Looking Back at Branding With Ferocity – BXP Webinar 06/24/2020
Hey all, Lindsey here. Did any of you catch me in the June webinar with Dan Caldwell (President of Remote Director), Jon Denham (Design, Branding & Innovation Leader at Lextant), Jennifer Giannotti-Genes (Global Design Director at Colgate-Palmolive), and Stacy Hintermeister (VP of Marketing and Growth for CBX)? What a great experience and honor to discuss innovation alongside such talented, well-seasoned veterans in the packaging industry. TLooking back at “Branding With Ferocity,” BXP’s webinar on June 24, 2020.hank you BXP for including me, and thank you Linda Casey for keeping the whole thing running smoothly. I think we all learned a lot! Some of you may have seen my initial Linkedin recap post, but here is a slightly expanded summary of the event:
The role of communication: Solid communication and mutual support, internally and externally, are essential in establishing the trust required to cultivate meaningful innovation. Only after all parties have a full understanding of the overall goal can a holistic approach be put into motion. For example, Cog works with all stakeholders from the onset of the design-to-print process to provide faster, smarter, print-feasible results in the design development phases.
How to sustain innovation: Sustaining innovation is more challenging than initiating innovation because it requires a collective commitment to adopting and repeating a new and better way of working. The client must be the prime mover in leading this process internally, if they want to see sustainable innovation. The rest of the supply chain must also commit and fall in line.
Internal processes require innovation too: Innovation isn’t limited to the physical product or technology. Our conversation covered examples of innovating internal processes that I’m excited to work into my daily grind. While revitalizing our day-to-day work methods is a simple concept, it’s easily overlooked. Not only is it healthy to periodically step back and do so, it’s necessary, if a company wishes to eliminate inefficiencies and identify better ways to approach goals and deadlines.
Never become complacent with your success: We discussed the benefits of thinking like a startup, such as working lean, fast and with a strategy that fits a modest budget. It’s all about having conviction in the choices of your team. Decisions usually require expenditures, and when every penny counts, those decisions often require extra scrutiny by teams within small businesses and startups. As such, we Cogs embrace descriptors like “agile” and “streamlined.” Our size and organization design is our advantage.
Dealing with COVID 19: The pandemic was a heavy topic throughout the webinar, as it’s impossible to ignore the huge impact this pandemic has had on consumer attitudes and behavior and how products are designed, marketed and sold. Just look at the overwhelming boost e-commerce is enjoying. I think we can agree that competition is a major driver of innovation, and this is also the case as CPGs work to reinforce the consumer’s choice to spend money on their products in uncertain times. Especially in the case of “self-care” purchases, there’s a need for packaging to promote a temporary escape from the dark realities outside of our homes. As consumers slowly return to stores, a once leisurely stroll down the beauty aisle has now morphed into a grab-and-go whirlwind. Packaging needs to work harder than ever to grab attention and a coveted spot in the shopping cart.
Improvement through innovation has always been a good thing. These days, it’s nothing less than life or death for a company. Check out the actual webinar, so you can see the faces and hear the voices of the team that brought it life. Find it here.