Photo credit: Sensational Colour When working with your Graphic Designer / Packaging
Designer to create your product packaging, you need to understand the importance and power of colours. First and foremost the colours you choose will communicate your brand image to potential buyers in an instant. Your brand colours should reflect the image you want your product to portray. Do you have a classy or luxury product? Do you have a fun, flirty, young product? or do you have a natural, earthy product? These 3 different types of products would require completely different colour palettes. Branding includes choosing a colour palette that suits your product, to position it (e.g. as a luxury product or a natural product) in the minds of consumers, and to attract your target market. Packaging is your in-store mini billboard - you need to ensure your packaging reflects your overall branding. Colours create feelings (subconsciously and conciously), and can create an ambiance. Think of daffodil yellow – how does it make you feel? What images do you have? Sun, fields, flowers, happiness, energy, summer, fresh…? how does a blood red colour make you think of.. Love, romance, roses…? As we couldnt explain it better, we suggest to anyone wanting to understand the power of colours, to visit this website by 'Empower Yourself with Colour Psychology', and read their take on 'Packaging Colours' and the pyschology behind it: http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/packaging-colors.html Also, check out our previous blog (January 2013) on colour and packaging for more information on this crucial subject. At Custom Printed Bags & Boxes we understand the importance of colour and how it communicates your brand image, that’s why we don’t stock standard products in standard colours. We allow our customers to custom make to their desired CMYK colour code. References: Photo reference: http://www.sensationalcolor.com/liveinfullcolor/christmas-by-colour-take-two/ Article reference that we direct you to: http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/packaging-colors.html
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Photo credit: Dion Label If your sales are low and you find your once desired product is on a downward sales cycle, it may be time to take a look at your entire marketing mix – including your product packaging.
You should look at the people that you are targeting. Do you still have a customer database from 5 or 10 years ago, that you are still advertising to? Perhaps it’s a waste of time and money because they have ‘moved on’ from your product. Perhaps their tastes have changed? Perhaps they don’t have the money they once had? Perhaps your once loyal teenage customers are now buying more ‘mature’ age products and the advertising that worked for them, is not working for the new generation of teenagers. If you have a timeless product, maybe you want to keep your once loyal customers, but they aren’t buying from you anymore. Perhaps a direct or indirect competitor entered the market with a superior product, a lower price, a great advertising campaign and more attractive or overall better packaging. There could be a mix of reasons as to why your brand isn’t working anymore or why your customers decided to switch brands or just stopped using your brand or product. So you need to decide if you need to re-brand to get your customers back or if you need to attract new customers that haven’t tried your brand before. Or maybe both. It’s time to rebrand when you realise you are losing your current customers and potential customers to your inferior competitors. The colours, pictures and graphic design on your packaging that was really popular in the 80s or even 90s is not popular now. You need to research what the successful competitors on your level are doing, what their packaging looks like, and how they are communicating to their target market and customers. Maybe your fluro design on your packaging is not communicating that you use only natural products in your soap. Keep in mind, as you would with any marketing decision –marketing is about psychology. Many people are adverse to change, especially as they ‘mature’. So keep in mind that if you do want to keep your loyal customer base but want to re-brand, you need to communicate to them before you change your brand, you need to communicate to them during your new brand launch, and you need to communicate to them after the re-branding has taken place. Although this will still upset some people, you need to decide what is best for your company. You may lose 10 customers that can’t cope with change, but if you need to increase sales and attract new customers, and if the re-brand is going to potentially attract hundreds of new customers, then that is the risk you need to take. Never make decisions without carrying out a lot of research. Use common sense in your research, and ask lots of questions. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Why would they choose you (your brand) over a competitor’s product? Go and visit the shops where your product is stocked. Try to figure out why customers are reaching for your competitors products over yours. Take note of their packaging, their positioning on the shelf, their communication on the packaging, their brand image, their price points and advertising or promotional deals in-store. Be realistic. You might know that your product is superior to all the other brands on the shelf – but are you communicating that to your customer on the packaging? Is your branding shouting ‘superior product’? is your price point correct? If you are selling your product too cheap, people will assume it is an inferior product. But you cannot price it out of the market either. Again, research needs to be done into the correct pricing for your brand image and product positioning in the minds of your target market. Remember, product packaging is a billboard for your product. In the few seconds that you have to attract your customer when they scan the shop shelf, your packaging needs to communicate your brand image, what the product is, be interesting enough and desirable enough for the customer to take the time to pick your product up and examine it for a few seconds, then make the decision to purchase it. It has to communicate the solution to the problem that the shopper is looking for. People purchase products to fulfil a need. If you can communicate how your product can do that, showcase your brand image and be aesthetically pleasing, then you will be on the road to more sales with your re-branding efforts! Reference: Photo credit: http://www.dionlabel.com/blog-archive/tag/Rebranding%3A+Before+%26+After.html Please note, Custom Printed Bags & Boxes does not specialise in food packaging. Photo credit: www.guardian.co.uk Creating the right packaging design for your product is one of the most important decisions businesses of all sizes can make to increase their sales. If start-up businesses get it right from the start and invest in their packaging design, it can bring numerous benefits;
including establishing your desired brand image through your packaging, cutting advertising costs via traditional marketing vehicles and securing more sales. Why you should invest in product packaging: 1. More sales. You need your product (i.e. packaging) to be distinguishable and stand out from your competitors on the store shelf. You only have a few seconds to grab your target customer’s attention through your packaging design. Remember that most people are time-poor, and have dozens of distractions around them already – so you need a packaging design that will attract your target customer, and stand out from your competitors. You need to spend time researching your competitor’s packaging to ensure your packaging design is not going to blend in and be indistinguishable from all the other brands on the shelf, or be confused with an inferior brand. You need to invest in a great Packaging Designer and/or Graphic Designer to ensure your packaging design attracts your target customer’s attention and curiosity and quickly communicates to them what your product is. If you have a great product, a stand out package and a great brand image and identity, it should lead to sales. “Evidence confirming that the shopper appreciates and in fact explicitly wants to receive stimulation for the buying decision he/she is making when standing in front of the supermarket shelf, often even preferring this to other forms of communication. He/She is keen to be informed and inspired, tempted and pampered by surprising and persuasive functions, emotions and sensual impressions.”[1] The right packaging can increase sales, whereas the wrong packaging can destroy your brand and could mean few sales. “Packaging is one of those crucial steps that is often neglected in business. Ask yourself this question, would you buy a plain looking item or something excitingly packaged that makes anyone drool?”[2] 2. To attract and keep customers. Customers can have an emotional connection with packaging. It can become iconic which can increase sales, assist you to gain free publicity, and create a loyal customer base. Think about the classic Coca-Cola glass bottle. This has become iconic and people have an emotional connection to it – oftentimes it reminds them of happy times during their youth. Again, you should work with a good Packaging Designer and spend time looking at different packaging designs to form an idea of a packaging design shape and graphic design that creates the correct brand image for your product / company, that would attract your target market. Don’t forget you need to have a package that be appropriate to contain your product, and make it easy for customers to consume the product inside. (Remember the term ‘wrap rage’ – you don’t want your customers to get annoyed by the packaging before even getting to your product!). “Through the right mix of art and engineering, your product packaging can be used as the protective barrier that will keep content in great shape and make sure that it will still have the same quality upon reaching the customers”[3] 3. Cut advertising costs. Beautiful and unique packaging can assist keep your traditional advertising costs down. You can showcase your packaging on your website, Facebook page, Pinterest and so on. If your packaging is really beautiful or unique, people may comment on it online and to their friends, desire it, and you may even get free publicity. 4. It establishes your product positioning. Your packaging is the first thing people come across – so make it ‘speak’ your brand. “Packaging plays an important role as a medium in the marketing mix, in promotion campaigns, as a pricing criterion, in defining the character of new products, as a setter of trends and as an instrument to create brand identity and shelf impact in all product groups.”[4] If you are a Fashion Designer for example, and are sending your clothing in apparel boxes to your online sales clients, when they open the courier satchel the first thing they will see is your apparel box, containing their purchase. You need to ensure your apparel box ‘speaks’ your brand. If your customer receives an ugly, cheap looking box, they will immediately have negative thoughts about your brand / clothing quality before even reaching your product inside! If you have a beautiful, quality, branded box, it will become a pleasure to your customer’s eyes and they will see your brand in a positive light before they have even reached your product! If your packaging is on a store shelf, it is your advertising ‘billboard’. You need to invest wisely in your package design – both shape and artwork. Again, it needs to ‘speak’ your brand and be of good quality. People make assumptions on first appearances. You may be selling the best quality, most beautiful candles in the world, and your competitor’s products may be inferior, but if your candles are boxed in a sub-standard or ugly package with a terrible design, people will not even take the time to look at (or pick up) your product to take a closer look. 5. Packaging will help create your brand image and identity. This is especially important for start-up businesses that are taking their product to market for the first time. You can create your brand identity by making the right packaging design decision from the start. It is time consuming and difficult to re-brand so make sure you have your packaging done correctly from the start. Make sure the shape of your package and the design and wording on your package portrays the brand image you want for your business. If you are an already established business and your sales are low, it would be a good idea to review not only your product, but your product packaging – and maybe even carry out focus groups with your target market to get their idea on desirable package design, and why they would chose a competitor’s product over yours. You may find out that your target customers prefer your competitors package design over your outdated one. Or maybe they are not even noticing your product on the store shelf because it blends in too much with all the other brands. 6. Great packaging will add value to your product. If you have a great product, then great packaging will compliment your product and add value by confirming in your customer’s minds that the product they bought is a good quality, beautiful product. Check our Contact Us page to connect with our 2 great Packaging Designers who can assist you to create the right package for your product. Good luck! References: 1. Interpak www.interpack.com/cipp/md_interpack/custom/pub/content,lang,2/oid,7773/ticket,g_u_e_s_t/~/Product_packaging_plays_an_important_role_in_the_marketing_mix.html 2. David Kam http://marketingdeviant.com/the-importance-of-packaging/ 3. Envoca http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/reasons-to-invest-on-product-packaging-6155052.html 4. Interpak www.interpack.com/cipp/md_interpack/custom/pub/content,lang,2/oid,7773/ticket,g_u_e_s_t/~/Product_packaging_plays_an_important_role_in_the_marketing_mix.html The below article written by Dan Gardner in a March 2013 edition of MX humorously explains the inconvenience of modern day packaging - that at times can be very hard to open. Source: MX Newspaper, 25 March 2013, p. 4 Remember that when you create your packaging, you must keep in mind your consumer. Think about every step they go through, and if you do need a tightly sealed box / packaging for security or hygiene purposes, then try to find a way to make it easy for someone to open with scissors.
Your customers might get frustrated at your product before they start using it! You want your customer to love you when they see the packaging and when they open it to reveal your great product! Source: www.bizrice.com We often get asked the question "do I need to engage a Packaging Designer for my package design?" It's quite hard to give a quick or direct answer, because everyone's packaging or bag needs, marketing strategy and branding is so different. The most simple way I can explain is, it depends on how complicated the packaging design is. It also depends on how complicated the artwork design is. If you really want to stand out from the crowd, we suggest getting the work done by a professional. As you can see from the two pictures below, the packaging template design would be complicated and would require a professional packaging designer to design. Source: www.looks.gd Source: cclearance.blogspot.com However, if you just require a simple design like a boutique bag or a shirt box, then we are often able to create the die cut template, and place your artwork design or logo where you require on the bag. We can do this as a complementary service, so that you do not have to enagage a Packaging Designer or Graphic Designer - however this is on a case-by-case basis, because it is our manufacturers who can advise if it is a straightforward job for them or not. For example, we work with event managment companies who need event bags for their clients. They just send us their bag size requirements, the colour of the bag they require (CMYK colour code- if not white or black), and the logo they want printed. We can offer to create the die cut template and organise the logo placement at no cost. The above bag is one of the bags we made for our client. They supplied us with the bag size specifications, their logo in a .jpeg file, and logo placement directions. We were able to make the bag without having to ask our clients to engage a Packaging Designer to create the bag template.
We usually ask our clients to supply us with a picture of the packaging design they require (a photo from Google images, or even a hand drawn design is fine). From that, we can indicate whether our client would need to engage the services of a designer. Businesses that have been successful with their initial product offering often look to expand their product line either by adopting a multi-brand strategy or a multi-product branding strategy to gain more market share to grow their business.
MULTI BRAND STRATEGY: Multi-brand strategy, as defined in the Business Directory[1] is the marketing of two or more similar and competing products by the same firm under different and unrelated brands. While these brands eat into each others' sales, multi-brand strategy does have some advantages as a means of: 1. obtaining greater shelf space and leaving little for competitors' products 2. saturating a market by filling all price and quality gaps 3. catering to brand-switchers who like to experiment with different brands, and 4. keeping the firm's managers on their toes by generating internal competition. Multi brand strategy advantages, as explained in Finance Maps of the World[2]: 1. generates economies of scale 2. in every market, there are some customers who frequently change brands in order to experiment with products of different brands. By adopting the trick of Multi Brand Strategy, a company can serve effectively to these Brand Switchers. 3. when a company undertakes Multi Brand Strategy, the Managers of the company are bound to operate efficiently as internal competition is generated at a high degree. 4. if the initial brand becomes successful, then through franchising and retailing, a company can develop a second brand without generating much expense. The marketing department of the company can market the different multi brand products just in the way an agency works for multiple clients. All these advantages of Multi Brand Strategy can generate economies of scale. Multi-branding strategy disadvantages: 1. it can fail because of poor management 2. it can fail due to the wrong choice of business model MULTI-PRODUCT BRANDING STRATEGY Multi-product branding involves releasing multiple products with the same brand name - for example Revlon. They have Revlon lipstick ranges, eye shadow ranges, foundation ranges etc. These are different products, but all branded as Revlon. Luke Arthur from Demand Media[3] explains that when offering products to the public, branding can help enhance customer loyalty and help the company be more profitable overall. While this strategy can be simple to use, it can lead to some problems. Advantages include: 1. Easy adoption of the new product by your already loyal customer base. For example, if Revlon brings out a new lipstick colour, women that already by Revlon lipsticks will buy the new colour without too much decision making or checking the price / colour against other competing brand's offerings. 2. Facilitates the acceptance of new products by the retailer that is already stocking your other product(s). Disadvantages include: 1. Dilution of brand name: one of the potential problems with using multi-product branding is that it can delete the effectiveness of the brand name (but not in all cases). When consumers see the brand name everywhere on many different types of products, they may not necessarily put the same faith in the brand as they once did. This can lead to lower sales in all of the different product categories a brand encompasses. By sticking to related products in a brand, you often can grab more market share of that particular niche. 2. All products tied together: another potential disadvantage of using this branding strategy is that it ties all of the products together. In some cases, this can be good, but problems can arise. For example, if your brand covers household products such as soap and cleaners but it also covers chainsaws, one chainsaw malfunction could lead to a bad perception associated with the other products in the lineup. You have to make sure all of the products in your line share the same level of quality. 3. Difficulty managing: when you put your brand name on many different types of products, you eventually may have a hard time managing them all. If you restrict your brand name to items that are similar to one other, such as soap, shampoo and conditioner, it is typically easier to manage them. If you start dealing with products that are completely unrelated to one another, such as soap and automobiles, you may have a hard time effectively managing your resources. 4. Expectations on new products: another potential problem you may run into using multi-product branding is expectations on new products. For example, if your brand has a certain standard of excellence in the eyes of the public, every new product is scrutinized. If the new products do not meet the standards of the old ones, it can lead to a negative stigma surrounding the brand. Every new product must have all of the kinks worked out before you release it to the general public. References: Photo courtesy of www.global-customer.com
As a follow on from my last post about international packaging considerations, colour is another consideration that you need to be aware of.
"An understanding of cultural color and symbolism is essential to anyone doing business with other countries and other societies. These associations with color have been a part of many societies for centuries and you must be aware of both the positive and the negative implications of using particular colors when marketing to these societies." Judy Scott-Kemmis Please refer to Judy Scott-Kemmis (B.SocSc) article and other amazing articles about colour by clicking on this link: http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/cultural-color.html Colour choice is very important when deciding to design your packaging. Colours conjure up feelings, symbols and emotions that are innate or learned in our cultures - so it's important not to offend or confuse your customer when selling your product in a culture different that your own. Don't use colours that are off-putting to your target market! Make sure you study what colours your target market are drawn to and why, and the colours to steer clear of, and why. It is also helpful to put into words, or become conscious of what colours mean in your own mind / culture. Sometimes we are not even aware of our thoughts until we see them written down (like in Scott-Kemmis' article). "Because of color trends and the ever-changing design taste of the consumer, the average life span of a package is two and a half years. If a company doesn't invest in repackaging efforts, the product itself will look like yesterday's news and the newer more current designed product will be more actively purchased." Donna L Montaldo. Please refer to Montaldos article by clicking here for more useful information on the importance of colours in packaging design: http://couponing.about.com/cs/aboutcouponing/a/colorme.htm References: http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/cultural-color.html Colour Palette photo: http://modernl.com/article/colour-lovers-colour-trends-and-palettes http://couponing.about.com/cs/aboutcouponing/a/colorme.htm If you are currently supplying a product to the Australian market, and want to expand to the international market, amongst other things you need to think about if your packaging branding, designs, fonts and images are appropriate to your international target market audience. It all comes down to researching before, during and after your product launch. Some things you need to be aware of: Your brand name: What does your brand name mean in other languages? (Especially in the country you want to stock your product.) Make sure it isn’t rude or offensive or will make people laugh (in a bad way) and potentially ruin your brand image. You may need to change your brand name if it is offensive, otherwise just keep it. Of course changing your brand name could mean that you lose the brand equity that currently exists, but it would be a good idea to change it if you don’t have any brand equity in that country and if keeping your current brand name could cause you potential damage. Hopefully you did your market research and created a 5 year plan when deciding on your brand name before you launched your product. 'There are many practical reasons to keep your name the same around the world: It's simpler; you get economies of scale; it's significantly less complex; and you create a unified global company."[1] Images: Cultural differences such as ensuring you are not using inappropriate images (as well as words). My suggestion is to research what is appropriate in the country you want to supply your product to. Google their cultural values, what they deem offensive, and look at successful packaging in that country. When you have an idea, try to get in touch with someone from that country that you can trust to tell you what would and what wouldn’t be appropriate on the shelves in their country. You don’t want to be selling a body lotion cream with a picture of a bikini clad woman on the product and trying to sell it in Saudi Arabia, with a brand name meaning something offensive. Your product would be boycotted, or not allowed on the shelves. Different cultures have different tastes: Australian luxury product packaging can look different (different colours, images, designs) than Chinese luxury products for example. Look at what a brand in your product category offer in Australia, then look at what they offer the country you want to stock your product in. You need to keep with your brand offering (ie if it is a premium product in Australia, then ensure it is perceived as a premium product in other countries), but again with research, you will be able to figure out what images and colours are perceived as luxury in that target country, and to check your brand equity won't be ruined. Colours mean different things to different cultures: Make sure you’re not being inappropriate with your colours on your packaging to avoid confusing people as to what the product is inside. Labelling: Remember there are different legal requirements for different countries. Your message: Western cultures are all about what satisfying the individual, whereas Asian cultures are about satisfying those around them. For example, toothpaste advertising in Australia is all about how the individual will feel better about themselves, whereas toothpaste advertising in Japan is all about how you can make friends, family and colleagues more comfortable being around you. If you start advertising only the benefits to the individual in Japan, people might not buy your product because they won’t see the benefits to them. (And that is why people buy products - because it satisfies a need or serves a purpose). Translation: Make sure you check with a professional translator everything you have written on your pack is ok before major production! As you can see, the people creating the packaging for the noodles in the picture above did not check with a professional translator before allowing major product and packaging production! I can't stress enough the value of research before, during and after any marketing move you make! Good luck! This quote features in a previous blog, but it’s relevant here, so I will feature it again: ‘Meaningful customer experiences begin when consumers are motivated to pick the product up, purchase and use it, confirming in their minds that it lives up to its brand promise and then seek it out again. That’s a tall order that begins with packaging.’[2] References: [1] http://www.startupsmart.com.au/adam-ferrier/should-i-use-a-local-brand-in-overseas-markets/201206016474.html?utm_source=StartupSmart&utm_campaign=fa15eb86b8-Monday_4_+June_2012&utm_medium=email [2] http://www.thedieline.com/?mobify=0¤tPage=647 Photo courtesy of: http://moodyknows.com/post/3727438073/ramen-packaging-fail-soup-for-sluts-lets Packaging can make or break a business. Below are a variety of packaging failures. Although the below 'packaging fails' will probably not make the businesses fail, it will make people annoyed, or see you in a negative light - and we all know it's easier to keep return customers than try to gain new ones! So don't annoy your customer! You need to do a lot of research before launching your product (in its packaging), as with any marketing move you make. Amongst other things: - you need to get a sample of the packaging before allowing it to go into bulk production to test it - you need to engage with your Graphic Designer / Packaging Designer to discuss what the finished product will look like (including where the handle holes will go etc) - you need to spell check - if you need the information on your packaging translated in to another language - make sure you engage a professional translator to do the job - you need to think about the 'customer experience' when dealing with or opening your package. Don't annoy them by making it hard, or wasteful or time-consuming. This is why it's important to incorporate any hand holes or anything else in your packaging design, or at the very least, get a sample made up before it goes into major production!! It's more important than ever to have clear and concise warnings on your food or allergy prone products. If you are not a native speaker of the language you are printing on your packaging - you need to get a professional translator (not your friend) to translate for you. You could put someone's life in danger! As you can see, they didn't spell check! Again, if the language used on your packaging is not your own native language, you need to invest in a professional translator. Also, get a sample of the box made up and sent out to you before going into bulk production or check with your translator the packaging images / wording is correct/ok. Frivolous, annoying, time consuming, wasteful packaging can make people annoyed! Your end product might be great - but if it comes in a massive package, your customer will be thinking that maybe you have added an additional product or gift! Always think of the customer experience when creating your packaging. Most people are time poor so creating easy to open packaging is best. Again, this kind of frivolous, wasteful packaging just makes people mad. You need to understand that even if your target market customers are not the type to be environmentally friendly minded, there are people that will view your product on the shelves that are. They will not be amused! Think about the environment and the impact your packaging will have on it, and also about your costs. Some things - like bananas, don't need packaging! so don't waste money were it isn't needed. Best of luck with your packaging design! References:
Thank you to: 1. http://failblog.org 2. http://pelfind.com/photos/38050 3. http://www.cartridgesave.co.uk/news/10-absolutely-pathetic-packaging-fails/ We are excited to announce we got a two page spread in the December 2012 issue of the 'My Business' magazine!
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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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