Last week, I had the pleasure of judging the first annual Staples Global EcoEasy Challenge, a competition among universities from around the world to develop the next environmentally friendly office product. Some of the world’s top engineering students, from colleges and universities in Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, and the United States, presented some really clever ideas.

The students from the University of New South Wales in Australia took first place — and a $25,000 grand prize — with their BIND concept, which stands for Binder Interlock Neat Device. A cool innovation that works like a tie-and-ring system for organizing documents, BIND represents an elegant improvement from zip ties, increasing the potential uses and likely reuses of the product. The assumption is that people will use BIND in place of less eco-friendly solutions for binding paper, such as three binders, and will be more likely to hold onto BIND as opposed to the use-and-dispose model associated with most zip ties.

In addition, there were two runners up, who each received $5,000. A team from the University of California Berkeley created an Eco Stapler made of bamboo. It was an obvious eco improvement to the everyday stapler. Nothing surprising, but the idea was well thought out and the team did their homework. Lastly, a team from the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras won for the Step Shredder, an innovative idea to make a manually powered shredder. It would encourage exercise (much needed in the work environment!) and reduce energy consumption (much needed in our world). I wonder how receptive the office consumer would be to this idea…

It was great to get a glimpse into the minds of the next generation of designers and engineers. Here are a couple of additional learnings from event:

Ideas – There is no shortage of ideas that could help reduce our impact on the environment. The larger challenge remains; getting consumers to adopt new practices.

Passion – The students were passionate about the environment to the point they were often looking to trade convenience for a more sustainable solutions.

PowerPoint – Who needs PowerPoint? Each presenter used Presi to zoom and circle their way through their ideas, with many incorporating well-produced animations and video shorts.

Storytelling – These students definitely understand the value of a well-told story. Presentations included consideration of how an idea could impact a country, an economy, a business and the consumer.

Science and Emotion – Each presentation presented the math that substantiated the benefits (these were engineers, after all), and they also invested equal time on the emotional values and benefits.

I’m looking forward to seeing how this competition evolves next year, and I hope it can continue to raise awareness around sustainability and the office to help introduce creative solutions that reduce the corporate footprint. Kudos to Staples for taking a responsible leadership position on environmental affairs.

For more information on the event and the winners, go to: http://ecoeasychallenge.com/

The March 22 New York Times ran a story on the troubles Harley-Davidson is experiencing as its aging boomer audience buys fewer bikes. The article mentions recent efforts being made to bring in younger and more diverse riders but apparently even that nod to a potential brighter future wasn’t enough to satisfy the leather-clad powers that be in Milwaukee.

This past Sunday, readers were treated to a full-color, spread ad in the Times business section from the Motor Co. in response to what they viewed as unfair treatment. Brilliant copy written in the form of the American Flag started off, “You can file our obituary where the sun don’t shine.”

Laced with attitude, the ad goes on to ask a series of either/or questions – cower or live free; succumb to fear or seize the throttle – before laying down the Harley ethos in stark terms for the nation.

“We see American companies and good old American ingenuity wrenching the life back into this economy of ours.”

It’s a powerful statement in these economic times and a perfect fit for the brand. Americana. Rebellious attitude. A call for “us” to push back against “them.”

After spending close to three years at the Motor Co. I found myself swelling with pride in seeing the ad. It’s a knee to the groin of malaise. A poke to the chest of anyone who says America can’t come back from this. And what’s perhaps most important, the ad speaks to everyone. You don’t have to own a bike, work at the company or even hold their shares. You just need to have a desire to fight back, to want to feel good again. And that in turn reinforces the brand in the public’s mind.

Former Starbucks CMO Scott Bedbury said, “A brand is a metaphorical story that’s evolving all the time. This connects with something very deep – a fundamental human appreciation of mythology. People have always needed to make sense of things at a higher level. We all want to think that we’re a piece of something bigger than ourselves. Companies that manifest that sensibility in their employees and consumers invoke something very powerful.”

Harley may be down right now but as long as they keep doing this, their brand, and by extension the company, will be just fine in the long run.

Screw it. Let’s ride.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/business/economy/22harley.html?_r=1

Check out this Reuters Shop Talk article that makes light of the currently dismal retail situation.

Please comment below with your own additions to the list. Is there anything JP Morgan analyst Brian Tunick left out?

I was driving around over the weekend, exploring my new neighborhood in LA when something bright and futuristic caught my eye. It was the BP gas station on the corner of Robertson and Olympic. The station was covered by an oddly shaped canopy made out of shiny triangles of stainless steel. Lights that changed colors were projected onto the stainless steel panels filling the station with beautiful ambient lights. Gasoline was priced the same as other stations nearby, but the cutting edge design made it stand out from its competitors. Turns out, this is the nation’s first LEED certified green gas station.

Dubbed the Helios House, it is part of BP’s retail innovation initiative designed to increase customer loyalty and drive up sales. Here are some highlights of the LEED certified station:

- The stainless steel canopy is completely recyclable
- 90 solar panels on the canopy produce the amount of annual energy needed to power two to three average American homes
- LED lighting is used throughout the site, focusing light where it’s needed and using less energy to get the same brightness
- A green roof above the restrooms is covered in local plants and grasses that reduce the need for heating and cooling inside the restrooms
- Rainwater from the canopy is collected, filtered and reused for onsite irrigation
- The bathroom tile is made of 100 percent recycled glass
- Motion sensors reduce energy waste by switching off lights when not in use
- Material from the old site was reused during construction

BP calls Helios House a “living laboratory” that uses green, eco-friendly innovations to give consumers a little better station experience.

I had a chance to go over to Nearlife in Cambridge,MA last week to play with the interactive tables for the new Sprint Studio Store. These things are awesome. They work by combining high-end projectors, a mirroring system, and infrared technology to create a multi-touch surface you can interact with using both hands. They also have these neat little pucks you can place on the table’s surface. The system optically recognizes which puck you put down and loads additional content around it.

Thanks for the link Mark!

In order to bring the complete vision for the Sprint Studio to life, Sprint and Continuum partnered with their photographer Ron Eshel and German light artists from Lichtfaktor. Working collaboratively in two adjacent photography studios, the team captured both lifestyle photography as well as time lapse imagery of actual light in motion. The resulting images help to elevate the Sprint Studio above the status quo and engage the consumer in a truly amazing retail experience.

Check out this light art. Really amazing stuff.

So I’ve been tracking a little company called Clover, based up in Seattle, that was working hard to re-think what good drip coffee could and should be. From their point of view, the industry was focusing too much on espresso-based drinks and not enough on the classic cup of black magic.

What was their hook? They took the french press brewing process (seen by many coffee snobs as a superior brewing process to the classic, drip coffee makers) and built a machine to replicate it on a larger scale. Coffee drinkers benefited from this ‘artisinal,’ small batch approach to coffee making while independent coffee shops benefited from a new, premium priced, retail theater experience for their customers. This was going to be their way to compete against the green apron army.

http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/about/press/01-23-2008

http://blog.richardsprague.com/2007/11/clover-coffee.html

Then something very interesting happened this week.

http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=850

While Starbucks has been focused on growing their business with breakfast, music and Mitch Albom, McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and the rest have been climbing directly inside their sandbox. We can assume that the move to purchase Clover is a solid indication that Starbucks realizes it needs to focus on the core of its brand – making really good coffee.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention – drip coffee perfection has its price. Clover takes about 4 minutes per cup.

Be sure to pick up The Five People you Meet in Heaven as you wait in line…

I just returned from something that is new in the world of brand experience–the opening of the new Sprint Studio Store in Kansas City, a project we have worked closely with Sprint and other design partners on for over two years. The store is located in the “up and coming” neighborhood of Kansas City called the Power and Light District.

The turnout has been amazing, there’s a huge buzz. Why are people so interested in these studio and concept stores? It’s all about experience, and a store like this provides a new one for consumers. Not just for the wireless industry, but for retail in general.

These stores are first and foremost great for consumers—they provide that neighborhood feel and sense of belonging, they provide a very cool place to play, talk with customer service, and check out new products and capabilities. It is an invitation to become something special and unique.

These studio store and concept experience type endeavors are also great for brands; to engender brand loyalty and drive purchase decisions, to increase the mental and emotional footprint of a brand to a community and an audience.

While previous retail stores are generally “experiential” in name only (i.e. Samsung Experience Store, Verizon Experience Store), the Sprint Studio delivers a true experience to consumers by presenting the innovation behind the Sprint brand in fresh, new and exciting ways.

And if you are in Kansas City-stop by.