This summer, Live Nation, Pepsi, TerraCycle and Canopy teamed up to generate fan excitement and help increase the recycling rate of plastic water bottles and aluminum cans at Live Nation venues.

The experience included two new interactive bin concepts developed by Pepsi and TerraCycle that help “game-ify” recycling. Concert-goers at the Jones Beach Amphitheater over the course of 5 shows (Dave Matthews Band, Train, and others) were encouraged to join in on the fun, and boy did they!

As agency of choice, we were completely focused on getting fans to not just engage in the game, but more importantly, to understand the importance of recycling. And while rewarding them with tangible prizes for their involvement was great, the emotional reward of helping sustain the health of our world was that much more.

“It’s great to work with a team that focuses on not just doing the activation, but one that proactively looks to refine and improve it as it’s live. Canopy’s team was able to do this in more ways than one. Always thinking of ways to engage and educate. Making for a very successful pilot with Live Nation and TerraCycle.” says Lawren Cooper, Manager, Environmental Sustainability at PepsiCo

For a broader look at what we did, check out the highlight video.

Thanks again for reading! Hope this inspires you to get involved. And as always, feel free to drop us a line if you want to talk about this, or any other needs you might have.

Click to see the highlight reel

Every once and a while, we get the opportunity to create things that have a purpose. Well, recently we were lucky enough to be able to do this in collaboration with two amazing brands, the NBA, Mountain Dew and Pepsi Recycling.

At this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend in New Orleans, we developed and introduced ‘Recycle & Recharge’, an interactive experience designed to educate consumers on the importance of recycling.

The trick with this activation was to get people excited and engaged through gameification. So, we turned recycling bins into basketball hoops on one end, and had them partake in a shootout to win prizes. And on the other end, we setup a “green” screen, where they could show off their dunking skills, and then share through social media.

The result: over 3,000 participants and premiums distributed, with an estimated 85,000+ views on social media. And more importantly, an experience that left people smarter on what it means to recycle.

With this, and other upcoming initiatives just like it, we hope to use our creative thinking to broaden awareness for environmentalism, and continue to make recycling a slam dunk!

What Sparks Our Fire? Working with great brands to create ideas with a purpose, and leave an everlasting impression. What about you?!

To do this, we must think about our engagement strategy, and look for ways to immerse our audience in the brand, rather than simply sell it. We must tap into the emotional sensibilities, and bring their normal, everyday experience to life in a way that serves a bigger purpose — to create an unbreakable bond, that ultimately results in sales.

Here are some ways this is being done…

• Virtual Reality: Create a new world to experience your brand (Check out what Tom’s did)
• Augmented Reality: Bring the retail experience to life wherever you are (See how the IKEA Catalog enables you to place furniture in your space before you buy it)
• Bots: Brands becoming personal assistants (Casper gives you someone to talk to on those sleepless nights)

There are many partners out there specializing in these methods (Blippar, LSTNR, Moth+Flame). And if you want to proactively bring new, impactful ideas to your clients and consumers, we suggest you tap into them.

So don’t get stuck in the world of selling. It’s a one-dimensional way to drive engagement and conversions. Change your approach. Be multidimensional, it will serve you well.

What Sparks Our Fire: Taking the initiative to find new ways to turn simple ideas into ones that serve a bigger purpose.

Developing countries have a problem: roughly 20% of the world’s population lacks access to electricity, and kerosene lamps are both dangerous to the environment and hazardous to health.

GravityLight, whose motto is “Doing more with less,” has come up with a clever new way to bring light to poverty-stricken rural areas–without electricity. The lamp operates on gravity, by using the falling motion of a weight to one side to generate light. It began as a project on IndieGogo, and launched in 26 different countries. Now, after crowdfunding almost $400,000 (that’s 727% of its original goal funded), the company is releasing a redesign, which includes a sturdier, less breakable shell, a lighter weight, and a new pulley system.

Best of all, the lamp only costs $20, but will provide free lighting to families all over the world. This proves valuable in places that are generally without electricity, or “off the grid,” or too poor to pay for it. Not to mention that it conserves natural resources, which is always a plus.

What Sparks Our Fire: Creative design that helps move the world forward.

Sustainability has been a growing trend in business for years now as climate change becomes a more prevalent threat, however, now technology companies especially have realized that sustainability is a good investment.

Sustainability “ensures business continuity by conserving resources,” and now more than ever, economic and environmental sustainability are vital to businesses’ longevity and productivity.

In 2014, Unilever CEO Paul Polman declared that climate change-related natural disasters are costing Unilever at least $300 million a year. To combat this, several companies have come up with ways to conserve energy and other natural resources.

Creating environmental products is one such step. Samsung, for example, has taken the lead and released a solar-powered laptop, as well as three “green” mobile phones made of corn starch bioplastic and have energy-efficient chargers and recyclable packaging.

In order to ensure the future of the planet–and technology–it’s up to other companies to follow in Samsung’s small carbon footprints.

What Sparks Our Fire: Companies taking on a greater accountability for their sustainability and making moves to make sustainability a universal practice.

“Living Things

The exhibit, which features a kitchen, living room, and a dining room, envisions a future in which the designers, Jacob Douenias and Ethan Frier, envision “photosynthetic furniture,” or pieces that contain glass vessels of algae. These vessels are wired to heat and light, which causes the algae to grow, making them a source of oxygen.

This living, breathing display is not the first that has used algae as a material; however, the designers say it could become more common in the future, because the liquid suspension of the organism makes it malleable and therefore easy to manipulate.

What Sparks Our Fire: Designers harnessing the power of nature to create homes that homes that boast both aesthetics and sustainability.

With a majority of Americans and people worldwide that consider solar power to be their number one choice of energy, SunPort is introducing a new way to use solar energy, with their new innovative and affordable outlet adapter. This portable outlet adapter allows users to power all of their gadgets on clean solar energy. Once plugging in a device into the SunPort, the application will automatically calculate how much power you’re using and quickly give you the option to upgrade to solar energy. Once upgrading, it will automatically purchase solar micro-credits that are provided through a non-profit organization called ReChoice. It’s a more affordable and less cumbersome option than those industrial-sized solar panels.

Due to cost being an issue when purchasing solar panels, the inventor of SunPort, Paul Droege, believes they will eventually offer their customers a chance to upgrade their entire home at an affordable and reasonable cost. This will allow those with high interest to use clean solar energy and help create a demand for more solar production.

The use of solar energy has increased tremendously throughout the years and will continue to grow. Nivea Sun ads, which generated a great deal of praise and attention worldwide, used a similar approach.

What Sparks Our Fire: Making solar power more affordable, more portable, and more accessible to change the way we use energy.

Dubai is known for continually being on the forefront of modern technology. This summer, it has one more surprise for its residents—massive, 20-foot-high “palm trees” made of metal that harness the power of solar energy to provide Wi-Fi and power.

“Smart Palm” boasts Wi-Fi hotspots, phone-charging stations, informational touchscreens, and even security cameras and an emergency button for safety. They’re completely self-sustained and green, thanks to giant solar panels that serve as the fronds.

While there are only two standing for now, the company plans on introducing another 103 across Dubai, and potentially switching to a 3-D printing manufacturing process. Viktor Nelepa, the company’s founder, wrote in a press release that his goal was “to provide data, connectivity, energy [all] in a sustainable manner,” while still maintaining the cultural significance of the date palm.

What Sparks Our Fire: Making technology greener and more accessible to the modern user.

What can you do with an abandoned underground trolley terminal? In Manhattan, where space is at a premium, there are a billion creative uses for this subterranean expanse. In 2011, James Ramsey, Dan Barasch, and R. Boykin Curry IV proposed a radical idea for the space that sat unused for over 60 years– turn it into an underground park. The idea immediately resonated with New Yorkers, drew massive media attention, and got a wildly successful Kickstarter get off the ground. And this month, Ramsey, Barasch, and Curry have returned with a new Kickstarter to fund a test lab, bringing them once step closer to the reality of their Lowline park.

The test lab for the Lowline mostly aims to test the special technology that engineers have built to bring sunlight underground. Solar panels at street level will act as sunlight receptacles. Sunlight will then be funneled underground where it can be disseminated to the plants living below. Where UV lamps might have been used in the past, the Lowline is revolutionary because it aims for sustainability. Additionally, visitors will be able to go to the test lab this Fall to see the results in action.

Calling their park the Lowline as a nod to Chelsea’s High Line, the creators have acknowledged the huge impact that green public spaces can have on the surrounding community. The High Line was similarly built on abandoned elevated train tracks on the west side of Manhattan, with the first phase opening to visitors in 2009. With almost 5 million annual visitors, the High Line’s presence has revitalized the surrounding community in a way that the Lowline hopes to emulate on the Lower East Side.

Learn more on the Lowline’s website and Kickstarter.

What Sparks Our Fire: Sustainable public spaces spurring cutting edge technological and economic benefits

A train is leaving from Los Angeles to San Francisco traveling at 56 mph and takes 8 hours to arrive. This isn’t an algebra problem, this is an efficiency problem. In 2012, Elon Musk proposed an alternative to the slow and inefficient Amtrak “Coast Starlight” train line, called the Hyperloop. The Hyperloop is a high-speed transportation system that would propel passengers between the two cities in “pods” at up to 800 mph, approximately 200 miles faster than the average cruising speed of a 747. While the Hyperloop has remained a pipe-dream for many who frequently travel between the two cities, today, Musk announced a competition that might just get the ball rolling on its development.

Open to university students and independent engineering teams, Musk has asked participants to design the pods that will carry passengers between the two cities. By opening the pod design contest to only independent engineering teams and students, Musk is clearly leaning on innovative new thinking, but also making a statement that he’s looking for the best design, not just the design that gets funded first.

While there has not been mention of a prize for winning the competition, Musk promised to elaborate more on the contest in August. Until then, applicants can learn more about the guidelines and sign up to compete on the SpaceX website.

What Sparks Our Fire: Creatively shaping the future of transportation and design through an exciting open-source competition.