Promo Packaging Psychology

It only takes a second to form an impression, and when it comes to promo packaging, you want it to be a good one.

But what goes into that split-second judgement formed by potential customers and clients? We know that it's implicitly unfair. There's no way that an organization can conceive of the myriad of biases every individual brings to a situation. They don't like a font. They don't like a color. Is it based on something internal? Or did they just stub their toe and nothing is appealing at the moment?

It's reasons like these that 1) no single design is perfect, and 2) come to Sunrise Packaging to utilize the best practices we've learned over our years in the business.

Part of what we can share is grounded in psychology. Subtle elements inform customer's perceptions around taste, quality, perceived value, all the way to brand personality. These elements--such as color, shape, texture and more--influence what's called implicit associations.

Here are some great, simple tips to glean insights on customer's impressions of promo packaging.

Color

You probably aren't surprised to learn that color has a lot of meanings. From cultural influences to personal preferences to color blindness, we're constantly using color as an indicator for different things. For example, in western societies, blue is associated with cleanliness. Which is why when you stroll down the home cleaning goods aisles, there's usually a plethora of blue promo packaging.

Using color theory is one way your product packaging can appeal to different genders, cultures and ages.

Texture

Watch a young child move through a park or public space. Chances are they're constantly reaching out and touching things, from a wall to the handrail to plants and trees. From a young age we're prompted unconsciously that one of the best ways to learn about our surroundings is by touch. And promo packaging is no different.

Sunrise Packaging offers a variety of customized wraps for boxes that can make your product feel silky smooth, or give it a more rugged texture. Even the finishing on a wrap can convey a message. A classic example: as natural chips started making their way onto the market, they faced the challenge of how to stand out in an established chip aisle full of bright, shiny packages. Their answer? Making the packaging matte to convey the difference.

The Psychology of Promo Packaging

Even just these two tips can heavily influence your packaging design. Researching more about implicit association, and tying it to your target market, can reveal even more insights. When you're ready to get started on your promo packaging, contact Sunrise sales team to tap into your customer psychology!

Custom Promo Boxes & 2018 Trends

Like any industry, custom promo boxes are subject to trends. Take a look through the different ages to get an idea of what was acceptable (or rather, expected) packaging from just a decade ago. You'll see that it's changed, in every way from shipping time to box design. But what makes this interesting is the nostalgia factor we see creeping into 2018 trends.

Packaging Longevity

We've commented on this before, but it's a recurring factor: we can order from any corner of the globe and have it in our home within days. It's truly amazing. Yet these distances can have adverse effects on organic products, like first aid items and medicines. Packaging needs to withstand the trials of travel.

"Unboxing" & Social

One of the top YouTube categories for kids right now is unboxing toys. Yes, you read that correctly. It's people recording themselves unboxing toys. Not necessarily playing with them, or sharing them, or anything else - narrating their experience taking them out of the box. And it's not just toys, you can find unboxings for nearly anything on YouTube and beyond on Instagram, Reddit, and more.

It's important to note that upcoming generations, even more so than the current ones, will be critically looking at packaging styles, containers, and above all, personalization.

Nostalgia

Nostalgia sells. Whether it's garish unicorn-emblazoned Trapper Keepers or Coca-Cola in glass bottles, people are attracted to things that remind them of memories wrapped with happiness. Best of all for packaging design, it's relatively easy to add in a throwback font in design, as well as utilize materials or designs that are evocative of a time past like kraft packing paper or other custom inserts.

Bring Us Your Ideas

While we do believe that trends should help inform any packaging decisions, we also want to create innovative solutions. Bring us your ideas and your needs, and let's create something perfect for your product.

Opening Day = Box Closures

As a proud Minnesota company, we love all things related to our hometown teams. And on this Opening Day for the Minnesota Twins, we turned our attention to another kind of opening that captures our attention: box closures.

If you want to contest the importance of and customer attention to box closures, look no further than your own experience. We don’t doubt that at one point or another, you spent more time than you like to admit lazily flipping open a magnetic box lid. Or slowly slide the top piece off of a setup box to savor the moment of getting a new smartphone or tablet. The delicious moment of flipping up a cigar box top.

Design custom packaging that allows users to savor that anticipation. Here are some of our favorite box closures in honor of Opening Day!

Box Closures That Captivate

Magnetic Closures

Far and away one of our most popular features. Magnetic boxes are versatile and instant keepsakes for users. Closures can be embedded in many different types of box styles. Plus magnets are one of the most secure types of closure so products are safe and secure.

Setup Boxes

You might not think a lot about setup boxes having a particular flavor to their opening and closing, but consider again. Setup boxes are a frequently used for luxury goods and technology products for a few reasons. Their rigid chipboard construction, paired with a thermoformed or custom insert, keeps the product secure. These highly-customizable two pieces allow for a high quality finish via the wrap. Most of all, the sleek design is evocative and suggestive of luxury.

Design Your Own

When someone comes to Sunrise with a project, we do everything we can to bring it into reality – even when it means creating something new and personalized to your business objectives. We’ve taken on new interpretations when it comes to slip cases, gatefold, and more. Contact us today to start bringing your vision to life.

Play Ball!

Openings are full of anticipation, from the excitement of a new baseball season to revealing an exciting product. No matter which team is *your* team, Sunrise is ready to bring you and your products to the next level of success.

Unconventional Set Up Boxes

Using the term "set up boxes" might make sense to you or it might not. If you're not attuned to the packaging industry, it probably doesn't mean much. But that's where we like to take the chance to educate you.

A setup box consists of two pieces. In layman's terms, a top and bottom. The bottom is usually made of strong chipboard with a custom wrap on it. Otherwise known as turned edge, this stylish finish can take on different elements depending on your needs. The top fits snugly over the bottom. Also made of chipboard, it slides on and off easily; you've no doubt encountered this style as it's often used for game boxes, smartphones, and more.

As you look through our two piece set-up box gallery, you will see the unlimited potential of this customized box style. Sunrise just completed an interesting variation for Findlay Technologies.

Confused? Look closer.

By design, this might appear to be another cardboard package delivered by any mail service. Once you read the address label, it becomes clear that this isn't just another mailing box. While pictures don't quite do it justice, the feel of the box gives it away as something special as well.

You can't quite tell, but these are set-up boxes. The boxes are wrapped with a digitally printed / matte lamination material. From the corners, you can just the turned edge finishing on them.

We love the unconventionality of this box. It takes multiple sets of expectations and flips them, creating a sense of surprise and fun the for the recipient. Here's what we mean.

Expectation #1: It's just a plain cardboard box

But from that first touch, the customer realizes that it isn't. Part of engaging users is finding ways to engage their senses, and with this design and style, they're all in. And once they open the box, they're treated to even more potential customization. Thermoformed trays, custom inserts, the sky's the limit.

Expectation #2: It's just another set up box

Using a design that usurps expectations helps engage users, but it also illustrates different features of a particular packaging style. While these setup boxes share characteristics with others, the content and design are what set it apart. Set up boxes lend themselves well to a variety of finishing options. And their hardcover durability makes them trustworthy packaging for nearly any product.

Design Maketh the Set-Up Box

So the lesson that we learn from this? Taking the time to figure out the overall effect you want your packaging to have helps determine the right box style and the right design. Taking something seemingly conventional, like setup boxes, and turning them into something truly unconventional, is a challenge we love taking up. Contact Sunrise today to talk through your needs and ideas for your set up boxes!

Real Estate Marketing for Millennials

Pew Research says that millennials are just about to surpass the Baby Boomers as the largest living adult generation. Here's why--and how--it affects your real estate marketing strategies.

Millennials are defined as those born between 1981 and 1996. The upper end of the generation is reasonably established in their career, and nearly all need a home to lease or purchase. However, here's where millennials differ the most from previous generations: they're much more into the sharing economy, or using vs. purchasing. Look to the popularity of Uber and Lyft, for example, or the ability to Rent the Runway. Additionally, the average credit score for this generation is fairly low--about 625--so they must qualify for more flexible, FHA-insured mortgage rates. However, despite all of this, 32% of homes are being purchased by millennials.

Real Estate Express offers these helpful tidbits on how to reach this market most effectively:

Millennials prefer social media and texting for communication - but 75% would prefer that their real estate agent contact them by phone.
Over 90% of millennials rely on the Internet to find and communicate real estate opportunities.
While they know they can find the answers to practically anything online, 87% eventually seek out advice from real estate agents

This generation grew up with technology. Maybe not smart phones, but definitely in the era of the home desktop computer and a gaggle of gaming systems. When it comes to real estate marketing, target them on their favorite networks.

As a real estate agent, you're in charge of a lot when it comes to connecting with prospective buyers and sellers. One way to connect with millennials is to create shareable content. This can be videos, blog posts, infographics, etc that are posted on social media. These types of content of should be "bite-sized," meaning they're easily consumable in a short period. No one wants to watch a 10 minute tour of a house on a shaky iPhone. Create quick cuts of highlights. Or create a slideshow on Instagram. Play with mediums and styles to figure out what works for you and your audience.

Once you've hooked your millennial customer, remember that this generation relies heavily on the recommendations of their peer group. Take this opportunity to create a unique closing gift using Sunrise Package's custom packaging options. Like the FlashPad Wallet. Or any of our other innovative packaging solutions - just remember to slide your business card inside!

Conference Must Have: Custom Name Badges

You might have heard about a little event that was hosted in Minneapolis toward the end of January: the Super Bowl. While projections abound about the potential economic impact that comes to the host city during the event, one thing is clear: for at least one week, the city was highlighted in a positive light for the entire country to see. Bringing this kind of recognition to a city is a highly-coveted thing. In addition to the impact made just by hosting, cities tend to see an uptick in tourism, conference hosting, and more. And with the Final Four coming in 2019, Minneapolis hopes to net even more publicity. As more conferences look to come to the Bold North, consider using local vendors as well for your conference needs. Including custom name badges.

Love it or hate it, there's one thing nearly as ubiquitous as vendors giving away USB drives at conferences: custom name badges. It's access to the conference, after events, and in some cases, can provide a schedule of events to which an attendee has easy access all the time.

As conferences make their name badges a more integral part of the conference experience, it pays to invest in product that showcases not only the industry, but the region as well. Some people treat their badges as just that - badges to display in their offices of their industry ranging. Create something unique and worth keeping - a potential conversation piece.

Name badges are just one of the potential swag items that Sunrise Packaging (just north of Minneapolis) can create for conferences. Some of our other projects include:

Luggage tags
Zipper pull tags
Bag tags

All of these things which become handy when traveling. As locals, we bring Bold North sensibilities to our products, and can ensure that your attendee swag will be useful and hardy.

Custom Name Badges & More: Sunrise Packaging

Sunrise Packaging should be your first contact when you start scouting out Minnesota-made products for your next event. Contact our sales team today to start!

Creating a Board Game Box: 3 Things to Consider

Thinking about making your own custom board game box? Read this first.

Sunrise Packaging has worked with a lot of unique projects over the years, but some of the most innovative and excited creators are those who make games. It’s a true passion project. And we hate to see that excitement fizzle out over some of the most common things that game makers miss or don’t consider when they design their custom game board box.

On the surface, creating game board boxes isn’t an overly complicated thing. But like any packaging project, there are things to consider that an outsider might not think about beforehand. The weight of the packaging materials, for instance. The mobility of the game box. The design and print quality of the box. Not to mention the copy for the box as well. In a way, custom board game boxes aren’t unlike product launch kits in everything they need to accomplish.

Custom Board Game Box: Choose Your Own Adventure

Things that every game maker should consider when it comes to crafting their own game board boxes. Essentially, it comes down to one thing: plan ahead.

What’s your budget?
Knowing what you want to spend can help determine other options. If you want to make money on your custom game, it’s completely necessary to have a budget in mind for what you want to spend on packaging on top of the game production costs.
How do you want users to interact with the packaging?
Customer experience is of increasing importance. Not to mention that a great unboxing video could increase sales dramatically. Sunrise Packaging can help craft boxes with handles and magnet closure as well as custom inserts and printed elements inside the box itself. Get creative, but keep the whimsy in check. Outlandish ideas aren’t always the most sustainable.
What will entice buyers?
You’re browsing online and see a interesting game. You click on it, and read the position description. Alternate scenario: Walking through a store, you see an unfamiliar product. You’re compelled to pick it up and find more about it. How do you decide whether or not to buy it? Make sure to craft content that will speak to buyers and compel them to actually purchase it, not just pick it up for a moment.

Proper planning is the most important part of creating a custom board game box that will sell. These are just three things that you should consider.

Contact Sunrise Packaging for Guidance

Making your own game packaging might seem more cost-efficient, but it’s not if you have to spend hours upon hours doing it. Leave it to the experts; we’ll leave the game making to you. Contact us today!

Brand Activation Kits for Minnesota Brands

Minnesota was front and center for the last week of January. As host to Super Bowl LII, our state leaned into the “Bold North” moniker and created a great experience for locals and visitors alike. From the amazing Polaris backflip to Land O’Lakes Farm Bowl, Minnesota’s homegrown brands brought it in a big way. MN marketers might be ready for a break, but not for long. March 2019 will see the Final Four come to Minneapolis. We’re excited to see the stunts and innovation, and can’t wait to help build brand activation kits to support it all.

Brand activation is the act of driving consumers to act by means of interactions and experiences designed by the brand. Brand activation kits support these interactions and experiences. As a Minnesota company, we know Minnesota brands, their values and their challenges. Not the least of which is designing an outdoor environment in the subzero Minnesota winter.

Homegrown Brand Activation Kits

Sunrise Packaging can design packaging for any sort of brand activation. The goal of any marketing initiative is to garner a response; while it’s one thing to get people talking, it’s another to get them to pay attention and remember your brand.

Brand activation itself can take many forms. Experiential marketing, consumer promotions, shopper marketing, all of these things can be part of it. Since there are many ways to implement, it’s usually easiest to give examples to explain brand activation. When we think back to the different Super Bowl LII experiences created by different brands, we get an idea of some of the elements that make successful brand activation campaigns:

Unique
First and foremost, it needs to be unique to be memorable, right? There’s no point to it if it doesn’t increase consumer interaction with your brand, and if the consumer doesn’t remember you…
Relevant
A crazy experience, zip-lining across the Mississippi River, is almost as unique as it gets. However, would it work for any brand? For a brand focused on thrill-seeking and adventure, yes. For a candy store? Not so much.
Full of MN Pride
As varied and interesting the various strategies were, there was one thing they all have in common. Minnesota, the Bold North tagline, was front and center for every single one.

As Minnesota brands start thinking about their plans for the next major event to come to Minnesota, include brand activation kits in your overall strategy.

The Bold North, Round 2

March is usually a little more moderate in weather than January (well, most of the time). That said, the one million+ visitors who braved the Minnesota winter for the Super Bowl weren’t afraid of a little weather. Neither are we. Contact Sunrise Packaging today to design your brand activation kits!

Premium Promo Packaging

As streaming becomes more and more mainstream, its affects on traditional music outlets is interesting. Some people have retreated back to using records and LPs; others are patiently waiting to see who wins out between Pandora, Spotify and Tidal. And through it all, radio continues to be a mainstay. After all, radio is the only that provides live interaction and chances to win. Increase your radio station's relevancy with premium promo packaging.

We've all been that person at one time or another: we hear an offer for free tickets or some prize package on the radio and we call in. Most of the time we get a busy signal. But I can remember one shining moment when the surreal happened: I got through. I played trivia on a morning show, and I won. It wasn't anything nearly as exciting as tickets or cash, but it was their album of the week with a t-shirt, water bottle and window clings. It was one of those magical experiences that awesome in nearly every way except for one: the prizes arrived in a plain brown cardboard package. More or less tossed in, with a short note from an intern. Doesn't quite give you the experience you want to talk about, does it? Doesn't really hype up the excitement of winning, does it?

When it comes to winning a radio promo package, whether it's tickets, a gift card or more, Sunrise Packaging in Blaine, Minnesota, can help turn it into an event for the recipient.

In this world of social media influencers and viral videos, reaction is a marketing strategy in and of itself. Leveraging user generated content is not only low-cost but can yield high returns as well. When someone wins on the radio, it's most fun when they have a massive reaction. Screaming excitement, accidental expletives, it's all part of that live experience (and maybe sound bytes for future radio contest promos). Why dampen that excitement with lame packaging?

Whether your radio station giveaway includes tickets, gift cards, or some other special items, make that promo packaging work for you. Create something that's worth sharing. Our examples to the side show a couple types of packaging that get big reactions.

The top is our FlashPad Wallet, created for the University of Nebraska. The FlashPad and FlashPad Wallet are perfect for gift cards, concert tickets, and any small items that can ship easily in an envelope. These types of promo packaging allow for plenty of space for promotional copy as well as clear branding.

Got something a little bigger? Custom boxes are our forte. The example above - a promotional kit created for Campbell Soup - features a totally unique design. It's a play on the traditional front open box, with handles for easy transport and custom inserts to keep items in perfect order. The design outside the box is black matte with a laminate to catch the eye with every movement. It's a great example of promo packaging that makes sales, and can convert your listeners to influencers.

Influencer Marketing and Promo Packaging

When we talk about influencer marketing, many people miss promo packaging as a key part of the equation. Like we stated above, the excitement of winning something - anything - is worth celebrating, from the moment of winning to receiving the package. Maintain the momentum. Contact Sunrise Packaging today to get started.

Offset Printing For Your Custom Box Project

When it comes to packaging, most people might not pay much attention to the printing. Whether it's offset printing, or digital, or screen, it's probably not registered unless they're in the business. At least, they aren't noticing it consciously.

While the integrity of a custom box is the most important element when it comes to product safety, design is up next when it comes to drawing customer attention. Appealing to the five senses is a powerful way to create sentiment with customers. Particularly sight and touch. This is why choosing your printing style wisely is important. And it's why we usually suggest offset printing.

Offset printing is a style of printing that's known for producing the highest possible printing quality. It allows for the greatest detail as well as color fidelity, and it works well with a variety of custom finishes.

The example to the right is a custom magnet box created for DP Derm. We used offset printing which enhances the spot UV print used on the logo and the wave graphic. While you can't touch it through the screen, the soft touch lamination applied to the offset printed wrap is irresistable. These different features could be used with other styles of printing as well. But when it comes to creating something truly special for customers, it's best to indulge in truly luxurious options. And those options are best showcased by offset printing.

We've mentioned some of the other types of printing Sunrise often uses for projects. They include:

Digital Printing
Faster and less expensive than offset printing, digital printing allows for quick turnaround and allows users to change the modify the output easily.
Screen Printing
Also called silkscreen or seriography, screen printing is usually used on binders and sometimes on boxes.

These different options all serve different needs, and Sunrise representatives can help you decide which one is best for your project.

In addition to printing options, the possibilities for finishings is even greater. From foil stamping to debossing and print coatings, there's something to enhance every project.

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Implicit Associations & Promo Packaging