I think this is a great idea and could be used to really build strong local loyalty.  The business gives something to the local community and gets their branding placed at the same time.  Win – Win.  It would need to be a careful fit and balance though.  You wouldn’t want the whole town covered in branding as people would see past it. (Jane)

Two cities in Indiana will allow KFC to paint the brand’s white-haired icon, Colonel Sanders, on local fire hydrants and fire extinguishers as part of an advertising campaign to promote the company’s new “fiery” chicken wings.

via Brandchannel | KFC Fired Up About Local Branding Initiatives.

“Innovation is the key to our industry breaking out of recession, says Keith Barnes, chairman of IoP: The Packaging Society”, a subject that is ‘dear to my heart’. There is much rhetoric spouted from many quarters (not just the packaging industry for that matter) who only pay ‘lip service’ to innovation. In these recessionary times it is sad to see that true ‘innovation’ either ‘thrown out of the window’  totally or is put ‘on the back burner’ in anticipation of ’sunnier days’. Luckily some companies have had the foresight to see beyond the present ‘mire’ and are using innovation (in product developments, processes and the way they think) to position themselves and their brands in such a way that they will be ‘ahead of the pack’ when the economic climate has improved. Indeed, at Design Cognition, we are lucky enough to be working with some of these forward-thinking companies and I ‘tip my hat’ to them. If you’d like further information on particular areas of innovation and how Design Cognition can help, you can find out more and contact us here: Design Cognition Innovation

Chris Penfold

In his article, Keith says “Despite being the world’s third largest industry, packaging is still sadly perceived by the vast majority of people as  cardboard boxes and wrapping paper. As chairman of The Packaging Society, and with the industry’s support, I am determined to change this image. With the best will in the world, this will not happen overnight. What’s more, the task is going to be made increasingly difficult by so many companies and individuals focusing on their survival in the current economic climate.”

Sourced from Packaging News 6th January 2010, Keith Barnes

You can read the full article here: The enigma of  packaging innovation

PACKAGING AND LABELING HELP FIGHT DRUG COUNTERFEITS

In the U.S.Food and Drug Administration’s ongoing battle against counterfeit drug products, the latest FDA guidance is aimed directly at packaging techniques.In a July guidance document to industry, the FDA set forth some suggestions for incorporating so called “physical-chemical identifiers” PCIDs into solid oral dosageform drug products and paid particular attention to those that might migrate from packaging or container labeling.The FDA defines a PCID as a product with some unique physical and or chemical characteristic that is added to the dosage form of a drug product and which “makes it possible to detect and authenticate legitimate dosage forms and identify counterfeits.”These so-called PCIDs can include inks, pigments, flavors, or molecular taggants, says the FDA. And the agency expects that many of them would be made of existing substances used in food additives, colorants, or drug products’ excipients.The FDA’s guidance document, entitled “Incorporation of Physical-Chemical Identifiers Into Solid Oral Dosage Form Drug Products For Anticounterfeiting,” is primarily concerned with helping drug makers and applicants for new drug approvals incorporate relevant information about their PCIDs into new drug applications, supplemental applications, and annual reports submitted to the FDA.The guidance does not attempt to address radio frequency identification RFID.Counterfeits have tended to be a bigger problem overseas than in the U.S., though it is a concern here, and not just when drugs are imported. The FDA has always recognized the importance of packaging technologies as potential solutions, including but not limited to RFID.Confirming the authenticity of any individual package of drugs, or, when possible, even an individual dosage, is the essence of thwarting counterfeits. In the complex distribution network through which drug products travel, opportunities abound to introduce counterfeit product into the mix.Counterfeits can come in many forms. For example, they might be products that are just imitations, and literally lack the right ingredients, or are out-of-date versions of the real thing, or are otherwise diverted from the ordinary authorized distribution pathways. It is a recognized phenomenon that authentic and appropriate products are often mixed with inauthentic counterfeits, meaning the confirmation of authenticity often involves measures going to the individual dosage level. Hence, ideas like PCIDs.As for PCIDs that are added to packaging or labeling of drug products in solid oral dosage form, the FDA makes specific recommendations on how to evaluate toxicological concerns and offers guidance on when and how to report or request approval of the addition of a PCID. The agency points out that, as expected, its “toxicological concerns are mitigated if the added substances is a permitted direct or indirect food additive,” or listed in the FDA’s Inactive Ingredient Guide.If the substance you want to use as a PCID in packaging is not the subject of known toxicological information, the packager should, says the FDA, determine that there won’t be migration of the substance into the products. If some interaction of the PCID with the product is expected, and toxicological concerns may result, the FDA suggests packagers contact the agency to discuss the issues. If the toxicology of the substance hasn’t been established, and the potential for its migration exists, the FDA says the drug product with that PCID in it would require a prior approval supplement before marketing.When it comes to PCIDs in solid oral dosage-form products, the FDA is hoping to help industry follow one of its key pieces of advice: Use a multifaceted approach to counterfeiting in order to stay at least one step ahead of counterfeiters.

via Healthcare Packaging – December 2009 : ANTI-COUNTERFEITING: WHEN PACKAGING AND LABELING HELP FIGHT DRUG COUNTERFEITS.