Back in the 1950′s smoking was glamorous, and just about everybody who was anybody smoked cigarettes. Then came the discovery, to the shock of millions, that sucking smoke into your lungs might not be good for you. Then came another revelation that one of the substances in tobacco, nicotine, which was used as a poison by the Egyptians during the times of the Great Pyramids, is addictive. People then began a mass exodus from the consumption of nicotine via inhaled smoke.Goverments now felt permission to introduce ‘sin taxes’ to raise tax revenue while discouraging consumption. Today, ‘sin taxes’ push the cost of a pack of cigarettes to more than $5 in most places. Smoking was then prohibited on public places like airplanes, goverment buildings; in some states and countries it was banned in all public places, including bars and restaurants. Taxed out, shut out, and scared away from smoking, …

With the price of gas above $3.00, some companies (and hopefully all) are beginning to look at the fuel efficiency of their fleets. Wal-Mart is the most public example of this with its trucking fleet. Its efforts include:Side skirting and installation of other aerodynamics to improve fuel economyUse of super single tires, and other weight saving measures to decrease diesel consumptionInstallation of Auxiliary Power Units to power human conveniences during stop-oversCooperation on the development of hybrid propulsion technologies for their trucking fleetWal-Mart’s efforts are aimed purely at cost cutting, but it is also getting the added public relations boost for being “green-minded” for its efforts. Wal-Mart expects to save $52 million per year in fuel costs from its conventional efforts and un-specified amount from the use of hybrid propulsion in the future.But are companies going far enough?Should companies be reconsidering their fleet vehicle purchases? Fleet vehicle purchases after all, should … Continue reading →

Let’s talk about packaging. Packaging can be thought about in many different ways, but if we think purely about the purpose of packaging first, we find the purpose is to:Contain the productCommunicate product informationFacilitate product storage and shipmentReinforce brandingThe fourth point (branding) is truly part of the second point (product information), but it bears special mention here for discussion.If you look at the packaging for the iPod, it satisfies the first point (product containment), and excels at the third (storage and shipment) because it is a cube. But what about the second (product information) and the fourth (branding)? What does the packaging communicate about the product? The answer is that the packaging simply and elegantly communicates that:This is a premium productThis is a product from AppleThis is an iPod (assuming you know what one is)Some product information (assuming you’re pro-active enough to look at the bottom of the box)Most companies … Continue reading →