Successful packaging can lead to increased sales, monetary savings and a more positive public image. The following are some examples of packaging successes and their outcomes. Now would be a good time to take notes.

Wal-Mart – a company that is known for attracting negative publicity but has been working toward sustainability – received positive attention recently for choosing Winterborne as their packaging provider. Winterborne was awarded a Converting 2007 Innovator Award for its EnviroShell package. EnviroShell is a 90 percent recyclable and recycled clamshell and the use of this packaging product reflected positively on Wal-Mart in the news media. The take-away? Sustainable packaging has benefits for the environment and for your business image.

Vaseline recently redesigned its brand through a packaging change. Prior to the change, the brand’s identity had been lost as it expanded. Different products in the Vaseline line had different logos and package designs and there was a lack of consistency. Blue Marlin stepped in and created a consistent, attractive, brand-cohesive logo that would stand for all Vaseline products. Blue Marlin made sure that each Vaseline product included classic blue plastic lids and they put a great deal of effort into matching the color of the logo to the blue plastic lids. Vaseline is now the fastest-growing personal care brand for its parent company, Unilever. What’s the take-away here? A strong, consistent brand combined with refreshing packaging can lead to an increase in sales for your business.

Mrs. Fields revamped its retail packaging to reflect a design similar to the redesigned Mrs. Fields stores nationwide and to play on the nostalgia associated with the brand. Tempting shots of cookies adorn the new packaging, which is now more consistent with the Mrs. Fields brand. This new packaging has earned positive reactions from media sources, especially within the packaging industry, appearing in such magazines as Packaging World. The take-away? Refreshing your packaging can strengthen your brand image and generate recognition for your company!

Get to know the message behind your brand and whether your packaging reflects that. Not every product needs repackaging, but, as in these cases, refreshing your packaging may lead to positive consequences for your company and brand.

We keep seeing proof that the trend of Blu-Ray technology is here to stay.  As the popularity grows, sales will go up and prices will go down.  This will allow the Blu-Ray technology to continue to penetrate the market.

According to High-Def Digest, 3.1 million Blu-Ray discs have sold in the UK since the start of the year…that’s about a 231 percent increase in sales!  Their DVD sales, on the other hand, only went down slightly by about 9.5 percent.

This week, Best Buy discounted a house brand Blu-Ray player, the Insignia Blu-Ray disc player with 1080p output to only $99.99.  Wal-Mart is also offering a deal under $100 with their Magnavox NB530MGX Blu-Ray player for only $98 as a permanent “rollback” from the previous $168 price.  At the same time, online retailer, Amazon, is offering a sale on Blu-Ray discs starting at $14.99 each.  According to NPD Group Inc., Blu-Ray player sales have increased  by 72 percent in the first quarter of 2009 in comparison to the first quarter of 2008.

With the growing Blu-Ray popularity and the increase in sales, we are starting to see the prices drop for Blu-Ray players and Blu-Ray discs.  As this happens, Blu-Ray is starting to become more affordable and available for most everyone.