innovative

New Zealanders are an innovative bunch and the new product from New Zealand Natural Ice Creams just adds more weight to that arguement.  They’ve launched Sooshi, which looks like a regular rice sushi but is made of real fruit and ice cream.  The fruit fillings are made to resemble fillings you can find in real […]

Uniqlo’s same-store sales in October were up 35.7% over last year in Japan, following falling temperatures, the launch of the +J collection and other promotional campaigns. The number of customers in these stores rose 24.6%. Total sales increased 47.7% compounded by new store openings. The +J range has proven extremely successful for the brand who […]

I might like alternative media and applaud creative marketing concepts but I think this one goes a little too far perhaps. Right Guard developed a campaign using “Pitvertisers” who wore shirts with small video screens in their armpits.  When they lift their arm to expose their armpits it plays an advertising message about deoderant.  These […]

Its not uncommon for parents to run out of baby essentials (nappies, wipes etc) when you’re out. The problem of course is that when you realise you need them its normally urgent and a right pain to have to find a shop and handle the transaction with an upset baby. Westfields in the US have […]

When you think about Louis Vuitton you don’t normally thing of particularly innovative store design, but two of their most recent openings have really set a new bar for the brand.  In May they opened a store in the Seibu department store in Ikebukuro Japan. It was only a limited opening store, not a permanent […]

JetBlue Airways have launched an innovative new package – a $US599 “all you can fly” ticket for a month in an attempt to jump-start summer and also to increase trial of the airline.  What the ticket or pass allows you to do is get unlimited economy/coach travel to any of their 56 destinations between Sept […]

“Harmony Between Man, Nature and Machine” is the Prius promise – something we’ve all heard before but rarely has it been better executed than in Prius’s new marketing campaign. Basically the premise is that this machine (ie the new Prius) enables you to get what you want in a car whilst enabling nature to get […]

With aeronautical revenue declining in the face of dropping pax numbers, airports are not only looking for new ways of generating money but also ways of saving it. Some of gotten pretty innovative. The Cochin International Airport in India is growing medicinal plants instead of grass. They save money trimming the grass plus get a […]

Carspaze have created a new advertising platform for car park walls. It uses relatively new (dev 3 years ago) technology which allows high quality images to be printed onto specially developed fire retardant materials. Using these “posters” areas of the carpark can be strongly branded. The posters can run around 20 car spaces wide and […]

OK I know this is a bit “out there” but one of the big issues for airlines (and heaps of other F&B outlets in captive areas) is rubbish. This is particularly so in relation to F&B packaging. So, that’s what makes some of this new edible food packaging ideas very interesting. Mange2 is actually an […]

In a rather innovative airport research methodology, researchers at Indianapolis Airport have used Bluetooth signals from mobile phones & other wireless devices to track how long it takes travellers to get through security lines. The researchers used two electronic readers – one at the beginning and one at the end of the security lobby – […]

Missoni joins the list of designers opening hotels.  Today they officially opened in Edinburgh, Scotland and will be opening later this year in Kuwait then South Africa. The Missoni hotels are actually run by Belgium based Rezidor Hotel Group who set up a licensing agreement back in 2006 with Missoni to open around 30 hotels […]

Nobody can dispute that degree to which India has undergone political & economic reform. A question remains though as to whether these will translate into true economic growth, productivity improvements and innovation. When the economy was liberalised in the 1990s, India did away with the License Raj, an onerous & corrupt licensure system which mandated […]

Frank Mayer & Associates recently launched an innovative new Shopper Information System called SlideBuy. What this unit basically is, is an digital information screen which slides on shelves so it doesn’t displace product. It’s touchscreen, so it can contain any volume or type of information about products that you want – static or video. It […]

Sharp has unveiled a stunning 26-foot-tall Christmas tree made of 43 Aquos LCD televisions in New York’s Grand Central Station.  Sizes of the TV’s range from 19 to 52 inches and are interspersed by pine brances.  The patterns on the screens have been designed by Japanese video artist Tsuyoshi Takashiro. Sharp TV from gizomodo.com.au Many […]

Aside from the extraordinary range of F&B, T5 also distinguishes itself with an innovative retail mix consisting of: Blue Sky Traders  — Newsstand, sundries, “Read & Return” books and Press Express, a grab-and-go newspaper dispenser. Borders — Full-size bookstore offering 7,000 titles as well as CDs and DVDs. Brighton — Creative accessories you can mix […]

On Nov 25 & 26, JetBlue will be hosting a range of complimentary events for its passengers. There are magic shows for the family, introductory Yoga classes, stress reducing exercises by New York Sports Clubs and even 5-minute makeovers by Harmony Pharmacy. Just another innovative idea from JetBlue at JFK to keep their customer’s relaxed.

JetBlue’s strategy is not news to most people – a low cost airline distinguishing itself by actually giving a damn about its customers, listening to them & talking to them. Saving money where they can but not compromising on the things which are really important to their passengers – which they know because yes, they […]

Sprinkles is a brilliant food concept store out of the US.  They’ve taken the simple cupcake to a new level with their innovative flavours, strong sense of design and merchandising.  In the last decade, numerous cupcake shops have opened up in metropolitan cities around the world, following the direction of Manhattan’s Magnolia Bakery, often credited […]

You have to give the Ritz-Charlton points for being innovative.  They have all the standard rose-petal baths, butlers etc.  Now they’ve come up with a new idea to create family togetherness.  This one is “Pillow Games” available at the Rize in Palm Beach.  For US60 you can order a “Family Pillow Fight” consisting of a […]

The Airports Council International forecasts that 7 billion passengers will use the world’s airports by 2020. However at the current pace of construction and considering all airports in the pipeline, they will only be able to process 6 billion. China responded by announcing that it will construct 48 new airports in addition to Beijing (ready […]

Beijing’s new addition to its airport infrastructure, Terminal 3, has passed all its inspections and is now ready for operation.  However it isn’t expected to start trial operation until Feb 29. This additional terminal increases Beijing’s airport pax capacity from a theoretical 35 million (though last year its throughput was 48.6 million) to somewhere between […]

It never ceases to surprise me how difficult hotels find it to create innovative packages for the luxury market.  The Mandarin Orient have launched their Christmas package for $US130,000 which includes a limo service, diamond jewelry worth around US100,000, a diamond studded Christmas tree in the room, a gourmet dinner and the presidential suite.Predictably, whilst […]

Innovative hotel packages are always a challenge, luxury end ones even more so.  The Buckingham Hotel have developed a “Christmas Key to the City” package which pretty much takes the cake in terms of a luxury Christmas package – and all for a price tag of $US150,000. The package includes: A gold and diamond Christmas […]

Giorgio Armani S.p.A. is awarding a long term license to EMAAR Hotel & Resorts for the operation of a collection of luxury hotels and resorts. The agreement foresees the opening of at least seven luxury hotels and three vacation resorts within the next ten years. Following the signing of a Letter of Intent in 2004, […]