Packaging the Fan Experience

When you go to a professional sports event (okay, think back to pre-Covid times), what do you remember about the fan experience?

Expectations and times are changing regarding what sports fans expect when they attend a professional event. Here in Minnesota, we might never live down jokes about the noise level of the Metrodome and terrible sightlines. However, take a look at US Bank Stadium or Target Field, considered one of the ballparks in the nation. We've upped our game, and the team staff have worked to create unique experiences for every attendee. And it's possible to to convey that same kind of experience even off the field.

Designing a package to share the experience of live sports is a tall order, but it's one we enjoy. We recently worked with Diamond Arctic Ice on the project to the side. This was no ordinary off-the-field experience.

This company created a Game Day Experience Kit for Iowa Hawkeye fans. It's a cocktail kit, tailored to the nth degree. It holds glasses, hats, and their flagship product: ice. The offset printing and matte laminated wrap are signposts to any Hawkeye fan, and upon opening it up, consumers have a fun display that works with any game. It's a great example of a thoughtful fan experience. Swipe through the pictures to see what we mean.

Starter Kit Case Study: Thumbjamz

USB drives are extremely versatile. We've helped companies create customized flashdrives with packaging for a variety of uses in different industries. Here's a recent project we worked on with Thumbjamz to create a starter kit of their curated playlists.

Thumbjamz is a company that connects DJs with listeners through various mediums, including streaming and, obviously, USB drives. The hardware component allows users to download and move music wherever they want to load it. The platform itself is growing, and we're proud to have helped create the packaging to help increase sales and recognition.

A starter kit can look a lot of different ways. It depends on what's included and what industry it serves. For example, a medical sample kit will look very different from a liquor product, and so on. In this case study, Thumbjamz is part of the music industry. So we turned to a classic, CD-LP kind of look for the product.

Since the project was centered around the client's hardware--in this case, a flashdrive--we turned to one of our existing styles that fit perfectly: the FlashPad. It already mimics how music packaging opens, with ready-made space for track lists and album notes. It also has built-in padding for the USB drive, which we upgraded with a foam insert.

For the finishing touches, we added scuff free lamination paired with digital printing for vibrant tones.

Testing Packaging Concepts – Prototyping

It is important to conduct qualitative research and preliminary tests on new packaging concepts before launching them in store. One guiding principle is to keep shoppers in a shopping mindset the following tips can make a big difference in your research and results. At sunrise we help a lot of companies with their market research by prototyping. Sometimes all it takes is to touch and feel your product before it is released in the market.

1. Present packaging concepts within competitive context- When concepts are shown next to competition, it is more realistic to the shopping experience and allows us to gauge competitive differentiation, which is critical to in-store success.

2.Minimize side-by-side design comparisons-Conversely, when shoppers see alternative design systems for the same brand simultaneously on a side-by-side basis, it immediately takes them out of a shopping mode and encourages a focus on aesthetics.

3.Show concepts in their totality– It is important to remember that shoppers encounter packages in their totality and that the “gestalt” of a design is often more than the sum of its parts. Therefore, you should consistently show shoppers full packages and then probing to understand which design elements are driving reactions.

4. Show concepts alone (without marketing support)– Finally, it’s important to remember that packaging typically has to work on its own, without the benefit of advertising or point of- sale support. In this day of fragmented media, it is simply unrealistic to assume that shoppers have recently seen your commercial.

Blog Source: Packaging News

Press Kit Branding

When it comes to marketing a product or service to new people and clientele, a promotional press kit is a great way to get your foot in the door. With a number of cohesive elements that extend your brand, a custom made media press kit is a sound investment in future business opportunities. As a custom packaging manufacturer of turned edge/ hard cover boxes, binders and inventive sales kits, we have seen a wide variety of ways that clients choose to market their brand. In the video shown below, we have featured our very own press kit complete with a variety of our niche capabilities. Ranging from turned edge construction, graphic design, foil stamping, and custom plastic thermoforming, this “impress” kit is meant to do just that! These press kits went very fast, and we hope to be producing more shortly!

Turned Edge, Hardcover Versatility

Here at Sunrise Packaging, we try our best to provide clients with the resources, materials, and information in order make an informed decision regarding their needs and preferences for their packaging solutions projects. While we have in the past offered e-flute corrugated options as well as SBS paperboard and poly materials, our in-house specialty is definitely turned edge, also known as rigid construction. The use of durable chipboard and a custom wrap of our clients’ choosing offers an affordable and effective way to stand out among competitors whether the package is for marketing promotions or even a retail product. The three items shown above have all been produced by us with custom turned edge. Ranging from a large intricate sales kit for a tool set, to a simple Flashpad™ with particularly thick foam and then on to a simple setup box with a bare inside- turned edge packaging solutions are so customizable that all of these products were feasible under the same roof. As a turnkey manufacturing house, we pride ourselves in the ability to source correct materials, print any graphic design or artwork, and of course create a final product that is fulfilled and ready to ship. While turned edge is not a household term, we like to refer to it as hardcover because it is the same way a hardcover text book is made. To see more pictures of the wide variety of turned edge products we have made, we invite you to visit our google+ page or even our tumblr.

Branding and Product Packaging with a Rigid “Pad”

One of our most popular packaging solutions, the Flashpad™, is a great tool to market a brand at an event or even as a mailed out promotion. We have found that not all companies benefit from USB flash drives, and that is okay! Since we are a custom manufacturer, we are capable of making a “pad” packaging solution for a wide variety of media, products, and literature. Shown here are a few examples of how organizations have tailored a simple product and created a memorable and effective promotional item. Design your own artwork to be printed, screen printed, or even foil stamped onto a, out side wrap. Once laminated, we will turn it over rigid chipboard to create the turned edge flat that acts as the exterior of the package. Once we have your item(s) that will be included, we can get to work on the foam! We offer a wide variety of foams all differing in color, thickness, and overall quality. A die is then created to die cut the foam to create appropriate cavities to hold your products safely and securely. Once the foam is adhered to the rigid flat and all of the pieces are fulfilled, you are set to distribute. Add value to your product and marketing efforts by branding your promotional pieces in this simple and extremely effective way.

Client Feature: Besita Boutique

This year, Sunrise Packaging, Inc. was fortunate enough to work with a women’s swimwear company by the name of Besita Boutique. Besita is an online fashion house that offers couture swim and resort wear. The fashions are glamorous and sophisticated with a hint of pin-up style. The retailer offers exclusive swimwear as well is high-end designers that are well known in the industry. Since its inception with strictly swimwear, Besita Boutique has expanded their product line to accessories, apparel, lingerie and more to be released.

The company culture of Besita Boutique is all about empowering women. Their team consists of hardworking women of all ages and experiences who work together to grow their business. They are also very active with sponsoring charitable events to give back to the community and contribute to a scholarship fund for deserving prospects.

Besita Boutique came to us for a packaging solution that would represent their brand, add value to their product, and market their company and charity efforts. There are three main items that we manufactured for Besita which consist of; a large apparel box, a small NetBox™ for marketing, and a Flashpad™ to hold a gift card. Each item is constructed with turned edge, which gave Besita full reign of the outside wrap, liner, and any other custom features. They went with a unique white croco, which is a fiber that imitates the look and feel of crocodile skin. Adding a blue foil stamp with their logo on each piece was an intelligent branding decision that resulted in a high end luxury packaging solution. Founder and CEO of Besita Boutique Sheralyn Marsh upon receiving the finished product states, “We find our boxes beautiful, and intend to use them as part of a display for our upcoming headquarters launch party!”

By using rigid chipboard and a turned edge finish, we were able to create a unique set of boxes for Besita Boutique to add value to each sale and market to their brand new guests. The NetBox™ created for Besita was made complete with a custom thermoformed tray made with white PVC to coordinate with the entire collection. The internal tray was formed specifically to hold the white croco Flashpad™ in place. Which brings us to the Flashpad™,the perfect solution for packaging their promotional gift card in a die cut foam cavity.

By investing in custom manufactured packaging, Besita Boutique improved their marketing efforts, and extended their brand by promoting the value of their fantastic line of swimwear. The use of texture, color, form, and function is consistent throughout the collection and creates a luxury experience for every shopper.

Marketing with Flashpad™ and USB: MIOX

This Flashpad™ and USB drive combination was made for MIOX Corporation, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. An award-winning manufacture of on-site chemical generators, MIOX removes the transportation, storage and handling of hazardous chemicals. With no project too large or too small, MIOX brings advanced water disinfection technology to multiple industries around the world. Their cutting edge hypochlorite generators and Mixed Oxidant Solution generators serve a wide variety of applications from industrial water treatment and cooling tower water treatment, municipal drinking water disinfection and wastewater treatment to oil and gas water treatment. For more information on their patented and cost-effective generators, visit www.miox.com.

Here is where the flashpad™ comes into play! MIOX attends and exhibits at industrial conventions and events in order to bring in business and spread awareness of their products and services. They needed a way to promote MIOX before the event and drive traffic to their tradeshow booth. To educate conference registrants prior to the event, MIOX chose a custom Flashpad™ and USB flash drive to distribute as a pre-mailer to promote their booth. MIOX’s flash pad has a turned edge case and holds a custom flash drive that was preloaded with various brochures and a promotional video! Watch this video to learn more about MIOX’s on-demand chemistry!

This is the second time MIOX has used Sunrise Packaging for their promotional packaging needs. In the fall of 2012 MIOX used a Flashpad™ as a pre-mailer and were so pleased with the result that they are at it again! We can’t wait to hear the results!

Here is the video that Miox included on their USB flash drive:

Key Surgical : Product Demo Kit

High-end marketing kits for product demonstration and sales are some of the most intricate, custom packaging solutions that we get the opportunity to manufacture. Recently we had the pleasure of working with Key Surgical to create a product demonstration kit.

A trusted provider of sterile processing, operating room and instrument care supplies, Key Surgical has over 3,000 products that are used by hospitals and surgical centers around the world. Located in Eden Prairie Minnesota, their close proximity to our Blaine location allowed for close collaboration in the production of their case. Used mostly by sales representatives, this product demonstration kit needed to fulfill the following basic needs; represent Key Surgical as a brand, securely hold all pieces to keep everything organized, and sturdy construction protecting the case in travel and repetitive use.

“Our products are of the highest quality so we wanted to prove that real-time when we’re with a customer,” U.S. Director of Sales, Rebecca Radtke explained about representing Key Surgical with this kit. As a brand, Key Surgical is vibrant and colorful. They have taken on the challenge of incorporating lively colors to their product line and marketing efforts in an otherwise mundane marketplace. For example, Key Surgical’s Instrument Tip Caps for protecting sharp instruments and O.R. Supplies use bright blues, reds, oranges, and purples that simultaneously liven up the product line and offer ease of identification. The use of color in Key Surgical products and branding is apparent in this kit through the display of the colorful instruments, bright blue foam, and the color coordinating legend for reference.

As you can imagine, surgical instruments are often small and delicate, which means this product kit needed to securely hold all pieces and keep everything organized. Layers of custom die-cut foam were made for this kit to assist in presentation and organization. Each instrument has its designated place in this kit, shown by the legend included on the inside cover. With all items provided to us, we were able to ensure an accurate fit for each cavity. Key Surgical opted for layers of interchangeable trays which aids in smooth presentation and the ability to focus on or pass around a particular set. Thumb notches on each layer make accessibility hassle-free. Radtke states, “This product showcase piece was designed with a need for our sales reps to be able to bring actual products to our customers so they can see, feel and try out the product for themselves.” Aside from display benefits, foam trays safeguard individual items from damage so customers can examine each instrument unscathed.

Finally, the product demonstration kit needs to accommodate the needs of Key Surgical sales representatives when traveling. Explained by Product Marketing Manager, Alana Suomela, “It had to be robust. These most often are traveling by plane with the reps and in and out of taxi cars, etc. But they also needed to be slim enough in size that these can fit into a carry-on piece of luggage for a one or two day trip and still allow the traveler enough room for their personal items.” Turned edge, also referred to as hardcover (similar to a textbook), is an extremely reliable option for creating an esthetically pleasing package without sacrificing durability. Combine durable turned edge with convenient carrying handles and a secure button closure, and you end up with a robust traveling case capable of putting on the miles.

Turned Edge Poker Chip Set

Who says poker chips need to come in a box or briefcase? This unique case for a special edition set of poker chips takes all of the elements of durable packaging, custom graphic design, and accessible cavities and creates one, cohesive solution for promotional purposes. The 77-Year anniversary set of poker chips is held in die-cut cavities each with thumb notches for easy access. If you look closely at the spine of the piece, you will notice that the board was simply folded over on each side two create a dual layer effect. The bottom layer remained intact, while the interior was die-cut to hold the chips. A clever, economical, and highly efficient way to manufacture this case that saved our staff time and our clients money. High-quality turned edge production combined with our customer’s artwork guarantees a unique package.

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