A recent Harvard Business Review article by Alexandra Samuel titled “The Science of Swag” started me thinking about promotional items and what our clients should really consider before producing tradeshow giveaways.

Equating swag to science is understandable, but the whole idea of how to influence people with varied incarnations of promotional merchandise when troops of other exhibitors are doing the same all around you, has become more than science. This is war. » Read the rest of this entry «

With the holiday shopping season upon us, and an intensely difficult economy surrounding us, retailers are coming up with creative solutions to responsibly entice customers and to survive the season.

Since a majority of Americans planning to spend less on gifts this year*, how can retailers attract holiday shoppers? » Read the rest of this entry «

Before you allocate a lot of budget to your next marketing effort, you may want to doublecheck who it is you’re selling to. With the exception of IT Professionals, a group that remains primarily male (uh yeah, I know how that sounds), don’t be too quick to assume you’re mainly targeting men with your product or service.

According to numerous studies and reports, Women today account for more than 80%* of all buying decisions. In fact, American women spend about $5 trillion annually…Over half the U.S. GDP.** » Read the rest of this entry «

If you take a picture of a specially-created 2D bar code with your cell phone camera,  you’ll be able to view the extended, multi-media experience consisting of reviews, video, directions, discounts, developing stories, or other info. Sears is placing them on in-store merchandise to show up-to-date reviews. And Nike has put them on posters which link to downloadable athlete videos, pictures, and fan data.* » Read the rest of this entry «

When I attended the third annual “101 Things Designers Can Do to Save the Earth” workshop, I thought I’d hear about choosing sustainable materials, reducing packaging, and maybe witness a soapbox tirade about eliminating printing altogether. But as Larry Asher of the School of Visual Concepts kicked things off, we were clearly leaving that discussion back in 2008. This year, the presentation focused on being practical while still trying to do the right thing.

Only 5% of people are truly altruistic

It’s expensive (and even sometimes wasteful) to create new designs. 95% of people and businesses are not altruistic, and will not “go green” simply for the sake of saving the environment. But when businesses can cut costs and keep their products high-quality and desirable, they will make better packaging and design decisions with regard to the environment. » Read the rest of this entry «

The brainchild of our own Jennifer Pritchard, this awesome flyer campaign can currently be seen on the mean streets of Seattle. And soon on the even meaner streets of Bellevue—unless someone has taken them down of course.

We also shot a short video of the posting team which can be viewed on youtube. Plus check out the web page Jen designed for those lucky enough to tear off one of the little tabs: gravitycreative.com/found. » Read the rest of this entry «

All across the country, chefrepreneurs are taking their highbrow palate pleasers to the streets. Foodies have evolved the roach coach concept to stylish refurbed trailers vending complex flavors in compostable packaging. You can grab a lemongrass pork sammy, blackberry lavender hand-shaved snow cone, or warm chocolate bread pudding with bacon custard sauce for affordable prices. » Read the rest of this entry «