I hate the statement, "I can sell shit if it's packaged right." It's a marketing line I've heard repeatedly since I've started my career. I disagree with it, but you have to admit, it does sound cool when you say it like you mean it. And it does show how important packaging is. It's really the cherry on top. I wouldn't go as far as saying it's what makes or breaks it when it comes to launching a new product, but it will definitely make life easier for a company if they get it right.
I am actually a packaging-obsessed marketer if there can be such a title. I study packaging in my free time, research packaging designs globally across different categories, and collect packaging awards books. Packaging is really like marketing- part art and part science, and I want to share with you 7 success factors for getting it right.
But before getting into how to get it right, let us get one thing out of the way. Great packaging does NOT mean that it just looks great or cool or beautiful. Of course, it must look great. Otherwise, why would consumers pick it up? But that's not really what defines great packaging. It just blows my mind when I see marketers judging a packaging design purely on the design's aesthetic. So let's dive into the 7 crucial success factors for getting it right.
1. How clear and simple is your packaging design? Your packaging is yet another communication tool, right? So if it doesn't self explain what the product is for and what the brand behind it is, then it isn't serving its purpose. The more cluttered your packaging design, the more chances you're losing your consumer.
2. HONESTY. This is why the statement, "I can sell shit if it's packaged right," doesn't hold any truth to it. If you're portraying something else than what is inside, your product will flop. Yes, consumers might grab it for the first time, but that re-purchase will never happen once they open that package, and your product will die in no time. Stay honest about what your product is, and consumers will love you for it. What's the first rule of relationships? TRUST and consumers want the same from their brands.
3. AUTHENTIC! Consumers don't want to see the same thing over and over again. The more authentic you are, the more you will be remembered. Why do brands want that? Because there are probably a thousand brands trying to compete against your brand.
4. Shelf Impact. Or what I like to call the "WOW" factor. How many of you bought a product just because of that WOW factor you saw when you held the package. I can't even count them. This is crucial. If at that moment of truth, your brand does not deliver on the WOW factor in front of the shelf, you will NOT make it. This is the one attribute that saves you many marketing bucks on other mediums cause you can easily grab attention on the shelf space.
5.Extensibility - You never know if you're going to need to branch out and do a product/line extension, so it helps a lot if you factor that in from DAY 1 . Why? Because then you get to capitalize on that sticking identify that you created from your launch campaign, and your look & feel becomes the brand, and not vice versa. Think Coca Cola, Light, Zero, Cherry...
6. Practicality - IT HAS TO BE PRACTICAL. You can't have a potato chip bag that needs a knife to open it- that wouldn't fly as snacks are mostly consumed on the go. Practicality is one of the most overlooked things when it comes to packaging, yet it's one of the most crucial. When I launched a salad brand in Egypt, I decided to use a salad bowl twice as wide as everyone else in the market. Why is that important? Because for any salad eater, it is really annoying to not toss the dressing easily when the packaging is too small, and the salad is just stuffed to the top of the pack. Until today it blows my mind to see other competitors don't get it and continue to use very, very small salad bowls. IT DOESN'T WORK.
7. STORYTELLER - I think this is the most important aspect, yet I hardly see it in any local brands. Most local companies just want a "design." But a design does not make a brand. As a consumer, I should look at your brand design and get a story from it. It should help me understand what kind of product it is: its attributes, its characteristics, its functionalities, and its lifestyle. This is where good packaging agencies know how to deliver because they get it. A packaging can look great and can have all of the above traits, but if it is missing this StoryTelling attribute, then it fails. I have been fortunate enough to work with the best in the industry when it comes to that factor specifically, and let me tell you, it really has carried brands far ahead of the competition. I think this is the decisive factor of what makes a packaging concept great from ordinary. This is what really ties everything together into the perfect proposition, aka, a perfect BRAND.
I hope this blog has been helpful and interesting to read. Please leave your comments below, and you can now subscribe to the blog by entering your email address. If you have any cases that you would like me to discuss or have any questions, please email me at Shereba@brandmeup.co.
In the meantime, I would love to know what your favorite packaging is. And why do you love it?
Until the next time,
Shereba
Comments
Post a Comment