In today’s multi-media extravaganza, it’s hard to get anyone exited about one of the world’s oldest mediums, paper. However we at MSLK don’t think that paper has lost it’s place just yet, in fact, we believe that the true presence and importance of paper as a tactical impression you can touch, engage with and hold onto is even more important in this new world of virtual gratification.

New Rule: If you’re going to redesign your highest denomination, then hire a designer! This is an abomination which appears to have been driven by no aesthetic principles. Just a bunch of engineers who tried to cram everything into our nation’s most valued denomination.

We love it when people think outside of the box, literally! The Sportlifestyle company Puma has been working together with the branding firm Fuseproject to create a whole new take on the shoebox. Their final product turned out not to be a new box at all, but a “clever little bag”. This redesign uses 65% less cardboard than a regular shoebox and the recyclable bag will replace standard retail bags. We hope that other companies get inspired by this eco-friendly attitude. Great initiative and great design, Puma!

MSLK has produced some fun and informative short films showcasing our work and design process.   These were created to demonstrate to clients our 360° approach to branding. We found that video is a great way to fully explain all the details and thought that goes into each project.

Above is our video detailing our rebranding efforts for Velo Classic Tours, a luxury bicycle tour company. You can view the other 360° videos on our website, and we’ll be posting a new project to the blog each week.

Enjoy!

The multidisciplinary trend spotting group, Trendincite Xchange, will be making a visit to MSLK’s studios this evening for a presentation and round table discussion on the future of social media. Trendincite Xchange is an independent group of professionals in the fashion and beauty industry who meet once a month to discuss trends they see emerging in product formulations, scents, colors, fabrics, materials, marketing, retail, and overall consumer behaviors. Participants include qualitative researchers, trend spotters, product developers, retailers, independent brands, and marketing professionals. If you’d like to join our round table group tonight, or in the future, please contact us at mslk@mslk.com.

Despite the frigid cold after a giant snowstorm, a glimpse of spring was in the air today as I walked by the Anthropologie flagship in Rockefeller Center. Their store window displays were not only spring-themed, they also have a wonderful eco-theme, too. They’re made from plastic bottles collected from their customers.

Scrap the idea of getting a celebrity to endorse your next campaign. Instead, consider puppies, kittens, baby pigs and butterflies. Oh, and throw in a few rainbows and roses for extra points. The newest trend to work it’s way up from the blogosphere is the use of cute animals to market and sell everything from lotto tickets to high end fashion.

In case you missed the HBA Beauty Conference last month, Affordable Luxuries, are clearly the buzz word of the season and if you follow MSLK, you heard it here first! In this month’s WWD Beauty Biz, I caught a brief article touching on some of the trends we outlined. The article begins

 Elevated packaging design is transforming some ordinary necessities into extraordinary little luxuries.

They go on to tout Moxie femine hygenie products and the ingestible liquid nutrients found in the new product SoU. Sounds totally in line with our recent webinar, on this subject. If you haven’t checked that out yet do so immediately and get in the loop!

Everywhere we turn we’ve been hearing and seeing the topic of “Affordable Luxuries” in the news. Most recently it’s the cover theme on this month’s Bazaar, summing up their cover stories on Best Bargains, Smart Shopping, Runway Report, and Hot Beauty Buys. Are we on trend or what? With the tools discussed in our webinar, you too now know the secrets to what separates these items from the rest of the pack.

Affordable Luxury Webinar 5/6/09 from MSLK on Vimeo.

Thank you to everyone who joined us today for our first webinar on “Positioning Your Brand as an Affordable Luxury” . I really appreciate all of the great feedback, pointers and responses we’ve received thus far. It seems that many of you agree with the positioning opportunities that we’ve defined and I truly hope that our insights provided you with a new lens of how to view the marketing initiatives  you see all around.