Packaging has long played a supporting role in advertising but in today’s world, it’s starting to steal the show. Brand marketers are increasingly bringing their product’s packaging to the forefront of brand communication both visually and by incorporating advertising strategies on the packaging itself.

So what’s with packaging’s growing significance as a branding tool? The increasing aesthetic sophistication that applies to packaging is too hard to ignore. There is one huge challenge for packaging however: the environment. Pressure has been placed on manufacturers to cut down on packaging and reduce waste to help sustain the environment. Packaging companies are trying to find creative ways to develop green packaging solutions as the need for marketers to communicate eco-friendliness to consumers is growing rampantly.

Finding a happy marriage between creative packaging and sustainability is not exactly easy- there are limitations.  But it’s an ambition manufacturers and marketers are relentlessly pursuing.

So lets check out the “Recyclage de Luxe” campaign rolled out by Stella Artois last year. While taking various measures to lessen their environmental impact, Stella Artois launched the campaign in the UK. They’re earning their eco-cred by making greener packaging and engaging consumers in recycling initiatives.

Since the start of the campaign, all Stella Artois’ cans have been made from at least 50% recycled aluminum, its bottles are above the industry standard of 75% recycled glass, and its corrugated Stella Artois boxes are made from 100% recyclable paper.

When it went live in July, Recyclage de Luxe comprised three executions across media, including TV and the press. Each focused on a different aspect of packaging – the corrugated packs, recycled bottles and recycled cans.

At the end of the month, the brewer launched its Hedge Fund on-pack promotion, a bid to boost sales with eco-incentives for consumers. Consumers buying some of the larger packs would be investing in an actual hedge, which would be grown to three times the size of the pack itself.

The campaign would help “replenish Britain’s depleted hedgerows, which are critical to the existence of many plants and animals”.The Hedge Fund promotion enables Stella Artois to help consumers take those small steps and together reduce the rate of climate change.

Stella Artois says that the campaign has so far “been very successful”, but is unable at this stage to divulge internal data proving this. It says that its marketing has been “very motivating for consumers”.

More info:
Stella Artois Hedge Fund

A recent Harris Poll was released showing how strongly adults are influenced by social media when it comes to brands and product reviews. The study was conducted in April 2010 and asked 2,131 adults in the US to weigh in on a series of questions regarding social media consumer influence. Here are some of the interesting findings:

34% of adults who use social media, use it as an outlet to endorse or oppose brands. The polling found that 26% of those individuals are using the medium to express dissatisfaction while 23% are sharing their positive brand experiences. Either way, 38% of ALL adults who share their opinions in cyberspace are aiming to influence others.

So are people ultimately influenced by these rants and raves? They certainly are. The polling found that the number one influencer (71%) was “Reviews from family members or friends”. Coming in at a distant second was “Reviews in newspapers or magazines” (46%) and “Reviews from friends or people I follow on social networking sites” (45%).

Young adults were more likely than older adults to say their opinions encountered on social media sites were influential. Further, 50% of 18-34-year-olds versus 37% of adults 55 or older said social media reviews sway their interaction with companies, brands, and products.

There is good reason why marketers are employing social media policies. If done right, it can be a great channel to get a positive conversation about a brand spreading like a wildfire. In contrast, brands can be more vulnerable as well because real-life messages and experiences are being cast out by these individuals. People are generally more accepting of this information because they know it’s not just another marketing message.

You know this package above. It probably brings back memories. Sitting in a shopping cart while your parent(s) were getting groceries and seeing the all too familiar animal cracker package with all of  the aminals (I mean animals) and shouting, “Can I get these? Can I get these? Please??” Or if you have kids it might be in a much more recent memory bank. I know my little one has been know to ask persistently for them while we’re cruising the isles. One big observation here: The packaging for Barnum’s Animal Crackers (The animals and the primary colors) haven’t changed a bit since I can remember.

Well guess what? They’ve made a temporary departure from the classic package design to raise social awareness. Barnum made a $100,000 contribution toward protecting endangered Asian Tigers through the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) and for a limited time, are putting a Lilly Pulitzer-designed package on the shelf. Pulitzer’s company is a long supporter of environmental organizations so it was a great fit!
The Lilly box design features animals drawn in her fanciful style and a pastel color palette. Quite different from Barnum’s traditional packaging design approach. The package also incorporates a call-out for the brand’s donation to WWF and WWF’s panda logo. The design helps contemporize the brand by associating it with a relevant, timely issue. One million of the boxes have hit retail shelves in March.

Pulitzer and Barnum’s Facebook and Twitter pages have been the primary source of promotion for the new box. Through social media, the campaign has generated tremendous buzz online about the design change and support of the Asian Tigers. The effort has also created great business results so far for Barnum. including a healthy sales lift.

More info:
Lilly Pulitzer
Media Post

Most companies instinctively know that good design makes good business sense. However, companies are at a loss on how to quantify its effectiveness. Without measurable data, package design will always be seen as an expense rather than an investment.

It is so important to understand the impact packaging can have on a product in order to justify it. To understand the impact we need to know what role packaging design is going to play in a particular instance.

The primary role of packaging design of course is a brand identifier. For new brands, packaging is a link to other symbolic associations, playing more of an educational role. By accepting design as a link to brand meaning rather than the brand meaning itself, it becomes easier to specify the quantifiable measures that packaging and design can be evaluated on.

Effective packaging will have a direct impact on the growth of a brand. This can be measured in volume or value of sales. Consumers are driven by emotions and purchase instinctively. Packaging can be a heavily persuasive influence on a consumer if it stands out and link’s to a consumer’s positive perception. With established brands, if packaging changes, you have sales figures to measure against that help identify the impact that design can have on growth.

Margin is another measurable factor that package design has on a product. A brand’s margin is affected by the prices it sells and the costs related to producing the product. Packaging design will directly influence the retail price of a brand. If a product is packaged effectively it will send strong triggers of its brand’s world, reinforcing consumer links to the product. At that point, the purchase will be made no matter the price. Elements in package design that initiate those triggers give their brands opportunities to generate higher margins.

So while packaging design is an expense for a company, it should also be looked at as an investment. Seeking influential package design should be based on what type of role that the packaging will play. If done effectively, packaging certainly contributes meaningfully to a company’s bottom line.

More info:
Brand Packaging

Mr. Clean, the famous bald muscle man, is seen here featured on dumbbell packaging. How creative is this? Talk about taking branding a step further.

The whole communication of the “Mr. Clean” trademark has been based on strength and physical power. The idea behind the dumbbell packaging aside from the branding was to have a simple shape and give the product more visibility on the supermarket shelf.

Packaging reusability was another important feature as the empty bottle can easily be filled with water or sand and transformed into a colorful dumbbell for fitness. A fun exercise booklet comes inside of the cap for home training use.

Oh, and by the way, to be able to have the full set of dumbbells, you have to buy two….genius!

Design by Tommaso Ceschi

The pink ribbon is becoming one of our newest most recognized symbols.  Breast cancer awareness campaigns are spreading through the country, and products from soups to cement trucks are taking up the message.

Soups?

Cement trucks?

Spongebob?

Nonprofits, like the ones that support Breast Cancer Awareness, are increasingly using the powerful impact of images to keep the message in front of potential donors minds.  And it appears to be working.  For a symbol that less than 10 years ago few would have associated with anything except for a little girl’s hair, breast cancer awareness nonprofits have been using branding, including packaging, to get their message out in an extremely positive way.

As more nonprofits realize the power of branding and packaging, maybe our society will use branding to bring the most important message of all.

That of compassion.

(Pictures from http://whipitoutcomedy.com)

One key way that you can gain customers and brand/product recognition is by changing up the design of your packaging.  Yes, if you have a “classic” design, you do not want to change it up too much and risk confusing or losing customers, but you also do not want your product to look outdated.  An old design can blend in with the competition, and you want your product to “pop” and stick out on the shelf.

Kayem needed a new design for the packaging of their hot dogs. “Classic is one thing, but ‘stale’ isn’t a term a marketer wants people to associate with his edibles.”

To change the packaging effectively, Kayem had to do a lot of market research to figure out what was wrong with the old packaging and what could make it better.  First, Kayem removed the banner, “DELI”, because customers did not know what that meant.  They decided to stick with “Old Tyme” to convey emotion and describe their hot dogs as being tasty and classic.  They also decided to add “gluten-free”, “made in the USA”, and “no fillers, no artificial flavors, no byproducts” to the packaging.  These statements have always been true of Kayem hot dogs, but they decided to focus on the health and quality of the food, otherwise consumers would not know.  Kayem also decided to stick with the blue packaging to differentiate themselves from the competition and added a pictured of a cooked hot dog to grab the consumer’s attention.

Kayem’s new packaging design proved to be effective.  After 12 weeks (ending July 11, 2009), Kayem’s volume rose 7.3 percent and sales were up 15.7 percent, according to ACNielsen’s Grilling Index.  The new packaging is proven effective, because it catches attention and people are recognizing the brand.

I came across an introduction to the Brand Packaging’s Packaging That Sells V show that is scheduled for October 2009. They say:

“Your packaging is critical to your brand. It’s the last three feet and last three seconds (and the ultimate measure of success) of your marketing program. But, these days, packaging has to do more than just “pop” at the shelf; it must communicate the story of your brand and become an essential part of consumers’ daily lives. Is your packaging powered to do all that?”

This is so very true and good packaging design can help you make your product, your brand, and your packaging an “essential part of consumers’ daily lives.”

Examples of custom, limited edition, water bottles by Evain designed for different audiences.

So you may ask, what’s the recipe for creating this type of packaging?

1. Meaning: The first step in creating packaging that will communicate the story of your brand is to know what story you want to tell. People don’t want to simply purchase your brand they want to be apart of it and by knowing exactly what you want to communicate you can achieve this. Figure out your story and then try to make this visual through your packaging.
2. Audience: Packaging is an interaction between the product, your brand, and the audience so to better communicate through your packaging you must know your audience. Knowing what they relate to, what issues affect them, and their lifestyle will allow you to create a packaging that centers on these things.
3. Response: Once your brand has meaning, create a list of outcomes that your packaging could achieve. Think about your audience and what types of emotions, feelings, and reactions the product packing can evoke in your customers.
4. Stay Informed: The last ingredient in the packaging recipe is to stay informed about your competition. This is a simple task that is often over looked. Staying on top of what the competitors are doing allows you to be innovative and stay ahead.

Put all these things together and your packaging will have a recipe for success.

So when the above quote asks you, “Is your packaging powered to do all that?” Your reply will be, “Yes it is!”

You only have a few seconds to catch the shopper’s attention, so what are you going to do with your packaging to not only catch their attention, but to get them to want to buy your product?

Jim George from Shelf Impact came up with 5 labeling ideas to solve marketing challenges:

1. Highlighting innovative shape. Kids like products that feature fun colors and design in their packaging. Clear Beverage Corp. did just this with their “Kid Fuel” naturally flavored water. They also designed the shape of the bottle to resemble a sports bottle with curves for a child’s small hands to easily grip. They also made the packaging educational. Each bottle has a quiz question and Professor Smart’s answer is revealed after the beverage is consumed and the bottle is refilled with water.
2. Sizzling as bacon’s main ‘touchpoint’. It is important for the packaging of a premium product to reflect the quality of the product. Tyson changed the packaging of their bacon by adding a label that featured a gold-outlined shield area with red, white, and gold on a blue background, while still leaving room to view the meat. The new design improved how easy it was to find and recognize the brand.
3. Encouraging participation. Campbell’s made 7.5 million special-edition labels to show the quality ingredients that they use. Along with the new label, they started a program where you enter a code online from your can to receive a free pack of tomato seeds for yourself, as well as 100 seeds for urban communities and schools.
4. Pulling double duty. Sometimes marketers have to create a package that both attracts attention, as well as protects against theft and counterfeits. Nutrex Research did this by creating a shrink-sleeve label that is both eye-appealing and protects the product from tampering.
5. Signaling cause marketing. People like companies that help people and allow the customer to help by purchasing the product. Tide showed this with their packaging for the Loads of Hope campaign. They have special yellow caps that read, “You can help”, and it features pictures of Hurricane Katrina victims on the front.

So you want to help the environment by being more eco-friendly and increasing your green efforts, but think that it is too expensive? Many people wonder if they should cut back on green marketing and their green efforts in a struggling economy, but in fact you should do quite the opposite. I read in the September issue of Deliver, a marketing magazine, that it is actually a “hook to getting through them”. They say that green marketing improves your efficiencies, increases customer loyalty, and differentiates your brand.

Take for instance, Wal-Mart’s green efforts. Wal-Mart’s “Earth Month” green marketing efforts included print ads for 10 different green products under $10 and “rollbacks” on environmentally-friendly products. Customers are looking for ways to save money in a tough economy, and Wal-Mart is helping them do that, while still having a positive environmental effect.

Green marketing also increases customer loyalty. Frito-Lay’s SunChips brand gained customers by showing them that green is both good for them and the environment. They started this marketing plan after seeing market research from 2006 that showed that people who care about their personal health also care about the planet. SunChips have 18 grams of whole grain and zero trans fat. Since these chips are healthier than regular potato chips, their campaigns played off this, their nature-related name, and their sustainability investments, which includes producing a compostable bag. They promoted their compostable bags with an online video showing them decompose, as well as print ads that included a tear-off sample for consumers to test it out themselves in their compost piles. Green marketing helped SunChips become one of the fastest-growing snack brands at Frito-Lay.

Green marketing, done correctly, also differentiates your brand from the competition. IBM took a different route by connecting with the community in their green efforts. Their Smarter Planet initiative used direct mail to encourage individuals, businesses, and institutions to change the way they work. They also started a series of jams, or brainstorming sessions, that bring people from around the world together to solve an issue. Their “Congestion Challenge” collects innovative ideas to fight transportation congestion, and the winner receives $50,000, as well as the development and implementation support for the idea.