The Green Revolution in Product Packaging

Product packaging, along with all other aspects of the business world, has gone green. Organizations have found an opportunity to add value to their brands through sustainable packaging and can capitalize on the consumer goodwill which cultivates through such initiatives. Analysis allows companies to find opportunities for efficiencies and therefore reduce the overall long-term footprint of their product packaging. Emerging trends in from 2010 and into 2011 include:

• Design analysis –with the goal to reduce waste and utilize fewer, more sustainable materials

• Supply chain analysis – sourcing to local producers to reduce transportation costs and carbon emissions

• Active and Intelligent Packaging – allows for monitoring shelf life and reducing costs of product loss

The sustainable packaging industry currently generates nearly one hundred billion dollars in global revenue each year with biodegradable packaging as the fastest growing segment of the market.

Map of Social Networks

This "for fun" infographic map depicts the lay of the land as far as the size (in number of users) of various social network sites. Very interesting. But remember, this is from September 3rd, I can image the terrain has changed a bit since then. Enjoy!

AdMob

In case you missed it... a rep from Google's AdMob was here in the office Friday morning and gave a very interesting presentation on what's happening in the mobile advertising space. This two minute video (below) offers a great overview. Click here to download and view the entire presentation.

The full presentation includes stats on the current mobile internet landscape and several creative examples of what types of advertising units, user experiences and interactions are currently available.

Location Based Social Networks... what's the deal?

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz lately about Location Based Social Networks (LBSNs) such as Foursquare, Gowalla, Brightkite and Loopt. With a growing user-base (Foursquare just passed the 2 million mark) we all want to know who’s using these services, how often they’re using them, what they’re using them for, how our clients can get involved, and if they should. Large chains such as Starbucks and Chili’s restaurant have already partnered with LBSNs to test promotions… so far, with mixed results. Check out this article from AdAge about some of the challenges and pitfalls these early adopters have faced.

A recent report by Forrester provides a little perspective on the subject of LBSNs, finding that less than 5% of U.S. online users have ever used a location-based application on a mobile device. Interesting to note that these users are typically young (~70% between the ages of 19 and 35), male (~80%), well-educated, and influential. Read more on Forrester’s own blog and on gigaom.com