If you are a new or even established business, you may be looking into designing or re-designing your product packaging.
There are many things to consider when designing branded product packaging, here are the major considerations below: Size: you need to consider the size of the product you are putting inside the box. It's important for a product like a candle or beauty product to fit snuggly in the box, and not rattle around. Even if you need product packaging for retail shelves, it's important that when a potential customer picks up your product to inspect it, that it is packaged well. The last thing you want is for your packaging to look damaged on the shelves because the product didn't fit snuggly, and after people pick it up, it caves in. On a personal note, I also don't like it when I get home with a product, open the box up, and find there is a tiny bottle on the inside of the product packaging. What a feeling of disappointment, even for a fleeting moment. That's the last thing you want your customer to feel - regret or disappointment. You want them to be content with their product purchase choice. Style: the style of the box needs to be both practical to your needs, but also ensure the product is easy to access, and can even be a unique or fun shape, to stand out from the crowd. Think about that packaging you bought at Christmas, shaped in a Christmas tree. You may not remember the name of the brand, but I certainly enjoy buying seasonal looking packaging for fun. Think about what you need the packaging for: for example, if you are an online store and sending your products out via the post, you could send a rigid box with a ribbon closure, but this wouldn't work well on a retail shelf, as the packages need to be streamlined so they can fit nice and neatly on a shelf. Otherwise the ribbon on the side of the box will be filling up your precious retail shelf space. Protection elements: you need to think about packaging as a means to protect your product. If you are sending products in the mail to customers, depending on the fragility of the product, you need to choose the correct paper weight product packaging plus, you need to think about how it will travel in the mail. For fragile products like candles, cased in a glass canister, it would be a good idea to send the product in a corrugated mailer box, with foam or bubble wrap to support it. You could choose either a thin flat pack box for the packaging, or a rigid box, for extra protection. You need to ensure the presentation of your box suits your brand. Even if you're sending your product in a mailer box or courier bag, that might not look beautiful, you should make sure that when the client opens the mailer bag or mailer box, that they reach in to pick up a beautifully packaged item. The last thing you want is for them to spend 5 minutes unrolling and taking sissors to your bubbled wrapped package. Limit the amount of time they have to unwrap, by choosing the right mailer package or product packaging paper weight. Branding / Colour: as with all marketing efforts, you need to ensure your brand is consistent - and this includes your packaging - which is a mini-billboard to your product. Remember to keep to your business brand colours, imagery and personality consistent with all your other marketing efforts. You want your packaging to have shelf appeal, but it also must tie in with your brand image that you have created in all other forms of marketing communication. I hope the above points will put you in the right direction when discussing your packaging design needs with your graphic designer, so that your target customer will purchase your product - not only because the product is fabulous, but because it was the packaging that drew their eye to it! Remember, you may be the best product in your market - but your ideal customer might not know this - so make sure your packaging shouts it! If your customer is at the shelf where your and your competitors products are side by side, make sure you are visible and irresistible to your customer, so your product is the easy choice for them.
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Custom printed promotional boxes are a great way to present a product, in a professional way to your clients at a special event such as a product launch, or as a mail piece to your VIPs (or target market) as part of an integrated marketing campaign. Once you decide a promotional box is going to be part of your marketing strategy, there are some considerations that you must think about to ensure your promotional packaging fits it's purpose and aligns with your brand. Promotional box purpose: First of all, you need to think about the overall purpose of the box. What are you going to present in the box, and why? For example, if you are having a product lauch, perhaps you are going to give away a sample of your product, if you are opening a new apartment block, perhaps you are going to present the new owners with a keycard. If VIPs are attending a special event, you might want to give them a set of beautiful branded champagne glasses, if that's something your audience would value. Whatever your overall strategy is, you need to understand from the very start what the promotional boxes' signifgance is going to be to the reciever. That will make it easier to make decisions regarding size, elements, style, design and so on. Date needed by: As with all marketing activities, it needs to be well timed, and fit in with the overall marketing strategy. You need to start the concept and design process at least 3 months in advance. This will ensure you have time to get all the stakeholders involved. Marketing, your Graphic Desinger, and the packaging supplier, to ensure what you have time to discuss and mock up some designs, check costs to ensure the box you want is in the budget, or have time to tweak your design or elements of the box, to ensure you can get a promoptional box with most of your requirements that fits your budget. You also need to think about turn around times - producing promotional boxes can be a 4 - 12 week process, depending on the quantity), and to ensure you have time to get a sample of the box made up and sent out to test before ordering in bulk, especially if you have a product that needs to fit into the box or into a foam insert snuggly, getting a sample to test beforehand is prudent. Size: You need to ensure the box is big enough to present the product you are giving away. For example, if you are getting champagne glasses printed with your logo, you will need to find out the height and diameter of the largest part of the glass. For most products, you will need to measure the length x width x height. Once you have that, you will need to decide if you need a box that fits the product snuggly - so ensure the box is a few mmm wider for the product to fit in snuggly, or if you want to present a key card the size of a credit card for example, you might want a box that is at least 5cm wider around the card foam cut out, so you can present it in a larger box, and can custom print the foam with your logo or design, or even with a special message. Elements (foam, paper insert): Think about how the product will be presented in your box. For example, if you are presenting key cards, you would need to have them firmly secure and presented nicely in the box by placing them in custom sized foam cut outs. Or maybe you're presenting custom printed wine glasses to a client in a promotional giveaway box, and you need paper inserts to protect the glasses from moving around inside the box. Style: Think about how you want the products to be presented, and you can work out the style of the box you want. A rigid box with a silk satin ribbon, will give a different image than a flat pack box with flap lid. Think about the image you are trying to portray, and make your box fit that image. If you're a sleek property developer and want to give your upmarket buyers a gift, you would want to present them with a sleek, upmarket, expensive looking branded box. If you're a fun, vibrant, unique clothing brand, you could present your event guests with a stunning, stylish and unusual shaped box, with your logo on. Branding / colours: Your box needs to keep with your company's brand image (as with all marketing related activities). It's important that your promotional giveaway box fits in with your brand image. That means using your brand colours and logo. Printing: You can use so many amazing effects with printing to make your promotional box even more unique and memborable. For example spot uv to give your logo or design a glossy look, foiling to create a shiny effect, and embossing for a luxury feel to the box. How you will present the promotional box to the client (mail out or at an event):
If you are mailing out your promotional boxes, you will need a sturdy rigid box, to ensure your promotional box doesnt get crushed in the mail. It is a good idea to place your promotional box inside a corrugated board mailer box when sending out, to ensure it is protected in the mail. If you are handing the boxes out during an event, you may need to think about matching (or simarly themed) bags to hand them out in, otherwise attendees will have to carry them around akwardly during the event, and might leave them down. If you present them in a branded event bag, they can easily carry them around during the event. Another option is to give them out as the guests are leaving the event, as a parting gift. Follow up: After sending out the promotional box in the mail, or handing them out to deleguates at an event, its important to follow up (as with all marketing activities). You want to make sure your marketing efforts have some ROI (return on investment) for the time, effort and expense you have gone to, to create your promotional give-away boxes. A custom printed box in your brand colours with your logo or design printed, is a professional way to present your product. Your clients are sure to see you as a professional organisation that takes pride in their brand. Let us know in the comments section below what you think is important to consider when creating the design for promotional boxes for a product launch or event. Working closely with creative clients, we have the honour of supplying beautiful promotional boxes for a range of events, product launches, VIP thank you boxes....or any other reason you want to present your product in a stunning, memorable box with your logo and design printed. Here are some of our favorites below: Images (above): VIP promotional giveaway box Images (above): Promotional packaging for VIP client giveaways at events Images (above): Promotional packaging for a product launch. Including custom cut foam Images (above): Promotional product packaging to showcase products at a tradeshow and and new product launch Images (above): An array of promotional packaging ideas for your next event. Please note not ALL boxes displayed in this album were supplied by Custom Printed Bags & Boxes.
Please share with us in the comments section below if you have seen a stunning promo package, or if you have recieved one at an event. There are a multitude of very talented Graphic and Packaging Designers around the world. Keeping up with Pintrest boards, The Dieline and Lovely Packaging websites, are great ways to keep in the loop of whats happening on a daily basis with packaging....however there is always space for a book or two. I have listed some below that have had good reviews. Let us know if the comments section if you have discovered a must-have packaging design book or which packaging design websites you keep an eye on for inspiration. Packaging Design: Successful Product Branding from Concept to Shelf by Marianne R. Klimchuk and Sandra A. Krasovec
The ANZ Stadium promotional boxes that we supplied Promotional boxes are a great way to present your clients with professionally packaged gifts or giveaways. You can also present your high-end clients with beautifully presented products or items. A fun give-away can become a talking point for your guests at a product launch or event. Custom printing and branding the packaging with your business logo, or with a call to action is a great way to communicate to your current or potential customers. Many brands use promotional give away boxes as part of an integrated marketing campaign. What you need to consider when using promotional boxes: - What is the end goal of the box? Is it a fun little package that you will be putting on the place setting of each guest at a sit down event? if so, the product that goes in the box (if any) needs to tie in with the place setting and promotion and possibly contain useful items for the event. Or is the box a practical box that contains your brand new product? if so, if your product is heavy or if you are promoting a luxury brand, a rigid box may be the best option. - what design features will make the box stand out? Foil printing, spot uv, and embossing are all printing features that make your box that little bit more special (if it fits in with your brand image). - what size / colour and style would work? You need to keep with your branding colours and within your brand guidelines of creating the box, and need to create a look and feel that ties in with your brand. You also need to think of the practical needs of the box: you need to ensure that your product give-away that you are presenting in the box, will fit snugly, and you need to consider if you need foam or paper inserts to keep your product in place or protect it. The style needs to tie in with your brand and image. A fun brand could possibly give away a product in an unusal shaped box, whereas a luxury brand would give away a product in a classic style box. Promotional give away boxes are a great way to market your product, communicate to your target audience and give them a delightful experience of opening a beautiful package to reveal the contents inside! Flat pack ANZ Stadium promo give away boxes: Promotional giveaway box that we supplied to an advertising agency's client: A fun promotional give-away idea: a pack of cards: A unique, custom made giveaway promo box that our factory created:
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August 2021
AuthorClara Cassidy, Founder and Marketing Manager of Custom Printed Bags & Boxes, is a marketing professional with years of experience in branding, promotions and events. Categories
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