the blog

It is a huge honor to be included in the dieline’s ”40 Favorite Beverage Package Designs” for our client Project 7. To be included among the ranks of companies like Evian, Jones Soda Co. and Coca-Cola (just to name a few) is amazing and such an honor.

Check out the post and a big thank you to the dieline for thinking our client Project 7’s  “got the look.”

Social media is the digital version of “rubber necking.” It capitalizes on the very essence of humanities’ voyeuristic tendencies. But the question is, did social media make us voyeurs? Or did we create social media to support  our craving to look into other people’s lives. We collectively spend hours every day checking twitter to see who has had some life affirming revelation like “Had a cup of coffee and am pondering life…” We send YouTube links to hundreds of our friends of Chad Vader imitating a kid still drugged after getting a tooth pulled, man that was a good one.

The question is, did social media rob us of our privacy? Nope, we gave it up willingly. Social media gave us a chance to get our 5 seconds of fame… in front of whomever will watch, read or listen!

For better or for worse, social media has allowed perfect strangers to interact based on a common interest… and of course the chance to watch a baby I don’t know dance to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies.” 

Go Baby, Go.

So who has Swedish Fish in his/her word cloud? Did you guess correctly?
With no further ado we would like to introduce you to…

Here’s a little bit more on Jonathan.

Name: Jonathan Rollins
Occupation: Graphic Designer
Sign: Taurus
Favorite Color: Black

Design Weapon of Choice:
Mac Pro, or a new X-acto for the hands-on approach.

Where do you get inspiration from?
From the slew of super creative people in my life, and this little thing called the internet.

Favorite design you’ve done while at 29 Agency:
I’m particularly fond of the new Whole Earth Farms line.

If you weren’t a graphic designer, what other occupation would you have?
Ideally, I’d be a professional musician, but more than likely I’d still be working in the fitting room at Old Navy.

Stay tuned for our next “Who We Be” Profile.

Welcome to the first of our “Who We Be” profile. Every few weeks we will be profiling a different hardworking employee of 29 Agency.

But, there’s a twist. Each profile will consist of a word cloud interpretation of the employee. The next day we will reveal said employee’s identity and some factoids about this person. So, with no further ado…

Which 29er is this?

Check back tomorrow for the answer.

As experts in packaging design, we understand the role it plays in helping a consumer make up their mind. In saturated product space, great design can be the thing that makes a consumer gravitate toward a particular product or try something new. For us, great packaging design is eye catching and brand building and always a positive.

However, lately some other packaging designers have taken the lazy low road, playing off the seeder side of humanity, leveraging sensationalism to promote products.

WARNING: This packaging is in severe poor taste, and don’t tell me that the designers “Didn’t know.” We all know they did.

• Haribo MAOAM Candies

And this is a kid’s candy!
But, we can’t point the finger at MAOAM alone. They aren’t the only ones to utilize these tactics. We won’t mention names or show more samples (because we don’t want them to get the publicity they so desperately crave) but numerous consumer goods are sinking to these levels in order to grab the attention of both the consumer and the press. I guess this falls under the old adage of “All press is good press.”

So MAOAM, I hope you are proud of yourselves. The new packaging is definitely getting people to notice, but is it endearing a new generation to your product? Is it maintaining loyalty in your current customer base? We don’t think so. And, if all of this sinks in and you want another “opinion” feel free to give us a call. Our designers are ready to revamp your look taking it from sensationally trashy to just sensational. Beat that, Jenny Jones

Today Interbrand released their 2009 list of Best Global Brands. Topping the list were Coca-Cola, IBM, Microsoft and GE. The criteria for deciphering the leading brands was as follows:

1. There must be substantial publicly available data
2. The brand must have at least one-third of revenues outside of its country-of-origin
3. The brand must be a market-facing brand
4. The Economic Value Added (EVA) must be positive
5. The brand must not have a purely B2B single audience with no wider public profile and awareness.

Interbrand also used a methodolgy or equation of sorts to decipher and breakdown the information obtained about each brand. This formula is “proven, straightforward and profound,” examining brands through the lens of financial strength, importance in driving consumer selection, and the likelihood of ongoing branded revenue. At this point is where you should hear the needle on the record come to a screeching halt. While I appreciate the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the world’s best brands I think there is more to making a brand great than these identified qualities. What about the brands that are shaking up industries, changing the way we think about a business or a product, bettering people’s lives?

I would like to issue a challenge to our readers:

Tell us whatbrands move you.
The criteria is simple. If the brand is amazing to you. Let us know. If we see a trend and some winners emerge, we will announce them in the first ever 29 Agency’s “Bestest Brands as Dictated by Everyday People” List. We can’t wait to hear about the brands that you love. Send us your comments!

Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/29agency

Last night while sitting in front of the tube a commercial grabbed my attention. It featured a little kid posting a lost dog poster and North Carolina Tar Heels grad Tyler Hansbrough spreading the word quickly using a mobile network and multiple social media apps. Of course, the word is spread quickly and the dog is found and returned to the adorable little kid. The spot is great, heartwarming and well done. However, the spot also proves how social media connects people and elicits a powerful response when used correctly.

This is not going to be one of those blog posts that says social media is the answer for everything, because it is not. However, what this post will try to demonstrate is that when used appropriately, social media is the most powerful way for you to get your message out to a bunch of people you’ve never met who actually care.

So, how do we translate a lost dog message to businesses?  By looking at the process.

When undertaking a social media initiative you need to identify the following things:

1. Your message, make sure it is something that people will care about (Lost Dog)
2. Target audience that will help to spread the message (Tyler’s friends)
3. The correct social media forum to broadcast your message (AT&T’s social network)
4. A simple way to communicate what your message is and what you would like your audience to do (Can You Help Find This Dog?)

After that, social media will do the rest (as long as you’ve identified the correct components). When used correctly, social media has the potential to spread your message to an exponential number of people. And, the good news? Anyone can do it. That’s the beauty of social media, it puts the power into the hands of pretty much everyone. Well, anyone with access to a computer or cell phone!

So I pose this question to our readers, what has social media done for you? If the answer is nothing, then you aren’t using it correctly.