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March 2012
Three new trends in tech savvy packaging.
We've all seen 'em. Those attention-getting, conversation-starting trends. As an avid trend spotter, I've learned that simply citing trends does not equal the long view necessary for true brand stewardship. After all, trends have short-term memories whereas brands make a promise that lasts.
However, paying attention to trends can pay off for your brand. Trends provide clues to immediate and future opportunities for a sales lift, especially if they are utilized correctly.
Check out these trends that can give your product the boost you've been looking for!
Redlaser:
Have you ever wished customers could see your entire pricing structure? Or wanted them to be able to compare promotions from last year? What if they could scan your product and find the best price in less than 20 seconds?
Meet your new friend, Redlaser. This app allows consumers to scan the barcode of any product checkout-style, right down to the little blip sound. When a |
barcode is scanned, the app searches prices and creates an ongoing shopping list of previous scans so that your brand can stay at the top of
shoppers’ minds. This shopping list can then be stored in consumers’ smartphones and shared with other potential customers, like husbands, mothers, and friends who now know what products to pick up for you. No more size 4T diapers for your newborn!
Stickybits:
If you’re searching for an app that enables your smartphone to scan any barcode in the store, Stickybits is your answer. Once stored, users can post cheers and jeers, photos, and video about your brand in Yelp-esque fashion. In true social networking form, this content then becomes available for any other user who scans the same barcode. Genuine crowd favorites will quickly get well-deserved recognition and benefit from the feedback, but be careful! The app may prove lethal for brands unprepared for this level of transparency.
QR Codes:
From Dawn dish soap to Pringles cans, little QR code boxes are popping up everywhere! QR codes belong in the same family as bar codes, but provide a URL link that gives the product a |
boost by providing info on the benefits, alternative uses, recipes, and other tidbits about the item that are delivered straight to customers’ fingertips at the crucial, decision-making moment. Consider the added value of a QR code mobile coupon and you could be boosting sales at the store level!
FYI: After downloading a QR reader app to my smartphone, I did experience some trouble getting the QR code to scan properly. After checking around, I found this to be a widespread issue when trying to scan the package. QR codes will likely turn mainstream for CPG once the application and readers become more user-friendly.
Press Contact
Baer Design Group
847.866.7300
info@baerdesign.com
Images Available Upon Request
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Most Recent News:
Evanston, IL, March 12, 2010—Baer Design Group is among the noted winners of the American Package Design Awards presented by Graphic Design USA.
Branding and package design firm Baer Design Group was recognized for packaging design created for the International Collection of Frontier Soups. This successful firm is made up of veteran designers, seasoned brand-architects and copywriters that have been creating packaging for over a decade. They’ve done award-winning work on everything from technology to tea.
The innovative design sets these soups apart from others by giving them contemporary appeal with a timeless look. The packaging displays exotic images and locations that match the soups’ unique flavors. Travel luggage labels and old photographs of outdoor cafes inspired designer Don Guss of Baer Design Group. He “really wanted the idea of travel to be visually expressed… [and] was intrigued by the thought of what it would look like to go to these countries and experience the small towns.”
Break Out Design for Tea Packaging
Chicago, IL — Innovative brand-identity firm Baer Design Group revamps old conceptions of tea to launch Lazy Days Tea Company.
Through clever package design, they created an aesthetic that launched the new company with a buzz-garnering brand. Flavor names, copy and package design completed the concept: to turn the owner’s batch of wild flavors into the “Ben & Jerry’s of tea.”
Bearing irreverent names with subtle hipness –“Cup-O-Jane,” “Go Man Go,” “BFF,” “High-5,” and “Shhh” -- distanced Lazy Days Tea Company from the stuffy English, medicinal Chinese, and patronizingly cutesy clones crowding the hot beverage shelf. The images followed suit with laid-back free-spirit types, as did the copy in its deployment of a snappy, down-to-earth voice.
The design made smart use of the facts that the product is made of real tea, natural flavors, breakaway blends, organic materials and is Fair-Trade Certified. They launched it at the 2006 World Tea Expo with the rallying cry “Spout it Loud!” distributed to people on temporary tattoos.
The first five flavors are slated to hit grocery stores in late fall. For sample or additional information, please contact info@baerdesign.com
Baer Design Group is an 11-year-old brand-identity firm located in Chicago, IL. Their specialties include package design, product naming and brand-story formulation.
Baer Design Group Featured in Creativity 36 Awards Annual
Evanston, IL, October 11, 2007–Baer Design Group is among the noted 2006 winners of the Creativity 36 Competition featured in the book “The Creativity Awards Annual,” just released this month at a bookstore near you! The 400-page, hardcover book is distributed internationally each year by HarperCollins Publishers of New York.
Evanston-based branding firm Baer Design Group appears three times in the categories of Food & Beverage and Logo & Trademark. They garnered awards for best Organic Packaging for their work with Lazy Days Tea Co; best Logo for their work with Sommers Organic; and best Organic Meat Packaging for their work with Sommers Organic.
The Creativity Awards Annual is one of the longest running international advertising and graphic design competitions. Created in conjunction with the pioneering and prestigious Art Direction magazine, it was made into a book that is one of the first to showcase leading-edge design not just from New York, but from across America and all points of the globe. Over the years, the book has grown in size, scope and style. The Annual's most recent editor, David E. Carter, is the author of over 100 books on graphic design, including the best-selling "Big Book" design series.
Baer Design Group is a brand-identity and design firm made up of veteran designers, seasoned brand-architects, copywriters and photographers that have been creating problem-solving brands for well over a decade. They’ve done award-winning work on everything from technology to tea, working with a portfolio of clients ranging from Motorola to Saks Fifth Avenue to CBS.
Baer Design Group's Corporate and Branding Identity Work Featured in New Book
September 2003–Motorola's Bravomoto anniversary campaign, designed by Baer Design Group, is selected to appear in Creativity 33 by David E. Carter.
The campaign–which includes a mobile, tent cards, mini-flags, a large poster and a style guide CD—was up against work from 40 states and 31 countries.
"This year we had an enormous amount of excellent work submitted, and we could not include it all," said David E. Carter, reaffirming the excellence and creativity of the Bravomoto campaign.
Creativity 33 will be in bookstores in summer 2004. Look for Baer Design Group's showcased work.
Awards
2008 American Package Design Award
• Frontier Soups International Collection
36th Annual Creativity Awards
• Silver Award Winner for Sommers Organic Logo
• Distinction Award for Sommers Organic Meat Packaging
• Distinction Award for Lazy Days Tea Co. Packaging
American Corporate Identity/17 Design Competition, 2001
• Distinction Award for Planet Cargo's branding
• Distinction Award for the package design of Sloan Valve's HealthMinder
Chicago Business Marketing Association, 2001
• Best in Show Award for the "I Am" campaign for Roark Johnson Photography
HOW Magazine's 9th Annual International Design Competition, 2001
• Merit Honor Award for the "I Am" campaign for Roark Johnson Photography
http://www.howdesign.com
Publications
Wrap It Up by Cindy Ladage, Create Magazine March 2008
Baer Design Group’s work on Lazy Days Tea Co. is exemplified as the author remarks on the latest trends to hit the shelves.
Creativity 26 Awards Annual by David E. Carter, 2007
This awards annual showcased Lazy Days Tea Co. and Sommers Organic in the packaging category while the Sommers Organic logo was ranked in the top 25% of designs.
American Corporate Identity 2006 by David E. Carter, 2005
This highlights the “Brand Pathfinder” logo we created.
Colossal Design by Clare Warmke, 2003
This showcase of the last year's most innovative and inspired graphic design includes Baer Design Group's "I Am" piece featuring Roark Johnson's photography assemblage.
Global Corporate Identity and The Big Book of Color in Design by David E. Carter, 2003
These design annuals, which include work from over 40 countries, feature our identity work for Planet Cargo, Dynasty Quest, Appropriate Temporaries, Inc., and Meijer Foods.
Festive: The Art and Design of Promotional Mailing by Scott Witham, 2002
Bear Design Group's Holiday promotional mailing, a custom-twisted candy cane in the shape of a "b," is featured.
Logo by David E. Carter, 2002
Nine corporate logos we created are featured: Planet Cargo, Crescendo, Eat Fleet, Topco Associates, Contract Flooring Service, In Focus Learning, and Technical Concepts.
Press Releases
CAN YOUR BRAND SURVIVE TOUGH TIMES? QUICK TIPS TO IMPACT YOUR BOTTOM LINE
September 2003
LEAHY-WOLF UNVEILS CORPORATE IDENTITY WITH THE HELP OF BAER DESIGN GROUP
July 2003
BAER DESIGN GROUP IS SHOWCASED IN TWO LEADING DESIGN BOOKS
January 2002
BAER DESIGN GROUP WINS "BEST OF SHOW" FROM THE BUSINESS MARKETING ASSOCIATION'S TOWER AWARDS COMPETITION
May 2001
BAER DESIGN GROUP EARNS TOP AWARD IN HOW MAGAZINE DESIGN COMPETITION
March 2001
BAER DESIGN GROUP EARNS TOP AWARDS IN CORPORATE DESIGN COMPETITION
February 2001 |
