brand builder: jon denham · 2016-12-12 · brand builder: jon denham his advice on how to prevent...

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B X P M a g z i n e . c o M

for mer ly

PackageDesignb r a n d e x p e r i e n c e

issue 4 april 2017

Brand Builder:Jon denhamHis advice on how

to prevent design

commoditization, stay

inspired and prevent

employee burnout, all

while building amazing

brands.

b x p m a g a z i n e . c o m

1

B X P M a g z i n e . c o M

C h i e f

e x p e r i e n C e

o f f i C e r

A CALL TO ARMSB y L i n d a C a s e y

Jon Denham shares how he’s

transformed package design at

ConAgra, Kraft and P&G, and

issues a call for courageous and

aggressive approaches to the

future of design and employee

burnout.

b r a n d e x p e r i e n c e

C O N T E N T S

F E A T U R E S

A P R I L . 2 0 1 7

V o l . 1 4 N o . 4

4 e d i t o r ’ s L e t t e r

7 f r o n t p a n e L

9 s n a p s h o t s

B y K a t i e G r av e L y

Emphasizing creative

packaging across categories.

50 p r o d u C t f o C u s :

Digital Printing & Finishing

56 f i e L d n o t e s p rovo C at i v e pa rt n e r s h i p

Special-edition cigar case

designed for distribution

to U.S. military personnel

deployed overseas

launches with an aggressive

promotional campaign.

Package Design readers

weigh in.

55 i n d e x o f a d v e r t i s e r s

12 DigiTA L OU TR E AChB y a m y h a r r e L s o n m a C h a d o

Modern shoppers demand more personal engagement,

and more brands are turning to digital printing to create

emotional connections with consumers.

28 iN TODAy ’S NEwS: COFFEEB y K a t e a C h e L p o h L

Digital printing helps one coffee brand reinforce its brand

message of freshness and another raise awareness about

fair-trade farmer.

38 DEbATE & DiSCUSS: DR i v iNg bR E A kThROUgh iNNOvATiONB y L i n d a C a s e y

Innovation experts discuss how to make organizations and

individuals more innovative, the changing role of research

in innovation and opportunities for improvement within

the entire design community.

28Coffee brand

makes front page

news. to emphasize

the freshness of its

coffee beans, a

coffee brand

collaborates with a

newspaper to

launch develop a

coffee package,

with the daily

paper’s front-page

stories printed on

it.

34

What percent of the printing is for samples/prototypes versus short- and long-run production?

100%

6%

0% 1%-24%

25%-49%

50%-74%

75%-99%

4%

44%

16%

10%

20%

Samples/Prototypes

0

10

20

30

40

50

32

B r a n d E x p E r i E n c E B x p M a g z i n E . c o M

linda Casey

Editor iN CHiEf

Editorial dEpartmENt

editor-in-Chieflinda Casey

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art direCtordon Heyl

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assoCiate editorKatie Gravely

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produCtion manaGerlinda Volz

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produCtion Coordinatormark Kissling

[email protected]

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CorporatE Staff

presidenttedd Swormstedt

senior vp/Group puBLishermurray Kasmenn

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provoke or connect?

the desire and downright need for brands to standout is undeniable, and it’s a need that is

not only perennial but also growing. and as the cacophony of marketing messages grow,

brands need to ensure that their melodies rise above the noise.

Some brands are choosing to do that with provocation. in this issue’s field Notes, we

spotlight a promotional campaign that was created to honor the U.S. Special operations

Community but clearly also aimed to provoke those outside of its target market. i went back

and forth a bit on whether to include Smoke ‘em after you smoke ‘em because in my opinion

(and this is not reflective of package design’s or St media’s opinion) the campaign is in poor

taste. But i don’t think i’ll soon forget the controversial campaign. (read more about the

Smoke ‘em after you smoke ‘em promotional campaign and the cigar-case package design

on page 56.)

other brands are choosing technology to create better connections with prospective and

existing brand fans. Using digital printing technology, coffee brand Café pelé, produced by

Cia, found a novel way to communicate “fresh” without actually plastering the words on the

front panel of its coffee packs. through a partnership with São paulo’s oldest newspaper,

the Brazilian brand printed the stories from the daily newspaper’s front page on the coffee

packs. this campaign also helped connect with a wide range of Brazilian consumers instead

of a smaller target market because it connected Café pelé with something they already were

using to start their days. (turn to page 28 to learn about this innovative marketing cam-

paign.)

recent research by package design and idC finds the majority of brands surveyed are using

digital printing technology at some stage of the design or packaging process. With a mere

10% of brand owners reporting that they don’t currently use digital printing, we can expect

more novel applications of technology. (turn to page 12 to read

highlights from that research.)

and these applications, i hope, will prove that there are

so many ways a brand can stand out and connect with

target markets beyond simple provocation.

StAy In touch WIth uS by: Email: [email protected]

linkedin: BXP Magazine

facebook: BXPMag

twitter: bxpmag

from tHe editor

b r a n d e x p e r i e n c e

The industry’s most exciting and all-inclusive LIVE showcase of the hottest technology in printing today is branching out in new directions for 2016. Sunny Florida—the international gateway to Latin America and beyond—will draw a fresh set of attendees and exhibitors, all eager to cultivate new business relationships. Here among 100s of exciting new product introductions and unique new print applications are the “seeds” for your business growth. Looking to turn over a new leaf? Discover a fresh crop of profit opportunities at GRAPH EXPO 16.

September 25–28, 2016

Orange County Convention Center - North | Orlando, Florida

GraphExpo.com

GRAPH EXPO & PRINT, GASC Shows GRAPH EXPO & PRINT, GASC Shows

@GRAPH_EXPO GraphicArtsShowCo

54


T h E S C E N E

event previews and other info about our newly expanded design universe

the size of the worldwide luxury market

in Euros according to the 14th edition of

the Bain luxury Study, published by Bain &

Company (www.bain.com) for fondazione

altagamma, the trade association of italian

luxury-goods manufacturers. the research

found that luxury brands earned €1 trillion

(approximately 1.143 trillion USd) in retail

sales value in 2015 and delivered healthy

growth of 5% year-over-year at constant

exchange rates.

the trend is aided by global currency fluctu-

ations and continued purchases by what the

research group calls “borderless consumers.”

E-commerce for the category grew to a 7%

market share in 2015, nearly doubling its

penetration since 2012. Specialized e-com-

merce players are outperforming the market

globally, with Chinese e-tailers progressively

extending their geographic reach and gain-

ing share on a global basis. the e-commerce

sites of European and american retailers

(such as department stores) continue to

grow, a response to customers’ demands for

an omnichannel experience.

Study: Willing to SplurgeGood news from the Q1 2016 Consumer Connect survey to

gauge consumers’ financial confidence by iri (www.

iriworldwide.com). the research group found that 67% of

consumers feel their financial health will improve in the next

six months, and this sunny outlook is giving consumers the

confidence to loosen their purse strings a bit and splurge.

Consumers also indicated that these splurges won’t be im-

pulse buys and instead will be informed choices. for instance,

55% are willing to pay more for household cleaners made with

environmentally friendly ingredients. in addition, 36% are reg-

ularly buying premium-quality beauty products, while 34% will

pay more for environmentally friendly packaging.

1 Trillion

BitES, BarKS aNd tHiNS

Good things do com e in small

packages – especially when it comes

to treats. Confectioners and snack

makers will be consistently creating

big tastes in small products this year,

often under labels like “thins” and

“barks.” these products don’t skimp

on ingredients or quality, but focus

on delivering a delicious product

that’s easy to snack on while on-the-

go or to simply enjoy in moderation.

faNtaStiC frUitS aNd

NotEWortHy NUtS

With chocolate and fruit or chocolate and nut combinations

performing increasingly well over the last three years (increas-

ing 116% and 63%, respectively), a multitude of innovative fruit

and nut products are being launched in 2016. New mouthwa-

tering fruit and flavor pairings will emerge introducing many of

us for the first time to combinations like mango and chocolate,

blueberry and acai or fig with vanilla. Similarly, the industry is

going nuts for new nut innovations. Expect to see the inclusion

of more hazelnuts, pistachios, cashews and salted almonds

in candies and snacks in 2016. Coconut, a botanically curious

fruit/nut hybrid, will also be paired with flavors such as cara-

mel, peanut butter and chocolate.

far-oUt flaVor

today’s flavor profiles are bigger and bolder than ever before

with flavor combinations taking the confectionery and snack

industry by storm. this category includes many kitchen-in-

spired flavors including pumpkin, fiery spices and robust

international flair. Saigon cinnamon, Sriracha and chimichurri

are a few flavors that are expected to pack a punch at the

expo and beyond. other notable ingredients within this cate-

gory include coffee, espresso and cappuccino flavors, which

have increased 30% over the last three years.

iNNoVatiVE iNGrEdiENtS

Coconut palm sugar, coconut milk, chia and pumpkin seeds

luxury named among confectionery trends for 2016

highlight only a handful of the variety

of noteworthy ingredients in this

year’s new product launches. these

creative ingredients are far from

ordinary and guaranteed to take taste

buds to new levels.

taStE of lUxUry

over the past three years premium

chocolate sales increased 56%, so

it’s no wonder that confection- and

snack-makers have their eyes on

luxury and gourmet markets this year.

Even candies known for their mass ap-

peal are creating premium products.

Candy companies incorporated high quality ingredients and

flavors like champagne, muscadine grape and Himalayan sea

salt, to name a few.

at the show, mars Chocolate North america also announced

the launch of several new flavor extensions, including Snick-

ers Hazelnut, twix White Chocolate Cookie Bars, dove Sor-

bet Bars, dove peanut Butter and dark Chocolate promises

and a wide range of seasonal offerings for these brands, plus

m&m’S, milky Way and 3 musketeers brands.

“Consumers are always excited to try new flavors combined

with their favorite chocolate brands,” explains timothy leBel,

vice president of sales, mars Chocolate North america.

“through extensive consumer research, we’ve created line

extensions that will resonate with shoppers. for example,

confections containing hazelnuts have increased 14% in sales,

so consumers will want to try our limited edition Snickers

Hazelnut. We also believe our new twix White Chocolate

Cookie Bars will be a hit, since the white chocolate segment

is growing.”

Wrigley, another subsidiary of mars incorporated, also un-

veiled new products that give consumers more choices from

brands including orbit White, Starburst Gummies in original

and Sour flavors, Skittles america mix and more.

The National Confectioners Associat ion unwraps the latest candy and snack industry trends of 2016. At the associat ion’s Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago (www.candyusa.org) , the fol lowing trends emerged:

7


a call to arms

for this installment of package design matters, we went to

Highland park, il, to the home of Jon denham, current vice

president of design at Conagra foods, inc. in this role, den-

ham pulls on his design, branding and business skills and ex-

perience to bring new ways Conagra. He seeks to also evolve

design to affect innovation across the organization and make

Conagra faster, more effective and more efficient.

a recent win for denham and his team is the redesigned

packaging for p.f. Chang’s frozen foods, which it manufac-

tures under license. “the work looked good at the time,”

denham explains, “but it wasn’t as effective in the mar-

ketplace as we expected it to be.” the group reassessed

not only the packaging but they also re-evaluated how the

organization looked at the work. out of those evaluations

came a design that communicated more effectively from the

freezer case. “the design is now doing well because of sim-

ple changes such as creating more contrast and making sure

that the p.f. Chang’s logo could be seen more than three feet

away,” denham says.

this willingness to honestly assess his own and his team’s

work is part of denham’s formula for success. “as i look back

on my career, and i think of all the mistakes that i made,”

denham intimates. “Some of them were just outright em-

barassing, but you’ve got to learn from the mistakes. i think

of the concept behind failing forward, which is a great book

on this concept. take what you can learn from your mistakes,

and translate that into what’s your next action.”

today, Conagra has a system in place to make sure that the

design team is asking the right questions about a design

project versus designing for design’s sake. denham charac-

terizes the model as effective but almost whimsical in its sim-

plicity. “We call it a 3-d model,” he explains. there are three

questions that designers need to ask of any and all work they

do at Conagra, whether it’s for the company’s own brands or

its private-label customers: is what you’re doing distinct? is it

deliverable? is it desirable?

doN’t BE afraid to CHallENGE

the 3-d model has helped kick-start conversations with the

design team and has given them permission, in a way, to ques-

tion the ideas behind their work. this has made Conagra more

Jon Denham shares how he’s t ransformed package design at ConAgra, Kraft

and P&G, and issues a cal l for courageous and aggressive approaches to

everything from the future of design to addressing employee burnout .

B y L i n d a C a s e y

cHief exper ience officer

9


effective and efficient. “if this is not distinct, if it’s not desir-

able, if it’s not deliverable, then it’s probably not worth spend-

ing too much time on,” he says. “if you are going to spend

time on it, we have got to create a pretty compelling story as

to why. if we’re not getting the customer or the consumer to

desire what we’re creating, if we can’t do it and if it’s not dis-

tinct, then it’s probably not going to be the best investment.”

this system is especially important when communicating

design strategies to Conagra’s private-brand customers.

“my job, at its core, there, is to facilitate,” denham says. “i

don’t own the design; the brand owners own it. But you have

to think of the values in the 3-d model and just ask, ‘What

are we really trying to achieve, and have we thought this

through?’ Sometimes, it’s the last thing a design manager

wants to hear or do because he or she is being held account-

able on timing of a project. But at the end of the day, if we’re

doing something that’s not going to build value into the busi-

ness and make consumers part with money, we need to make

sure that it’s worth doing. it’s very tough, and it may create a

short-term issue. So you need to go back with a convincing,

influencing argument.

“it’s interesting,” he adds. “one of the things you’re taught

at college that’s tough to hold onto in the commercial world

is the theoretical right way to do design: Being in touch with

what consumers or what customers are doing, and what’s

influencing them, and knowing how to use that to start to

create solutions. When you come into the commercial world,

a lot of that process of understanding has been done for

you. you are told, ‘Here’s the order. Go fulfill the order.’ and

sometimes the order makes sense and sometimes it doesn’t.

you have to step back and say, ‘What are we really trying to

achieve? and is the order that just came in the right order?

or do we actually need to go back and work with these peo-

ple to figure out what the right order should be?’”

BUildiNG CrEdiBility

that courage needs to be applied not only to tactfully but

clearly question, but also to defend your work and ideas, all

the way up to the C-suite. “i think back to one point in my

career where the CEo of the company had come back from

an international assignment where he’d been exposed to very

sophisticated design and he saw that as a competitive ad-

vantage,” denham says. the CEo came back to the U.S. and

asked for denham to join him and the r&d leader in evaluat-

ing the year’s package design work. “the CEo looked at one

of the absolutely critical brands and said ‘i’m not sure that’s

right,’” denham recalls. although he was excited for what at

the time was the rare opportunity to review designs with a

CEo, he challenged the CEo’s assessment.

“instead of the conversation ending with, ‘We need to go and

fix it,’ he said, ‘i hear what you’re saying and you’re expert in this

area, so let’s run with it and see what happens,’ denham recalls.

the brand that the CEo wasn’t in love with was an incredible

business success. Even in the depths of the recent economic

depression, Head & Shoulders still grew at a healthy rate.

one of the takeaways denham gained from that interaction

is “not everybody is going to love your design” and that a

designer needs to stand up for his or her design and ideas

with robust reasons. “you need a huge amount of courage,”

denham opines, “and that courage has to be very durable.”

Courage is one thing, but how does a designer make an ef-

fective argument to senior business leaders, especially those

high-powered leaders in the C-suite? denham contends that’s

when a designer needs to take on the roles of student and

educator. “Understand what’s important to them,” denham

urges. “i remember a co-worker and friend once said, ‘Come

and walk in my shoes and then we can have a conversation

about design and how that plays a role.’”

denham also argues for learning the language of business

so you can have meaningful conversations versus surface

conversations that focus on generalities. He explains, “How

can you expect to have a conversation with the C-suite if you

don’t understand them?” When denham was a structural en-

gineer in the r&d department at p&G, he attended a course

titled, financial training for Non-financial people. “i was like,

‘i have to go to this course to at least have some under-

standing of the financial implications of what we are doing,’

because i’m talking with business people all the time,” he

recalls. “that moment was so important. When i think of the

times when i’ve had more impact and more influence, it’s be-

cause i’ve understood the business much more thoroughly.”

Unfortunately, denham says, designers are rarely taught

the language of business at school. When designers start

working in commercial roles, especially in corporate posi-

tions, they will be exposed to and expected to participate in

conversations with financial implications. Understanding the

financial language of business will help tremendously to build

a designer’s credibility.

to ensure that the conversation goes both ways, design-

ers must also teach business leaders about design and the

design process. Educating non-designers in the company

about the design process and language will encourage them

to engage in the conversation, gain empathy for designers

about the design process, and help everyone collaborate to

refine the package design process.

denham’s most high impact project, with which he carries

a great deal of influence, is the raising of his nine-year-old

twins. “they are in a great time in their life,” he says, “Seeing

how they evolve. Now that’s inspiring.”

cHief exper ience officer

1110


i think design is kind of everything,” says Craig dubitsky,

founder and CEo of Hello products, who has either started or

been on the ground floor of several ascending brands, such

as Eos, method and, of course, Hello products. He opines that

while some business leaders primarily think of design as form,

color and texture, he thinks it’s so much more. “it’s about

being hyper thoughtful about how people interact with their

things,” he says—essentially elevating the everyday.

“one of my favorite quotes is from leonard Cohen, who’s

a famous singer-songwriter,” dubitsky says. “Some people

don’t care for his voice, but i appreciate his poetry. He wrote

this great line, ‘there’s a crack in everything and that’s how

the light gets in.’ i’m looking for these little cracks—ways

to do things with a little bit more attention, a little bit more

soul.”

pUttiNG tHE pErSoNal

BaCK iNto pErSoNal CarE

the personal care category, specifically the oral care subcat-

egory, often focuses on communicating performance claims,

and all those metallic cartons for toothpaste can give shop-

pers the wrong impression that the brands’ package design

intent is simply to outshine the competition.

“this category is called personal care but i think over time it

became impersonal care because it’s about new and im-

proved and this product gets you, eight shades whiter in two

minutes or whatever the claim might be,” dubitsky remarks.

“Going back to this notion just being thoughtful about every-

thing. We try to not be just a brand but be a personality.

“this,” he says while holding a toothpaste carton, “is some-

thing hopefully you could trust, you can interact with, you

can enjoy using it. Sure, it tastes great and works brilliantly,

absolutely, because it has to. that’s like table stakes, right?”

at the package design matters Conference in January, dubi-

tsky gave us a sneak peek at new products and cartons for

the brand. in addition to new toothpastes, including fluoride-

free and SlS-free options, Hello updated its kids and adult

toothpaste packaging with forest Stewardship Council-cer-

personal toucH

From look to feel to product , Craig Dubitsky is on a mission to elevate

the everyday, star t ing at the home and reaching beyond.


1312


tified kraft paper boxes printed with soy inks. the cartons

feature bold colors and dubitsky’s signature tone of voice—a

blend of serious science with a wink.

“yeah, i write the copy,” dubitsky says. “When you open the

box of our brand new whitening toothpaste, it says, ‘Hello

sunshine.’ So even inside the cartons, they say ‘breathe freely,

meet your new squeeze.’ Even on the back, we have some

fun. the cartons say that the toothpaste is “free from dyes,

artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors, microbeads, triclosan

and preservatives, gluten and peroxide—brilliant like you,”

and it’s a whitening toothpaste. these are little touches, but

i’m obsessed with every touchpoint.

products team and others. “people are writing us love letters

and posting videos,” dubitsky reports. “Someone made this

whole video going on and on about how delicious our blue

raspberry and bubblegum toothpastes are, and we, of course,

made a video and sent it back to him. We’re lucky that we

get a lot of love.”

Ever the serial entrepreneur, dubitsky is gearing up to help

other consumer product categories become friendlier. “our

constant curiosity is what keeps us evolving,” he says. “it’s

called, Hello products, not Hello oral Care! i can’t share

what’s on the horizon because we want to surprise people,

but we have probably about 10 years of Npd [new product

development] already done. What i will tell you is that there

are certain category adjacencies that were looking at and

anything fresh, fun, friendly and natural is fair game!” ♦

tHE roUGH

SUrfaCE of tHE

Kraft CartoN

CommUNiCatES

tHat tHiS iS

a NatUrally

friENdly prodUCt,

WHilE tHE mEtalliC

iNK aNd Spot

VarNiSH GiVE a

Nod to SCiENCE

aNd tECHNoloGy

to CoNVEy

tHE prodUCt’S

EffiCaCy.

desires to share in public. “So the idea behind products like

breath spray used to be that you had done something wrong

and needed to cover it up,” dubitsky remarks. “instead, we

made something that can live out in the open and be fun

and is sharable. i’m offering this to others all the time, saying,

‘Hey, you want a hit of this? it’s delicious! it’s mojito mint. it’s

really nice.’

“the conversation isn’t i did something i shouldn’t have,”

dubitsky adds. “it is about being open. part of my brief for all

the products is that they should be pretty enough to display

because why not, why should you have to hide something?

SHariNG tHE loVE

Brand fans are not only buying up product, but also com-

municating their enthusiasm for the brand back to the Hello

“the UpCs [universal product codes] even had to look kind

of funky because if we’re able to dictate what the package

says, why not make it a little more interesting or as i like to

say mint-eresting,” dubitsky adds with a wink in his eye.

EaCH CoNSUmEr HaS a Story

“We write our narratives through our stuff, through these

things that helped define ourselves,” dubitsky says. “i think

we live out in the open now, whether we want to or not.

our pictures are taken a million times a day by devices we

don’t even know exist. i’m not trying to paint a picture of this

bizarre world where there is no privacy or anything. it’s just

a reality, and we do it to ourselves—right? We’re posting on

social media all the time; we want to share.”

this, he argues, means that package design has to do so

much more than just sell features from the shelf. it also has

to be something a person is willing to and, perhaps, even

1514


t H e t o o l s

meTallized Beer laBelSwww.weberpackaging.com

fasson maxflex Bright silver label material from avery-den-

nison is used to make craft beer labels. The visual effects can

be created when used along with matte of gloss lamination.

Box Wrapwww.neenahpackaging.com

the Box Wrap collection by

neenah packaging features metal-

like options. the metal-x, metal

Mesh and Carbon-X Papers offer

rich metallic tones with abstract

and structural textures. there are

embossing options that evoke

hammered, brushed and meshed

metals.

SofT Touchwww.envisionpackaging.com

EnVision has brought Soft Touch

coating to plastic packaging. through

the sense of touch, the coating stimu-

lates the finger tips with a soft, silky

feel, elevating the brand experience.

meTallized filmhttp://label.averydennison.com

The film provides excellent print recep-

tivity and is a bright, lustrous solution for

flexible and rigid packaging for a variety

of categories, including food, beer, bev-

erage and home and personal care.

cold foilingwww.diamondpackaging.com

Cold foiling decorates the front,

side, rear and bottom panels,

creating an upscale appearance

to the men’s personal care

products.

meta l l iz ing and

specia l ef fect

innovat ions are

taking product

packages to a whole

new level .

Gloss laminat ions ,

and specia l meta l l ic

coat ings are piquing

shoppers interest and

imaginat ion.

meTallized holographic filmwww.hazen.com

the hazen Warp drive-White motion was created for

paramount’s remastered compilation “star trek: the original

series.” hazen designed and manufactured metallized

holographic film, laminated and coated with Ultracure to

optimize uv printing.

meTallic packagingwww.color-logic.com

Color-Logic says its technology is capable of

more than 100 effects that are achievable to

create eye-catching designs in a matter of

seconds. Combining multiple effects together

can create a package that outshines a brand’s

competition.

Metallizing & Special Effects

16

holographic laBelSlabel.averydennison.com

select solutions holographic label

materials have a multi-layered

coating to refract light and cre-

ate a variety of optical effects,

including iridescent and pris-

matic visuals. avery denni-

son says the portfolio is

ideal for seasonal packag-

ing, commemorative prod-

ucts or to communicate a

product’s premium

nature.

moTion coaTwww.actega.com

in partnership with mcLean packaging, actega

developed a folding carton using a patent pending

uv coating technology called motionCoat. this

self-registering uv coating creates motion based

graphics when used in conjunction with

linear vector patterns.

rigid SeT-up Boxwww.tap-usa.com

the sanders holiday Box is made with sil-

ver satin foil board and printed from there

passes on the 4-color offset press. The first

print pass produced the solid flood color

background, the second pass produced the

uv white opaque ink, and the third pass

produced the fourth color.

t H e t o o l s

1918


Christian SaclierGlobal head of industrial design thinking at nestlé s.a.

how do you enable, engage and empower your team?

i act as the functional lead for decentralized network of 40

industrial designers dispatched in 30 of our r&d centers

worldwide. over the years, we have defined our best prac-

tices and are all aligned around them. Whether a workshop

takes place in California or in malaysia, we can send a team of

designers and they will immediately understand the agenda

and what to do when. We interact regularly to set-up and run

ideation sessions, follow-up on projects, review opportuni-

ties and gaps, discuss the best way to engage partners and

stakeholders, and this gives a lot of energy to the team.

i view my role, at a central level, as promoting the role of

industrial designers, and design thinking overall, so that our

teams can operate and engage on more and more exciting

and impactful projects.

how does workload and cadence affect innovation?

innovation is like a race. a race with multiple tracks and an

infinite number of participants that you cannot even see, so

you never really know if you’re ahead or behind. Everybody’s

competing for the same consumer so you’d better run fast.

there are of course multiple hurdles on the way, and some-

times the hardest challenge is to convince internally. indeed,

several teams are competing to get budget approvals for

their initiatives, and there is only so much markets can ab-

sorb when it comes to new launches.

therefore initiatives must be carefully assessed against key

criteria. We define these as viability, desirability and feasibil-

ity. as to workload, one of the issue with innovation is that

in the earlier phases as an innovation leader in a large scale

company, you cannot really say no to anyone. indeed the

next initiative might be the big one.

What have you done to integrate individual and organiza-

tional change, and what lessons did you take away from

those efforts?

the biggest change for us came through the integration of

design thinking. this was mostly positive, of course, but it

also brought a lot of noise and misunderstandings.

Some designers suddenly reacted thinking they would only

do strategy, and some non-designers suddenly thought they

would become instant-designers by applying a few basic

tricks.

reality and learning is that design thinking cannot work

without design doing, hence the real strategy is to do more

than ever, in an environment which is getting cluttered by too

many me toos. design thinking certainly allows to take a step

back and ask the right questions, which is what designers

always did, but more importantly than all, it must be a team

effort, where everyone contributes to design new products

and services. there a strong design team is an absolute need.

What role does corporate social responsibility play in your

development process?

Nestlé is very serious about social responsibility, and there is

a companywide embedded culture of creating shared value,

which supports rural development, environmental sustain-

ability and nutrition. Creating Shared Value is a business

strategy, which believes that long-term success comes to

those companies that create value for society.

What is less known is that Nestlé has become successful

by providing around 600,000 farmers with free technical

assistance and USd 30 million in microloans, partnerships

with more than 100 organizations to improve nutrition, health

and the environment, being the world’s largest provider of

vitamin and mineral fortified food, supporting nutrition edu-

cation and healthy lifestyle programs that reach more than 11

million school-age children.

how can a business leader proactively help his or her team

to be more innovative?

it is about enabling the teams to be creative and innovative.

Giving them freedom to operate and the means to achieve

their goals. as a design leader of course, i promote design

thinking across the various functions so that all of our teams

know how to design their value proposition, focusing on

bringing real value to users, and build a sustainable business

model.

But as i said before, we all know design thinking is nothing

without design doing. i am therefore walking the talk by

enabling prototyping capabilities, either in house in our r&d

centers where 40 of our industrial designers are operating,

but also through partnerships with design schools and/or

agencies.

how do you, as a business leader, remain productive and

innovative?

it is all about an insatiable curiosity and passion for discov-

ery. Being interested in everything, keeping your eyes wide

open. Even more importantly connecting the dots is what

keeps me motivated and engaged. as an industrial design

leader in such a large scale company, i am involved in so

many topics, ranging from fundamental research on the re-

lationship between nutrition and health, to some technology

leveraging such as 2-d digital printing on our packages or

3-d printing of food.

Some might say that being too curious is not a good thing,

it is just not unless you are not able to connect the dots, but

if you do, there is a tremendous value remaining open and

ready to jump from one topic to the other, while remaining

focus on end deliveries.

how is research’s role in innovation changing?

Nestlé is a company which has been built on science. from

the early days, when Henri Nestlé developed infant formula,

to our latest advances in personalized nutrition, Nestlé

remains strongly influenced by its science and technology

culture. this combined with strong established brands makes

the recipe for a business that’s celebrating its 150 years this

year.

What are the emerging opportunities for the design indus-

try to become even more innovative?

a lot has to do with getting stakeholders to understand what

design truly is and truly means. With terms such as design

thinking, design strategy, global design, holistic design, uni-

versal design, and so on, the design industry has not done a

great job at explaining itself, unfortunately.

young designers should focus on making sure their role is

understood, and as said above, there is no better evidence of

that than coming with great effective design. another oppor-

tunity for young designers is and will still be improving any

aspect of the social environment. there is a lot to do in this

world and the design industry has only addressed a very small

percentage of what can be designed.

driving breaktHrougH innovation

d e b a t e & d i s c u s sdriving breakthrough innovat ion

2120


John Flavinexecutive director of the Chicago innovation exchange (Cie) at the University of Chicago.


there is a growing importance on ensuring that research

happening at universities and national labs are brought to the

marketplace. it is one of the primary roles that the Chicago

innovation Exchange serves at the University of Chicago with

our co-working space, Business incubator and our innovation

fund. the innovation fund, a $20 million investment fund fo-

cuses on commercializing early stage research and support-

ing emerging companies at the University and its affiliates,

including argonne National laboratory, fermi National accel-

erator laboratory and the marine Biological laboratory.

We’ve learned that translating research into commercial

products relies on maintaining momentum from idea to initial

commercial validation. momentum is maintained when pro-

cesses and pathways are transparent, and momentum is killed


when these same processes are opaque, so we’ve taken steps

to reduce the friction and increase transparency.

one way we’ve done that is through our UCGo! Startup

license, which is a new pathway for licensing University intel-

lectual property that speeds up the timeframe and minimizes

the cost to launch UChicago startups. this program helps

to expedite the translation of ground-breaking research and

technologies to the marketplace. it’s these resources that

the CiE is able to provide with our fund, space and incubator,

which positions us to accelerate these ideas from academic

to commercial validation, allowing more individuals to start

companies, research to make it to the market, and innovation

to happen.

What have you done to integrate individual and organiza-

tional change, and what lessons did you take away from

those efforts?

the Chicago innovation Exchange is really positioned for

organizational change within the University. the University

is adapting to a new market environment. less government

funds are available for basic research, more faculty and stu-

dents are interested in commercializing innovation and more

companies need to access new talent and ground-break-

ing ideas that are being incubated at universities. in many

respects, the CiE is being the front door to the university,

helping them adapt to this evolving marketplace by providing

value on both sides of the exchange with talent and faculty,

and then on the other side with companies and community.

this puts the CiE as a key facilitator for overall organizational

change by the connection to the marketplace.

how do you enable, engage and empower your team?

i think these three go hand in hand. i engage with my team

on a regular basis with a weekly all team meeting and regular

check-ins with each individual. this engagement is what

allows me to enable and empower.

i think the most important way that i do this is by trusting

each team member. to truly scale the Chicago innovation

Exchange, i have to allow each team member to be the ex-

pert in their area. my role is to inspire and remove obstacles

to achieve overall goals, and in doing my job, i empower and

enable the team to do theirs.

What lessons can we learn from failed attempts at innova-

tion in the last decade?

the word innovation is usually attached to the final product

that is successful, but the reality is that you only hear about

the good outcomes. innovation is the result of the struggle,

Mike Daltonauthor, Simplifying Innovation: Doubling Speed-to-Market & New Product Profits

how can brand executives enable, engage and empower

their teams?

i know it’s popular to preach the Google philosophy of giving

folks 10% of their time to work on whatever interests them, but

how successful has that been?

the best companies have strategies that clearly define where

they will and will not play and then empower their people

to really go after it in a very focused way. and because you

specifically asked about engaging and empowering teams, a

really important thing you can do is team up commercial and

technical people for field visits. in this way, they can see the

problems and the limitations that customers have and then

use both their knowledge of your technology as well as their

problem solving skills to create solutions that exploit your

offerings in ways you never even dreamed of before. Now that

creates engagement.

how does workload and cadence affect innovation?

Workload is a huge factor. Below 80% utilization, project flow

is quite robust and predictable. But when you get above 80%

utilization, you reach an unstable zone where the smallest

upset can cause problems. think of your new product pipe-

line like a highway. an accident at noon is no problem and

causes very little delay. an accident at rush hour can double

or triple the average commute. it’s no different when you

continue to put too many projects into execution at the same

time.

the toiling, and sometimes the mundane iterative process that

ultimately leads to rare occurrences where innovation has a

profound, valuable impact on society and changes the world.

the iphone is the outcome of years and years of failed

attempts at a tablet, but the failure part of that innovation

doesn’t get the credit it deserves. We are never aiming to fail

but it is part of the process and a very powerful, important

part because it is what leads you to that celebration point of

innovation.

22

B r a n d E x p E r i E n c E

in the room and the cell phones get silenced. if people aren’t

focused during a meeting, so much gets missed that you inevi-

tably have to go back and plow over it again. What a waste of

the limited bandwidth that we all have!


i don’t know that research’s role is changing as much as the

way that research is getting done is changing.

one of the more experienced ph.d. chemists who was on my

team used to say quite tongue in cheek, “a month in the lab

can save you two days in the library.”

this was his way of reminding his junior colleagues that

someone might have already conducted similar experiments

so why not spend a few days researching that to save your-

self from going down a dead end. Now the “library” is online

and knowledge management and collaboration tools can

give a researcher access to far more valuable information.

Not only that, but the statistical analysis tools available for

design of experiments, doE, can also deliver dramatically.

What are the emerging opportunities for the design indus-

try to become even more innovative?

Clearly there is a convergence going on right now between

electronics, software and more traditional physical prod-

ucts. the cloud or so-called internet of things is dramatically

accelerating things. Companies that are able to find the right

talent in each area and talent who are able to synthesize

across these three domains will dramatically outperform in

the coming decade. learning from the data that all of these

connected devices can provide is another great potential

opportunity. ♦

add just one more new project than you have the bandwidth

to handle per quarter, and within a year, all your projects will

be taking 50% or more longer than they need to.

Cadence is a different issue and it really depends on the

variability in projects entering your pipeline. that said, if your

organization is large enough, i find that it pays to focus the

bulk of your development team on medium- and long-term

projects that have one cadence and then to focus a smaller,

highly reactive group on the fast-turn work. the cadence of

these two types of projects is very different and breaking

them out can provide much needed focus.

What role does corporate social responsibility play in your

development process?

interestingly enough, we find that truly sustainable solutions

almost always have financial benefits as well. years ago, the

move from CfC [chlorofluorocarbon] to hydrocarbon aero-

sols was a huge investment, but it actually lowered the unit

cost dramatically making it a win-win—the only kind of truly

sustainable solution.

how do you, as a business leader, remain productive and

innovative?

on the personal side i’m a big fan of exercising every morn-

ing and never skipping breakfast. it’s a great way to maxi-

mize your energy.

on the business side, it really pains me to see so many folks

inflicted with what i call, device attention disorder Syn-

drome. dadS is a real problem in organizations and keeps us

from truly communicating with each other.

When i hold a meeting the laptops and tablets aren’t allowed


Neenah Packaging announces its expanded Box Wrap Portfolio and custom options.In the words of Mark Sng, director of marketing for Neenah Packaging, “You have just four seconds to grab a consumer’s attention in a retail setting. If you want to communicate a premium or luxury feel, you need to entice someone to reach out and touch the product.” That mission is at the core of Neenah Packaging’s new Box Wrap Portfolio; two collections that feature mid-range to premium in one, and the most luxurious decorative papers in the other. Adds Mark Sng, “The Box Wrap collections create an elevated line, ideal for national and multi-national retail, beauty, alcohol, electronics and entertainment media brands.”

Leathers, metallics, exotic skins and gorgeous whites. The Box Wrap Premium collection has been available for some time. But the company added 26 new items including offset-printable, uncoated

Dramatic new materials serve up textures and luxury coatings and sustainable options to give packaging more presence.

and lightweight C1S premium box wrap papers with a wealth of whites, colors and environmental papers. The Box Wrap Luxury collection is new, with one-of-a-kind papers that exude luxury in both look and touch. Says Sng, “Luxury papers offer more design opportunities.” The collection is all about building a unique design. Designers can start with color, select an embossed texture, and enhance the visual with a print pattern or specialty finish. Adds Sng, “When you look at the luxury book, you’ll see authentic looking fine leathers and realistic metal-like finishes, plush textures and high-end exotic skins. They mimic the real thing.”

Ensuring that every print run delivers consistency—from Denver to Dubai.Neenah Packaging offers onsite service so consumers the world over enjoy a consistent brand experience. Says Sng, “The Box Wrap collections are available in readymade and custom options. We match brand colors and guarantee the colors

will match across all product categories and substrates.” The books show the breadth of the

Premium and Luxury collections. Says Sng, “These collections allow designers to decorate in a way that opens a new world of creativity.”

Contact your local Neenah Packaging rep to request a showing of the new Neenah Packaging Box Wrap specification books or to order copies, visit http://www.neenahpackaging.com/contact

A D V E R T O R I A L

How do you define premium and luxury packaging? It’s the iconic peacock blue that consumers the world over associate with precious gems. It’s the distinctive tan, black and red plaid that adorns everything from coats and scarfs to boots and purses. It’s the buttery leather with the French accent. For packaging designers the challenges are mighty. How do you design for packaging that owns the shelf and caters to environmental and cost concerns? How do you maintain color consistency across the brand and across the globe?

2524


mark your cHoiceLearn about the 2016 Makeover Chal lenge competitors redesign concepts

and strategies and vote for the team with the most impactful design

and business- and brand-oriented process .


package design is excited to be working with Choice

organic teas, a brand on the forefront of the organic

and fair trade movements, and competitor agencies

damen Jackson, iron design inc. and turner lee Con-

sulting & design on this blue-sky contest designed to

educate the entire industry of consumer facing brands

sponsored by

m a k e o V e r c h a l l e n g e

prototyping/comp sponsor

Understanding the spirit of the contest is blue-sky, the make-

over Challenge concepts weren’t developed with the final

expectation of becoming a real product but the real-world

parameters helped Choice uncover new opportunities to fur-

ther elevate its brand. “doing this blue-sky exercise created a

reinforcement that we have some strong points that we need

to find ways to communicate about the brand,” india Nagy,

creative director for Choice organic teas, Granum inc., says.

“the solutions were different but they all looked to how we

strengthen our brand and logo.”

you can view the concepts on pages 26 through 31 and vote

for your favorite strategic approach and design at www.pack-

agedesignmag.com/makeoverchallenge.

package design thanks printpack, a privately held company

that believes that cooperation, honesty and integrity result

in innovative solutions for brands. printpack’s sponsorship

is a major contributing factor to package design’s ability

to conduct the contest without the need to charge contest

entry fees—evidence of the corporation’s commitment to

the design industry and support of design thinking. package

design would also like to thank Caps57, which has kindly

offered its color-accurate prototyping services to our contest

competitors for the second year in a row.

on the power of design and expose the public to the

diversity of strategic and artistic vision represented

by the package design community. and we’re espe-

cially excited to unveil the competitors’ visions for a

redesigned tea carton for Choice organic teas and the

strategies behind those concepts.

2726


VoTe noWyou can cast your vote now for damen Jackson’s concept at www.packagedesignmag.com/makeoverchallenge. the agency with

the most votes wins the challenge and will be featured in the december 2016 issue and invited to the 2017 Bxp Conference, to be

held at the Hyatt regency Coconut point resort and Spa in Bonita Springs, fl, on January 24 to 26.

hypothesis statement is, “Choice organic teas is the antithe-

sis of trendy. No fancy names. No romantic stories of distant

locales. Just a simple, delicious cup of tea. and it’s organic,

of course.”

respecting the spirit of the competition to put real world

parameters around the blue-sky contest, the agency then

took a collaborative approach to determining which direction

to follow. “When they presented the 3 options, they gave us

a good explanation of how they thought each design was

capturing an attribute of the brand that they wanted to high-

light,” india Nagy, creative director for Choice organic teas,

Employing a strategy-first approach to the project, damen

Jackson used its Hypothesis Builder tool to generate three

statements about Choice organic teas that reveal various

potential brand positions for Choice. those three statements

focused on the concepts of the right choice, simple and

organic heritage. the right choice go-to-market strategy is,

“Choice organic teas supports and participates in worthy in-

dustry-related initiatives such as non-Gmo, organic, environ-

mental awareness and fair trade for tea farmers.” the organic

heritage hypothesis statement is, “Choice organic teas has

been exclusively organic since 1989. Choice organic teas is

the original organic tea Company in the U.S.a.” the simple

Damen Jacksonwww.damenjackson.com

Granum inc., recalls. “We gave them feedback about how we

felt about that or whether that was being carried off or not.”

the competitor then allowed the brand to choose which di-

rection it would ultimately submit to the contest. “Ultimately,

their choice was to go simple and we agreed with it,” says ryan

o’Connor, account planning director, damen Jackson. “Simplic-

ity was a good way to differentiate themselves on the shelf.”

the firm that employed its brand story builder to combine

key language with the unique brand position to establish the

story that would fuel the brand’s visual identity. “i haven’t re-

ally seen a tea package that looks quite like this,” Nagy com-

pliments. “We really appreciate the concept for the cleverness

of it, and it has a very modern, fun feeling.”…

s p o n s o r e d b y

M A K E o V E R C H a l l E N G E

To read more about the agency’s concept and the strategy and process behind it, visit

www.packagedesignmag.com/2016-MOC-Reveal-Damen-Jackson

The FDA’s current Nutrition Facts label update is the single largest in over 25 years. This is

not only a compliance mandate, it’s a fantastic opportunity to realign your brand or refresh

your packaging. We are ready! Are you?

Brand Strategy. Design. Realization.Chicago | New York | London

www.thinkkaleidoscope.com | 773.722.9300

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

KM16N Aug 16 PD Soda Ad_9x10.875_TO 0712616 R.indd 1 7/26/16 4:59 PM

brand builder: jon denham · 2016-12-12 · brand builder: jon denham his advice on how to prevent...

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