4 ways to create your own “airplane mode”

Like many of you, I travel frequently for business and pleasure. There are some months where I find myself in a new location every week! Although traveling is exhausting, I secretly revel in this very rewarding and exciting opportunity.

When I started to think about it, I realized that I do some of my best work in airports and on airplanes. Living your life in “airplane mode” certainly has its benefits. Being in airplane mode allows you to disconnect from the people around you, avoid daily distractions, and take a break from the constant stream of emails. By entering airplane mode, you have a chance to clear your head and truly refocus.

I’m making a habit of going into “airplane mode” more often, whether or not I’m actually on the go. Here are four things you can do to create your own airplane mode:

Silence your electronics. This is a hard one. Turn off your cell phone, silence your work line, and close your email – you will really benefit from doing this! Without these small distractions interrupting your thoughts, you will be able to focus and accomplish your goals for the day. The emails and calls can usually hold off, and you’ll be more productive by structuring your time.

Set a time limit. Think about it – flights only last a certain amount of time. Whether it is 1 hour or 4 hours, set your limit from the beginning. By limiting your time, you won’t risk burning out from concentrating on one task for too long.

Brainstorm. This is your personal quiet time (and we know rare that is). Use it wisely! Brainstorm ideas for that big project, create a strategy for your team, or work on creating content for your company blog. This is valuable time that you have to think without interruption; it’s a great time for planning, strategizing and organizing.

Relax. Turn on your music, watch a movie or read a book or magazine. How often do you actually get to do any of these things? I have found that by closing my eyes and putting on my headphones (invest in noise cancelling, they make all the difference!) I can shut down, lower my blood pressure and relax. I sometimes feel more in touch with myself and more grateful for everything and everyone around me.

I have noticed more and more the presence of WIFI on airplanes I have to say, I am not happy about this. There is a time and place for connectivity and emails and an airplane is just not one of them. I have met some of the greatest people on airplanes and enjoyed their great insights. I’m sure many disagree, but I am willing to wait a little while longer for that technological advancement.

What do you think about airplane mode? Have you tried any of these tips or do you have others to share? We’d love to hear your take on this topic!

4 Things to Know About Meerkat

It seems like every day, there is a new social media platform in the news. Staying up-to-date on digital trends and new technologies can be challenging – after all, it is constantly growing, changing, and evolving!

The latest buzz has been around Meerkat, the app that allows users to live stream and share video in real-time. Since it’s late-February launch, Meerkat has gone viral and has paved the way for other similar apps, such as Periscope.

Many experts say that ‘going viral’ isn’t necessarily a good sign. (Think of all the other platforms and apps that went viral but are now virtually nonexistent.)

Whether or not the app is here to stay, here’s four things you should know about Meerkat:

You can relax. Meerkat videos can’t be stored and re-watched at a later time. If you make a mistake or have a less than ideal first experience, you don’t have to worry about anyone seeing it again.

It might change the way you receive news. There is a lot of talk about the app changing the way we broadcast our news, even for large scale events like the Presidential Election, concerts, award shows, and breaking news stories. Every one now has the ability to report and share news – citizen journalists rejoice!

You don’t have to have a Twitter – but it will help. Meerkat syncs with your Twitter account, making it easier for people to follow you and respond to your videos. Your followers will be notified by Meerkat and can then comment in the form of Twitter replies. However, anyone with the link can access the video and watch what you’re streaming.

Beware of copyright infringement. This law is easy to break without even realizing you’ve done so. The rules are wishy-washy and real-time footage can be difficult to monitor, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful. Filming and sharing material that isn’t explicitly yours could pose a serious issue and frankly is just not cool.

Are you already on Meerkat? Or are you thinking of joining? What do you think?

What are some of the most interesting facts you’ve learned or heard about Meerkat? Leave your comment in the space below!

Can you understand your ingredient list?

The term “clean label” is gaining momentum in the consumer goods and packaging industries. As shoppers continue to seek out healthier alternatives and more natural foods, it is no surprise that consumers are turning toward products that have what is referred to as clean labels. But what exactly is a clean label? That’s why we are here to help.

A clean label is an industry term that is defined by two main factors:

1 – The lack of harmful additives and ingredients in the product (generally you can recognize every word and pronounce it).

2 – The use of valuable certifications and call outs on the packaging itself (in other words organic, non-GMO, etc.)

Consumers are paying more and more attention to labels and using them as the primary way to determine the nutritional value of the product and whether or not they want to purchase it or consume it.

Ultimately, a clean label is an indicator that the product is a safer or healthier choice!

Here are a few components to evaluate:

Front of package certifications – Words such as “natural”, “non-GMO”, “organic” “vegan”, “kosher” and “free-from …” are markers that the product is clean. These indicators work to assure consumers that the item is safe and has been legally verified to meet a certain standard.

Ingredient lists – Reading the ingredient list is a sure way to determine the cleanliness of the label and product. A good rule of thumb is that if you have the ingredient in your kitchen or home, then it is probably safe. Think of it like this, your Grandma did not add BHT to preserve freshness. Ask yourself, “Can I pronounce each ingredient by name?” If the word is unpronounceable or sounds like it came from a chemistry lab, you may want to steer clear. The longer the list, the more likely it is to have additives and extras.

The story – Many products and companies have a unique story. For a clean label product, that story should focus on transparency, honesty, and safety. The story may focus on corporate responsibility, quality of ingredients, or methods used to produce/manufacture the item. Having a direct and transparent story (either available on the packaging, website, or through other channels) contributes to the overall cleanliness of the label.

Of course, there is no cut and dry answer as to what constitutes a “clean” label or otherwise. For instance, certain ingredients, methods, and additives are considered controversial and can play both good and bad roles in product formulation. What we do know is that more and more consumers are searching for clean labels, which means that manufacturers and suppliers may need to reevaluate their strategies.

What do you personally think about the rise of the clean label trend?

If you work in the consumer goods industry, how has your company adapted to the clean label trend?

Leave your comments below and let us know what you think!

Does “being average” work in business?

Every once in a while, you come a cross a blog that just resonates with you. A friend of mine sent me a blog post from Seth Godin the other day that did just that. The title was, “The one that makes things worse” and it talked specifically about that person in the group that wants to make things more average.

I thought Seth was right on point. In today’s market, we are starting to see a bigger split between those that differentiate and those that remain status quo. This is seen in technology, in TV and even in retail package design. There are those companies that want to play it safe, make decisions fast, and appeal to the masses- in other words; they don’t want to rock the boat. Then there are others that are on the opposite end of the spectrum. They want to stand out, have a personality, and if it alienates someone in the process, well that is just the way it will be!

Now you could argue both sides of this coin and probably win the short-term argument with each position. But it is the long term I want to focus on.

Take the new Cadillac car commercials that play incessantly every morning. Their tagline is, “Those that dare, drive the world forward.”#DareGreatly. It’s an interesting tagline and right on target.

So how would we apply this to retail products? We could apply it in product development, pushing our R&D teams to come up with better formulations, healthier formulations that will change the way we eat and our long-term health.

We could apply it to how we market – what if we took the time to market to specific demographic areas? A different targeted campaign, assortment and promotions for urban areas versus rural? What if we dared to really hear what our customers are saying through social media and actually engage them in the conversation?

What if we decided to actually push the boundaries on package design and take a stand? Not cue off the national brand, but build our own brand with personality, meaning and conviction?

It can all be done. It just takes the 5 C’s – courage, conviction, confrontation, cash and commitment.

Let us know what you think about “average”. Does it work for you and your business? Are you willing to put yourself out there? We’d love to hear from you. And if you are one of the people that as Cadillac says “Dare Greatly” – call us! We’d love to work with you.

4 best practices for social media

Whether you love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. For businesses, this has several implications. A digital presence is no longer enough; consumers are looking for brands with active and engaging social media accounts.

At Strategia Design, we’ve been working hard to ramp up our digital presence over the past few months. We’re proud to say we’ve made significant gains and have learned quite a few lessons along the way! Since we began in August, we’ve joined 2 additional platforms and have built up our digital following:

• Facebook page likes have increased by 37%
• Twitter following has increased by over 300%
• Instagram has grown over 120%
• Pinterest followers have increased by almost 300%
• And we’ve grown our LinkedIn following by 28%

Mastering social media is a process of trial and error, since each platform is unique and used for different purposes. We thought we’d share some of our best advice with you:

Consistency breeds trust. It is difficult to grow a following without consistent content and postings. It takes several months of steady, active use (and sometimes paid advertising) to build your page likes and follower engagement. Don’t quit, it just takes some time!

Track, track, track. You can’t grow if you don’t know your stats. Record your starting numbers and monitor growth each week. We use a white board in our office to track our numbers and keep our progress top of mind.

Be authentic & transparent. Show some emotion or personality in your postings in order to be authentic. If you use a scheduling tool, (we recommend Hootsuite!) don’t schedule the same post across multiple platforms – change up the wording and use hashtags when appropriate to avoid sounding auto-generated. You can repurpose content but don’t clone.

Celebrate your efforts. Celebrate victories, both big and small. Before you start posting, set goals or milestones that you hope to achieve. When you hit a certain number, celebrate with a treat, gift card, or other incentive to keep you motivated. It keeps the good juju coming!

What are your best social media tips? How do you navigate the different platforms? Comment below and share your favorite tips and success with us!

Of course, we’d love to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram. And if you need help ramping up your social media accounts – we’re here to help! Reach out to us at info@strategiadesign.com.