CapsuleBlog

How's your holiday cheer-o-meter?

If your office or home has been feeling a little bit blah on the holiday spirit, may we make some suggestions to turn that Santa frown upside down?

First up, I made these gingerbread cookies from Martha Stewart (who else?) and they were declared a success at the office. The addition of honey means that they are the perfect mix of sweetness and spices. I didn't make Royal Icing because the idea of raw eggs freaks me out a little, so instead I just made typical frosting by adding small amounts of milk to icing sugar (aka confectioner's sugar) until it became the right consistency, followed by a dash of real vanilla essence. 

And while I haven't personally made this recipe, you can't go wrong with Nigella Lawson's recommendations for luxurious and decadent desserts in the form of these Puddini BonBons (how could you not be curious about those, with a name like that?). She says "although they look like baby Christmas puddings, they taste like meltingly rich, spiced chocolate truffles." Yes, Nigella, yes please.

Once these are ready to go, turn your attention to the front door. Is it sadly wreathless? Shame on you. Why not make one of these?

Technicolor ornament wreath (instructions here).

Can't you just smell the musty shag carpet in your parents' basement, circa 1981? But seriously, how cute is this... instructions here. 

And, for the love of Rudolph, if all else fails just be thankful your mother isn't Sue Johnson.

Pantone announces color of the year

Pantone today announced its official color of 2010: 15-5519 Turquoise, which it calls "inviting" and "luminous".

"We are definitely seeing more of this color family in the design community and in fashion," says Brian Adducci, Capsule's creative principal. "It's also starting to be very popular in corporate marks. People are comfortable with turquoise shades because they still contain a lot of blue. Some say it's a reflection of the economic events, because we're desperate for optimism. You can also see this influencing the Pantone color of 2009 which was Mimosa, another very bright hue."

Seems like Brian is right on. “In many cultures, Turquoise occupies a very special position in the world of color,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “It is believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky. Through years of color word-association studies, we also find that Turquoise represents an escape to many – taking them to a tropical paradise that is pleasant and inviting, even if only a fantasy.”

Klaus Haapaniemi

Last month I spotted some beautiful cups, plates and saucers at a Scandinavian design store in Wayzata, Minnesota. Designed by Klaus Haapaniemi for iittala, they feature beautifully magical creatures painted in stunning colors.

I just happened to find this interesting little interview with the very talented artist, in which he cites powder blue and peach as the trend he's keeping an eye on. Seems he himself may indeed be the next big thing.

Social media: Look before you leap.

I could also title this post Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Everyone's been in a rush these past few years to get on-board the social media train. Facebook. LinkedIn. Typepad. Plaxo. That Twitter thing. Digg. Bloglines.

We've seen such a blur of online activity in this arena that you have to wonder how much thought was going into the decision to set up a blog. Perhaps in some cases it was more just a "me too" moment... but it's not musical chairs.

No brand-related decision can ever, ever be made without thinking about the reason the brand exists in the first place. Its audiences. Any organization, whether B2B or B2C, whether it has $10 billion net worth or isn't turning a profit, should understand its audiences with the same certainty that it understands its own product or service. In this case, it needs to know how its audiences want to interact with the brand. Do they care that it has a Twitter account? Do they have unrestricted internet access at home, or at work? Do they know what Twitter is? Do they know what the internet is?  No? Then Twitter is not for your brand - at least, not now. Find better channels that will resonate with your audiences, and in turn see some clear ROI for that marketing dollar.

How much should brands discount?

The National Retail Federation predict holiday sales will decline by one per cent this season. Before you pull the comforter back over your head in disgust, keep in mind that the total will still be around $437.6 billion - which is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Last year, when the sky really began to fall, we saw a drop of 3.4 per cent, so let's hope that this is an indication of improvement.

The retailers are becoming more and more aggressive in their efforts to get us to spend more. Have you noticed many retailers are expanding their sales periods and coming up with more and more promotional offers? My email inbox has been bombarded with "secret coupon codes", "family and friends" promotions, "forward to ten friends and get a free cashmere sweater" offers etc for several months now.

But brands, especially those that sell non-essential products and services, have to be extremely careful about discounting. Thoughtful strategy is key. Sure, sales will be temporarily boosted by a 20% off coupon offer, but this short term gain must be evaluated against its long term impact. It sets up a precedent where consumers delay purchasing, or worse, look to the competition, in between discounting activities. Internally, it can cause significant disruptions in resource allocation and inventory.

If you're Costco, your consumers will expect and respond to coupons and bulk discounts. The brand is built around the bargain. It's a fit, and it's why Costco consumers are Costco consumers. But I suspect those brands that don't typically engage in such activity to this degree may be regretting the move once the holiday fever is over.

We witnessed a stunning waste

Aaron walked into the office this morning holding a mysterious Blackberry-sized box.

"BRING THIS PHONE INTO ONE OF OUR STORES AND TRADE FOR A FREE BLACKBERRY CURVE" it screamed. He informed us that it appeared every house in his neighborhood had been slammed with the promotion. The box contained a retail display unit of a Blackberry 8830, courtesy of Verizon. A retail display unit is a mock phone - it looks exactly like the real deal, feels the same, weighs the same, and probably takes almost as much material and energy to construct as a working model. How many people actually still believe in the "this phone is free!!!" concept? I think most of us long ago cracked onto the fact that you simply pay for them over the duration of the contract, disguised in other fees.

So. What is Aaron now supposed to do with this thing? Seeing as it is mixed media and cannot be simply placed in his home recycling bin, is he supposed to try to locate an adequate recycling facility and bring it there? Do you think he appreciates for this imposition on his time?

This got his attention, sure. Long enough to bring it into Capsule, dump it on my desk, and suggest we rant about it. But, unlike a two year old child, we expect Verizon to be aware that there's a difference between positive attention, and the opposite. Inspiring feelings of admiration, trust and energy in your consumers is preferable to anger, inconvenience and eye-rolling, yes?

Aaron's post over at the Duets blog

Hop on over to the Duets blog, where creativity and the law intersect, to read a guest post from Aaron Keller on naming.