Taking the path of least resistance is always tempting, isn’t it? It’s time-tested to work and most likely safe. It probably won’t get you fired; in fact, it might not even be wrong — but it definitely won’t get your brand noticed by consumers. Certainly, using an easy route here and there won’t hurt a company, but it’s all too easy to get into a rut of being like everyone else if you are not careful.

Each year, BRANDPACKAGING looks for people doing things a little bit differently and awards them our esteemed title of Brand Innovator. They might be taking their brands just slightly off the beaten trail, or maybe they are going completely against the grain of the category with their packaging. No matter where these ladies’ and gentlemen’s actions fall on that scale, you can be sure they have done things that felt atypical and even uncomfortable in order to push their brands forward. In return for their efforts, they’ve translated buyers into fans and changed what our industry views as possible — and they’ve had fun doing it.

Enjoy reading about Anna Kamjou and Jonas Tåhlin of The Absolut Company, Craig Dubitsky from hello, and Oliver Campbell at Dell (read the article here). We hope their success stories inspire your brand to make headlines in the coming years.

 And as you saw on the previous pages, we've introduced many of our 2014 Packaging That Sells speakers, Craig and Oliver included!