As I have been preparing for my Keynote Address at the upcoming Package Design and Development Summit on the future of packaging, I thought it was important to pause for a moment and to see where we are headed in the next decade, what the future may look like for all of us in the business of shaping brands.  "The worst of the storm has passed," stated President Obama in his State of the Union address last month, "but the devastation remains."  "It's time for all of us to hit the reset button," he continued.  What does that reset look like for brands today?  How do national brands reposition themselves to thrive and compete with the rising quality of private label?  And how do brands create and retain loyal consumers?  What does the consumer value in this new economy?  As we enter the next decade, it's essential to understand that a brands' health and well-being may very well be dependent on defining its core values and moral character, succinctly and directly to the consumer.  I believe in the coming years, we will begin to see brands creating, what I have defined as the "New Value in A Brands' Values" allowing them to compete and to thrive in the marketplace today. I hope you will join me at the Package Design and Development Summit or read my next blog posting in Fast Company.

Best Regards,
Peter