Packaging with pulling power
We’ve all been there. Standing at the confectionary counter deliberating over whether we want a Mars Bar, Snickers or Kit Kat. It’s all very well and good having something in mind, but when we come face-to-face with products on the shelf, it’s surprising how difficult it can be to choose between brands A, B or C.
But what about brands D, E, F and G? For every decision we take, there are a plethora of options that don’t even make the short-list and if your brand doesn’t exist in the mind of your audience, it’s never going to end up in their shopping basket. So, why is it that some brands don’t even get a look in?
Historically, there has been a tendency to suggest that the only way to get a brand embedded within in the mind of its target audience is to undertake a sustained assault on the customer through enormously expensive advertising campaigns. While there is some truth in this, and great reassurance for those that can afford it, are there really no other options for those companies lacking big budgets?
Within the FMCG sector, products operate in a unique environment. Consumers can see, touch, even smell the alternative options first-hand and this is why packaging is emerging as an increasingly strong contender for creating cost-effective influence. Put simply, any brand that lives on-shelf has a golden opportunity to elevate itself from obscurity right at the point of contact with the customer.
Good, well thought out design will communicate a brand’s values through its physical presence direct to the purchaser. If we leverage this correctly we can not only steer consumers towards our brand in the short-term, but also actively shape the way in which they view our competitors further down the line.
We’re seeing more organisations taking advantage of this philosophy and using packaging as a focal point for their brand story. At a niche level, the premium pie brand ‘Higgidy’ recently shook up the pre-packaged pie category with a light and frivolous identity that has made the available alternatives look down-market, masculine and just plain ‘stodgy’. Without any marketing support, an investment in disruptive brand packaging delivered a 15-fold increase in turnover within a few years, as well as changing the things that consumers looked for from the category as a whole.
By communicating fragrance instead of run-of-the-mill messages, Colgate-Palmolive generated £10 million of additional revenue from sales of its Soupline fabric conditioner across Europe. Using clean, white, minimalistic packaging it was able to conjure up a notion of indulgence in what is traditionally perceived as a practical product, introducing a further level to the consumer decision making process.
Similarly, a well-researched tweak to Bassett’s Soft and Chewy vitamins supplements resulted in a 49% increase in sales as the brand looked to update its identity to appeal to more mature customers, without compromising the existing equity of the brand in the children’s supplements market. Again, all without any investment in marketing support.
Of course, these are exceptional examples in terms of results, but what they demonstrate is that packaging is somewhat of a sleeping giant. These companies realised this and harnessed its power to improve sales without incurring the huge costs associated with above-the-line campaigns. Perhaps more importantly, the process behind these examples is not new; it’s simply a matter of looking at products from an alternative angle to collect different ideas and then incorporating those ideas into the packaging design. Get this right on the packaging and you’ll have a product with real pulling power.
