/approaching-patient-adherence-challenges-through-a-consumer-lens', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1939, 1, '2014-03-31 19:07:59', '2014-03-31 19:07:59', '<strong>TERRA® CHIPS INTRODUCES NEW LOOK FOR ITS ICONIC BLACK BAGNew Packaging Design to Spotlight Unique Root Vegetables in Every Bag</strong>\r\n\r\nLake Success, NY, March 4, 2014—The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN), a leading organic and natural products company providing consumers with A Healthier Way of Life™, today announced a packaging refresh for its TERRA® brand root vegetable chips. The new look, designed by brand agency CBX, puts a modern spin on the brand’s classic black bag with dramatic food photography and a crisp architectural structure. Beyond the stylistic changes, the package refresh also highlights the real root vegetables in each blend through the use of icons at the bottom of every bag.\r\n\r\nFor more than two decades, TERRA® snacks have provided consumers with delicious vegetable chips made from a diverse set of root vegetables – including taro, kabocha squash, parsnip and beets – in a variety of vibrant colors and sophisticated blends. The new packaging gives consumers a more distinctive view of the vegetable experience that awaits them inside.\r\n\r\n“The root vegetables that go into TERRA® set it apart from ordinary chips,” said Sam Garfinkel, Sr. Brand Manager of TERRA Chips. “Our packaging refresh puts these vegetables center stage on every bag to remind consumers of the unique taste experience.”\r\n\r\nIn January 2014, TERRA® introduced two new flavors to its roster of global taste combinations: Tropical Blend and Exotic Potato Blend. TERRA® Tropical Blend adds sweet coconut and plantain to a mix of taro, sweet potato and batata for a touch of Caribbean flavor in every bag. TERRA® Exotic Potato Blend includes an eclectic blend of sweet potato, yukon gold and blue potato chips for a combination unlike any other.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2014/3/24/before-after-terra-chips\" target=\"_blank\">www.thedieline.com/blog/2014/3/24/before-after-terra-chips</a>', 'Before & After: Terra Chips', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'before-after-terra-chips', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:56:34', '2018-09-27 17:56:34', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/before-after-terra-chips', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1940, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:38', '2018-09-27 16:52:38', '', 'DUANEREADE14_skyline-1', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'duanereade14_skyline-1', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:38', '2018-09-27 16:52:38', '', 1614, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/DUANEREADE14_skyline-1.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1941, 1, '2014-03-24 14:03:34', '2014-03-24 14:03:34', 'By Peter Burgoyne\r\nU.S. Vice President Joe Biden raised some hackles in early February by likening New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to that of “some third-world country.” But few could dispute Biden’s overall point – namely, that too many U.S. airports are in desperate need of modernization. And yet this is not just a stateside phenomenon: Aging airports around the globe are begging to be brought into the 21st Century.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"www.vmsd.com/content/truth-hurts\" target=\"_blank\">www.vmsd.com/content/truth-hurts</a>', 'The Truth Hurts', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-truth-hurts', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:50', '2018-09-27 17:58:50', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/the-truth-hurts', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1942, 1, '2018-09-27 17:58:42', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', 'Friendly Express has enlisted global brand agency CBX to help update the design and branding of its convenience stores. Friendly Express operates a 42-store network in southeast Georgia. CBX will update the chain’s logo and redesign the interiors and exteriors of its convenience stores, which range in size from 2,000 sq. ft. to 3,500 sq. ft. Friendly Express stores, which also offer gasoline, are located in several different southeast Georgia communities, including Waycross, Jesup, Folkston, Brunswick and St. Simons Island.\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.designretailonline.com/displayanddesignideas/industry-news/Friendly-Express-to--11596.shtml\" target=\"_blank\">www.designretailonline.com/displayanddesignideas/industry-news/Friendly-Express-to--11596.shtml</a>', 'Friendly Express to Refresh Stores', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', 'friendly-express-to-refresh-stores', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:42', '2018-09-27 17:58:42', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/?post_type=thinking&#038;p=1942', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1943, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:39', '2018-09-27 16:52:39', '', 'landing-fs', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'landing-fs', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:39', '2018-09-27 16:52:39', '', 1615, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/landing-fs.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1944, 1, '2014-03-18 16:51:30', '2014-03-18 16:51:30', 'Philabundance recently opened the nation\'s first non-profit grocery store, Fare &amp; Square.Located in Chester, Pa., a metro-Philadelphia area food desert, the 16,000-sq.-ft. store offers nutritious food at low prices, marking the city\'s first grocery store in more than a decade.\r\n\r\nPhilabudance enlisted New York-based brand agency and retail design consultancy CBX to create an environment that would \"reflect the hopeful and respectful nature ofPhilabundance\'s goal to serve Chester residents through a store that could look at home in any community,\" says Joseph Bona, president of branded environments for CBX.\r\n\r\nThe colorful Fare &amp; Square logo was the design team\'s inspiration for the overall color palette of bright green, purple, yellow and orange, which is complemented by light wood and stainless steel elements. \"The palette is designed to make Fare &amp; Square an energizing and inspiring, but comfortable, place to shop and congregate,\" Bona says.\r\n\r\nThe store\'s design elements are consistent with for-profit stores, including hanging aisle-marker signage, end-cap displays, vinyl flooring, large displays of produce on tilt -style tables and pendant lighting. Additionally, dairy, deli, fresh meat and seafood fill the perimeter of the store. There also are local touches, such as a one-of-kind mural demonstrating the spirit of Chester. \"We designed a neighborhood store that\'s clean, well-lit, functional, convenient and friendly, but it\'s also a place that the community can call their own, instilling a sense of optimism, pride and connection,\" Bona says.\r\n\r\nPhilabundance hopes to roll out this model in other communities in the Delaware Valley region.\r\n\r\nSources: design:retail, March 2014', 'Hunger-Relief Organization', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'hunger-relief-organization', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:43', '2018-09-27 17:58:43', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/hunger-relief-organization', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1945, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:39', '2018-09-27 16:52:39', '', 'ea32f_saks-fifth-avenue-590072810', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'ea32f_saks-fifth-avenue-590072810', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:39', '2018-09-27 16:52:39', '', 1616, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/ea32f_saks-fifth-avenue-590072810.jpeg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1946, 1, '2014-03-17 16:45:42', '2014-03-17 16:45:42', 'Brand agency CBX has given TERRA® root vegetable chips a brand refresh. The new look puts a modern spin on the traditional black bag with dramatic food photography and a clean architectural structure. Beyond the stylistic changes, the package refresh also highlights the real root vegetables in each blend through the use of icons at the bottom of every bag. The vegetable chips are made from a diverse set of root vegetables #8210; including taro, kabocha squash, parsnip and beets #8210; in a variety of colors and blends. “The root vegetables that go into TERRA® set it apart from ordinary chips,” says Sam Garfinkel, Sr. Brand Manager of TERRA Chips. “Our packaging refresh puts these vegetables center stage on every bag to remind consumers of the unique taste experience.”\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.gdusa.com/egdusa/2014/0313e/design-gets-to-root-of-matter.php\" target=\"_blank\">www.gdusa.com/egdusa/2014/0313e/design-gets-to-root-of-matter.php</a>', 'Design Gets to Root of Matter', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'design-gets-to-root-of-matter', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:41', '2018-09-27 17:58:41', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/design-gets-to-root-of-matter', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1947, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:40', '2018-09-27 16:52:40', '', 'u-by-kotex-1', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'u-by-kotex-1', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:40', '2018-09-27 16:52:40', '', 1617, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/u-by-kotex-1.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1948, 1, '2014-03-17 16:36:37', '2014-03-17 16:36:37', 'By Rick Barrack\r\nBrangelina, George Clooney, Justin Timberlake and other stars who lend their names to liquor brands are designing the packaging to be consistent with the personalities we see on the red carpet.\r\n\r\nA few months ago, megastars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie added another accolade to their long list of joint accomplishments. No, they didn’t become parents for the umpteenth time—they won “Best Rose in the World” in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of the Year issue.\r\n\r\nYou heard me right; Brangelina is now a premiere winemaker, which is further proof that alcohol is the new perfume, with more celebrities opting to lend their personas to spirits than scents. Stars such as George Clooney, Justin Timberlake and Sofia Coppola also are lending their names (and possibly, expertise) to wine and liquor brands, making the local wine store shelf resemble an issue of US Weekly. So how do these stars—who have an army of publicists and Tweeters shaping their public personas—protect their images when it comes to the packaging and marketing of their liquor brands?\r\n\r\nGeorge Clooney is a lover of women, Italian villas and—as nightclub impresario Rande Gerber knows—tequila. It seems that while the two were just hanging out being dudes in Cabo San Lucas, they hatched an idea to launch a tequila brand; in fact, the name of their brand, “Casamigos,” means “House of Friends.”\r\n\r\nPartying celebrities starting a liquor brand may not be surprising—but what will surprise you about George’s brand is the way it looks. The design is very simple, even bordering on—I’ll say it—feminine. A typewriter font gives the brand a handmade feel, informs buyers of the ingredients and where/when the tequila was bottled, and features an edition number. Consistent with the intimate feel is the fact that every bottle label is signed by the two founders. As for the aqua blue logo, one can only assume that it reflects the Blue Weber Agave from which the product is made.\r\n\r\nWhile this bottle may not reflect George’s masculine persona, it is definitely charming and refined, adjectives often used to describe the actor/director (at least by the media).\r\n\r\nAnother celebrity, Justin Timberlake, is trying to give George a run for his money with his tequila brand, Sauza 901. With a name that’s a nod to the area code of JT’s hometown of Memphis, TN, Sauza 901 is definitely catering to a younger, hipper, clubbier audience.\r\n\r\nJustin may claim to be a spirits aficionado (his song “Drink You Away” has a line about trying “Jack, Jim..all of their friends”), but he’s also the consummate performer. With this tequila, he’s trying to get people to party and drink along with him. The bottle’s long hexagonal shape and an oversized “901” graphic is edgy, sexy and slightly mysterious. Justin is likely modeling his public persona (if not his film career) after George’s, but his tequila brand feels a lot more mass—and the fact that it is being marketed by Sauza suggests just that. This is not the homemade, small batch tequila touted by George, but a mainstream tequila for those who love a good time (and in all likelihood, Justin’s music).\r\n\r\nDirector Sofia Coppola was blessed with talent, good looks and a father who is not only an incredible director but who also owns a vineyard. As a gift to his daughter, Francis Ford bestowed her with her own champagne, named—what else?—Sofia.\r\n\r\nGiven that Sofia is something of a fashion brand herself—she has designed handbags for Louis Vuitton, been a guest editor at French Vogue and starred in a Marc Jacobs ad campaign—one would assume that she had a definite hand in the creation of the Sofia champagne brand.\r\n\r\nMy favorite aspect of the champagne is the fact that it is packaged in a metal can, the perfect mix of “mass” and “class.” The white logo, in a sanserif font, contrasts against a metallic raspberry color, as does a romanticized illustration of a grapevine. The can is undoubtedly feminine, but it’s sleek enough to be held by a guy. And it comes with a matching plastic straw, in a cardboard box that is so attractive, it could be a gift under a Christmas tree. Yes, Sofia gives a winning performance on this one—too bad they don’t give out Oscars for alcohol brands.\r\n\r\nSince we’ve tackled tequila and champagne, let’s look at Sean Combs’ vodka brand, Ciroc. This brand is a little bit different from the others, because the product was created by Diageo before the former P. Diddy came on as brand ambassador in 2007.\r\n\r\nThe bottle is hip enough to suit his persona, with a slender, towering shape that is as imposing on shelf as the entrepreneur himself. And the blue circle on the bottle makes an eye-catching bulls eye behind the bar.\r\n\r\nWhere Combs really gets to shine is in the marketing for the vodka. Ad campaigns feature him as a modern day Sinatra, sitting around a table with his very own Rat Pack. Few celebrities today know more about branding than Diddy, who not only created his own hip-hop “brand” but also created the successful Sean John fashion line, a movie production company, a men’s perfume and two nightclubs, among other ventures. By partnering with Ciroc, Combs has used his prowess to turn a 50,000 case per year vodka brand into a 2 million case per year spirits superstar.\r\n\r\nThe list could go on and on. Dan Ackroyd launched Crystal Head Vodka in 2008, and his vodka, is filtered through 500-million-year-old quartz crystals that have supposed spiritual qualities. (Inspired by “Ghostbusters,” Dan?)\r\n\r\nFinding the spirits category no laughing matter, Ackroyd’s buddy and co-star Billy Murray founded Slovenia Vodka with dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov in the most bizarre celebrity partnership ever.\r\n\r\nDrew Barrymore went from wild child to wife/mother to vintner, with her brand Barrymore Wines.\r\n\r\nAnd who can forget that “Real Housewife” of New York, Bethenny Frankel, launched her Skinny Girl Margaritas while starring on the show? Hey, when reality TV gives you lemons, why not make lemonade-flavored cocktails?\r\n\r\nSo, what does Brad and Angie’s brand look like, you may ask? An actor who fancies himself a design aficionado and art collector, Brad likely had a hand in the design—as he did with houses in New Orleans for his Make It Right initiative, his Pitt-Pollaro furniture collection and even Angie’s engagement ring.\r\n\r\nThe Miraval Rosé bottle, named for their estate in Provence (excuse me…), is sophisticated and streamlined, with a bodacious shape that brings a particular actress to mind—and I’m not talking about Jennifer Aniston. Although don’t be surprised if Smartwater millionairess Jen launches her own alcohol brand in the near future—it seems to be a trend that’s caught a lot of (TMZ) buzz.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.packagingdigest.com/beverage-packaging/dressing-celebrity-alcohol-packaging-style\" target=\"_blank\">www.packagingdigest.com/beverage-packaging/dressing-celebrity-alcohol-packaging-style</a>', 'Dressing Up Celebrity Alcohol Packaging in Style', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'dressing-up-celebrity-alcohol-packaging-in-style', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:41', '2018-09-27 17:58:41', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/dressing-up-celebrity-alcohol-packaging-in-style', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1949, 1, '2014-03-14 15:23:10', '2014-03-14 15:23:10', 'By Joseph Bona\r\nChalk it up to the law of unintended consequences. Forward-thinking limited-service chains have spent the past few years searching for ways to ramp up the customer experience — up to and including encouraging people from all walks of life to use their stores as hangouts and even Wi-Fi-enabled \"third place\"-style offices. But now the likes of Starbucks and McDonald\'s face a chorus of criticism from camps with opposite agendas.\r\n\r\nOn one side are those who are outraged by the decision these chains have made to oust certain loiterers. A Jan. 27 article in The New York Times (\"The Food May Be Fast, but These Customers Won\'t Be Rushed\") called attention to the trend. It cited PR nightmares such as the Starbucks store that kicked out a group of deaf people who were not ordering enough coffee, and the McDonald\'s restaurant that ushered out a group of older Koreans, sparking a worldwide boycott in the bargain.\r\n\r\nDon Mitchell, a professor at Syracuse University, was among those none too pleased. He told the newspaper: \"Taking up space is a way to claim a right to be, a right to be visible, to say, \'We\'re part of the city too.\' \"\r\n\r\nBut the online comments triggered by the article were full of exactly the opposite sentiment.\r\n\r\n\"Too often I\'ve had to walk out of a Starbucks without buying a coffee and pastry because all tables and chairs are taken by people just reading books or laptops,\" noted one reader. Another said his local McDonald\'s was inhabited by scary-looking drug addicts: \"Nothing makes a customer like me take his food and leave like a scary, skinny, dirty guy staring angrily at me while I am eating because I am in \'their\' side of the restaurant.\"\r\n\r\nKick loiterers out, and you get slammed. Ditto if you let them stay. So how can restaurants create an inviting customer experience without playing socio-economic favorites and incurring the wrath of the politically correct on one side, and their better customers on the other?\r\n\r\nThere are no easy answers here. Today\'s chains face a massive threat from Amazon and other ecommerce retailers, which is why brick-and-mortar retail CEOs constantly talk about \"place-making\" and \"destination retail.\" Walk into the Nordstrom store at Bellevue Square in Seattle and you\'ll find a full-fledged cocktail bar. Even some c-store chains now strive to create café-style atmospheres.\r\n\r\nBut chains cannot have their cafés and tell people to \"beat it,\" too. Once you start offering free Wi-Fi and putting in soft-seating lounges, you have to stand by your commitment to customers. Setting blanket time limits on how long people can stay is a formula for driving your customers to your rivals.\r\n\r\nBut limited-service chains do have every reason to protect their customers from behaviors that cross the lines of societal acceptability. If someone is drunk, loud, malodorous or abusive, that person can and should be shown the door. The trick is to train employees and managers, not only in how to recognize this behavior, but also in how to deal with it safely, sensitively, fairly and legally. The handbook should be explicit: People can stay here as long as they want, so long as their behaviors are consistent with societal norms and the law.\r\n\r\nThis is not about how much time or money people spend. It\'s about making people feel valued and welcome — a legitimate basis for long-term customer loyalty if ever there was one.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.fastcasual.com/article/229399/Loitering-Critics-on-both-sides-of-the-fence-slam-limited-service-chains\" target=\"_blank\">www.fastcasual.com/article/229399/Loitering-Critics-on-both-sides-of-the-fence-slam-limited-service-chain</a>s', 'Loitering: Critics on both sides of the fence slam limited-service chains', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'loitering-critics-on-both-sides-of-the-fence-slam-limited-service-chains', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:44', '2018-09-27 17:58:44', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/loitering-critics-on-both-sides-of-the-fence-slam-limited-service-chains', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
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(1951, 1, '2014-03-14 14:44:57', '2014-03-14 14:44:57', 'Veteran store designer’s EuroShop presentation highlights the need for stores to emotionally connect with shoppers by creating unforgettable experiences.\r\nReinvention has been part of retail at least since the days of ancient Rome. But as technology transforms multi-channel retail into hyper-channel, “always-on” retailing, chains must emotionally connect with consumers as never before, advised veteran store designer Joseph Bona during a Feb. 19 speech at EuroShop, the global trade fair.\r\n\r\n“Emotion plus theatrics equals experience,” said Bona, President, Branded Environments for CBX, the New York City-based brand agency and retail design consultancy. “Storytelling ability, in particular, helps you create engaging experiences, and the memory of those experiences can inspire consumers by adding excitement and drama to routine transactions. Ultimately, this is what energizes brand culture and drives long-term customer loyalty, even in a world perpetually driven to digital distraction.”\r\n\r\nBona’s presentation—“Format Reinvention: the Changing Face of Retail”—highlighted the need for retailers to further rethink the function of their brick-and-mortar stores. Today’s “always on” environment doesn’t only mean that people can buy whatever they want using their phones and tablets—it also means they can use GPS- and cloud-enabled tools to find the very best retail and dining experiences available to them, wherever they happen to be in the world, Bona said.\r\n\r\n“Physical stores can longer be what they used to be—namely, distributors of other people’s goods at reasonable prices in convenient locations,” Bona explained. “They must offer sights, sounds, tastes, touch, emotion—3D experiences that 2D can’t achieve. When your customers look at Yelp! or Google Reviews, you want them to read about how your in-store experience was entertaining and inspiring. You want them to read about how going to your store is always a special treat.”\r\n\r\nTo illustrate this point, Bona showed the audience examples of redesign work CBX has completed for clients such as Duane Reade, RadioShack and Terpel.\r\n\r\nIn its newly designed flagship stores, RadioShack now has hands-on stations organized around themes such as “Build It,” “Play It,” “Rock It,” Power It” and “Connect It.” These new layouts are open, inviting and experiential, he noted. “It’s all about higher engagement points and making RadioShack stores much more interactive,” Bona said. “Shoppers can touch and play with the products and interact with store associates in new and richer ways. The point is to bring the experience to life and make it fun, as opposed to the old approach of having a bunch of static stuff, locked down and inaccessible.”\r\n\r\nLikewise, CBX helped major Columbian gas station operator Terpel reinvent the experience of fueling up your car and grabbing convenience items on the go. The chain’s new c-store designs include futuristic, wing-like canopies flying over the pumps, with service bars, modern furniture and other unexpected flourishes inside its stores. In helping Terpel contemplate “the fuel station of the future,” CBX even produced designs with green roofs, solar panels, recycled asphalt pavement and sky- and LED-lit canopies.\r\n\r\n“Overall, retailers need to push the envelope and keep asking one basic question: ‘How do you maintain a pillar of affection and human touch while there’s a simultaneous shift to increasing human interaction with technology?’ ” Bona said. “On a strategic level, we think the answer is fairly simple: Make your customer experience second-to-none in authenticity and relevance. Execution is all about thoroughly understanding who your customer is, and what your customer wants and needs from a retail experience.”\r\n\r\nBilled as “the world’s leading retail trade fair,” EuroShop ran Feb. 16-20 in Düsseldorf. The massive event drew some 2,000 exhibitors from more than 50 countries and more than 100,000 trade visitors from across the globe.\r\n\r\nRead More: <a href=\"www.furninfo.com/Furniture%20Industry%20News/2922\" target=\"_blank\">www.furninfo.com/Furniture%20Industry%20News/2922</a>', 'Retail Must Reinvent Itself Amid ‘Always-On’ Trend, Bona Says', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'retail-must-reinvent-itself-amid-always-on-trend-bona-says', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/retail-must-reinvent-itself-amid-always-on-trend-bona-says', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
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(1953, 1, '2014-03-11 20:30:13', '2014-03-11 20:30:13', 'By Nancy Brown\r\nThere are brands that have lived in our hearts for decades, which we have stocked in our pantries and come to depend on year after year. Marketers call these heritage, or classic, brands. They’re the ones loyalists will continue to buy no matter what. Or, will they?\r\n\r\nWith more competition in virtually every category in the store and the elevation of private label to private brand status, some of these classic brands need to re-examine their recipes for success. By doing so, they will stay relevant with their loyal consumers while demonstrating a reason to be considered by newcomers.\r\n\r\nSome truly iconic companies — such as Hamburger Helper and Ritz — have kept their brands fresh and remained favorites with consumers. How? By applying one or more of the following four fundamental strategies: maintaining relevance, leveraging their equities, differentiating themselves from their competitors, and innovating.\r\n\r\n<strong>MAINTAIN RELEVANCE</strong>\r\n\r\nIn today’s ever-changing world, there are many different ways of learning about and purchasing products. Additionally, today’s consumer behavior is increasingly influenced by time-management pressures, changing taste preferences and nutritional concerns such as organic, gluten-free, local grown, etc., etc., etc. To stay relevant under these conditions, even trusted and familiar brands must adapt. They can do so via product reformulations, line extensions, new usage occasions, repositioning or simply updating their brand presentations.\r\n\r\nHamburger Helper provides a good example. The brand was launched when “convenience” was a new concept, and Hamburger Helper became shorthand for quick and easy meals consumers had a hand in preparing. In recent years, however, the brand has faced significant competition from a wide range of new meal solution products. To keep its core consumers and attract new ones, Hamburger Helper went on the offensive. With all of this new competition, it needed to reclaim its territory. For starters, the packaging was dramatically redesigned, including a significant rebranding. “Helper” was enlarged to reinforce the convenience aspect, and the helping hand character — an iconic representation of the brand proposition — was given significantly more prominence. New product introductions like single-serve microwave cups, Helper Complete Meals (which include the protein) and whole grain varieties address consumers’ evolving tastes while still “helping” get dinner on the table.\r\n\r\nOrganic Valley, founded in 1988 (a “classic” as far as organic products go), has become a leader in the production of organic milk products. But in the age of organic everything (so much so that the claim has become a bit untrustworthy and vague), Organic Valley needed to do something to define itself in terms that really meant something to consumers. For the 2013 redesign of the brand’s milk cartons, the entire back panel is devoted to a statement — in an oversized font — about the product’s origin: “We Give Our Animals the Greenest Pastures and They Give You Delicious and Nutritious Milk.” A paragraph speaks to the way the cows are raised, sent out into “lush, organic pastures for fresh air, exercise and grazing,” and another panel describes what the cows eat (and don’t eat) and the vitamins found in the milk. To be a leader in this category, Organic Valley knows it has to give customers the proof they need to believe the brand proposition.\r\n\r\n<strong>EMBRACE YOUR EQUITIES</strong>\r\n\r\nThe idea of capitalizing on one’s equities — the design elements consumers associate with your brand — seems rather obvious. But, in fact, it’s not always so easy to determine which elements should be retained, which need enhancement, and which ones are actually detrimental and should be abandoned — even if they’ve been around for a long time.\r\n\r\nKraft Macaroni &amp; Cheese was always known as “the blue box.” This is great in terms of having strong associations but is limited in terms of being distinctive; any private label maker of macaroni and cheese could make its box blue and thereby ride on Kraft’s coattails. So, Kraft did something about it. First, the brand updated the specific treatment of blue it was using. Then, it created an iconic expression of its brand proposition by instituting a new brand equity element — the elbow macaroni smile — and incorporating it into its brandmark. The move was brilliant, and consumers responded enthusiastically.\r\n\r\nM&amp;M’S is another iconic brand that re-examined what had made it so successful. The brand had been playing up its colorful candy characters for years, but to its surprise, a strong consumer finding in equity research was that people experience a warm sense of nostalgia when they hear M&amp;M’S being poured into a bowl. A-ha! Why not combine the bowl and the candy? The redesigned packaging did just that, by showcasing the characters having fun in various bowl scenarios that highlighted the candy variety and seasonal occasions.\r\n\r\n<strong>DIFFERENTIATE FROM COMPETITION</strong>\r\n\r\nConsumers today have more choices than ever before, and most brands’ competitive sets have changed dramatically over the years. As a result, it is more important than ever to stand out on shelf and provide a compelling reason for consumers to consider your brand as a viable choice. It is crucial to understand how you can stand apart from your competitors while still being appropriate in the category.\r\n\r\nKotex was a brand that had basically disappeared in the feminine hygiene aisle. With a quiet design that was consistent with the category norms of pastel colors and floral designs, there was nothing that made a customer stop in her tracks and choose Kotex over the competition. That was, until the day when a sassy black box showed up on shelf and made everyone take notice. By introducing all-black packaging, bold type and a new name that spoke to the current generation of millennial girls, we helped U by Kotex* revolutionize the category and usher in a whole new era for feminine care products.\r\n\r\nAnother brand that shook up its category in a big way was Splenda. For many years, users of artificial sweeteners knew to “look for the pink packet,” which was how Sweet’N Low was known. When Equal — a different type of artificial sweetener — was introduced, it easily differentiated itself by using a blue package. Then came Splenda, a sweetener that was closer to real sugar in format and whose taste consumers overwhelmingly preferred. In order to stand out on shelves among the well-established pink and blue offerings, Splenda needed its own strong visual presence and chose the color yellow to make its stand. It was a prophetic choice. The brand not only stood out on shelf, but its distinctive yellow packets were easily recognized on restaurant tables and quickly found in the bottoms of large purses. And the yellow brand soon shot past pink and blue to overtake the category.\r\n\r\n<strong>REMEMBER TO INNOVATE</strong>\r\n\r\nInnovation can mean adding a new flavor, changing form, delivering new functionality — or it can simply mean thinking of something that nobody has thought of before.\r\n\r\nRitz, America’s favorite cracker, has successfully innovated through form and function. Faced with a plethora of competition in the snack food aisle, the product has changed form through Ritz Bits, Crackerfuls (sandwiches with cheese, peanut butter or chocolate in their centers) and Toasted Chips in flavors like Sweet Home Sour Cream &amp; Onion and Western Ridge Peppercorn Ranch. But the brand hasn’t stopped there. Ritz looked at the way consumers used and consumed its products and introduced Fresh Stacks, smaller rolls of the crackers that can be easily packed in lunchboxes or thrown into mom’s bag for car trips.\r\n\r\nGerber, the longtime leader in baby food, has innovated to meet consumer demands for organic foods with a line of organic products, as well as new product forms. Its growing organic line includes everything from cereals to snacks to meal options.\r\n\r\nResponding to consumers’ desire for portability, the company now provides baby food offerings in a pouch format that is demonstrably distinctive from the mainstay glass jars.\r\n\r\nAnd going beyond food for infants, Gerber provides products for all phases of a child’s life: Birth, Supported Sitter, Sitter, Crawler, Toddler and Toddler 2+. By looking at changes in the category and thinking about busy parents’ lives, Gerber is now trusted by a whole new generation of parents who want to feed their babies and children the very best food possible.\r\n\r\nA deep-seated brand in the laundry detergent aisle, Tide has innovated by combining Downy fabric softeners and Febreze odor remover into its mainstay detergent product. Additionally, the brand has created convenient new forms such as pods (no measuring required) and Tide to Go stain sticks, where the Tide product is in a handy pen form that can be used for quick touchups anywhere, anytime.\r\n\r\nThe brands cited here have all learned that being a “classic” doesn’t have to mean you are stodgy, boring or outdated. By staying in step with current trends, remembering what made you so special in the first place, keeping an eye on the competition, and investing in innovation, you can ensure that your brand ages not only gracefully but also profitably as well.\r\n\r\nRead More:<a href=\"http://www.brandpackaging.com/articles/84704-how-to-contemporize-a-classic-brandhttp://\" target=\"_blank\">www.brandpackaging.com/articles/84704-how-to-contemporize-a-classic-brand</a>', 'How to: Contemporize a Classic Brand', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'how-to-contemporize-a-classic-brand', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:43', '2018-09-27 17:58:43', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/how-to-contemporize-a-classic-brand', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1954, 1, '2014-03-07 16:55:32', '2014-03-07 16:55:32', 'The Hain Celestial Group, Inc., a leading organic and natural products company providing consumers with A Healthier Way of Life, today announced a packaging refresh for its TERRA brand root vegetable chips. The new look, designed by brand agency CBX, puts a modern spin on the brand\'s classic black bag with dramatic food photography and a crisp architectural structure. Beyond the stylistic changes, the package refresh also highlights the real root vegetables in each blend through the use of icons at the bottom of every bag.\r\nFor more than two decades, TERRA snacks have provided consumers with delicious vegetable chips made from a diverse set of root vegetables -- including taro, kabocha squash, parsnip and beets -- in a variety of vibrant colors and sophisticated blends. The new packaging gives consumers a more distinctive view of the vegetable experience that awaits them inside.\r\n\r\n\"The root vegetables that go into TERRA set it apart from ordinary chips,\" said Sam Garfinkel, Sr. Brand Manager of TERRA Chips. \"Our packaging refresh puts these vegetables center stage on every bag to remind consumers of the unique taste experience.\"\r\n\r\nIn January 2014, TERRA introduced two new flavors to its roster of global taste combinations: Tropical Blend and Exotic Potato Blend. TERRA Tropical Blend adds sweet coconut and plantain to a mix of taro, sweet potato and batata for a touch of Caribbean flavor in every bag. TERRA Exotic Potato Blend includes an eclectic blend of sweet potato, yukon gold and blue potato chips for a combination unlike any other.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20140304-908603.html\" target=\"_blank\">http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20140304-908603.html</a>', 'TERRA Chips Introduces New Look', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'terra-chips-introduces-new-look', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:48', '2018-09-27 17:58:48', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/terra-chips-introduces-new-look', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
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(1956, 1, '2014-03-07 16:36:08', '2014-03-07 16:36:08', '<strong>Veteran store designer highlights the need to emotionally connect with shoppers</strong>\r\nAs technology transforms multi-channel retail into hyper-channel, “always-on” retailing, chains must emotionally connect with consumers as never before, advised veteran store designer Joseph Bona during a Feb. 19 speech at EuroShop, the global trade fair.\r\n\r\n“Emotion plus theatrics equals experience,” said Bona, president, branded environments for CBX, the New York City-based brand agency and retail design consultancy that has had a hand in numerous convenience store designs.\r\n\r\n“Storytelling ability, in particular, helps you create engaging experiences, and the memory of those experiences can inspire consumers by adding excitement and drama to routine transactions,” Bona said. “Ultimately, this is what energizes brand culture and drives long-term customer loyalty, even in a world perpetually driven to digital distraction.”\r\n\r\nBona’s presentation—“Format Reinvention: the Changing Face of Retail”—highlighted the need for retailers to further rethink the function of their brick-and-mortar stores. Today’s “always on” environment doesn’t only mean that people can buy whatever they want using their phones and tablets, it also means they can use GPS- and cloud-enabled tools to find the very best retail and dining experiences available to them, wherever they happen to be in the world, Bona said.\r\n\r\n“Physical stores can no longer be what they used to be—namely, distributors of other people’s goods at reasonable prices in convenient locations,” Bona said. “They must offer sights, sounds, tastes, touch, emotion—3D experiences that 2D can’t achieve. When your customers look at Yelp! or Google Reviews, you want them to read about how your in-store experience was entertaining and inspiring. You want them to read about how going to your store is always a special treat.”\r\n\r\nTo illustrate this point, Bona showed the audience examples of redesign work CBX has completed for clients such as Duane Reade, RadioShack and South American c-store retailer Terpel.\r\n\r\nIn its newly designed flagship stores, RadioShack now has hands-on stations organized around themes such as “Build It,” “Play It,” “Rock It,” Power It” and “Connect It.” These new layouts are open, inviting and experiential, he said. “It’s all about higher engagement points and making RadioShack stores much more interactive,” Bona said. “Shoppers can touch and play with the products and interact with store associates in new and richer ways. The point is to bring the experience to life and make it fun, as opposed to the old approach of having a bunch of static stuff, locked down and inaccessible.”\r\n\r\nLikewise, CBX helped major Columbian gas station operator Terpel reinvent the experience of fueling up your car and grabbing convenience items on the go. The chain’s new c-store designs include futuristic, wing-like canopies flying over the pumps, with service bars, modern furniture and other unexpected flourishes inside its stores. In helping Terpel contemplate “the fuel station of the future,” CBX produced designs with green roofs, solar panels, recycled asphalt pavement and sky- and LED-lit canopies.\r\n\r\n“Overall, retailers need to push the envelope and keep asking one basic question: ‘How do you maintain a pillar of affection and human touch while there’s a simultaneous shift to increasing human interaction with technology?’ ” Bona said. “On a strategic level, we think the answer is fairly simple: Make your customer experience second-to-none in authenticity and relevance. Execution is all about thoroughly understanding who your customer is, and what your customer wants and needs from a retail experience.”\r\n\r\nCBX, New York, is a brand agency specializing in corporate identity, consumer branding and retail.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.cspnet.com/industry-news-analysis/marketing-strategies/articles/retailer-challenge-reinvent-yourself\" target=\"_blank\">www.cspnet.com/industry-news-analysis/marketing-strategies/articles/retailer-challenge-reinvent-yourself</a>', 'Retailer Challenge: Reinvent Yourself', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'retailer-challenge-reinvent-yourself', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/retailer-challenge-reinvent-yourself', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1957, 1, '2014-03-07 16:07:01', '2014-03-07 16:07:01', 'CBX, a leading brand agency based in New York, announced today their collaboration in the creation of a new name and identity for Big Heart Pet Brands, previously Del Monte Foods’ (DMF) Pet Products business. Big Heart Pet Brands is home to a number of iconic and beloved brands, including Milk-Bone®, Meow Mix®, Natural Balance®, Kibbles \'n Bits®, 9Lives®, Milo’s Kitchen®, and Nature’s Recipe®, among others. The development of the new name and identity, unveiled late last month, follows the company’s sale of its Consumer Products division to Del Monte Pacific Limited (DMPL).\r\nCBX used their rigorous naming methodology to help Big Heart Pet Brands arrive at a name that would be unique within the pet category, yet remain relatable and relevant for all audiences. The firm built the creative foundation for naming based on the company’s purpose and broad, accessible portfolio of pet food and treats brands. The name Big Heart Pet Brands showcases the company’s desire to nurture the bond between pets and the people who love them. “Big Heart Pet Brands doesn’t believe in owning pets. They believe in loving them. We strongly believed the name should live up to this core belief,” said Rachel Bernard, Strategy Director at CBX New York, “The objective to show an unparalleled passion for pets truly inspired us—the result is a unique name that we believe advances the strategic vision of this category leader.”\r\n\r\nCBX also developed a new visual system for the company. At the core of the visual system is a dynamic new “heartpaw” logo that reinforces the company’s love for pets and desire to continually create better solutions for them. The logo represents both a pawprint—to root the company in the pet category—and a heart to convey the bond between pet and pet parents. The highlight “shine” marks used within the broader visual identity symbolize positivity, energy and innovative thinking. “Simple yet impactful, the identity signals a strong position in the pet space and a bright future for the company and the pets it supports,” said Rick Barrack, Founding Partner and Chief Creative Officer at CBX.\r\n\r\nThe CBX design and environments team collaborated with Big Heart Pet Brands to redesign the San Francisco headquarters over President’s Day weekend in the new visual identity system, so employees started day-one at Big Heart Pet Brands fully immersed in the new company.\r\n\r\n“The launch of Big Heart Pet Brands is a landmark event. Our partners at CBX worked closely with our creative services and consumer insights groups and with our executive team to create a name and visual identity that truly captures the spirit of our organization and our vision for the future,” said Carl Johnson, EVP, Marketing &amp; Chief Growth Officer at Big Heart Pet Brands.\r\n\r\n<strong>As seen in:</strong>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.bloomberg.com/article/2014-03-11/aOP5q_jCG28s.html\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Bloomberg</em></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://gdusa.com/egdusa/2014/0506e/cbx-shows-big-heart/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>GDUSA</em></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cpgmatters.com/MarketWatch031714.html\" target=\"_blank\"><em>CPG Matters</em></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;', 'CBX Collaborates on New Company Name and Identity for Big Heart Pet Brands', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cbx-collaborates-on-new-company-name-and-identity-for-big-heart-pet-brands', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:56:35', '2018-09-27 17:56:35', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/cbx-collaborates-on-new-company-name-and-identity-for-big-heart-pet-brands', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1958, 1, '2014-03-07 15:49:15', '2014-03-07 15:49:15', '<strong>New Packaging Design to Spotlight Unique Root Vegetables in Every Bag </strong>\r\nThe Hain Celestial Group, Inc., a leading organic and natural products company providing consumers with A Healthier Way of Life™, today announced a packaging refresh for its TERRA® brand root vegetable chips. The new look, designed by brand agency CBX, puts a modern spin on the brand’s classic black bag with dramatic food photography and a crisp architectural structure. Beyond the stylistic changes, the package refresh also highlights the real root vegetables in each blend through the use of icons at the bottom of every bag.\r\n\r\nFor more than two decades, TERRA® snacks have provided consumers with delicious vegetable chips made from a diverse set of root vegetables – including taro, kabocha\r\n\r\nsquash, parsnip and beets – in a variety of vibrant colors and sophisticated blends. The new packaging gives consumers a more distinctive view of the vegetable experience that awaits them inside.\r\n\r\n“The root vegetables that go into TERRA® set it apart from ordinary chips,” said Sam Garfinkel, Sr. Brand Manager of TERRA Chips. “Our packaging refresh puts these vegetables center stage on every bag to remind consumers of the unique taste experience.”\r\n\r\nIn January 2014, TERRA® introduced two new flavors to its roster of global taste combinations: Tropical Blend and Exotic Potato Blend. TERRA® Tropical Blend adds sweet coconut and plantain to a mix of taro, sweet potato and batata for a touch of Caribbean flavor in every bag. TERRA® Exotic Potato Blend includes an eclectic blend of sweet potato, yukon gold and blue potato chips for a combination unlike any other.\r\n\r\n<strong>As seen in:</strong>\r\n<a href=\"http://finance.yahoo.com/news/terra-chips-introduces-look-iconic-145500320.html\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Yahoo Finance</em></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://fandbnews.com/terra-chips-introduces-new-look-for-its-iconic-black-bag/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Food and Beverage News</em></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;', 'TERRA Chips Introduces New Look For Its Iconic Black Bag', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'terra-chips-introduces-new-look-for-its-iconic-black-bag', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:49', '2018-09-27 17:58:49', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/terra-chips-introduces-new-look-for-its-iconic-black-bag', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1959, 1, '2014-03-05 21:40:51', '2014-03-05 21:40:51', 'SPECS 2014\r\n<em>The Gaylord Texan Convention Center, Grapevine, TX\r\nMarch 11, 2014 - 1:40 PM to 2:30 PM</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>Offline and Online Retail: Bridging the Gap</strong>\r\n\r\nThe digital explosion has led to smaller physical footprints, an influx of in-store technologies, and reduced staffing - while at the same time an emerging group of pure-play concepts is entering the brick-and-mortar space. Hear insights on how to fuse brick-and-mortar with online, and present a seamless customer experience.\r\n\r\nLearn more about SPECS: <a href=\"http://www.specsshow.com/\" target=\"_blank\">www.specsshow.com</a>', 'Joseph Bona speaking at SPECS', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'joseph-bona-speaking-at-specs', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:44', '2018-09-27 17:58:44', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/joseph-bona-speaking-at-specs', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1960, 1, '2014-02-25 20:59:54', '2014-02-25 20:59:54', '<strong>How Independent Toy Stores Can Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast Their Big-Box Rivals</strong>\r\nBy Joe Bona\r\n\r\nMore than 600 independent toy stores threw a party on November 9 to celebrate Neighborhood Toy Store Day. This publicity event triggered some heartwarming media coverage and was surely lots of fun for all involved. However, when you survey the retail landscape with which today’s independent toy retailers are forced to contend, you might wonder whether or not celebration is in order.\r\n\r\nEven mass retailers such as Target, Walmart, and Toys “R” Us are nervous about the dawning of an era in which Mom and Dad can get all their Christmas shopping done in an hour or two simply by visiting amazon.com. In this $22 billion industry, how could an independent toy store hope to compete? The answer might just lie in the massive proportions of the toy business itself.\r\n\r\nAmerican consumers are rapidly becoming overwhelmed by the confusing array of choices in the marketplace. They live hectic, over scheduled lives, which makes the gridlocked drive to a cavernous big box store an unsavory option for many parents. The glut of homogenized, commoditized retail products has triggered a bit of backlash among some consumers. More people are now demanding authenticity and uniqueness from the shopping environments they visit and the products they buy. This is the potential sweet spot for independent toy stores—the market position in which small, local operators can enjoy a distinct advantage.\r\n\r\nThe trick is to actually narrow your focus rather than broaden it— to become the source in your community for a particular category of merchandise, and to build a brand for your store based on top-notch customer service, sincere community involvement, and impressive knowledge of the category itself. Selling the same products as Walmart and Target is not an option anymore; instead, you should specialize in one or two specific product categories.\r\n\r\nImagine a store focused exclusively on nifty, harder-to-find toys related to science, mathematics, DIY construction, and IQ-building puzzles and games. With a demeanor akin to that of Bill Nye the Science Guy, the owner holds special events in the store and at local schools. If Target has three telescopes, the Science Guy has 12. Need a space poster for you nephew but can’t find one at Walmart? You know where to go.\r\n\r\nThe store is loaded with cool and unique stuff, so much so that kids enjoy hanging out there. Pleased by the uplifting atmosphere, parents also like that the store is local. This might sound antiquated, but it is right in line with retail trends.\r\n\r\nNot so long ago, you could walk into a cellphone store and all the products were tightly sealed in the kind of packaging that requires a sharp knife to get open. These days, more retailers are talking about “high touch,” the notion that people should be able to play with the products. Our science store could have all kinds of toys and games out for the kids. Would Target and Walmart do the same? Not likely. The typical employee at a big-box store also lacks the motivation to build personal relationships with regulars, and they know little about individual product categories, such as science toys.\r\n\r\nWhen you are passionate about your products and your community, it is obvious to customers who walk in the door. With Amazon chatting up the media about delivery via intense-looking drones, such human qualities might be far more valuable than any of us know.\r\n\r\n<em>The Toy Book, February 2014</em>', 'Narrow Your Focus, Expand Your Reach', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'narrow-your-focus-expand-your-reach', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:45', '2018-09-27 17:58:45', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/narrow-your-focus-expand-your-reach', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1961, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:44', '2018-09-27 16:52:44', '', 'Brooks-External-2', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'brooks-external-2', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:44', '2018-09-27 16:52:44', '', 1622, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Brooks-External-2.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1962, 1, '2014-02-13 17:47:45', '2014-02-13 17:47:45', 'By Julie D.\r\nPeople tend to think naming is magic, that the “right name” is a secret sauce that will make a product succeed. But the truth is, you can have all the clever word play in the world, and it won’t save your product if it fails to deliver on the promises your name implies. Words have power — the power to paint a picture in the mind. That picture needs to be something your brand or product can live up to. You need to choose a name strategically, and make a strategic plan to support it, launch it, and stick by it.\r\n\r\nI was reminded of this during the State of the Union address when President Obama introduced the name “myRA” for a new category of retirement savings accounts. The name has a lot going for it. It is short and easy to remember, repurposing a woman’s name in a way that feels instantly familiar. The lowercase letters give it a modern feel. It rhymes with “IRA,” placing the new offer in the IRA family. And it draws on our understanding of MySpace, My Verizon, myCigna and all the other “my” names, with their messages of personal customization and accessibility.\r\n\r\nKnowing nothing other than the name, we can conclude that myRA is a friendly, personal type of IRA. This gives it a head start over programs first introduced bearing the number for part of the tax code (401K).\r\n\r\nIt does have a few downsides, though. The pharmaceutical industry is already using “RA” as catchier way to talk about Rheumatoid Arthritis. And there are pronunciation issues—in fact, the president stumbled on his first mention of name, starting to call it “My IRA” before correcting to “my-R-A.” These tripping points are easy to predict — we often test for such issues. Once you identify potential sticking points, the next step is to do a realistic analysis. Is the flaw necessarily fatal? Can it be planned for and mitigated? In myRA’s case, minor pronunciation issues seem unlikely to be a problem long-term.\r\n\r\nNike, Google, Ikea, Etsy have taught us how to pronounce their names correctly over time. When the iPad was launched, there was a backlash — to some, the name sounded like a feminine hygiene product. Today, we can’t imagine the word “iPad” meaning anything other than a sleek interactive device. These companies were able to stick to their message, keep repeating their name, and bring us along for the ride. It was a good first step that President Obama repeated the name multiple times, correctly, after his initial mistake.\r\n\r\nWhat might be more of a problem is if myRA doesn’t live up to the promises implied by its name. If it isn’t personal and easy. If it doesn’t act like an IRA. Names that fail to fulfill their promises often invite ridicule, and this is particularly true in the political area, where Washington tends to jump on awkward monikers (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) and spin them into short, pejorative nicknames with sticking power (Obamacare).\r\n\r\nThe right name can help you take control of the conversation about a new offer. If you choose a name that delivers the tone and message you’re looking for, you get a jumpstart on building meaning in your audience’s mind. But introducing that new name is also an act of leadership. You have to pick the right promises to make. You have to have to look beyond initial reactions. And you need a strategic plan to introduce your name in a way that can survive a few bumps in the road.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/219449/whats-in-a-name.html\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/219449/whats-in-a-name.html</a>', 'What\'s In A Name?', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'whats-in-a-name-2', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:51', '2018-09-27 17:58:51', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/whats-in-a-name', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1963, 1, '2014-02-11 16:00:45', '2014-02-11 16:00:45', 'By David W.\r\nLooking ahead at a year that will most certainly see a continued evolution of what retail is and what it does, I am excited at the prospects of participating in, toying with and influencing that evolution. For this forecast, I am concentrating on physical retail since I believe this is where the innovation will — and indeed, must — occur. E-tailers and hybrid-tailers will continue to make transactions easier and safer while adding algorithms that suggest products and services tailored to the individual. Online purchasing will become more intuitive and smarter, connecting you with various electronic devices, apps and, soon, even your refrigerator and closet.\r\n\r\nBecause of this, retail designers will focus on humanizing the in-store experience. The goal is to give consumers a reason to get out of their pajamas and walk into a store. Here are five trends likely to influence the evolution of retail in 2014.\r\n\r\n<strong>1. ‘Pop Up’ turns to ‘Drop Off’</strong>\r\nPop-up stores have traditionally taken advantage of empty storefronts for short periods of time and have been used to promote products and generate buzz. This year we’ll see a dramatic increase, not of pop-ups, but of “drop-offs”: storage container-sized retail spaces dropped off in the middle of public spaces. If successful, these concepts will stay for months or even years.\r\n\r\nIn the shadows of the Flatiron building in Manhattan are two examples of this trend: Flatiron Green Cafe, which offers a wide variety of natural, local and organic foods, and Ilili Box, which bills itself as “inspired Mediterranean takeaway.” Both are small and placed in the tourist oasis where Broadway crosses Fifth Avenue. Keep an eye on highly trafficked parks, urban gathering spots and similar locales in the coming year you’ll likely see more concepts dropped off in 2014.\r\n\r\n<strong>2. Enhanced person-to-person interaction</strong>\r\nCash wraps are getting smaller or being replaced altogether by roaming sales people armed with iPads. Apple instigated this “death of checkout,” and many other tech-related retailers have followed suit. We also see this in smaller retailers where two or three associates cover the store. The trick with larger stores is having enough associates, otherwise, shoppers are forced to jockey for position and form impromptu queues in the middle of the aisles. Burberry recently opened a technology-enhanced store with no checkouts, and larger retailers such as Nordstrom and The Home Depot have offered mobile POS checkout for a couple of years now. This trend will continue in 2014.\r\n\r\nRemoving the sales counter allows for more human interaction — the feeling that you’re in this together. Thanks to this trend, sales associates are becoming more knowledgeable. The best of them become de facto consultants. Why is this important? The proliferation of underwhelming, online review sites is part of the reason. Consumers are waking up to the reality that the likes of Yelp are only as good as the mass of people participating in them (“Hey, this dish stinks. How can @slickharvey57 have been so wrong?”). Little wonder in-store help will come back into vogue in 2014.\r\n<strong>\r\n3. Use of emotion</strong>\r\nRetro versions of consumer packaged goods — throwback Pepsi, old Doritos and Miller Lite retro cans — have grown increasingly popular over the years. CPG companies have learned this is a way to reconnect with consumers through emotion. I see retailers trying their hands at this game in the coming year. It is much more costly to build a retro store, but the gamble might just pay off by creating nostalgic spaces that consumers want to linger in. RadioShack, for example, recently opened CBX-designed retro stores in Texas and New York. They play up the retailer’s history and all the fun stuff we remember about technology.\r\n\r\n<strong>4. Wasting real estate</strong>\r\n“Stack it high and let it fly” has long been the battle cry of retailers. Walk into your local grocer and chances are this applies (unless it is Mrs. Greens or Fresh Market). In 2014, we\'ll see more retailers devoting space to things that don’t sell: Art-like exhibits, entertainment and lounges will all find their way into retail spaces in order to draw people in and connect. One example of this is Uniqlo. While the international retailer does have massive amounts of product in its stores, it also devotes huge areas to art exhibit-like sculptures.\r\n\r\nWith online saturation of gorgeous product photography from Instagram and Pinterest, consumers also have elevated expectations of presentation. Because of this, more and better propping is being used in stores. One example is Brumby’s Bakeries, one of Australia’s largest franchise groups, whose new stores bank heavily on attractive visuals.\r\n\r\n<strong>5. Unexpected use of materials</strong>\r\nBuilding on your brand strategy is the right place to begin for store design, but I see the physical design of many retailers zigging and zagging in 2014. This will be true, not just of retro stores, but also of unexpected use of materials.\r\n\r\nA new Pep Boys concept store in Tampa made me do a double take when I drove by. The exterior makes heavy use of wood (or, more likely, an aluminum panel that looks like wood). I don’t know about you, but nothing about wood makes me think of automotive design, which focuses on sleekness, technology and the appearance of speed. And yet wood is a material that feels inviting. The Tampa store even includes wood in the interior — no doubt an attempt to make an intimidating selection of merchandise more palatable. This store even has a lounge, which could be an attempt to make this experience easier for other family members and, by extension, Dad.\r\n\r\nIncidentally, Pep Boys also brought Manny, Mo and Jack out of retirement for the new stores. Quite nostalgic.\r\n\r\nAll of these trends relate in one way or another to a basic imperative in retail today — humanizing the shopping experience. Some of these efforts will fail. Others will conquer. But take note of both the winners and losers as they emerge in 2014. After all, this amounts to a glimpse into the fast-changing future of retail.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://chainstoreage.com/article/humanizing-retail-five-design-trends-likely-loom-large-2014#\" target=\"_blank\">http://chainstoreage.com/article/humanizing-retail-five-design-trends-likely-loom-large-2014#</a>', 'Humanizing Retail: Five design trends likely to loom large in 2014', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'humanizing-retail-five-design-trends-likely-to-loom-large-in-2014', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/humanizing-retail-five-design-trends-likely-to-loom-large-in-2014', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1964, 1, '2014-02-07 14:09:03', '2014-02-07 14:09:03', 'Rick Barrack, Chief Creative Officer of CBX, was among those recently honored at Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business 1000 (MCP 1000) event in New York.\r\nHosted by Diane von Furstenberg, the Jan. 31 event in New York and a Feb. 4 event in San Francisco helped launch Fast Company’s MCP 1000, a new resource that defines the influential, diverse group of modern Renaissance men and women driving change across the economy and around the globe. This new editorial initiative, anchored on FastCompany.com, was created in the spirit of Fast Company’s annual 100 Most Creative People in Business franchise, which recognized Barrack in 2012 for “helping to make retail exciting again,” citing his work on the redesign of drug store chain Duane Reade in New York City.\r\n\r\nThe MCP 1000 coverage includes profile pages for all honorees, daily news posts, live chats, videos, polls, events, and more. Fast Company will also bring the members of the world’s most creative community together to facilitate the spread of innovation and the sharing of expertise. MCP 1000 honorees will have access to exclusive Fast Company content, as well as private MCP 1000 events.', 'Rick Barrack Honored at Fast Company’s Event', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'rick-barrack-honored-at-fast-companys-event', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:47', '2018-09-27 17:58:47', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/rick-barrack-honored-at-fast-companys-event', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1965, 1, '2014-02-03 23:21:22', '2014-02-03 23:21:22', '<strong>How names can make or break government programs</strong>\r\nFinancial experts are quickly evaluating President Obama’s newly proposed “myRA” savings program , determining whether or not it will be a boon to the millions of Americans who haven’t adequately funded their retirements.\r\nBut marketing and branding professionals are weighing in on an altogether different aspect. Forget what the program can accomplish from a dollars-and-cents perspective, many say; the real problem is that the name itself may not add up.\r\nThe issues are varied. Sure, the name is supposed to be read as “My RA,” but because it’s a play on the popular IRA program, there’s a temptation to read it as “My IRA.” President Obama himself made this slip when he spoke of the program during Wednesday night’s State of the Union address.\r\nAs “a general rule of thumb, if a gifted orator like President Obama struggles to pronounce it, you may want to look into other naming options,” says John Paolini, a partner with Sullivan, a New York-based branding and marketing firm.\r\nPlus, on paper, the name looks like a woman’s name — Myra (a name shared by such figures as the famed British classical pianist Myra Hess and the title character in Gore Vidal’s novel-turned-film Myra Breckinridge). And to make matters more confusing, the abbreviation RA already has competing meanings in the American vernacular: For instance, it denotes both a dormitory’s residential assistant and the painful disease rheumatoid arthritis. Consider: If you go to TrackMyRA.com , you won’t be gathering information about rates of return. Instead, you’ll be learning about a medical smartphone app “developed specifically with RA patients in mind.”\r\nThat website alone makes Marlin Collingwood, president of the Boston-based communications firm CHT Group, question the branding savvy of the president’s team. “I have to wonder how much research and testing — if any — they did on the name,” Collingwood said.\r\nThe White House did not immediately respond for comment about the “myRA” name.\r\nIt’s not as if the names of government programs or bills don’t matter, marketing experts say. True, many names are fairly innocuous or hard to understand on face value — the name 401(k) actually derives from a subsection of the Internal Revenue Service code — but they still somehow become embraced by the public, often simply as a function of being heard again and again. But other names don’t catch on, so they become what amounts to a missed marketing opportunity. (Yes, bills and government programs must be “marketed,” political pros note.)\r\nEven worse, a name that isn’t quite right invites ridicule: That was the case with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), argues Julie Doughty, a director of verbal identity for CBX, a New York-based branding agency. “If you choose a name that is awkward, long or difficult to remember, then you run the risk that someone else will give you a nickname that sticks — and take the conversation in a direction you didn’t intend,” she says.\r\nConversely, a cleverly crafted name can help a bill or program succeed — in spite of the fact that legislators or the public might not be all that supportive of it. The classic case that’s cited? The USA Patriot Act of 2001. To be against it was to seemingly imply that one wasn\'t “patriotic,” a 2010 Northwestern University report noted. The naming was “an act of public relations genius,” government relations expert Peter Peyser wrote in the report.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"www.marketwatch.com/story/will-unwieldy-name-doom-obamas-myra-plan-2014-01-29?link=MW_latest_news\" target=\"_blank\">www.marketwatch.com/story/will-unwieldy-name-doom-obamas-myra-plan-2014-01-29?link=MW_latest_news</a>', 'Will unwieldy name doom Obama’s myRA plan?', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'will-unwieldy-name-doom-obamas-myra-plan', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:52', '2018-09-27 17:58:52', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/will-unwieldy-name-doom-obamas-myra-plan', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1966, 1, '2014-02-03 23:18:22', '2014-02-03 23:18:22', 'LIQS come in sealed and tamper-resistant 50ml recyclable, crystal polystyrene shot glasses.Brand agency CBX recently assisted start-up company LIQS with the design of innovative packaging and the formulation of other branding initiatives for its eponymous line of super-premium, ready-to-drink cocktail shots.\r\n\r\nThe CBX design team worked with LIQS cofounders Michael Glickman and Harley Bauer on a variety of efforts, including strategic alignment and development of the LIQS’ brand mark and package design. “We took our design cues from LIQS’ target customer, a sophisticated millennial who loves spontaneous get-togethers with friends, whether poolside, at the beach or boating,” says Gregg S. Lipman, CBX managing partner.\r\n\r\nSunny and stylish Miami, where LIQS was launched and is based, offered CBX inspiration for the package designs. The firm reinterpreted a sunburst in a series of colorful graphic bursts to correspond with each LIQS flavor — red-orange for Tequila Cinnamon Orange; yellow-green for Vodka Cucumber Lime; aqua-blue for Vodka Kamikaze; and red-pink for Vodka Lychee Grapefruit.\r\n\r\nProduced in the U.S., each LIQS product comes in a 50ml recyclable, crystal polystyrene shot glass that’s sealed and tamper-resistant. The product is sold in a multi-unit package that offers three individually sealed shots of a single flavor. Each shot, as well as the outer packaging, carries the burst graphic.\r\n\r\n“After many years of witnessing the love that consumers have with shots, and the lack of being able enjoy them at home as if made by a bartender, we set out for a solution that would give people access to quality shots they can take anywhere,” explains Glickman. “LIQS is a convenient and attractive alternative to a bartender and bar setup and a far cry from ‘test-tube’ style shooters. With the new packaging, we’re delivering mixology with the mixologist.”\r\n\r\nLIQS is currently available at numerous liquor stores in Florida in advance of a strategic regional rollout.\r\n\r\nRead More: <a href=\"http://www.brandpackaging.com/articles/84694-liqs-shots\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.brandpackaging.com/articles/84694-liqs-shots</a>', 'LIQS Shots', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'liqs-shots', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/liqs-shots', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1967, 1, '2014-02-03 23:16:30', '2014-02-03 23:16:30', 'Rick Barrack is the chief creative officer at branding firm CBX, which recently helped Duane Reade do the impossible: execute a redesign to become cool (at least, as much as any drugstore can be cool). Established in 2003, CBX has worked with popular consumer brands ranging from Arby\'s to M&amp;M\'s to Snapple.\r\n<strong>Quote</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>\"The dynamics of e-commerce, as it has evolved, created a new shopping behavior. People demand more information. And now, outside of e-commerce, we have to provide that as well.\" »</em>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRead More: <a href=\"www.fastcompany.com/person/rick-barrack\" target=\"_blank\">www.fastcompany.com/person/rick-barrack</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.fastcompany.com/3018263/most-creative-people-2012/79-rick-barrack\" target=\"_blank\">Rick Barrack on FastCo</a>', 'Rick Barrack', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'rick-barrack', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:47', '2018-09-27 17:58:47', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/rick-barrack', 0, 'thinking', '', 0);
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(1968, 1, '2014-01-27 16:48:51', '2014-01-27 16:48:51', 'Recyclable polystyrene shot glass with colorful graphic bursts aims to attract sophisticated millennial consumers.\r\nFounded in 2013 by Michael Glickman and Harley Bauer, two born and raised New Yorkers with a passion for premium spirits, LIQS worked with brand agency CBX on the design of innovative packaging and the formulation of other branding initiatives for its eponymous line of LIQS™ super-premium, ready-to-drink cocktail shots.\r\n\r\nLIQS products are packaged in a 50-mL recyclable, crystal polystyrene shot glass that weighs 21 g. It is sealed and tamper-resistant. Three individually sealed shots of a single flavor are sold in a 24-pt SBS multi-unit pack, printed in four colors with an aqueous coating. Each shot, as well as the outer packaging, carries the burst graphic. Three packs sell for $9.99. LIQS retailers include Crown Wine &amp; Spirits, Big Daddy’s Liquors, I Love Liquor, and other South Florida retailers, which was the market targeted in advance of a strategic regional rollout.\r\n\r\nOn the LIQS website, Bauer says, “The sophisticated drinker is no longer satisfied with low-grade spirits and artificial ingredients. Our blend of premium spirits and natural flavors make enjoying expertly mixed shots convenient in any setting, from boating, pool or beach parties, home entertaining and catered affairs to music festivals and sporting events.”\r\n\r\n“We were inspired by the growth and trends taking place within the premium cocktail and ready-to-drink markets,” adds Glickman. “After witnessing the love consumers have with shots for years, we wanted to disrupt that market by offering a solution that would give people access to delicious shots in any setting and without a bartender.”\r\n\r\nLIQS and CBX partnered on a variety of efforts, including strategic alignment and development of the LIQS’ brand mark and package design. “We took our design cues from LIQS’ target customer, a sophisticated millennial who loves spontaneous get-togethers with friends, whether poolside, at the beach, or boating,” says Gregg S. Lipman, CBX Managing Partner.\r\n\r\nSunny and stylish Miami, where LIQS was launched and is based, offered CBX inspiration for the package designs. The firm reinterpreted a sunburst in a series of colorful graphic bursts to correspond with each LIQS flavor—red-orange for Tequila Cinnamon Orange; yellow-green for Vodka Cucumber Lime; aqua-blue for Vodka Kamikaze; and red-pink for Vodka Lychee Grapefruit. The cocktail shots use 45-proof vodka and 55-proof tequila.\r\n\r\n“After many years of witnessing the love that consumers have with shots, and the lack of being able enjoy them at home as if made by a bartender, we set out for a solution that would give people access to quality shots they can take anywhere,” says Glickman. “LIQS is a convenient and attractive alternative to a bartender and bar setup and a far cry from ‘test-tube’-style shooters. With the new packaging, we’re delivering mixology with the mixologist.”\r\n\r\nRead More: <a href=\"http://www.packworld.com/package-design/graphic/innovative-package-design-dazzles-liqs-rollout\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.packworld.com/package-design/graphic/innovative-package-design-dazzles-liqs-rollout</a>', 'Innovative package design dazzles for LIQS', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'innovative-package-design-dazzles-for-liqs', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/innovative-package-design-dazzles-for-liqs', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1969, 1, '2014-01-01 17:11:55', '2014-01-01 17:11:55', '<style> strong{font-weight:bold;} </style>\r\nThe nonprofit Fare &amp; Square is a culinary diamond in a rough-and-tumble neighborhood, enriching residents with affordable fresh food and grocery staples.\r\n\r\nIn most of the country, that commodity is viewed as a produce department stalwart, though a dwindling one, losing sales and shelf space to more fashionable and higher-margin bagged salads. However, for residents of Chester, Pennsylvania, a gritty industrial city of 34,000 just south of Philadelphia, iceberg lettuce used to be an unattainable luxury. That was because Chester was in the midst of a food desert—one of 35 in the Delaware Valley.CBX_FareSquare_1869\r\n\r\nAt one time Chester was home to five supermarkets. Over the years they closed one by one as jobs and population fled and crime increased. The last supermarket in town, West End Food Center, permanently shut its doors in 2001.\r\n\r\nCitizens in this hardscrabble, but proud town—the oldest city in Pennsylvania, settled in 1644, and the birthplace of the Mother’s Day Parade, Scott toilet tissue, jazz great Ethel Waters, rock-and-roll pioneer Bill Haley &amp; His Comets and allegedly the hoagie—were relegated to buying groceries from dirty corner stores or having to trek out of town, even to Delaware, to find a supermarket.\r\n\r\nThat changed in September when Fare &amp; Square opened its doors—in the same building that had housed West End Food Center—allowing Chester residents to once again purchase fresh produce, along with meat, seafood, deli, bakery, frozen and dry grocery items.\r\n\r\n“When we were interviewing prospective employees and talking about the mission of our store, somebody made a statement that really opened my eyes,” says Paul Messina, Fare &amp; Square’s store director. “They said, ‘Do you know you can’t buy a head of lettuce in the City of Chester?’”\r\n\r\nThat is when Messina’s outlook on the importance of the store changed.\r\n\r\n“It hit me that what we were doing became that much more of a mission of love,” he says. “We had to get this done for the people. It was ridiculous that you couldn’t buy a head of lettuce here.”\r\n\r\nPointing to a cooler case filled with heads of crisp, fresh lettuce, collard greens, kale, broccoli crowns, green bell peppers and other produce staples, Messina proudly says, “Now you can’t say that anymore. Now you can buy a head of lettuce in the City of Chester. It is a good feeling.”\r\n\r\nBefore Fare &amp; Square, grocery shopping was a major time consuming chore—especially for those without cars. A good number of people in Chester are living below the poverty level; the average annual household income in Chester is $19,000. “I had a woman come in the other day and say, ‘Do you know how much money I am saving because I don’t have to take two buses to get to Essington and then take a hack back,” Messina says, using the Philadelphia parlance for a freelance, often unlicensed taxi cab.\r\n\r\nGranted, at 16,000 square feet with only four aisles, Fare &amp; Square is noticeably smaller than a Pathmark Supercenter, but it still manages to offer a full selection of produce, seafood, butcher-cut meats, a Dietz &amp; Watson-branded deli, frozen foods, dry grocery, pet foods, cleaning essentials and some other nonfoods.\r\n\r\nFare &amp; Square is notable for two other facts. It is owned and operated by Philabundance, the Philadelphia-based food bank that services the Delaware Valley, and is being billed as the nation’s first not-for-profit grocery store.\r\n\r\nIf the prototype is successful—and early indications are that it is a hit—the template will be rolled out to other food deserts in the Delaware Valley and copied by other food banks across the country.\r\n\r\nBecause of its unique situation and location, Fare &amp; Square operates on a premise that is different than traditional supermarkets.\r\n\r\n“Pretty much in an urban store like this the merchandising basics are price. Price. Price,” says Bill Clark, president and executive director of Philabundance. “People don’t really care about organic and they don’t really care about local or energy footprint or being green. It is basically, ‘I’ve got to feed my family on a limited amount of money and I want to do it well, and I want to be respected when I do it.’”\r\n\r\nThat reason—not crime—is one of the key reasons that traditional supermarkets have not been able to make a go of it in inner cities, Clark says.\r\n\r\n“We believe it is harder for a commercial grocery store to operate in a community like this because the gross operating margin on $100 million in sales in the inner city is different than in the suburbs,” he says. “In the suburbs there are much more prepared foods, value-added foods, premium foods. In here some of our biggest sellers are 5-pound bags of flour and sugar, cooking oil and Jiffy corn muffin mix.”\r\n\r\nClark says the idea for Fare &amp; Square came about because just-in-time delivery, better inventory control and less recovery for dented product are all having a hand in leading to less donations being available for food banks.\r\n\r\n“We were having an increasing problem as a food bank because shelf stable products have been flat to declining across the country,” Clark says, noting that the problem is exacerbated by the growth of food deserts, described by the USDA as a low-income census tract where a substantial number or share of residents have low access to a supermarket or large grocery store. In an urban area like Chester, that is considered a one-mile radius.\r\n\r\n“As a food bank we have been trying to support food cupboards and when a commercial food desert happens the demand on the charitable food distribution system skyrockets,” Clark says. “All of the food banks are having a hard time dealing with the growing demand or need and we had to figure out some way of addressing the problem of access, and providing a safety net of food for people that need it.”\r\n\r\nPrior to Fare &amp; Square’s opening, Philabundance donated about one million pounds of food a year to churches and other charities in town, and Clark expects that figure will remain constant.\r\n\r\n“What Fare &amp; Square does is lower the barrier to get food before people are so desperate that they have to go to a charitable-only distribution center,” he says.\r\n\r\nFare &amp; Square has several advantages that will help it thrive in a food desert that otherwise might not support a traditional for-profit store because it is owned by the nonprofit Philabundance, Clark says. “One is that I do not have to make a profit,” he says.\r\nFunds were raised to purchase the building, which is now tax-exempt, and additional income is derived from tenant Family Dollar, which shares the building. Equipment and fixtures were donated or purchased at a significant charitable discount.\r\n\r\n“All of our grocery carts were donated by Giant [Carlisle],” Clark says. “Even people who would normally be seen as competitors were involved. We got financial support from Wawa, Giant, Acme.”\r\n\r\nIn fact, it is Wawa convenience store milk sold in the dairy case. “We’ve had a very, very close working relationship with Wawa for the longest time,” Clark says. “They are an investor in the store and in Pennsylvania we have minimum milk price laws, so we asked them if they wanted to participate.”\r\n\r\nIn addition to Wawa, strategic manufacturing partners include Goya, Kimberly-Clark and Bimbo Bakeries.\r\n\r\n“Everything in our store is purchased by us through wholesalers and resold,” Clark says. “We do not make a profit and we cannot sell any product that is donated to Philabundace. It is illegal for us to sell donated product.”\r\n\r\nBut some manufacturers will give Fare &amp; Square a discount on product.\r\n\r\n“Spots within the store will get very good pricing offered to us by partner vendors who realize that we are actually a different class of trade,” Clark says. “They can support us with prices that are very attractive.”\r\n\r\nPrices are cheaper, compared to suburban Pathmark and Giant stores surveyed, and Fare &amp; Square even stocks some items that those stores did not. Oxtails, smoked turkey tails, Bosco or Borden Singles were not available at Giant, for example.\r\n\r\nFare &amp; Square stocks a large assortment of premium brands. When asked by an observer why both Jiffy Baking Mix and Bisquick were carried when the Jiffy was clearly the better deal for impoverished shoppers, Clark replies, “When you talk to people in a community that has been without a supermarket for a while, they will voluntarily tell you up front that they don’t want you to be an Aldi or Save-A-Lot. They want the national brands. It is a question of respect. That said, the shelf movement on the national brand isn’t what you’d expect if you were in Villanova,” he says, referencing a ritzy Main Line suburb.\r\n\r\nHowever, like on the Main Line, just about everyone at Fare &amp; Square belongs to a club. “This store is a membership operation,” Clark says. “We don’t charge for membership, but by asking people to sign up and get a membership card, and then using that card to identify their household, we have access to consumer purchasing data.”\r\n\r\nFare &amp; Square has 7,688 members as of last count. Not bad, considering there are 10,000 households in the entire city. “We are pulling from a larger area than just Chester, including Trainer, Marcus Hook, Upper Chichester and surrounding areas,” Clark says, adding that product selection coupled with low prices is drawing the shoppers in.\r\n“With our relatively small footprint, the key is to be staples with a little bit of drama so that people enjoy the shopping experience,” Clark says. “You don’t want the food section to look as if it was chosen by a food bank and be all bunker food with the largest selection of varietal beans and rice.”\r\n\r\nC-store on steroids\r\nBased on the initial success and customer feedback about Fare &amp; Square, Philabundance is looking to open more stores.\r\n\r\n“There are plenty of areas within our zone, like Camden, Moorestown and Philadelphia’s got multiple opportunities,” Clark says. “But there are also areas within striking distance, whether that is Wilmington, Atlantic City or Trenton.”\r\n\r\nClark concedes that Philabundance will not be opening any “150,000-square-foot Wegmans-type” stores, but likely more outlets in the 20,000-square-foot or smaller range. “If we can achieve some kind of scale in our supply chain, we may be able to augment the distribution of smaller, somewhat C-store on steroids formats,” Clark says. “Like a 6,000-square-foot footprint specializing in perishables.”\r\n\r\nSimilar stores may be cropping up around the nation.\r\n\r\n“We’ve had a lot of inquiries from other cities,” Clark says. “People who live in these [impoverished] communities have much higher incidence of dietary-based disease, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, fatty liver. Diet is creating much higher medical costs. We think it is better to reestablish normal nutritional access than it is to throw pills at the problem.”\r\n\r\nBefore expansion takes placein other areas Fare &amp; Square first needs to work out the kinks in its initial location.\r\n\r\n“The merchandise mix is one of the things that has to be tuned,” Clark says. “Because we’re a nonprofit a lot of people thought we were going to have gluten-free this and organic-that, but that is dead. We have crates in the back room filled with stuff we are pulling from the shelves because it did not sell. Whoever thought we’d be selling Robinson’s Lemon Curd? Are you crazy?”\r\n\r\nPenn-ing a renovation\r\nBefore it was Fare &amp; Square it was West End Food Center. Before that Shop ‘n Bag, and before that it was an outlet of Penn Fruit Co., once one of Philadelphia’s most prominent supermarket chains, known for low prices, flashy promotions and innovative architecture.\r\n\r\nAfter West End closed in 2001, the store sat vacant for a dozen years. “In a space left vacant for so long, you never know what surprises you may uncover,” says Joseph Bona, president, branded environments, at CBX, the New York-based firm that designed the store. Because the project was being undertaken by a nonprofit organization, a tight budget came into play.\r\n\r\n“When the old suspended ceiling system was removed, a fantastic original vaulted ceiling was discovered,” Bona says. “However, age, disrepair and neglect had left the task of renovating it too costly, so up went a new, more affordable suspended ceiling system. The replacement ceiling provided exactly what we wanted to achieve for Fare &amp; Square—the sense of a new, bright and updated market.”\r\n\r\nFactory fresh\r\nWhat does the one-unit Fare &amp; Square have in common with multi-thousand store Kroger and Safeway chains? Like its two larger compatriots, Fare &amp; Square may one day operate its own factory.\r\n\r\nCurrently using the IGA label from its supplier Bozzuto’s, Fare &amp; Square is looking to create its own line of products in certain categories. “We are going to be looking at doing small scale manufacturing ourselves,” says Bill Clark, president and executive director of Philabundance, the Philadelphia-based food bank that operates the store. “We have already trademarked a number of brands, like Community Farms and Community Kitchens.”\r\n\r\nClark says it is getting increasingly difficult for food banks to source staples, like rice and dry beans. “We are starting to do is buy rice and beans in large 2,000-pound bins and use our staff and volunteers to pack them off into one-pound bags as a way to drive down costs,” he says.\r\n\r\nIn addition to repackaging staples like rice, Clark sees Philabundance one day getting into more detailed manufacturing. “Frozen pizza is a big item in any inner city market,” he says. “Why would I want to go and buy frozen pizza from another state when I could make it and put another 20 people to work? And because we are a food bank, we can make the frozen pizza nutritious and still keep our costs low,” he says.\r\n\r\nRead more: http://www.groceryheadquarters.com/2014/01/chesters-little-gem/', 'Chester\'s little gem', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chesters-little-gem', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:42:11', '2018-09-27 17:42:11', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/chesters-little-gem', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1970, 4, '2014-06-17 15:16:31', '2014-06-17 15:16:31', '<em>Morocco’s pioneering duty free store operator will continue renovation of its Mohammed V International Airport stores through later this year</em>\r\nCBX, the New York-based brand agency and retail design consultancy, has completed the initial phases of design work on duty free stores operated by IDFS at Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport (CMN). IDFS, Morocco’s first duty free store company, maintains 926 square meters (9,967 square feet) of selling space divided among a trio of stores at the country’s busiest international airport.\r\n\r\nWhile IDFS remains the dominant duty free operator in Morocco with a total of 10 shops at all major airports, competitors have entered the market with new locations. To best serve its loyal and growing clientele of discriminating international travelers, the 25-year-old company turned to CBX to strategically reposition its stores and to establish new identity standards, including a new logo that, while heavy in Moroccan influence, has been modernized and thus sets a differentiated tone for the new shops.\r\n\r\n“IDFS has embarked on a considerable strategic new store and remodeling program aimed at creating memorable environments,” noted store designer Joseph Bona, president of branded environments at CBX. “They wanted to redefine the brand to be more in tune with the high-end specialty stores that its well-traveled customers shop across the globe.”\r\n\r\nThe fast-track project, begun last July, required a world-class design to increase store shopability as well as a smart and flexible fixturing system to handle a variety of merchandise from tobacco products, wines and spirits, to watches, handbags, cosmetics and fragrances. The first phase was completed earlier this year with the unveiling of a new, 162-square-meter (1,743-square-foot) wall shop featuring fragrances (Tom Ford, Bulgari, Hermes, Lacoste &amp; Marc Jacobs) as well as confectionery and gifts.\r\n\r\nInspired by Moroccan architecture most recognized by its royal arches, CBX created a series of “Riads”—a traditional Moroccan residential design featuring an interior garden or courtyard – rendered in a modern way. The firm’s design scheme references the layout of a classic Riad and further delineates merchandise categories and assists wayfinding with stylized silhouettes, pylons and forms within the shop’s open plan. The plan further employs vertical breaks to create segmented shops to best highlight each merchandise category. Customer journeys through the space are facilitated by overhead departmental signage and internally lit tower fixtures clearly marked with designer brand logos. Abundant LED ambient light punctuated with softly luminous ceiling-hung pendants enhances the welcoming effect. Underfoot, the ever-changing Moroccan desert inspired a circulation path which features flooring transitions from dark tile to lighter colored ones. To further reflect the country’s rich culture and natural beauty, an indigenous color palette featuring shades of rich ivory with sea- and sky-inspired blues is combined with classic Moroccan graphical design motifs.\r\n“We wanted travelers to have a lasting impression of Morocco as they were leaving the country,” Bona explained. “By recalling the country’s traditional architecture along with its luxurious natural palette in a modern way within IDFS stores, we believe we’ve accomplished that objective while also reinforcing IDFS’ position as Morocco’s leading travel retailer.”\r\n\r\nThe second phase of the project was completed in May with a remodeled and expanded wall shop, which is being tied to a celebration of the company’s 25th anniversary. This 330-square-meter (3,552-square-foot) shop is devoted to an expanded selection of prestige fragrances and cosmetics (Chanel, Clarins, Dior, Givenchy, Guerlain, YSL and more) as well as confectionery (Ferrero Rocher, Lindt, Toblerone, Cadbury, and Kinder), cigarettes (Marlboro, Winston, Camel, Vogue, and others), cigars, liquors, wines and gifts.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, design work is underway for the renovation of IDFS’ 434-square-meter (4,672-square-foot) inline shop featuring handbags, sunglasses, watches, apparel and giftware from such brands as Bulgari, Dolce &amp; Gabbana, Lacoste, Longchamp and Swarovski—a number of which are exclusive to IDFS in Morocco’s airport retail market. This third location at CMN is expected to be completed later this year.\r\n\r\nIDFS’ latest strategic design initiatives is led by Executive Vice President Christopher Tantoco, who grew up in the business under the mentorship of his grandparents and IDFS founders Bienvenido Tantoco, Sr. and his late wife, Gliceria Tantoco.\r\n\r\n“We have made significant investments in the improvement of our stores.  To strengthen our position in Morocco’s competitive duty free industry, we commissioned specialists CBX and New Store Europe to execute the major transformation of our brand through our flagship store in Casablanca,” said Christopher Tantoco. “We wanted to differentiate ourselves from our competitor by adding local flavor to our shops and create an environment that will maximize dwell time, customer flow, and properly present each brands’ products creating a memorable shopping experience. I am very excited as this is only the first step to the robust future of IDFS.   Through this project, we have further strengthened our claim of being the ‘Last good buy before you fly!’”\r\n\r\n<strong>As seen in:</strong>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.moodiereport.com/document.php?c_id=39&amp;doc_id=39783\" target=\"_blank\"><em>The Moodie Report</em></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cbx-completes-initial-phases-multi-133000759.html\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Yahoo Finance UK</em></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.airport-world.com/home/general-news/item/4073-duty-free-stores-at-casablanca-gateway-to-be-revamped\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Airport World</em></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://vmsd.com/content/cbx-completes-initial-stages-multi-store-projects-idfs\" target=\"_blank\"><em>VMSD</em></a>\r\n<a href=\"www.retailcustomerexperience.com/photos/moroccos-first-duty-free-stores-get-a-new-look/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Retail Customer Experience</em></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.dutyfreemagazine.ca/gulf-africa/industry-news/operator-news/2014/06/12/moroccos-idfs-finishes-its-phase-of-design-work-with-new-york-based-cbx/#.U6H_uI1dVz8\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Duty Free Magazine</em></a>', 'CBX Completes Initial Phases of Multi Store Projects for IDFS', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cbx-completes-initial-phases-of-multi-store-projects-for-idfs', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:42:11', '2018-09-27 17:42:11', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/cbx-completes-initial-phases-of-multi-store-projects-for-idfs', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1971, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:48', '2018-09-27 16:52:48', '', 'SHINSEGAE2_womens1', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'shinsegae2_womens1', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:48', '2018-09-27 16:52:48', '', 1623, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/SHINSEGAE2_womens1.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1972, 4, '2014-06-18 15:25:52', '2014-06-18 15:25:52', '<strong>Mom is no longer the only consumer shopping the retail aisle. Changing consumer demographics mean brand owners must rethink their packaging to hit a new bull’s-eye.</strong>\r\nNot long ago, it seemed that supermarkets were designed to speak to one audience, and one audience alone: Mothers. Nearly every product in every aisle was designed for Mom and her family. But today, it’s not all about Mom. Consumers are changing and so are brands. There are new generations, new behaviors, new attitudes, and ultimately new target audiences to consider\r\n\r\nSuccessful brands are finding unique ways to reach and attract new consumers to their brand. That often means shifting a brand’s focus away from the traditional bread-and-butter audience, toward another audience that could generate a new revenue stream. This is more than thinking out-of-the-box; this is creating a new box altogether, and it is the way that industry leaders have managed to stay on top of the competition in an age when competition is fierce.\r\n\r\n<strong>Rethinking gender stereotypes</strong>\r\nOne exciting example of this kind of retargeting is the proliferation of playthings and weaponry targeting young girls. Toy companies such as Hasbro, and Zing have retargeted their typically male audiences after the popularity in recent years of fighting-centric female heroines in movies such as The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Brave, and are now creating weaponry and action figures specifically for young girls.\r\n\r\nWhile it is extremely welcome to see such a shifting of gender stereotypes, especially in a category known for gender socialization, these products—which include bows and arrows, shooters, and action figures—are still luring their audience with “girlie” colors like pink and purple, and patterns including hearts, stars, and animal prints. Nerf’s Rebelle line of weapons skillfully incorporates “belle” into its name; another company’s “action shooter” shoots marshmallows. While this may make feminist mothers cringe, the truth is, these toy companies are aware of a new female archetype that is emerging for today’s young girl, one who can be both tough and aggressive yet also feminine and demure. The Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen perfectly embodies this dichotomy, and so do thousands of young women who worship her across the country.\r\n\r\nWhile a rise in female pop culture heroines has brought about new types of toy products, the feminine hygiene category had a different challenge: How do you attract younger consumers to your brand who perceive it to be dated and old-fashioned? Brands like U by Kotex* revolutionized the category by moving away from the demure messaging and understated, pastel packaging that was typical of the category in previous decades, and instead targeting a new generation—Millennials—with bold graphics, black packaging, and down-to-earth, honest messaging. These were not your mother’s tampons; in fact, U by Kotex* offers special, limited-edition tin cases that you actually want to show off inside your bag, rather than hiding them in embarrassment\r\n\r\nRemember the day when metrosexual was a new idea? Today, the beauty industry has recognized that men who care about the way they look are just…men who care about the way they look, which accounts for the majority of men today. Brands like Dove and Nivea have identified a new target in men, and acknowledge that yes, they are just as interested in hair care, skin care, and shaving as women are. This is more than Dove going after men with gray packaging and adding the word “Men” to the brand name; this is about a shifting point of view in sexuality and gender stereotypes, just as it is with girls and weaponry. The fact that nearly every skin-care and hair-care company is going after this audience leads you to wonder: When is Cover Girl going to come out with Cover Boy?\r\n\r\n<strong>Seize the moment</strong>\r\nThese brands are examples of how to successfully expand your audience and reach new consumers. Every single demographic—Millennials, Gen Xers, Baby Boomers, toddlers, at-home dads, and so on—has considerable purchasing power. So how can your brand seize this moment and continue to grow with these consumers?\r\n1. Rethink your audience.\r\n2. Think outside the box.\r\n3. Be daring.\r\n4. Have fun.\r\n\r\nIf you do, you may just hit the bull’s-eye like Katniss Everdeen—and possibly start a (brand) revolution of your very own.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.packworld.com/package-design/strategy/ready-reaim-fire-targeting-new-audiences-through-package-design\" target=\"_blank\">www.packworld.com/package-design/strategy/ready-reaim-fire-targeting-new-audiences-through-package-design</a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;', 'Ready, (Re)aim, Fire: Targeting New Audiences Through Package Design', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'ready-reaim-fire-targeting-new-audiences-through-package-design', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:46', '2018-09-27 17:58:46', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/ready-reaim-fire-targeting-new-audiences-through-package-design', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1973, 4, '2014-06-17 15:48:21', '2014-06-17 15:48:21', 'CBX has appointed Anthony Simon as Group Director of its branded environments team.\r\nThe retail and restaurant design industry veteran brings more than 20 years of experience to CBX, where he will provide creative leadership, oversee process and operations, as well as drive business development efforts. He reports to Joseph Bona, President, CBX Branded Environments\r\n\r\nSimon joined CBX from TPG Architecture, an architecture and design firm in New York City, where, as Design Director, he was a responsible for business development, direction and management of design concepts and staff, and account relationships. His key accounts included Perry Ellis, Original Penguin, Crocs, Adidas, Charming Charlie, HTC, RXR and The Empire State Building.\r\n\r\nPrior to his time at TPG, Simon developed a rich background in project and studio management, creative direction, and relationship building at New York design firms 212 Design Inc. and TSC Design Associates. His key accounts at those firms included Starbucks, Heineken, T Anthony Luggage, Dylans Candy Bar, Quiksilver, Payless, Revel Beach &amp; Nightclub, Sean John, L\'Occitane, and numerous independent restaurants. Earlier in his career, he was a project manager with L\'Oreal USA\'s Lancôme store planning division.\r\n\r\nA resident of Maplewood, N.J., Simon studied at the Pratt Institute School of Architecture, Brooklyn.\r\n\r\n\"Anthony brings a diverse perspective to CBX. He has an impressive background and has worked with a broad spectrum of specialty retail and restaurant clients,\" said Bona. \"We look forward to his leadership and creative contributions to our team.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>As seen in:</strong>\r\n<a href=\"http://vmsd.com/content/cbx-appoints-retail-veteran-branded-environments-team\" target=\"_blank\">VMSD</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/cbx-names-group-director-branded-environments?ad=news\" target=\"_blank\">Chain Store Age</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.rew-online.com/2014/07/10/whos-news-ray-kenny-named-special-projects-manager-at-pb-spector-hires-five-new-architects/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RealEstateWeekly+%28Real+Estate+Weekly%29\" target=\"_blank\">REW</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.designretailonline.com/displayanddesignideas/industry-news/CBX-Appoints-Retail--11856.shtml\" target=\"_blank\">design:retail</a>', 'CBX Appoints Retail Veteran to Branded Environments Team', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cbx-appoints-retail-veteran-to-branded-environments-team', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:56:34', '2018-09-27 17:56:34', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/cbx-appoints-retail-veteran-to-branded-environments-team', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1974, 4, '2014-07-02 16:20:50', '2014-07-02 16:20:50', '<a href=\"http://www.raybernfoods.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Raybern\'s®,</a> the company behind the #1 U.S. selling Philly Cheesesteak sandwich (Source: Nielsen xAOC ending June 7, 2014), stands out in the frozen food cases more than ever thanks to a newly completed packaging graphic redesign by leading global brand agency <a href=\"http://www.cbx.com/\" target=\"_blank\">CBX</a>.\r\n\"Raybern\'s has provided families with delicious, and convenient sandwiches, snacks and appetizers for more than 30 years and is famous for inventing the frozen deli sandwich,\" said Rob Leibowitz, CEO, Raybern Foods. \"Consumers consistently describe our handcrafted sandwiches as hearty and delicious. The goal of our partnership with CBX and this graphic redesign project was to ensure that our exceptional product delivery and consumer experience were significantly more visually apparent and appealing at shelf.\"\r\n\r\n\"Elements of the redesign included a new graphics system and typography, a strong focus on mouth-watering food photography, as well as messaging that emphasizes the handcrafted nature of the company\'s sandwiches,\" noted CBX Chief Creative Officer, Rick Barrack.\r\n\r\nCreated by the company\'s founder more than 30 years ago, Raybern\'s original bread recipe delivers a deli-soft roll after just 90 seconds in the microwave. To this day, the bread is baked daily onsite and is one of the key components of the sandwiches. The meats are artisanally seasoned, cooked and sliced deli thin. To complete the authentic experience, the sandwiches are handcrafted and individually wrapped in butcher paper. \"New customers were often surprised at just how great the sandwiches actually tasted,\" said Barrack. \"Meanwhile, the old packaging design was functional, but lacked true stand-out appetite appeal. The graphics system was also a bit fragmented at shelf.\"\r\n\r\nCBX\'s redesign focused on clarity and consistency as well as the artistic and emotive side of the Hayward, Calif.-based brand. \"We reorganized the packaging information and added more romance and food appeal to convey the satisfying and satiating experience of these artisanal products,\" Barrack explained. \"For example, we used parchment paper for the backdrop, with the sandwich beautifully photographed along with \'perfectly imperfect\' nuances such as crumbing on the surface.\" The branding firm\'s introduction of classic typographical elements also helped increase shelf presence and enhance the overall impression.\r\n\r\nAt a time when more consumers put high value on authenticity, the CBX team felt it made good sense to better articulate Raybern\'s authentic story. \"That\'s why you\'ll see the term \'handcrafted\' more prominently on the new packaging,\" Barrack said. \"We wanted to move toward something that felt more authentic, real and genuine.\"\r\n\r\nToday, Raybern\'s continues to support its best-selling items as well as introducing new sandwiches, snacks and appetizer varieties to best satisfy America\'s ever-evolving tastes and preferences. \"This strategy is sure to appeal to current fans and win new customers,\" said Barrack. \"By offering more \'pop\' at shelf, the comprehensive redesign will no doubt contribute to these efforts by increasing product trial.\" Raybern\'s sandwiches are found in the freezer and deli sections of retailers including Walmart, Costco, Sam\'s Club, Smart &amp; Final, HEB, ShopRite, Ahold, BI-LO, Lucky\'s, Savemart, Raley\'s, Wakefern, Carrs-Safeway, Randalls, Tom Thumb and select Safeway locations.\r\n\r\n<strong>About Raybern Foods:</strong>\r\nRaybern\'s is a 30-year-old family founded company that hand crafts millions of sandwiches every month. Available in deli and freezer sections at retailers nationwide, Raybern\'s sandwiches include the #1 selling Philly Cheesesteak sandwich in the U.S. (Source: Nielsen xAOC ending June 7, 2014). Raybern\'s invented the frozen deli sandwich, using top quality meats, delicious sauces and hearty cheeses and a unique bread recipe that cooks up \'bakery soft\' after just 90 seconds in the microwave. Learn more at <a href=\"http://rayberns.com/\" target=\"_blank\">www.Rayberns.com</a> or <a href=\"https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/tasty-look-rayberns-r-thanks-133000177.html\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com/Rayberns.</a>\r\n\r\n<strong>As seen in:</strong>\r\n<a href=\"http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tasty-look-rayberns-r-thanks-133000177.html\" target=\"_blank\">Yahoo Biz</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://finance.boston.com/boston/news/read/27595404/A_Tasty_New_Look_for_Raybern%27s\" target=\"_blank\">Boston.com</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.packworld.com/package-design/redesign/graphic-redesign-philly-cheesesteak-focuses-authenticity\" target=\"_blank\">Packaging World</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.foodandbeveragepackaging.com/articles/87223-re-branding-improves-shelf-appeal-of-handcrafted-heat-and-serve-sandwiches\" target=\"_blank\">Food &amp; Beverage Packaging</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.brandpackaging.com/articles/print/84857-rayberns-sandwiches-get-graphic-redesign\" target=\"_blank\">Brandpackaging</a>', 'A Tasty New Look for Raybern\'s', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'a-tasty-new-look-for-raybernsr-thanks-to-packaging-redesign-by-cbx', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:56:33', '2018-09-27 17:56:33', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/a-tasty-new-look-for-raybernsr-thanks-to-packaging-redesign-by-cbx', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1975, 4, '2014-06-10 16:52:05', '2014-06-10 16:52:05', 'It\'s widely believed that men are faster, more time- efficient shoppers than women and that unlike their female counterparts, they don\'t like to linger in stores but instead prefer to find an item, buy it and get in and out as quickly as possible. But with the arrival of department store Saks Fifth Avenue\'s new men\'s standalone lifestyle concept The Fifth Man at its historic Beverly Hills location, that gender-based retail truism may soon be turned on its ear.\r\nOpened in February 2014 and short for \"The Saks Fifth Avenue Man,\" the renovated and renamed Fifth Man space covers 6,000 sq. feet (557 sq. meters) and features three key highlights: a downstairs premium denim bar that is adjoined by an actual bar in an area called D-Bar, a shoe shop that is among the biggest for men on the West Coast and designer shop-in-shops and a prototype space dedicated to the store\'s in-house Saks Fifth Avenue Men\'s Collection on the main floor.\r\n\r\nThe denim-and-drinks D-Bar concept was designed by the California-based architectural firm Marmot Radziner and feature a lounge area with a custom-made pool table, a street-art mural by artist Karl Clay and walls covered in boardwalk wood. An onsite John Allan\'s Salon offers customers both grooming services and beverages.\r\nThe adjoining denim bar\'s product assortment is a virtual who\'s who of the top premium denim brands and includes AG, Diesel, DL 1961, Joe\'s, Hudson, Nudie, PRPS, Rag &amp; Bone, 7 for All Mankind, A.P.C. and True Religion. Also featured are a revolving selection of up-and coming jeans brands such as Diana Keinejad, Baldwin and BLK Denim. \"Customers are very impressed with the product offered and people really seem to like the underground vibe,\" says Amber Ayala, fashion and public relations coordinator for the Beverly Hills location, about the overall reaction to the new space.\r\n\r\nUpstairs, the new Shoes On the Main Floor area features more than 600 styles divided across three sections. The first is for classic brands such as Salvatore Ferragamo and Rosetti, the second includes designer footwear from the likes of Gucci, Prada and Dior while the third, the contemporary area, has names such as Paul Smith, Viktor &amp; Rolf and Marc Jacobs. Newly added brands to Shoes on the Main Floor include Del Toro, Martin Margiela and Pirelli, among others.\r\n\r\nElsewhere on the floor is the latest prototype shop for the store\'s in-house men\'s collection, an assortment Saks has been putting special emphasis on of late. New York-based design and architecture firm CBX created this area. It features exposed ceilings and white oak flooring. According Ayala, The Fifth Man concept, which reties heavily on art installations and residential-style furniture that welcomes guys to stay awhile, will be carried over to other Saks locations and has already been implemented at its Chicago store. \"Through these innovative renovations, Saks is thrilled to offer our customers exciting new lifestyle shopping experiences,\" adds Tom Ott, senior vice president and GMM for men\'s, home and gifts at Saks Fifth Avenue. \"0-Bar and the men\'s shoe salon in particular are sure to become iconic West Coast shopping destinations.\"\r\n\r\nSource: <a href=\"http://www.sportswearnet.com/epaper/32/flipviewerxpress.html\" target=\"_blank\">Sportswear International, Issue #261, Page 44 - Jul/Aug 2014</a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;', '﻿For The Boys Saks Fifth Avenue Rolls Out Its New Men\'s Store Concept In Beverly Hills', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '%ef%bb%bffor-the-boys-saks-fifth-avenue-rolls-out-its-new-mens-store-concept-in-beverly-hills', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:42', '2018-09-27 17:58:42', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/%ef%bb%bffor-the-boys-saks-fifth-avenue-rolls-out-its-new-mens-store-concept-in-beverly-hills', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
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(1977, 4, '2014-06-01 19:47:45', '2014-06-01 19:47:45', '<strong>Design firm brings California cool to a legacy brand</strong>\r\n\"Orange is orange is orange is orange.\" That was the challenge design firm CBX faced last year when it was tasked with giving the Sunkist soda brand a redesign. \"Unlike the stalwarts of Coke and Pepsi, or even specific flavors like Dr Pepper ... the three orange [soft-drink] players are perceived as similar,\" says Satoru Wakeshima, general manager at New York-based CBX.\r\n\r\nCBX had to take its client Dr Pepper Snapple Group\'s venerable Sunkist brand and elevate it above all other orange sodas. In order to do that, says Wakeshima, \"you need to give people a reason to believe.\"\r\n\r\nThe brand\'s heritage stems from the original Sunkist fruit growers. And a certain segment of the population still has a nostalgic fondness for that brand legacy. But that\'s not whom the company was targeting.\r\n\r\n\"How can we make people fall in love with Sunkist again? How do we make it relevant to a younger audience?\" says Wakeshima. \"How can we get them to really feel like this is a brand that is relevant attitudinally?\"\r\n\r\nTo help get inspired, CBX designers decked out their studio war room in California \"beach chic.\" Real sand was poured on the floors. Beach scenes and sunsets covered the windows. Beach balls, surfboards, beach chairs and towels were thrown across the tables. The result of all that method design is a bright, sunny, mouthwatering representation of the California sunshine. \"There\'s an appeal to that kind of California cool attitude that is laid-back, easygoing, but still has a lot of energy,\" Wakeshima says. \"That\'s very, very relevant to a millennial market. The personality of the brand is radiant, driven and optimistic.\"\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><img class=\"wp-image-8307 aligncenter\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Sunkist2.jpg\" alt=\"Sunkist2\" width=\"619\" height=\"541\" /></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Source: CSP, Issue: May June 2014 - Page 104</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;', 'Putting the Sun Back in Sunkist', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'putting-the-sun-back-in-sunkist', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:46', '2018-09-27 17:58:46', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/putting-the-sun-back-in-sunkist', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
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(1979, 4, '2014-07-22 14:33:26', '2014-07-22 14:33:26', 'Vacation rental service Airbnb unveiled a new logo last week that generated a wave of criticism for its design. Some likened it to a triangular paperclip or, even more crudely, to certain female anatomy. But the company still stands by the logo, which it calls Bélo and says represents belonging. “It’s a symbol for people who want to welcome into their home new experiences, new cultures, and new conversations,” Airbnb said on its blog. Well, maybe if you squint.\r\nAs to be expected, branding experts aren’t exactly thrilled by the design. Their verdict: Why futz with something that seemed to work just fine.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">“My issue is that the original logo was pretty good to begin with,” said Rick Barrack, chief creative officer at CBX, a brand agency.</p>\r\nAirbnb’s prior logo – the company’s name in light blue lettering – was simple and something that more start-ups should do, he said. It communicated the brand and stuck in the mind of its users. Despite backlash, Barrack said that Airbnb should now stay the course. “The outrage will go away very quickly,” he predicted.\r\n\r\nAgainst the backdrop of Airbnb’s logo Fortune is exploring other examples of corporate branding that – at least according to popular opinion – missed the mark. Here are a few examples.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong> </strong>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-8347\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/new-logos-tropicana.jpg\" alt=\"new-logos-tropicana\" width=\"545\" height=\"317\" />\r\n<strong>Tropicana</strong></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>Date released: 2009</em>\r\n<em> Lifespan: Nearly two months</em></p>\r\nThe Pepsico-owned juices PEP -0.51% , which claims to deliver \"100% pure squeezed Florida sunshine\" to its customers, had somewhat of a cloudy day branding-wise five years ago when it introduced new packaging. The company replaced its iconic logo - an orange-with-a-straw-stuck-in-it - in favor of a glass filled with juice. The backlash was fierce: Sales by Tropicana rivals increased, while its own fell 20%, according to AdvertisingAge. A little over a month later, it switched back to its previous design.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-8348\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/new-logos-gap.jpg\" alt=\"new-logos-gap\" width=\"545\" height=\"317\" />\r\n<strong>Gap</strong></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>Date released: 2010</em>\r\n<em> Lifespan: A week</em></p>\r\nClothing store Gap GPS 0.41% tried to recast its image from \"classic, American design to modern, sexy, cool,\" a company spokesperson said at the time. That ended in failure, however. The retail store has always been known for the elegant and elongated letters of its font. But it switched to lowercase black letters with an awkwardly placed blue box atop the letter.\r\n\r\nIn reaction to the outcry, the company used Facebook to solicit its customers for advice. \"We know this logo created a lot of buzz and we’re thrilled to see passionate debates unfolding!” the company wrote. \"So much so we’re asking you to share your designs. We love our version, but we’d like to see other ideas.\" The call for help didn\'t amount to much and the company later returned to its \"classic\" roots.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-8349\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/new-logos-jc-penney.jpg\" alt=\"new-logos-jc-penney\" width=\"545\" height=\"317\" />\r\n<strong>JCPenney</strong></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>Date released: 2012</em>\r\n<em> Lifespan: A year</em></p>\r\nFor JCPenney JCP -0.35% , the logo woes were many. In fact, the company switched up its design every year for four years. In 2011, it threw out its classic logo for another featuring lower case letters and a red box. It then held a competition for a new design. The winner? A lowercase \"jcp\" in a blue box, bordered by a bigger red box. The tweak didn\'t make customers happy, however, and they changed the design back a year later (having also changed the logo a year before that in 2011). Of course, all these redesigns came as the company stumbled financially, capped by a $550 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2012.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-8350\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/new-logos-starbucks.jpg\" alt=\"new-logos-starbucks\" width=\"545\" height=\"317\" />\r\n<strong>Starbucks</strong></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>Date released: 2011</em>\r\n<em> Lifetime: Still alive</em></p>\r\nStarbucks SBUX 1.13% switched its logo to something simpler to celebrate its 40th anniversary. The company added a lot of green to the design and removed the \"Starbucks Coffee\" phrase that had wrapped around the company\'s signature symbol - a siren. CEO Howard Kurtz said that the mascot had \"been through it all\" over the last four decades, and needed a \"small but meaningful update.\" Reactions were initially mixed, although the criticism has since died down.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://fortune.com/2014/07/21/branding-gone-wrong-when-bad-logos-strike-back/\" target=\"_blank\">http://fortune.com/2014/07/21/branding-gone-wrong-when-bad-logos-strike-back/</a>', 'Branding gone wrong: When bad logos strike back', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'branding-gone-wrong-when-bad-logos-strike-back', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:56:34', '2018-09-27 17:56:34', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/branding-gone-wrong-when-bad-logos-strike-back', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1980, 4, '2014-07-22 15:25:28', '2014-07-22 15:25:28', '<a href=\"https://www.columbiacrest.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Columbia Crest’</a>s Grand Estate line of wines is a best-seller at <a href=\"http://www.krestonwines.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Kreston Wine &amp; Spirits</a>, but owner Bob Kreston did a double take when a shipment arrived not that long ago. “I thought it was a mis-shipment,” recalls Kreston, who owns two full-service stores in Dover, Delaware. “I was ready to send it back, tell them I hadn’t ordered that. And if I was confused… I had customers coming up to me to ask why we had stopped carrying Columbia Crest.”\r\nThe new Grand Estate label, with its shield shape, clean lines and dominant “C,” was night-to-day from the old one. “Sometimes I wonder,” says Kreston, “why they need to fix something that isn’t broken.”\r\n\r\nThat’s a question that more and more retailers are asking—more and more often. It may be that a brand that has fallen out of favor, or they may be aiming at a different demographic target. Some suppliers make small changes to their labels regularly, as part of an overall marketing plan. While the motivations may be diverse, the packaging adjustments can add up—and it’s retailers who wind up having to deal with it.\r\n\r\nIn fact, say a number of branding and marketing experts, this re-jiggering is likely to continue apace. Producers (and not just the multinationals) are bigger, have deeper pockets, and are better able to revise their brands when they see a need. Also, as the number of wine SKUs, which may be high as 15,000, continues to grow, producers large and small will keep striving to stand out from the pack.\r\n\r\n<strong>Three-Tier Effect</strong>\r\n\r\nLabel tweaks are generally more common than wholesale changes, notes Courtney Holmes of <a href=\"http://www.talkissheepmarketing.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Talk is Sheep Marketing</a> in Sacramento: “The goal is to shake the brands up, and sometimes they achieve the objective, but some don’t. But when they confuse the buyers, they’re not helping themselves.”\r\n\r\nA wine’s label is its identity, and in a category where consumers are often faced with a literal wall of wine, many shoppers are more likely to remember the label rather than the name of the product (or recognize). Says Chris Battista, who owns the 7,500-square-foot <a href=\"http://www.ledgebrookwines.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Ledgebrook Spirit Shop</a> in Winsted, CT, “A decent amount of consumers, they don’t know a lot about wine, but the label will catch them up to what they’ve bought in the past.”\r\n\r\nScott Stern, of the CBX marketing consultancy in New York City, who has worked with drinks companies Allied Domecq, Miller Brands, LVMH and Gallo, points out that wine makeovers are a special case. With typical consumer goods, the consumer is the primary target audience for the new label. In wine, though, thanks to the three-tier distribution system, a new label first has to appeal to the distributor, says Stern, and the retailer almost as much as the distributor.\r\n\r\n“The distributor has to buy in to what’s going on. They have to be excited about what’s happening,” says Stern. “Otherwise, they don’t have any motivation about the new label.”\r\n\r\nCarmen Castaldi, senior vice president of sales and marketing at <a href=\"https://www.rodneystrong.com/#age-verify\" target=\"_blank\">Rodney Strong Wine Estates</a> in Healdsburg, CA, says “distributor fatigue” is an ongoing concern for suppliers. “And it’s a vicious circle,” he adds. “They have so many SKUs that they’re cutting them, so when someone says, ‘Sell our wine,’ they need a good, compelling reason to do so.”\r\n\r\nHence, the pressure to re-jigger a product to earn the attention of the distributor, who then, at least in theory, transfers enthusiasm for the new look to the retailer. Unfortunately, word of Columbia Crest’s new label never made it to Bob Kreston before the first case of “C” wine arrived.\r\n\r\nRetailers, to their credit, say they understand much of what is going on and why it is happening. But they still have concerns—not only for themselves, but for their customers.\r\n\r\n“Some brands may need a boost,” says Megan Shervin, a partner in the 5,400-square-foot <a href=\"http://www.wineliquorbeer.com/\" target=\"_blank\">The Liquor Store</a> in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. “Normally, when someone changes a label, they’re changing the face of their brand. So they wouldn’t go to all that trouble unless they really needed to. But it’s scary when they do it. We changed the store’s logo after 29 years, and I know how much trouble that was.”\r\n\r\nCBX’s Stern cautions that brands who leave retailers out of the makeover process risk having their wine suffer as a result. Understandably, Kreston wonders why brands publicize their changes to the media and distributors, so why not at the retail front line, with straightforward POS material? “I’ve always thought a case card with the two labels—what it was and what it is—would help people recognize the new label,” he says.\r\n\r\nChris Battista, in Connecticut, shares Kreston’s frustration: “I’m seeing new products almost weekly,” says Battista. “The distributors are choked up. Is this a new wine, or the same juice with a new label?”\r\n\r\nIt’s surprising that suppliers don’t consistently make a more concerted effort to pre-publicize a label change. Because the whole idea of a re-jiggered label is to sell more wine. And retailers, distributors and suppliers all like the idea of that.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.beveragemedia.com/index.php/2014/07/the-revolving-door-of-wine-labels/\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.beveragemedia.com/index.php/2014/07/the-revolving-door-of-wine-labels/</a>', 'The Revolving Door of Wine Labels', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-revolving-door-of-wine-labels', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '2018-09-27 17:42:12', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/the-revolving-door-of-wine-labels', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1981, 4, '2014-07-23 16:48:01', '2014-07-23 16:48:01', '<strong>With Its New Brand-Consistent Graphics, Logo and Voice, the Twin Cities Nonprofit Is Better Able to Serve Homeless Youth, Executive Director Says</strong>\r\nWith the help of leading brand agency CBX, the Twin Cities nonprofit YouthLink has undergone the type of rebranding project normally reserved for savvy commercial clients such as General Mills, Best Buy or ConAgra.\r\n\r\n\"Already, the changes are helping YouthLink better serve homeless youth in the Twin Cities,\" said Dr. Heather Huseby, YouthLink\'s Executive Director. \"Our brand now stands out and is consistent and unique, which has helped us better communicate with clients, the media, other nonprofits and our donors and volunteers. CBX has helped us learn how to tell our story, and that can actually help us save lives.\"\r\n\r\nWinner of \"Nonprofit of the Year\" in 2013, YouthLink is known for its effort to empower homeless or otherwise disadvantaged youth from the Minneapolis-St. Paul region. Despite having a strong purpose, \"the brand was inconsistent and lacked a common visual and verbal voice across various communication channels prior to the branding exercise,\" said Nancy Brown, Managing Partner of CBX\'s Minneapolis office. The purpose of the redesign was to solve this problem by creating a new logo and unifying YouthLink\'s graphics, voice and messaging.\r\n\r\n\"Either you take a conscious approach to telling your story, or your story gets lost amid a sea of competing messages,\" Brown explained. \"In the commercial marketplace, having an inconsistent brand message is a major hindrance to clear communication with your intended audience. Smart nonprofits know this is true in their space as well.\"\r\n\r\nDuring the research phase of the project, CBX brand experts encouraged the whole organization to engage in a dialog about YouthLink\'s mission and messaging. This in turn helped guide and shape the rebranding effort, Dr. Huseby noted. \"It led to thoughtful conversations throughout our organization, including among the youth themselves,\" she said. \"Every nonprofit should go through this kind of process. It taught us to look inside of ourselves and ask who we really are.\"\r\n\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">About YouthLink</span>\r\nYouthLink builds healthy relationships with youth and the community to address youths\' urgent needs so that doors of opportunity are opened to futures of empowerment, connectedness, and self-reliance. They serve as a critical resource for homeless, precariously housed and marginalized young people ages 16 to 23 by providing a safe, supportive refuge where youth can find help meeting basic needs. You can find more information at <a href=\"www.youthlinkmn.org\" target=\"_blank\">www.youthlinkmn.org</a>.', 'YouthLink Rebrands With Help From Brand Agency CBX', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'youthlink-rebrands-with-help-from-brand-agency-cbx', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:52', '2018-09-27 17:58:52', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/youthlink-rebrands-with-help-from-brand-agency-cbx', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1982, 4, '2014-08-01 15:06:33', '2014-08-01 15:06:33', 'By Todd Maute\r\nWhere on “The Spectrum of Love” does your private label brand live? After all, if you think about how people relate to brands, there really is quite a broad array of possibilities, from the cynical (“I couldn’t care less about that brand.”) to the quasi-mystical (“The brand and I are one.”).\r\n\r\nOn one end of this spectrum — call it the left side — you start with brands that are sadly lacking for love stories of any kind. These are brands people know about but rarely or never use. On the other side of the scale are those beloved, even iconic, brands people gladly identify with and use.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, the ho-hum side of the spectrum happens to be where a great many private label brands reside. This includes everything from below-average product quality to meet a price point to the merely functional. The common thread is the lack of inspiration in packaging and overall product and brand vision. There is simply nothing interesting or enticing about many of these products; they elicit a “So what?” type of response from consumers.\r\n\r\nFor the most part, private label branding continues to be rooted in appeals to the price-conscious buyer, in a relationship that feels more transactional than emotional. When it comes to private label brands, one could ask, “Where’s the love?”\r\n\r\nA prerequisite is persuading retailers of the need for private label to transcend the mundane in the first place. After all, if the retailer sees its brands through the functional lens, its customers are bound to do the same. By contrast, when retailers embrace and love their brands, consumers will as well.\r\n\r\nSome might not see anything wrong with accepting private label as merely functional. However, would they actually go on the record to admit that their highest aspirations are to be followers rather than leaders? In what other competitive arena is this passive mentality considered acceptable? Imagine being a brand manager at Apple, Nike or some other national brand and saying to the c-suite execs: “Sure, people like those other products way better than ours, but our latest sales are still OK.” Cut to the scene where you head out to your car with the contents of your desk in a cardboard box.\r\n\r\nThe question, then, is how to find a way to make private label brands live in consumers’ hearts and minds?\r\n\r\nThe uninspiring part of the spectrum is about low or nonexistent expectations. Happier with a name-brand light bulb because of its aura of greater longevity, a customer nonetheless grabs a private label brand on the way out of the store; it was the first one she saw, and it might be as good as the national brand — it’s only a light bulb after all. Intent on buying some Ben &amp; Jerry’s “Karamel Sutra,” another disappointed shopper grabs a private label brand she has never heard of; they were out of Karamel Sutra, and the retailer’s brand looks kind of similar and is cheaper, to boot.\r\n\r\nMoving to the more emotionally resonant part of the spectrum, you start to find brands that people actually enjoy or even love to use. One example is Trader Joe’s, where lively atmosphere and enthusiastic customer service help make up for the shortcomings of the company’s whimsical but imperfect packaging. Nonetheless, most consumers are happy with the net effect, and the chain’s hardcore fans really do love going to Trader Joe’s and buying their products. Consider that in May, Trader Joe’s once again came out on top after Market Force Information asked 6,200 consumers to name their overall favorite grocery store.\r\n\r\nThe research firm noted in a release: “With its quirky branding, unique private label products such as Speculoos Cookie Butter and Green Tea Mints, and a constantly rotating array of merchandise, Trader Joe’s has amassed a loyal following of shoppers looking for an unconventional grocery shopping experience with a neighborhood feel. The national chain is regularly recognized for delivering a level of service and customer satisfaction that exceeds expectations.”\r\n\r\nLikewise, Amazon’s Kindle is a private label brand beloved by millions of digital bibliophiles. These on-the-go readers will never forget that first experience of, say, getting stuck with a lengthy flight delay but then, within seconds, downloading a juicy book to help them while away the hours at the airport (and it would be much easier to read, if only CNN wasn’t blaring over the TVs). Building on this initial masterstroke of innovation, Amazon has retained these customers’ loyalty by continually upgrading Kindle technology and, much to the chagrin of Amazon’s rivals, doing everything it can to corner the market on digital books.\r\n\r\nAnother example of an emotive private label brand is Duane Reade’s deLish, which scored a hit by speaking to New Yorkers in their own language (“delish” is a legitimate adjective among native New Yorkers of all stripes) and offering convenient, sophisticated food options.\r\n\r\nWith this spectrum in mind, here are few big-picture approaches that can move private label brands toward the emotional end.\r\n\r\n<strong>Embrace your  hometown and bring it to life on pack.</strong>\r\n\r\nHave you ever heard of a hyper-local restaurant? That’s a trendy way of describing a restaurant that has its own garden — onsite. In today’s marketplace, consumers are in love with all things local. If your private label narrative includes a hometown-oriented origin story or founder, consider making it a part of the package as Duane Reade has done with Skyline, which features a UPC code in the shape of the city’s famous horizon. Most retailers are regional. Why shouldn’t they make a bigger regional play with their private label?\r\n\r\n<strong>Have fun.</strong>\r\n\r\nBranding is always serious business. But this doesn’t mean your private label brands have to be prim and proper. Bright colors are no longer sufficient to pop at shelf. The wry wit of a standup comedian? That is something people don’t expect on the product aisle. Done right, humor and lightness can be a differentiator.\r\n\r\n<strong> It’s OK to be bold and beautiful.</strong>\r\n\r\nDesign matters. Consider the simple white packaging at Waitrose. This is elegance in action. When you create a new brand, the results of your approach don’t have to be measured solely in terms of sales or market share; there is also the dimension of aesthetic success and the pursuit of broader goals such as customer loyalty and long-term brand building. (Remember, too, that good design doesn’t have to be expensive. Even chains with small budgets can leverage design and shopper insights to create love affairs with their customers.) How invested are you in making sure the brand is forward-looking and relevant? Are you taking any risks? How do you want the brand to make people feel?\r\n\r\nIndeed, many retailers would do well to think more about the role of emotion and personality. Find out not just how much money your core customers want to spend, but also learn what kind of statements they want to make about themselves. Study what makes them laugh or causes them to roll their eyes. If something about the product is awkward or embarrassing — maybe it’s in the hygiene or cleaning category — would trying to hide this aspect of the product really work? Or, would it be better to “keep it real” by taking the unconventional route in a way that causes your consumers to smile or even laugh?\r\n\r\nCan every private label brand move up the spectrum? No doubt. There is clearly a huge amount of room for private brands to bolster their emotional appeal. If you ignore the emotional side of the spectrum by sticking with a functional approach, how can you take your brand to the next level?\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.brandpackaging.com/articles/84832-wheres-the-private-label-love\" target=\"_blank\">www.brandpackaging.com/articles/84832-wheres-the-private-label-love</a>', 'Where\'s the (Private Label) Love?', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'wheres-the-private-label-love', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:52', '2018-09-27 17:58:52', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/wheres-the-private-label-love', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1983, 4, '2014-08-06 13:38:47', '2014-08-06 13:38:47', '<strong>As it seeks to tweak its image, Lyft announced its hire of Jesse McMillin, a former Virgin America employee.</strong>\r\nRide-hailing service Lyft is bringing in top talent with its recent hire of Jesse McMillin, the former creative director at Virgin American who had helped to transform that company’s image.\r\n\r\nLyft announced the hire in a blog post on July 29, giving McMillin a platform to introduce himself and his mission for the company. “It’s not every day that all of the ingredients for an amazing brand perfectly align and create a space where the potential and opportunity is entirely limitless,” he wrote. “To be a part of shaping the path for where such an exciting brand will go is not only a special opportunity, it’s the chance of a lifetime.”\r\n\r\nDuring his tenure at Virgin America, McMillin was responsible for projects including a new <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtyfiPIHsI\" target=\"_blank\">in-flight safety video</a> that drew praise for its entertainment value. In fact, the video went viral, and was viewed nearly 10 million times on YouTube.\r\n\r\nAs he attempts to make his mark on Lyft, especially as it tries to grow amid legal problems and a <a href=\"http://fortune.com/2014/07/25/after-a-two-week-delay-lyft-finally-launches-in-new-york/\" target=\"_blank\">rocky start to service in New York City,</a> McMillin has bold plans. In an interview with <a href=\"http://www.wired.com/2014/08/lyft-taps-virgin-americas-design-honcho-to-tranform-its-goofy-image/\" target=\"_blank\">Wired </a>on Tuesday, McMillin called Lyft an “underdog,” and that the company’s signature pink, fluffy mustache attached to the front of its driver’s cars may evolve in the future. “There are different ways you might execute the power of an icon. We’ll be thinking about the next life of the mustache,” he told Wired.\r\n\r\nGregg Lipman, a managing partner at the branding firm CBX, called Lyft’s hire a strong one. “Virgin is a pretty good training ground to choose from,” he told Fortune in an email.\r\n\r\nLipman praised the company’s current image as “quirky, unique and ownable.” He added that the decision to hire McMillin may be a solid choice, especially if Lyft hopes to reach a wider range of customers. “The question will be, as competition with Uber increases, and they both deal with regulation and the inevitable backlash, will this cute, perky persona be adaptable to a broader ubiquitous audience – and will it need to?” he said.\r\n\r\nAnd like with McMillin, the mustache became a focal point for Lipman when discussing Lyft’s look going forward. “I can’t see them losing the mustache in the near future. Maybe a dye job would do, but not a shave,” he added.\r\n\r\nBut, interestingly, the company has seemingly already begun distancing itself from the pink appendage. In its newly minted New York City service, for instance, cars are without the signature mustaches attached to the grilles. Instead, a small, pink one will hang on the windshield, according to <a href=\"http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-25/lyft-says-it-will-begin-new-york-city-service-tonight.html\" target=\"_blank\">Bloomberg</a>. Maybe it’s a signal of what’s to come.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://fortune.com/2014/08/06/lyfts-new-creative-director-trim-the-pink-mustache-or-leave-it-alone/\" target=\"_blank\">http://fortune.com/2014/08/06/lyfts-new-creative-director-trim-the-pink-mustache-or-leave-it-alone/</a>', 'Lyft\'s new creative director: Trim the pink mustache or leave it alone?', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'lyfts-new-creative-director-trim-the-pink-mustache-or-leave-it-alone', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:44', '2018-09-27 17:58:44', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/lyfts-new-creative-director-trim-the-pink-mustache-or-leave-it-alone', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1984, 4, '2014-08-14 16:38:57', '2014-08-14 16:38:57', '<strong>Brands are telling consumers how they will feel if they buy their product—and are doing it front and center on their packages.</strong>\r\nMaybe it’s me, but it seems like everywhere you look these days, there’s bad news: war, domestic shootings, political unrest, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (okay, so that was a false alarm, but still…). With headlines like these, is it any wonder that people are grasping for positivity wherever they can find it? Not surprisingly, Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” song is the anthem of 2014, the one that got Meryl Streep dancing in the aisles at the Oscars. Pharrell is proud to tell everyone that he’s happy, and you should be too, dammit.\r\n\r\nPop songs have no problem telling you how you should be feeling, and now brands are following suit by staging end benefits front and center on pack. A recent trip down the supermarket aisle proves how brands are leveraging this strategy. Several can be seen using a strong end benefit to make the consumer believe they need to buy these products to feel better about life. To feel refreshed, optimistic, energized and—you guessed it—happy. Instead of human behavior driving brands, as they once did, it now seems that brands are the ones driving human behavior.\r\n\r\nAnd when I say they are “on pack,” I’m not saying that these messages are simply tertiary copy buried beneath a brand, sub-brand or claim. In many instances, the end benefits are promoted prominently, and have even become part of the brand name.\r\n\r\nCrest recently launched a new line, “Be,” that lets consumers define themselves based on the products they are using. Forget about getting clean teeth and fresh breath—now, you can recalibrate your psyche with just one brush! Be INSPIRED, in a Vanilla Mint Spark flavor, is for those who feel their dental routine is a little, well, underwhelming. Be ADVENTUROUS, in a Mint Chocolate Trek flavor, takes your mouth on an exhilarating ride. And Be DYNAMIC, with its unusual Lime Spearmint Zest combination, tingles the senses with bold and unexpected flavors. The thing that gets consumers’ attention is the prominent sub-brand “Be”; and the end benefit that follows reinforces who and what they should be (inspired, adventurous, dynamic). Crest believes that the emphasis on the potential of what one could be will ultimately drive sales.\r\n\r\nDietary supplement brand, Neuro, prominently features its end benefit front and center on its bottles. In fact, this benefit is so much larger than the actual brand name that you might think that SLEEP (with the tagline “Sweet Dreams”) is the brand, rather than a sub-brand. With this approach, Neuro is trying to lure consumers who are looking for an end benefit, not a specific brand. It’s a great strategy because who wouldn’t be attracted to a product that has the ability to change one’s behavior for the better? Hell, any drink that would help me sleep more soundly is one I’d happily give a shot.\r\n\r\nI have to admit, there’s something incredibly appealing about a brand trying to enhance my well-being. But I also can’t help but wonder: Is it realistic to expect a brand to make us feel a certain way about ourselves? Most people would say no, but in a time when books like “The Happiness Project” put a premium on feeling happy, I guess my response is: Why not? After all, Coca-Cola, Apple and Betty Crocker—three of the biggest brand names of our time—have been asking us to feel and behave in certain ways for years, but have limited the use of these messages to their advertising campaigns.\r\n\r\n“Have a Coke and a Smile”—a slogan that embodied Coke’s M.O. to spread happiness around the world—has appeared in Coke ads and on promotional collateral for years but rarely on actual bottles. Ditto for Apple, who used “Think Different” in its groundbreaking ad campaign, and put the letter “i” before its product names. (They claim the “i” stands for “interactive,” but there’s no question it also references the individual who puts his/her own stamp on whatever Apple device they are using.) For years, Betty Crocker inspired consumers to “Bake Someone Happy.” What heartless soul wouldn’t bake a dozen cupcakes to make their kids smile?\r\n\r\nSo, at the end of the day, I wholeheartedly welcome this movement. It’s a lot easier and cheaper than paying a therapist $200 an hour to have you vent about your emotions or complain about why you’re not sleeping at night.\r\n\r\nI can’t wait for the day when I can buy a shampoo that will make me feel more creative or use a deodorant that not only helps with perspiration but also makes me feel like a better parent. Soon, we might not even need to analyze how we’re feeling at all—the brands can just do that for us. And singers like Pharrell, of course.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.packagingdigest.com/packaging-design/the-era-of-feel-good-packaging140814\" target=\"_blank\">www.packagingdigest.com/packaging-design/the-era-of-feel-good-packaging140814</a>', 'The era of feel-good packaging', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-era-of-feel-good-packaging', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:49', '2018-09-27 17:58:49', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/the-era-of-feel-good-packaging', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1985, 4, '2014-08-20 13:52:27', '2014-08-20 13:52:27', 'By Joe Bona</br><strong>“If you’ve seen one chain drug store, you’ve seen them all.”</strong>\r\n\r\nSuch was the prevailing attitude just a few years ago. And while it is still true that pharmacy sections do tend to be fairly similar from location to location, over the past few years chain drug stores have been tinkering with their front end as never before.\r\n\r\nWalgreens’ smaller-format “food desert” stores, which are designed to bring fresh food to underserved urban neighborhoods, are but one example. And in New York City, Walgreens’ Duane Reade stores customize offerings from one neighborhood to the next.\r\n\r\nAfter data showed significant differences in customer needs in various parts of the city, Duane Reade responded by changing the front end of the store to better reflect the character of the local community. Drive across the bridge to Duane Reade’s Williamsburg, Brooklyn, location and you find a hip store replete with a beer growler section; head to Wall Street and the offerings include sushi amid sumptuous environs befitting the financial industry’s “masters of the universe.”\r\n\r\nBut as the industry looks to the future, how will its newfound flexibility — the basic willingness to abandon cookie cutter store formats and experiment with new and innovative designs — shake out? We can extrapolate from existing trends to make some loose predictions.\r\n\r\nGiven all of the overlap in food today — with dollar stores, drug stores, convenience stores, quick-serve restaurants and other businesses increasingly competing for the same customer — the national drug chains and some of the remaining regional players are almost certainly looking outside of their own sector to find new ideas. The overlap between c-stores and chain drug stores is particularly pronounced, and so it is quite possible that drug stores will make front-of-the-store improvements that echo certain innovations in the c-store sector.\r\n\r\nFor example, the c-store chain Wawa has racked up one award after another for its newly introduced store design, which strategically highlights the idea of fresh food. By making liberal use of natural materials, floor to-ceiling windows and warm colors, and by adding an open, highly visible kitchen/sandwich-making area and outdoor seating areas, Wawa is sending patrons of its newest stores (many of them in new markets, such as Florida) a clear message: “You haven’t seen this before. We are a cut above.”\r\n\r\nIndeed, today’s shoppers can find higher-quality food offerings nearly everywhere they look. They are starting to expect better coffee, bagels, sandwiches — you name it — and even local and organic produce. And health isn’t just important to the 80 million-or-so baby boomers hitting retirement age. Members of the Millennial generation have grown up feeling that food variety and quality is virtually the price of admission. They will continue to feel this way for the rest of their lives. Looking ahead, it seems inevitable that chain drug stores will start to cater to foodie tastes by doing even more to ramp up front of the store food offerings.\r\n\r\nMeeting the needs of increasingly time-pressed shoppers is another imperative that will continue well into the future. When people are pressed for time, they start looking for ways to save it. In a growing number of communities today, it makes little sense to brave nerve-frazzling gridlock and drive from one store to the next to meet daily needs.\r\n\r\nThus, chain drug stores will continue to see good reason to ramp up the convenience and product diversity of the front end. You can almost hear the kitchen table conversations that will ensue as they do so: “Wow, honey. The drug store actually had everything on my list today. It actually saved me a trip to the grocery store.”\r\n\r\nStrategic partnerships are another important consideration for drug stores. For years now, hybrid c-stores have been pairing, say, a Texaco with a Taco Bell, or a Subway with a 7-Eleven. In coming years, drug stores could consider embracing the same idea by teaming with the likes of Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts or any number of other complementary businesses. When many c-store chains first jumped into the food business, they did so by exploring these types of partnerships. This enabled them to learn the food business and, eventually, strike out on their own. Conceivably, the drug store of the future could sharpen the front of the store through strategic partnerships followed by an informed approach to a proprietary food program.\r\n\r\nAnd why stop at fueling shoppers’ bodies? Walgreens is already installing electric-vehicle charging stations at some of its stores. It isn’t hard to imagine a person sitting at a café table outside a drug store and watching his e-vehicle charge as he sips on a tall hazelnut latte. Can gasoline pumps be next?\r\n\r\nFinally, one has to assume that the ongoing evolution of technology — and “omnichannel” retailing in particular — will continue to affect the way drug stores do business. Such chains as Office Depot and Staples now do nearly half of their business online. Why drive to the big-box store for a ream of paper and a printer cartridge when you can have those items show up on your doorstep?\r\n\r\nWhether Amazon will one day deliver goods by drone is an open question. But one thing is for sure — the company is scrambling to get merchandise to people as quickly as possible by building distribution centers across the country.\r\n\r\nYet, nobody has a bigger real estate footprint than brick-andmortar retailers, including the national drug chains. Indeed, these “distribution centers in waiting” are already right where customers live. It is theoretically possible, then, that square footage at chain drug stores will increasingly be set aside for tech-based fulfillment programs.\r\n\r\nMaybe it’s a staging area where associates put together orders for people who want to pick up their prescriptions, along with their milk, eggs, shampoo or other necessities.\r\nMaybe it’s an “Amazon locker” area where urbanites, who hate the idea of packages being stolen from their doorsteps while they’re at work, can have stuff dropped off and securely stored. Thus, drug stores will continue to experiment with alternate drive-through windows and other approaches to “buy now, pick up in store” that could augment their front-of-store sales.\r\n\r\nNotice the overlap among all these trends: One-stop shopping not only is a time-saver, but also saves fuel and is better for the environment. Online fulfillment, likewise, feeds directly into concerns over time or gas. Strategically, too, what better way to compete with your direct and indirect rivals than by giving your consumers more of what they want and need?\r\n\r\nAnd while some of this might sound like pie in the sky, remember: In a certain sense, America has been here before. There used to be a place where people went to get just about anything they needed — the general store.\r\n\r\nRead more: Chain Drug Review/August 25, 2014', 'Front end of the store is a focal point for innovation', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'front-end-of-the-store-is-a-focal-point-for-innovation', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:42', '2018-09-27 17:58:42', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/front-end-of-the-store-is-a-focal-point-for-innovation', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
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(1987, 4, '2014-08-20 09:47:37', '2014-08-20 09:47:37', '<strong>Lemonade stand open Aug. 20 at Broadway and 23rd St., Manhattan</strong>\r\nWhen 826 NYC, a nonprofit organization that fosters creative writing skills, asked children ages 9-12 to dream up the ultimate lemonade stand, the responses were huge. The winning project of  The Great Lemonation Imagination Collaboration was turned into a real lemonade stand complete with free lemonade in Manhattan\'s Flatiron District. The organization\'s members were also required to help run the stand that went up at Broadway and 23rd Street on Wednesday. The free lemonade giveaway begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m. Donations for 826 NYC will be accepted.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Good Day New York\" href=\"http://s3.amazonaws.com/TVEyesMediaCenter/UserContent/91432/3880712.5027/WNYW_08-20-2014_08.44.44.wmv\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to see the footage from Good Day New York</a>.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://s3.amazonaws.com/TVEyesMediaCenter/UserContent/104362/3881079.9107/WNYW_08-20-2014_17.35.41.wmv\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to see the footage from New York Minute</a>.', 'Ultimate lemonade stand in Flatiron District', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'ultimate-lemonade-stand-in-flatiron-district-2', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:50', '2018-09-27 17:58:50', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/ultimate-lemonade-stand-in-flatiron-district-2', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1988, 4, '2014-08-18 20:22:20', '2014-08-18 20:22:20', '<strong>WHO:</strong> 826NYC, an organization founded by celebrated author Dave Eggers to foster creative writing skills in under-resourced students, and CBX, a Manhattan-based branding agency..\r\n<strong>WHAT:</strong> The students and agency joined together for \'The Great Lemonation Imagination Collaboration\' workshop, a two-month project to create a dream lemonade stand. Students, aged 9-12, from 826NYC will operate the stand for a day in Flatiron Plaza, the culmination of a pro-bono effort led by CBX in which the children\'s creative energies were tapped for everything from the naming of the business to the design of the logo, stand, product packaging, and uniforms. Students and 826NYC supporters will be on hand to give away the lemonade and collect donations. Executives from CBX and 826NYC will be available for interviews, along with the students. To view a 1-minute video of the project, visit: www.cbx.com.\r\n.\r\n<strong>WHEN:</strong> Wednesday, August 20, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m..\r\n.\r\n<strong>WHERE:</strong> Flatiron Plaza (SW corner of Broadway and 23rd Street in Manhattan).\r\n.\r\n<strong>MORE DETAILS:</strong> 826NYC (<a href=\"http://www.826nyc.org/\" target=\"_blank\">www.826nyc.org</a>) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping under-resourced students, ages 6-18, strengthen their writing skills and improve their academics through evening and weekend workshops, afterschool tutoring, in-schools projects, and creative writing field trips. The Brooklyn-based organization specializes in writing-based projects including college essays, student publications, creative-writing assignments, and expository papers. The 826 organization was launched by Dave Eggers, author of best-seller \"A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius\" and founder of publishing house McSweeney\'s..\r\n.\r\nCommenting on the project, Eggers said: \"As a project-based learning center, 826 has always tried to focus on making things whereby the students feel like their work has real-world application. So, over the years, the students at 826NYC have made incredible short films, written novels, produced radio shows and made hundreds of chapbooks. The lemonade stand project with CBX is right in keeping with this idea -- how do you make writing feel electric and essential and how do you give students an authentic outside audience? This project works on so many levels. Having the students plan with the professionals at CBX, execute and then interact with the general public in Flatiron Plaza is an experience that will have a profound effect on these young people.\"', 'Lemonade!', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'lemonade', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:44', '2018-09-27 17:58:44', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/lemonade', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
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(1990, 4, '2014-09-04 20:21:35', '2014-09-04 20:21:35', '<strong>Summer Project Unites NYC Grade-Schoolers With Leading Brand Agency to Create and Operate \'Dream\' Lemonade Stand in Heart of the City</strong>\r\nWhen one thinks of a lemonade stand, images come to mind of children looking to pass a summer afternoon by selling homemade drinks along sleepy suburban or rural roads. For children from <a href=\"http://www.826nyc.org/\" target=\"_blank\">826NYC</a>, an organization founded by celebrated author Dave Eggers to foster creative writing skills in under-resourced students, this summer rite of passage provided the opportunity to work with leading brand agency CBX on a project to create and operate a colorful tropical oasis-style stand at a busy Manhattan plaza -- exposing their group\'s mission to thousands of people.\r\n\r\nThrough \'The Great Lemonation Imagination Collaboration\' workshop, the students and agency joined together for a two-month project to develop a dream lemonade stand and raise awareness for 826NYC. The students, who range in age from nine to 12, worked side-by-side with the CBX creative team on everything from the naming of the business to the design of the logo, stand, signage, product packaging, and uniforms.\r\n\r\nOn August 20th, 11 students from the organization came to Manhattan\'s Flatiron Plaza (Broadway and 23rd Street) to see the culmination of their efforts, operating the \'Sweet \'n Sour Chillville\' stand and collecting donations to support the organization\'s work. They and 826NYC officials also had a chance to talk with the public about the group\'s after-school programs. All told, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., the students handed out their full supply of 3,000 bottles of \'Lemon826 Sweet \'n Sour Lemon Twist\' branded lemonade, raising nearly $3,000 for their Brooklyn-based organization.\r\n\r\nUnder the students\' vision, the 10-ft. by 20-ft. installation was designed to resemble \"a tropical oasis hidden in the heart of New York City\'s steamy concrete jungle,\" complete with a treasure chest cooler for the product, palm trees, towering Easter Island statues, flamingos, penguins, a misting system, and \"Welcome to Paradise\" signage. Information on the project and 826NYC was provided on a TV monitor and additional signage.\r\n\r\n\"The lemonade stand was a great opportunity for our students to not only learn about how to tell a story through branding with the folks at CBX, but to also lend their voice to why 826NYC is so important,\" noted Joshua Mandelbaum, executive director of 826NYC. \"All of the participating students were regulars in our after-school program and it was inspiring to see them out in Flatiron Plaza boldly telling New Yorkers about their experience in our after-school program and workshops. It is no wonder that, with such enthusiastic promoters, we were able to raise close to $3,000 and had countless conversations about volunteering with folks from all over the city.\"\r\n\r\n826 founder Dave Eggers added: \"As a project-based learning center, 826 has always tried to focus on making things whereby the students feel like their work has real-world application. So, over the years, the students at 826NYC have made incredible short films, written novels, produced radio shows and made hundreds of chapbooks. The lemonade stand project with CBX was right in keeping with this idea -- how do you make writing feel electric and essential and how do you give students an authentic outside audience? This project works on so many levels. Having the students plan with the professionals at CBX, execute and then interact with the general public in Flatiron Plaza is an experience that will have a profound effect on these young people.\"\r\n\r\n\"Our purpose in taking part in this project was to energize the young creative minds of 826NYC and to enable them to see that their imaginations can be realized in a meaningful and tangible way,\" said Gregg S. Lipman, Managing Partner of the Manhattan-based CBX, which provides a variety of branding services to the organization on a pro-bono basis. \"We wanted them to experience how gratifying it is to come up with an amazing idea and see it come to life. I\'m proud that CBX was able to make a difference in these kids\' lives, and we will continue to work with the organization in the future. It was a unique and fulfilling experience for the entire CBX staff, and a cool reminder as to why we are in the creative business in the first place.\"\r\n\r\nAlong with CBX, two New York City firms, <a href=\"http://www.bigapplegroup.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Big Apple Visual Group</a> and <a href=\"http://suitespot.tv/\" target=\"_blank\">Suite Spot </a>lent their services on a pro-bono basis. Big Apple Visual, which specializes in all types of architectural, way finding and retail signage, manufactured all of the components and built the lemonade stand. Suite Spot, a full-service video production company, created a video about the project that was shown at the lemonade stand and provided onsite filming for a video that will be used in the future by 826NYC.', '\'The Great Lemonation Imagination Collaboration\'', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-great-lemonation-imagination-collaboration', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:56:32', '2018-09-27 17:56:32', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/the-great-lemonation-imagination-collaboration', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1991, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:56', '2018-09-27 16:52:56', '', 'Freson_Bros_Logo', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'freson_bros_logo', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:56', '2018-09-27 16:52:56', '', 1628, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Freson_Bros_Logo.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1992, 4, '2014-09-08 17:46:07', '2014-09-08 17:46:07', 'Created in collaboration with CBX (New York), the upper floors house the Fifth Avenue Man collection and the largest shoe assortment at any Saks to-date. Wound copper and stainless steel mesh material on the walls visually unites rooms. \"We wanted something with a little sparkle that could still feel raw and masculine,\" Harry Cunningham, svp store planning and design, says.\r\nRead more about the robust reinvention of the Beverly Hills Saks <a href=\"http://vmsd.com/content/robust-reinvention\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>.', 'Saks Fifth Avenue\'s Fifth Avenue Man/D-Bar takes VMSD\'s 2014 Retail Renovation of the Year', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'saks-fifth-avenues-fifth-avenue-mand-bar-takes-vmsds-2014-retail-renovation-of-the-year', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:47', '2018-09-27 17:58:47', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/saks-fifth-avenues-fifth-avenue-mand-bar-takes-vmsds-2014-retail-renovation-of-the-year', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1993, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:56', '2018-09-27 16:52:56', '', 'AandP_Grocery_NY_LOGO', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'aandp_grocery_ny_logo', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:56', '2018-09-27 16:52:56', '', 1629, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/AandP_Grocery_NY_LOGO.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1994, 4, '2014-09-10 19:56:08', '2014-09-10 19:56:08', 'Brand agency CBX collaborated with 826NYC, an organization that helps under-resourced students in New York, to create design and packaging for a tropical oasis-style lemonade stand in New York City. The project was part of a special collaboration to support 826NYC\'s project-based learning format.\r\n<img class=\"wp-image-8436 alignleft\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/LemonadeStand_2.jpg\" alt=\"LemonadeStand_2\" width=\"635\" height=\"509\" />\r\n\r\nFor two months, students and agency creatives developed concept and design for the ‘Sweet ‘n Sour Chillville’ lemonade stand. The goal of the project was to spread the word about 826NYC\'s mission while giving children of the program, who range in age from nine to 12, the chance to work side-by-side with the CBX creative team on everything from the naming of the business to the design of the logo, stand, signage, product packaging, and uniforms.\r\n\r\nThe stand was unveiled at Manhattan’s Flatiron Plaza on August 20, and 11 students from the organization interacted with the public, collecting donations and sharing the organization\'s mission with their customers. The effort raised nearly $3,000 for the Brooklyn-based organization.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/LemonadeStand_3.jpg\"><img class=\"wp-image-8437 alignleft\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/LemonadeStand_3.jpg\" alt=\"LemonadeStand_3\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" /></a>\r\n\r\nUnder the students’ vision, the  10-ft. by 20-ft. installation was designed to resemble “a tropical oasis hidden in the heart of New York City’s steamy concrete jungle,” complete with a treasure chest cooler for the product, palm trees, towering Easter Island statues, flamingos, penguins, a misting system, and “Welcome to Paradise” signage. Information on the project and 826NYC was provided on a TV monitor and additional signage.\r\n\r\n“The lemonade stand was a great opportunity for our students to not only learn about how to tell a story through branding with the folks at CBX, but to also lend their voice to why 826NYC is so important,” noted Joshua Mandelbaum, executive director of 826NYC.\r\n\r\n826 founder Dave Eggers added: “As a project-based learning center, 826 has always tried to focus on making things whereby the students feel like their work has real-world application. Having the students plan with the professionals at CBX, execute and then interact with the general public in Flatiron Plaza is an experience that will have a profound effect on these young people.”\r\n\r\n“Our purpose in taking part in this project was to energize the young creative minds of 826NYC and to enable them to see that their imaginations can be realized in a meaningful and tangible way,” said Gregg S. Lipman, Managing Partner of the Manhattan-based CBX. “We wanted them to experience how gratifying it is to come up with an amazing idea and see it come to life.  I\'m proud that CBX was able to make a difference in these kids’ lives, and we will continue to work with the organization in the future. It was a unique and fulfilling experience for the entire CBX staff, and a cool reminder as to why we are in the creative business in the first place.”\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/LemonadeStand_4.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-8439\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/LemonadeStand_4-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"LemonadeStand_4\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a> <a href=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/LemonadeStand_5.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-8440\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/LemonadeStand_5-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"LemonadeStand_5\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a> <a href=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/LemonadeStand_6.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-8441\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/LemonadeStand_6-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"LemonadeStand_6\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a> <a href=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/LemonadeStand_7.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-8442\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/LemonadeStand_7-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"LemonadeStand_7\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-8443\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/LemonadeStand_8-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"LemonadeStand_8\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" />\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-8444\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/LemonadeStand_9-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"LemonadeStand_9\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /><a href=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/LemonadeStand_11.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-8447\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/LemonadeStand_11-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"LemonadeStand_11\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a><img class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-8448\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/LemonadeStand_101-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"LemonadeStand_10\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" />\r\n\r\n<em>826NYC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping under-resourced students, ages 6-18, strengthen their writing skills and improve their academics through evening and weekend workshops, afterschool tutoring, in-schools projects, and creative writing field trips.</em>\r\n<em>Along with CBX, two New York City firms, Big Apple Visual Group and Suite Spot lent their services on a pro-bono basis.</em>\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2014/9/9/the-great-lemonation-imagination-collaboration?utm_content=buffer9edc9&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer\" target=\"_blank\">www.thedieline.com/blog/2014/9/9/the-great-lemonation-imagination-collaboration?utm_content=buffer9edc9&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer</a>', 'The Great Lemonation Imagination Collaboration', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-great-lemonation-imagination-collaboration-2', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:49', '2018-09-27 17:58:49', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/the-great-lemonation-imagination-collaboration-2', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1995, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:56', '2018-09-27 16:52:56', '', 'streamlight-wins-award', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'streamlight-wins-award', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:56', '2018-09-27 16:52:56', '', 1630, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/streamlight-wins-award.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1996, 4, '2014-08-27 14:31:42', '2014-08-27 14:31:42', 'While they’re loyal to their favorite brands, millennials reserve the right to cheat on them, says Nancy Brown, managing partner at New York-based CBX. Early adopters who constantly look for “the next new thing,” millennials want to be the first of their friends to try the latest, greatest product — and are willing to switch brands to do so.\r\nMillennials also are savvy shoppers who love a good value, says Jennifer Gaeto, creative director for Chicago-based Equator Design. And being used to having unlimited choices among brands, they have no problem turning to high-quality and unique store brand products, which already have a large following among this group.\r\n\r\nBut retailers need to do more than develop high-quality, unique products for these shoppers. They also need to focus on designing packaging that speaks to and engages with millennials to help build a solid relationship with this consumer group.\r\n\r\n<strong>Be unique, interactive</strong>\r\n\r\nPreviously, packaging’s only purpose (beyond product protection) was to help a product stand out on the shelf, Brown says. But today, millennials want more than just attractive packaging — they also want packaging that engages them. An engaging package persuades them to learn more about the brand.\r\n\r\nAccording to Gaeto, a package that engages millennials is unique and different. For example, some millennials gravitate toward designs that have a handmade and non-mass-produced feel. Such a design can be achieved via typography that looks like handwriting or kraft paper. Millennials also enjoy limited-edition packaging, as it has a “feeling of exclusivity” and taps into their desire for discovery.\r\n\r\nAs for colors, some millennials are interested in brighter, more vibrant palettes that are less “serious,” says Glenn Pfeifer, executive creative director, Galileo Global Branding Group, Daymon Worldwide, Stamford, Conn. Some newer brands that appeal to millennials use colors that reflect their optimistic mood.\r\n\r\nOne example is Kimberly-Clark’s feminine hygiene line U by Kotex, Brown says. Young millennials told CBX, which designed the line’s packaging, that although they purchased the same feminine hygiene products as their mothers, they wanted packaging to be more interesting. The women weren’t interested in pastels; instead, they were interested in a black package with a window showing bright neon colors surrounding the tampons and pads.\r\n\r\n<strong>Speak their language</strong>\r\n\r\nBut for millennials, a specific color palette or design style is only one important aspect. They also want packaging that is visually smart and surprising, says Tessa van Asselt, insights strategist at TrendsActive, a Dutch trend interpretation agency. “Retailers often forget that this generation is growing up in a world that is more and more visual, and this generation longs for an innovative approach to visual communication,” she explains. “Smart visual communication means really understanding this generation’s symbols, icons and visual language.”\r\n\r\nKees Elands, founder and CEO of TrendsActive, gives the example of two store brand concepts that TrendsActive created for a retailer in the Netherlands, each of which relies heavily on iconography. One is a package of ground coffee that features the image of a giant battery, similar to the icon found on electronic devices. In this case, the bars indicating the power level of the battery are clear and colorless, letting the ground coffee show through.\r\n\r\n“The battery on the coffee package [immediately communicates] the energizing and recharging qualities of coffee,” he says.\r\n\r\nThe other is of a beer bottle with “play” and “pause” button icons. These icons, in particular, help to show the product proposition, Elands says. The beer allows the consumer to either unwind and relax by “hitting the pause button” or start the party by “pressing play.”\r\n\r\nSpeaking of hitting buttons, packaging for millennials also needs to be interactive, not just clever. Millennials have become so accustomed to interactivity in every part of their lives that they expect everything to be interactive, van Asselt adds.\r\n\r\nAnd they want to help develop and evolve a brand. Jeff Fromm, co-author of the book Marketing to Millennials and president of Kansas City, Mo.-based FutureCast, a marketing consultancy dedicated to researching millennial trends, notes that millennials created the “participation economy.” And if a retailer reaches out to them for brand design advice or simple feedback via social media, millennials will want to respond.\r\n\r\n<strong>Be transparent, purposeful</strong>\r\n\r\nBut just as they want to be honest to brand owners about their products, they want brands to be honest in return. So when it comes to the message on the pack¬age, millennials desire authenticity and transparency.\r\n\r\nInstead of using typical marketing ploys, which millennials can immediately spot and will reject, retailers need to have an authentic story when creating something new and trendy, Gaeto says. For example, when it comes to photography on food packaging, millennials are not interested in seeing a “perfect-looking meal.” They want to see how the food, in reality, will look when prepared at home.\r\n\r\nRetailers also need to clearly communicate a product’s tier on packaging, Fromm says. Is the product under a bargain brand or an affordable luxury brand? Millennials want packaging to tell them if they’re trading up or trading down. And don’t try to fool them — they crowd-source a lot of information from their peer network, so they’ll know when a retailer isn’t being honest with its brand story.\r\n\r\nMillennials also want to understand the back story of what they are buying, Fromm says. Retailers could effectively use packaging to tell them about a product’s origin or how it is produced.\r\n\r\n“Millennials prefer brands that have a purpose,” he adds. “The more meaningful a brand is, the more it’s going to win with millennials.”\r\n\r\nBut retailers don’t necessarily have to work with charities to make a brand purposeful. Sustainability is another area that, if linked to a retailer’s store brands, could resonate with millennials as they continue, as a group, to value sustainable packaging options.\r\n“Sustainability is important to this group, as they were raised with the notion of recycling and making the world a better place as a normal way of life,” Gaeto says. “Packaging that is eco-friendly connects and creates a positive image for the brand.”\r\n\r\nBut an eco-friendly package does not necessarily have to be 100 percent “green,” Fromm says. The packaging just has to be “less bad” than the alternatives.\r\n<strong>Offer convenience</strong>\r\n\r\nMillennials are no longer just the young kids that marketers might think they are, says Nancy Brown, managing partner for New York-based CBX. The oldest of them are in their thirties and are starting to settle down and have families. They are busy, therefore, and looking for products that will make their lives easier, so any type of packaging that is convenient will win big with this group.\r\n\r\nBut the definition of “convenient packaging” could differ from person to person in this group. Millennials are creative in the kitchen and enjoy cooking, so convenient packaging to some could mean helpful hints or recipe suggestions on packaging, Brown adds. Or it could mean packaging that directs them online to easily find answers to questions or product reviews.\r\n\r\nConvenient packaging could also refer to functionality. Here, Glenn Pfeifer, executive creative director, Galileo Global Branding Group, Daymon Worldwide, Stamford, Conn., gives the example of packaging for soups, chewing gum and snacks that is designed to fit in car cup holders to better cater to millennials’ on-the-go lifestyle.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://storebrands.info/engage-them\" target=\"_blank\">www.storebrands.info/engage-them</a>', 'Engage them', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'engage-them', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:42', '2018-09-27 17:58:42', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/engage-them', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1997, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:57', '2018-09-27 16:52:57', '', 'American_Cancer_Society_Logo2', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'american_cancer_society_logo2', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:57', '2018-09-27 16:52:57', '', 1632, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/American_Cancer_Society_Logo2.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1998, 4, '2014-09-11 16:30:33', '2014-09-11 16:30:33', 'The average lemonade stand is usually pretty humble, but this one made quite the splash on the streets of NYC. With the help of CBX, this lemonade stand was developed for 826NYC, an organization that supports kids with skills that will enrich their futures. The kids got involved in all aspects of the creative process, including everything from the design of the logo, packaging, t-shirts and the lemonade stand itself.\r\nThe lemonade was branded to give a taste of \'Sweet \'n Sour Chillville\' and the surrounds were made to look like a refreshing oasis in the city, complete with palm trees, treasure chests and flamingos. The lemonade stand was set up in NYC, collecting nearly $3,000 in donations for the organization from the sales of lemonade.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/lemonade-stand\" target=\"_blank\">www.trendhunter.com/trends/lemonade-stand</a>', 'CBX Collaborated with Kids to Create an Epic Lemonade Stand in the City', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cbx-collaborated-with-kids-to-create-an-epic-lemonade-stand-in-the-city', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:56:35', '2018-09-27 17:56:35', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/cbx-collaborated-with-kids-to-create-an-epic-lemonade-stand-in-the-city', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(1999, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:57', '2018-09-27 16:52:57', '', 'Lifestyles_X2', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'lifestyles_x2', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:57', '2018-09-27 16:52:57', '', 1633, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Lifestyles_X2.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2000, 4, '2014-09-11 19:54:19', '2014-09-11 19:54:19', 'By Rick Barrack\r\nBack when I was growing up, the only water I ever drank came from the kitchen sink. Every once in a while, I’d go to a friend’s house or a restaurant and see a bottle of water with the name Evian or Perrier across the front, but I didn’t know what it was, partially because my parents didn’t pay for water and partially because I didn’t speak French.\r\n\r\nBut then, in the late 80s, a new water brand, Poland Spring, appeared on the scene, and by the early 90s, the market became saturated (pun intended) with brands like DASANI, Aquafina and FIJI Water. These waters were differentiated by their brand stories, which were featured on their packaging, rather than the way they tasted.\r\n\r\nEvian was known as the first premium water; drinking it projected a certain kind of Reagan-era wealth. Poland Spring was earthier and came from a spring in Maine (although that source has recently been debated). Aquafina, with its exotic-sounding but vague name, was Pepsi’s attempt to snag some of bottled water’s market share, and DASANI — equally vague — was Coca-Cola’s attempt to compete with Pepsi in the water arena.\r\n\r\nThen, in the early 2000s, water went from just being a commodity to being a social badge. Designer water entered the scene with slick packaging and expensive price tags. VOSS, with its slender glass bottles, SEI, which came in a bottle resembling a flask, and T? Nant, in bright blue bottles that looked great on a windowsill, all made people look twice and dip into their wallets.\r\n\r\nBut with the proliferation of the organic movement, consumers started to expect more out of their products, water included. Enter flavored and vitamin-rich waters like vitaminwater, which not only delivered on taste but also on vitamins and nutrients with end-benefit product names like “energy” and “multi-v.”\r\n\r\nCoconut water was the next craze, a potassium-rich beverage with South American roots, endorsed by the likes of Madonna and Demi Moore. The product claimed to have more potassium than a banana and to cure certain ailments.\r\n\r\nTwo competing brands, ZICO and Vita Coco, were suddenly stocked in every market, and everyone, from marathon runners to pregnant women, was attesting to its strengths. Unfortunately, it turned out that coconut water didn’t really have the health benefits the producers initially claimed (per a recent article in The New York Times), and those claims have been greatly scaled back.\r\n\r\nWith people tiring and becoming skeptical of vitamin and coconut waters, it seems the time is right for some new trends in the water category. Several new water offerings with provocative names, ingredient stories and packaging are generating buzz. Among the most intriguing new offerings are watermelon water, maple syrup water and artichoke water.\r\n\r\nBut hold on a minute: When did these fruits, natural sweeteners and vegetables become waters? Are people just looking to be the first in with a bizarre new water offering? Is water — that age-old source of refreshment — having an identity crisis?\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/BP0914_Feat_Water_Img2_S.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-8491\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/BP0914_Feat_Water_Img2_S.jpg\" alt=\"BP0914_Feat_Water_Img2_S\" width=\"615\" height=\"350\" /></a></p>\r\n<strong> WATERMELON WATER</strong>\r\nWTRMLN WTR, a product made of 100 percent raw fruit, knows that there are few things as appealing as watermelon on a hot summer’s day. The packaging focuses on its strongest asset — watermelon — by staging the entire fruit right on the front of the label. Its tag line, “Summer in Your Mouth,” seems mildly amusing to me, but there’s no question that one sip of the drink brings memories of my days at summer camp.\r\n\r\nWTRMLN WTR’s claims may sound awfully familiar: The 12-fluid ounce bottle supposedly has almost double the potassium of a single banana, and it is reportedly rich in antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin A and lycopene, which help protect against breast and prostate cancer as well as heart disease and aging. Heck, if half of WTRMLN WTR’s claims are true, sign me up for a few dozen cases, ASAP.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/BP0914_Feat_Water_Img3_S.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-8493\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/BP0914_Feat_Water_Img3_S.jpg\" alt=\"BP0914_Feat_Water_Img3_S\" width=\"615\" height=\"350\" /></a></p>\r\n<strong>MAPLE SYRUP WATER</strong>\r\nContrary to how it may sound, maple syrup water is not water with maple syrup added (although I will confess, that sounds pretty good to me). Maple water is water that has been naturally filtered by maple trees, which gives it a lightly sweet taste and fortifies it with nutrients.\r\nAs of now, two brands seem to be vying for the king of maple syrup water position — Vertical Water and DRINKmaple — and they market disparate messages with their branding. Both are packaged in cardboard boxes, but Vertical Water espouses a sustainability message, claiming that “sharing the maple water from forest owners’ trees gives them a financially viable reason for keeping their trees vertical longer” while DRINKmaple purports that you should drink its maple water to “hydrate and nourish your body the same way it nourishes the maple trees.”\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/BP0914_Feat_Water_Img4_S.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-8494\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/BP0914_Feat_Water_Img4_S.jpg\" alt=\"BP0914_Feat_Water_Img4_S\" width=\"615\" height=\"350\" /></a></p>\r\n<strong> BOXED WATER</strong>\r\nAnd speaking of cardboard boxes, it seems like there’s a major bottle backlash going on. The boxed water trend was kicked off by a brand called “Boxed Water is Better,” which launched in 2009 and packages its water in a small box reminiscent of a milk carton, claiming that it is better for the environment. The design of these boxes is refreshingly simple, featuring bold letters that make it clear that water is inside, and a little water drop to further drive that point home. I definitely looked twice the first time I saw this carton on a café counter. But to be honest, it does feel innately strange to drink water out of what appears to be a milk box. Once I got beyond that, however, it was just good old water, in a novel and environmentally sustainable package.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/BP0914_Feat_Water_Img5_S.jpg\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-8495\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/BP0914_Feat_Water_Img5_S.jpg\" alt=\"BP0914_Feat_Water_Img5_S\" width=\"615\" height=\"350\" /></a></p>\r\n<strong>ARTICHOKE WATER</strong>\r\nI never really liked artichokes, so the idea of ARTY Water — “the world’s first premium artichoke beverage” — doesn’t exactly get my mouth watering. But the brand, which comes in a bottle shaped like an actual artichoke, claims that “this delicious blend of artichokes, lemon, apple and mint provides nutritious, multifunctional hydration” and is loaded with essential vitamins A, E, C, B1, B2, B3, B6 and B9, along with vital minerals sodium, potassium, calcium and iron.\r\n\r\nThis is a benefit story similar to that of coconut water, but hopefully unlike its predecessor, ARTY Water can support its claims with real science. The packaging features an artsy artichoke graphic and is appealing, but I fear that unless you are a person who really likes artichokes, this might be a hard sell.\r\n\r\nIf artichoke water is now a viable beverage option, what’s next — peanut water, dark chocolate water … kale water? Nothing would surprise me at this point. Companies seem to be seeking new ways to bring the next great water sensation to the market, which makes me wonder if the beverage is having an identity crisis.\r\n\r\nDon’t get me wrong, each of the waters I mentioned intrigue me, and I’d be willing to try them at least once. But at the end of the day, I like my water to taste like water and my food to taste like food, although from a branding point of view, I’m excited to see what the new water brands will come up with next.\r\n\r\nRead more: <a href=\"http://www.brandpackaging.com/articles/84868-branding-new-product-sensations-in-exciting-ways\" target=\"_blank\">www.brandpackaging.com/articles/84868-branding-new-product-sensations-in-exciting-ways</a>', 'Is Water Having an Identity Crisis?', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'branding-new-product-sensations-in-exciting-ways-by-rick-barrack', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:44', '2018-09-27 17:58:44', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/branding-new-product-sensations-in-exciting-ways-by-rick-barrack', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(2001, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:58', '2018-09-27 16:52:58', '', 'delmonte-r2e', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'delmonte-r2e', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:58', '2018-09-27 16:52:58', '', 1637, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/delmonte-r2e.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2002, 4, '2014-09-17 13:41:21', '2014-09-17 13:41:21', 'Consumers around the globe are getting their first look at Amway’s newly redesigned Satinique hair care portfolio—with award-winning structural packaging and graphics created by leading global brand agency CBX.\r\nThe project—which took top design honors in the hair care category this past June at HBA Global, the Health &amp; Beauty Aids Expo and Conference—will help Satinique remain relevant, contemporary and fresh in global brand markets for years to come, said Gregg S. Lipman, Managing Partner at CBX.\r\n\r\nCBX assisted with the upfront strategy of the Satinique brand, helping the team optimize the brand’s positioning based on consumer insights learned through global research as well as input from a team of Amway regional affiliates. The subsequent redesign involved simplifying and contemporizing the packaging of nine cleansing items and four conditioners, as well as a host of styling gels and serums, final-touch sprays, mousse and other products. For the new logo, CBX added a touch of uniqueness to the ‘q’ in Satinique and mirrored the letterform in a rejuvenating drop icon that sits with the brand mark. Visual elements call to mind wisps of rejuvenated or free-flowing hair.\r\n\r\nPositioned as “rejuvenating,” “revitalizing” and “vibrant,” Satinique products now feature a jewel-tone and metallic color palette with premium finishes. “Because Amway is a $11.8 billion company with a vast network of global customers and distributors, the structural positioning and graphics also needed to be universally appealing,” Lipman explained. “And since Amway customers receive products direct from distributors rather than shopping for them at shelf as with a typical CPG, the design considerations were a bit different as well.”\r\n\r\nStarting in 2010, CBX participated in Amway’s global research study that identified universally appealing characteristics to Amway’s diverse consumers across markets such as Russia, China and Southeast Asia. The research was followed by an audit of the premium or prestige beauty and hair care category internationally in a bid to understand how people in diverse markets think about product aesthetics and even portfolio mix in the category, Lipman noted.\r\n\r\nThis research, as well as quantitative testing, revealed that consumers universally favored a simple, sleek and streamlined design. As a direct result, feminine lines and an upward sweeping movement characterize the Satinique cleansing bottles’ silhouette. “This energy emphasizes the cleansing product\'s breakthrough ability to rejuvenate hair from the inside out while staying true to the positive transformation beautiful hair provides,” Lipman said. “The ergonomics of the feminine shape also creates a comfortable feeling in hand, and an easy grip in the shower or bath.”\r\n\r\nWhile competing with other products at shelf was not part of the challenge for CBX on this project, Amway agreed that the structural packaging and graphics were no less important than with a typical CPG. “Strong design helps provide reassurance that this is a good brand and that it is delivering on quality,” Lipman concluded. “It also helps convey things like usability and shower-worthiness.”\r\n\r\n“Amway’s deep commitment to scientific innovation elevates Satinique to be among the best haircare brands on the market,” explained Maud Pansing, Amway VP Global Beauty. “We’ve raised the bar in the category with technology and performance in the formulations that truly make a difference to the health of hair, inside and out.”', 'Amway\'s Satinique Hair Care Portfolio Debuts a Sleek New Look', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'amways-satinique-haircare-portfolio-debuts-a-sleek-new-look', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:42:11', '2018-09-27 17:42:11', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/amways-satinique-haircare-portfolio-debuts-a-sleek-new-look', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(2003, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:58', '2018-09-27 16:52:58', '', '217_gdusa-logo-e1297702494434-2', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', '217_gdusa-logo-e1297702494434-2', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:58', '2018-09-27 16:52:58', '', 1639, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/217_gdusa-logo-e1297702494434-2.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2004, 4, '2014-09-17 16:29:37', '2014-09-17 16:29:37', 'While the news about a thriving airport market is worth celebrating, the challenge for designers and retailers alike is striking a balance between two very different customers with needs that are essentially polar opposites of one another.\r\n“We’ve got two core travelers,” explains George Waite, program manager at Columbus, Ohio-based Chute Gerdeman. “The rushed or hurried person who might be late or stressed on the way to a quick connection—maybe doesn’t have a lot of time, wants to have grab-and-go options, get in and out—vs. the more leisurely traveler. How do you entertain them, let them relax and enjoy themselves as much as they can in that kind of a situation?”\r\n\r\nCatering to differing end users may seem tricky, but it need not be overly complicated. People carrying multiple pieces of baggage or traveling with children likely experience additional stress, so a few simple design decisions can go a long way to alleviate their tension, says Melissa Mizell, senior associate at Gensler.\r\n\r\n“As much as we can make the airport environment and the retail and concessions environment as easy as possible to navigate, as clutter-free, well curated, with plenty of space to walk by with your luggage—all of these things can help entice people in and help them relieve stress,” she says.\r\n\r\n“Removing the stress from travel is a key objective,” adds Nick Giammarco, creative principal of retail strategies for studioH2G. “Relaxation areas, piano bars, entertainment, and social zones along with the use of technology are key components to successful retail environments.”\r\n\r\nHis firm has created gate-hold seating areas as part of the brand experience. “One will be able to sit in a branded gate-hold area, order online from integrated iPads, and the food can be either delivered to your seat or you will be notified that your order is ready,” he explains.\r\n\r\nPlanning for technology is also about removing pain points. Among the biggest complaints from travelers about airports is the lack of places to charge mobile devices, which exacerbates their stress. So architects and designers need to pay careful attention to space planning that supplies easy access to power.\r\n\r\n“As we move to a more digital age, everyone has a digital device with them. So how do you create zones that let customers sit down and plug in or feel safe to leave their device if they were to charge it and grab a couple of things in a retail store or restaurant?” muses Waite. “Adding power is not even a bonus anymore. It’s an expected amenity.”\r\n\r\nThe reason for the improvement in the quality of airport retail is twofold: the massive increase in the number of travelers and delays resulting from airline consolidations, according to Joseph Bona, president of branded environments at New York-based design firm CBX Retail. “Shopping is sort of a social behavior even under normal, everyday life, so airport retail is a way of getting people to take advantage of the time they have waiting for delayed flights or for families on vacation,” he says.\r\n\r\nTightened security requirements also have changed travelers’ schedules and habits, prolonging the amount of time they spend in airports. “Pre-9/11, you could probably get to the airport maybe a half hour before, sort of run through and just barely make it on the plane, and you’d be OK,” Bona recalls. “Well, those days are long gone.”\r\n\r\nRead the full article <a href=\"http://www.retailenvironments-digital.org/retailenvironments-insider/201409?sub_id=OHFPZm31NsSy#pg17\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;', 'Airport Retail Takes Off', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'airport-retail-takes-off', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:56:33', '2018-09-27 17:56:33', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/thinking/16/airport-retail-takes-off', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(2005, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:58', '2018-09-27 16:52:58', '', 'joy-of-cooking', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'joy-of-cooking', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:58', '2018-09-27 16:52:58', '', 1640, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/joy-of-cooking.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2006, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:58', '2018-09-27 16:52:58', '', 'petro-canada-1-470x309', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'petro-canada-1-470x309', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:58', '2018-09-27 16:52:58', '', 1641, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/petro-canada-1-470x309.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2007, 4, '2018-09-27 17:58:50', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', 'Packaging speaks volumes about a brand’s worth and appeal. We love a good-looking or smart package, but a pretty face or all brains doesn’t mean much if they aren’t backing up brand goals. The Design Gallery honors packaging that most effectively tells a brand’s story through design and structure to connect with consumers.\r\nA package from each category – Metal, Paperboard, Flexible, Rigid and Glass – will be presented a People’s Choice award on Wednesday, October 15 at 8:30 a.m. at Packaging That Sells in Chicago. Register to attend the show to see the presentation, plus benefit from all speaker sessions and networking!\r\n\r\nThen, stay tuned to see which packages are worthy of the esteemed Design Gallery annual, out in December.\r\n\r\n<strong>How to Vote</strong>\r\nRead the statement about the packages to learn more of the brand’s story\r\nVote for the package you feel best represents the brand and its purpose in reaching customers. Polls are located at the bottom of each category.\r\n\r\n<strong>Naturally Sweetened</strong>\r\n<em>Brand owner: Dr Pepper Snapple Group</em>\r\nNaturally Sweetened spans three brands — 7UP, Dr Pepper, and Canada Dry — and gives consumers  a “better for you” choice in the spectrum of brands they know and love. The new packaging of a slim, sleek can with simple design mirrors the better offering of the product while standing out at shelf. Click <a href=\"http://www.brandpackaging.com/design-gallery-peoples-choice-metal#Vote\" target=\"_blank\">here </a>to vote.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.brandpackaging.com/design-gallery-peoples-choice-metal#Vote\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-8511\" src=\"http://cbx-site-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Screen-Shot-2014-09-22-at-Monday-September-22-2014-3.26.31-PM.png\" alt=\"Screen Shot 2014-09-22 at Monday, September 22, 2014, 3.26.31 PM\" width=\"691\" height=\"361\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;', 'Vote for the People’s Choice Awards 2014', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', 'vote-for-the-peoples-choice-awards-2014', '', '', '2018-09-27 17:58:50', '2018-09-27 17:58:50', '', 0, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/?post_type=thinking&#038;p=2007', 0, 'thinking', '', 0),
(2008, 0, '2018-09-27 16:52:59', '2018-09-27 16:52:59', '', 'testgroup1-v3', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'testgroup1-v3', '', '', '2018-09-27 16:52:59', '2018-09-27 16:52:59', '', 1642, 'http://cbx.cappendev.com/app/uploads/2018/09/testgroup1-v3.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0);
