Posts Tagged ‘consumers’
Friday, April 8th, 2011
When consumers reach for a product, the first thing they see is the packaging. We are a very visual society and we shop with our eyes. In order for a product to be considered for purchase, the packaging must grab the attention of the consumer. Consumers look for enticing and functional packaging. The strongest visual cue consumers use as a decision aid is color. Color is placed higher than texture or sound and smell, and is a primary reason a consumer buys a product.
Colors have different ways of inviting a consumer to buy. Have you ever wondered why clearance stickers are always red or why black portrays luxury? When colors are used in the right context, they capture the attention and mood of consumers. Colors have this amazing power of attracting consumers and influencing their behavior.
According to KISSmetrics, below are what colors mean:
Yellow: Optimistic and youthful; often used in window shopping
Red: Energy; creates urgency which is why it is used in clearance sales
Blue: Creates trust and security; associated with banks and businesses
Green: Easiest color for the eyes to process; used for relaxation
Orange: Aggressive; creates pressure to buy, sell, or subscribe
Pink: Romantic and feminine; used to target women and young girls
Black: Portrays powerfulness; used in marketing of luxury products
Purple: Soothing; associated with beauty products
It is interesting to know that colors affect how consumers buy. Packaging has a huge impact on consumers and colors should be taken into consideration when being designed.
Tags:attention, attracting, behavior, buying, colors, consumers, design, impact, influence, KISSmetrics, packaging, visual
Posted in Marketing | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 30th, 2011
We all know the famous rivalries in business such as Coke vs. Pepsi, Microsoft vs. Apple, and Ford vs. General Motors. Although we have these business rivalries, do we know why they start. Competition is one of the ingredients in how business is shaped. It is a natural occurrence based on two separate parties vying for the same goal. Businesses try to win acceptance from consumers, which is where rivalry and competition essentially begins.
Consider Coke vs. Pepsi, one of the oldest rivalries in American business. Also known as the Cola Wars, Coke and Pepsi started competing with each other in the 189os. Coke dominated the market, but Pepsi was always close behind. The brilliance behind the Cola Wars was that they both had different ideas of how to attract consumers and control the market. They both implemented innovative marketing campaigns throughout the years to gain even a fraction of the market. They also modified pricing and brand strategies to get a little closer to victory. It has been over 100 years now that this rivalry has existed and it still continues today.
Competition and rivalry is a healthy part of how businesses operate. Competitors help each other learn and move forward. Do you think Coke and Pepsi would be where they are today if they didn’t have an intense rivalry? Coke and Pepsi are successful because they were able to improve themselves individually based on what they learned from each other. Competition also helps the marketing process. Consumer needs and wants are uncovered during rivalry, which allows creative marketing tactics to be used. Now that social media has entered our lives and has grown into a big phenomenon with outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, marketing can be taken to a whole new level, opening doors that we never knew existed.
Although competition and rivalry don’t have reputations as being based around something good, in reality they have shaped the way we do business. It can’t be all that bad if Coke and Pepsi have survived over 100 years of rivalry and both are still going strong.
Tags:business, Coke vs. Pepsi, competition, consumers, facebook, Marketing, marketing tactics, rivalry, Social Media, The Cola Wars, Twitter
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011
Heinz is at it again. They have found another way to revamp their ketchup packaging, this time on a smaller scale. We all have been in the situation involving those frustrating and hard to open ketchup packets. Well Heinz has developed a solution to that problem by introducing their Dip & Squeeze packaging. Not only can you peel back the label and dip food into the ketchup, it can also be squeezed out easily by tearing off the top. Also there is no need to grab handfuls of packets because one Heinz Dip & Squeeze holds three times as much ketchup as the traditional packet.
The new packaging allows for consumers to enjoy the convenience as well as ease of use. Heinz released their Dip & Squeeze ketchup in 2010 and since then they have traveled 5500 miles on a road trip to provide consumers with a chance to try the new ketchup packaging and listen to their feedback. Heinz has received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback, which has helped bring the Dip & Squeeze ketchup packaging to consumers nationwide.
Tags:consumers, convenience, Dip & Squeeze, Heinz, ketchup packaging, packaging
Posted in New Products, Packaging Design, Product Information | No Comments »
Friday, March 4th, 2011
If you recall our blog post from October and the many stories that surfaced about SunChips new compostable chip bag, you will remember all criticism they received. Consumers were annoyed and confused by the loud noise the packaging made. Well that didn’t stop SunChips from moving forward and improving what they started. They are trying to get it right this time by introducing a new version of their previous attempt, that is less noisy.
The problem with the first round of biodegradable packaging was the adhesive. Their was a razor thin layer of adhesive that was used to separate the inside of the bag from the outside logos and additional information. This adhesive created a noise barrier. The barrier led to uncovering decibel levels of the chip packaging. The noisy bag had levels of 80-85 decibels and has now dropped to 70 decibels for the new packaging. You can find the new packaging in stores now and it will be available in the original flavors. They are waiting to hear feedback before they issue the new packaging for the rest of its product line. They hope this new packaging will produce a better outcome, without the outrage that happened before.
Tags:adhesive, biodegradable, consumers, noise barrier, packaging, SunChips
Posted in Eco-Friendly, Packaging Design, Product Information | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 5th, 2011
What makes packaging stand out? How does packaging entice consumers to buy? Does flashy and colorful packaging work? These are just a few of the questions that marketers and designers ask themselves when developing packaging for products. The majority of people may think that the more colorful and graphic a packaging is, the more appealing it is. But the opposite can be true as well. If packaging was in its simplest form would you still buy it? Would you even look at it or just pass it buy?
Design studio A2591 has decided to explore a new idea involving simpler packaging for some leading consumer products. The theme centered around this idea is minimalism. The experiment involves whether packaging loaded with colors and graphics is really necessary. The end result of this project is 3 versions of each product packaging. The first is the original packaging, followed by a simpler version, and ending with the packaging in its simplest form.
Check out a few of the products they designed new packaging for. What do you think?
*Note this experiment was a way to show how minimalism works and is not new packaging proposals for these brands.
Tags:consumers, Design Studio A2591, experiment, minimalism, packaging, Packaging Design, project, simplicity
Posted in Packaging Design | No Comments »
Friday, September 24th, 2010
As the social media hype continues to grow, we ask the million dollar question for marketing. Which channels are best for business? A recent research report titled “Subscribers, Fans, and Followers” asks Facebook and Twitter users as well as email subscribers whose more prone to purchase products from these marketing venues.
Many marketers adhere to consistency with their marketing messages across social media and email channels. But when looking at the findings in the report we find that the audiences across these three channels have different needs and motivations.
Daily Twitter users who followed a brand were more than twice as likely to purchase a product from that brand than a Facebook user who “liked” a specific brand. Further, Facebook fans were the most likely group to disagree with the question as email subscribers fell in the middle.
The pattern among Twitter, Facebook, and email was similar when individuals were asked whether they’d recommend a brand in their social circles. 33% of Twitter users were likely to recommend brands while 24% of email subscribers and only 21% Facebook users responded in favor.
According to the study, Twitter followers are the most attractive group to marketers though it’s a smaller user base. Only 3% of US internet users follow a brand on Twitter. That 3% however, are the brand influencers compared to Facebook users and email subscribers. Facebook users generally become brand fans more for self-image because a connection has already been established in real life.
More info:
E Marketer
Tags:blogging, brands, consumers, email marketing, facebook, internet marketing, Social Media, social networking, Twitter
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »
Monday, August 16th, 2010
In 2010, 27% of products at major US retailers are estimated to have sustainable packaging. By 2015, this figure is projected to reach 37%.
Despite a global recession, escalating environmental pressures from consumers, the media, and legislators have put pressure on manufacturers to emphasize innovation in design, choice of materials, processing, and life cycle logistics. In fact, green packaging is the only sector of packaging that has continued to show growth. This evidence tells us that the future of packaging is in sustainability.
Environmentally conscious decisions now must revolutionize packaging design and drive the bottom-line of companies. Consumers are becoming increasingly educated on what sustainability is to the extent that they can, and will, call out companies for greenwashing (deceptive use of green marketing in order to promote a misleading perception that a company’s policies or products are environmentally friendly).
Walmart continues to be on the forefront of sustainable packaging in the retail arena. Although the retail giant has achieved many of its environmental goals such as plastic bag reduction, it continues to be unable to eliminate PVC from private-label packaging. As sustainable packaging evolves, Walmart will continue to strive in achieving its PVC elimination goals.
Many other large companies are following suit including Proctor & Gamble. Very recently, they announced plans to use sugarcane-derived plastic on selected packaging for its Pantene Pro-V, Covergirl and Max Factor brands to increase its sustainability credentials. The strategy by P&G is completely consumer-driven. Their research shows that women around the world want to make themselves more beautiful without making their environment less beautiful.
Amazon and Mattel team up to implement their own green packaging innovation. Dubbing it Frustration Free Packaging (FFP), its intention is to stray away from plastic packaging that is difficult to open. Especially in regards to toy packaging, Mattel found that consumers were livid about the complexity of opening up toys from their plastic and twist-tie inundated mess. Frustration Free Packaging is recyclable and is designed to be opened without the use of a box cutter or knife and will protect your product just as well as traditional packaging.
The key to all of this is that consumer feedback from companies like these has been extremely positive. If customer’s are pleased and recognizing sustainable packaging efforts, the demand will continue to increase just as experts suspect that it will.
Tags:Amazon, consumers, environment, frustration free, greenwashing, innovation, package design, retail, sustainable packaging, Walmart
Posted in Eco-Friendly | No Comments »
Friday, April 23rd, 2010
There are good reasons marketers are now implementing social media plans into their marketing mix and spending good money on it. The audience is present and they’re attentive.
Nearly 75% of the online population are social media users. The rates are similar for men and women. Moreover, respondents of the research study’s top daily media activities were social as well. Watching television is #1 but Facebook was the next most common visited every day. Here’s the breakdown:
Daily Online and Offline Activities Among US Internet Users
Watch TV- 55%
Visit Facebook- 47%
Listen to radio- 37%
Social media games- 22%
Read print newspaper- 22%
Read Blogs- 11%
Read print magazines- 9%
Twitter- 6%
*Note: Sample size- 1,752 respondents. Study sources- BlogHer and iVillage.
Among the BlogHer Network users only, usage was higher. 77% read blogs every day and 35% used Twitter.
These social destinations are becoming more important as the users increasingly look for information for purchasing decisions. Search engines are the #1 source for information about products. However, blogs and social networks were more likely to be used for purchasing advice than traditional sources like magazines, TV, and newspapers.
Media Used By US Internet Users to Find Information to Help with Purchasing Decisions
Search Engines- 92%
Blogs- 53%
Message boards- 34%
Social networks- 26%
Magazines- 20%
TV- 13%
Newspapers- 10%
*Note: Sample size- 1,085. Study sources- BlogHer and iVillage.
Among these users, 20% said blog and social networks were a good place to find out about new products. 25% liked to visit social networks for advice and more than 33% considered social networks a great place for general information.
More info:
eMarketer
Sunrise on Facebook
Sunrise on Twitter
Tags:consumers, facebook, Social Media, television, Twitter
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »
Monday, March 15th, 2010
Meet earBudeez™ Jay D and friends. So cool you wouldn’t even want to open them.
The fun new packaging of earbuds from JDA, Inc. packs a lot of personality, literally. JDA developed the earBudeez™ personalities with the earbuds as eyes in different positions to convey various attitudes and emotions. The innovative design of the earBudeez™ connects the product with various consumers to influence their buying behavior.
The design concept came from research done by Audiovox. They found that people were choosing their earbuds like a fashion accessory for their iPods and mp3 players. The research also showed that packaging played a key role in consumer decision making.
To no surprise, the earBudeez design won a 2009 Gold Pentaward- Congratulations to JDA, inc!
Tags:consumers, creative packaging, custom packaging, design, innovation, packaging, sunrise
Posted in Custom Packaging Products, Media Packaging, Packaging Design | 1 Comment »
Monday, October 12th, 2009
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.
Tags:boost sales, brand recognition, branding, competition, competitors, consumers, creative, custom packaging, customers, design, increase sales, Marketing, packaging, product differentiation, stick out on the shelf, unique
Posted in Custom Packaging Products, Marketing | 1 Comment »
