It's Never Too Late

So, following up on my previous post about how sometimes brands need to just do things because they're expected and not make a big deal about it.

A good example is the reusable shopping bag. By now, it's too late for any company to start selling these and expect it to automatically be a great marketing opportunity.

There's a difference between "noteworthy" and "newsworthy". Do something good that others are already doing is just noteworthy.

BUT...
Do something good in a new way and it might become newsworthy.

UK retailer Tesco is launching and selling a series of reusable bags that are created by a well-known designer, and with proceeds going towards a charitable cause. They aren't the first to do this, of course -- as this article points out.

However, the combination of:
- a high-profile designer
- releasing a series of bags (thus making them somewhat collectible) rather than just one
- the charity tie-in, and
- the fact that this is one more stage in an already-started program to reduce plastic bags
helps make this a bit of a big deal.

It's not a drastically different approach, but its enough to make it more than just another bag.