We featured in the Packaging News! Please click on the link below to view the article written about Custom Printed Bags & Boxes:
http://www.packagingnews.com.au/news/custom-packaging-helps-small-businesses-test-the-market
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If these products above were the same product and price, which would you buy for a present?
Remember the value of packaging on customer's purchasing decisions. At this time of the year (if you love the festive season), you’ll be starting to think about presents for friends and family – maybe even writing present lists, and being organised and going out and buying presents already. If you’re like me, you’ll go to the store where you think you could purchase that item on the list, and find a good array of the same type of product. Say you were thinking of buying a nice tie for your brother. You go into a department store, and you see all the ties laid out in a glass case, and next to them, a beautiful branded rigid gift box. Then you see ties in another glass case with no branded rigid gift box…. I know myself that I would go for a tie that comes in a beautiful box, to make the present I’m gifting look beautiful (and appear much more expensive!) No matter how organised you are, there will always be someone you forgot to buy a gift for – maybe a neighbour or a colleague that gives you a gift close to Christmas and you realise you didn’t get anything for them, so you need to slip out to the mall or shopping strip as soon as possible to find a present. From past experience, my eyes will go directly to the packaged gifts selection on the shop shelf. I will buy a product in a beautifully presented bag or box. I will even by-pass superior quality products that are sitting on a shelf next to it, just to get a product that is beautifully packaged! I’ve even started seeing supermarkets stock their shelves with beautifully packaged items – so if you’ve forgotten that person at the last moment, you can even pick up a beautifully packaged gift in the supermarket! For example my local supermarket has started selling gift boxes in the beauty isle: for example a collection of soaps in a nice square or round box, with the soap company’s branding on the box, with cellophane and festive coloured ribbon, for a quick purchase decision sale. Think about your product. Could you package it in a beautiful bag or box for easy last minute purchase decisions? For example, if your hand creams range is stocked at a pharmacy, why don’t you consider packaging up some of your items into a beautiful, unique branded box, and present it as an already wrapped gift? Make it look a million bucks! Make the purchaser proud to give your product away as a gift, and make the person receiving it feel special, because they have a beautifully presented, expensive looking gift in their hands. Look at what your competitors are doing. Go to the shops where your product is sold and check out how your competitors are presenting their products for the festive season. If they have them in already-wrapped boxes for easy customer purchasing, then you need to think about doing this for next year – but make your gift box even better than your competitors! Even if your product is the superior quality product on the shelf - remember that some customers don't know your product and are just looking for a quick purchase! You will find that last minute shoppers might reach for your competitors product if it is beautifully wrapped and presented - even if your product is better on other levels. Don’t let this happen to you! Make it easy for your customers to choose you! All the best for the festive season! Remember that packaging for your product, events, promotions, conferences, seminars, trade shows or parties has to get the attention of customers. So make it fun and bring a smile to people’s faces! People respond well to something that’s a bit out of the ordinary and a bit crazy. Here are some really fun packaging ideas for everyday products, and for events, that might get people talking around the conference table or around the kitchen table at home: Imagine being the tea supplier for a major conference and having these cute little packages of your tea bags at the tea and coffee tables! Im sure it would get the delegates talking - and drinking more of your tea! If you're the snack provider at an event, why not put your snacks in a fun package? It would get noticed and talked about amongst the guests I'm sure! They might even take them home to share with family or friends! This packaging design is sure to stand out at gardening stores against the other seed suppliers packaging:
“Packaging is the front line of marketing.”[1] Getting your packaging right for your product is vital. Whether you’re an online or offline retailer, your packaging needs to reflect your brand proposition, be attractive to your target market and stand out from your competition. You need to be able to communicate your brand image in the mili-second that your potential customer scans the store shelf where you and your competitor’s products are displayed, and catch your customer’s eye, and hopefully heart. 5 things to keep in mind for packaging marketing: Are you marketing to your target market? The graphics / photography on your packaging should convey the message you want to communicate to your target market. For example if you are a luxury brand for mature consumers, you probably wouldn’t want to use bright, gaudy colours or childish images (cartoons) or childish writing. (Unless of course that is the new fashion and you have done a lot of research into it, and that is what your target market is attracted to.) Your target market will be attracted and drawn to the imagery and colours that they like. Make sure you research what other successful brands are doing with their packaging. Make a mood board of their packaging colours, images and fonts, and even packaging shapes and materials – and you will start to form an idea of what your target market is attracted to. For example, luxury brands usually use rigid boxes for their packaging, they usually use calm colours and bold fonts. It is vital that your imagery is of high quality – make sure you use a professional graphic designer and a professional photographer for your bag or box design. Beautiful packaging can lead to higher sales, compared to cheap, unprofessional-looking packaging. Your packaging must appeal to a consumer’s wants, needs and lifestyle “Consumers identify with the brands that match the perceptions of their lifestyles.”[2] People want to be associated with a certain lifestyle and with the products that fit that profile. Consumers will be motivated to purchase products that project the right image for them. Packaging is used to create the image you want your brand to be positioned. Look at La Mer product packaging compared to Australis product packaging. Without knowing anything about the companies, or looking at the pricing, you would know that La Mer products are highly priced, luxury products, and Australis make up is for the younger generation and is a budget product. Think about how you figured this out just by looking at the packaging. ‘Image is important in our society. The image that brands project is critical to their success, and those images must be conveyed by packaging—the ultimate touch point for consumer product brands’. Your packaging must project your brand image You should have already decided on your brand image according to your product offering, your product quality, where you are selling your product, and the price point you are selling your product at. Make sure your graphic designer understands your positioning and ensure you keep your branding consistent when working with them on the packaging design. If you have a red italic logo on your business card and website, then you want the same logo on your product packaging. “Your packaging is more than a just a container with a label stuck on it, it is a vital opportunity to build new brands or reinforce and add value to a positive experience of an existing product or brand”. Remember you only get one chance to make a good first impression through you packaging. It’s the difference between a potential customer picking up your product, ignoring it, or simply not seeing it amongst your competitors. Create a customer experience ‘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.’ An ownable package structure is very desirable as it refers to that brand, and only that brand, creating immediate recognition and intimate brand associations in the mind of consumers over time. Structure is increasingly important as a unique differentiator on retail shelves. For example if you see the silhouette of the classic shaped coke bottle you know it’s Coke immediately even without seeing the label! If packaging can also be employed as a delivery system for providing a better, more satisfying or more enjoyable user experience, then it reinforces the brand as the one of choice over its category competitors. That in-turn enhances the brand’s image and value in the mind of the consumer. For example, when I am in the supermarket and I want to buy grated cheese, I will buy a packet of cheese with a zip lock bag over a packet without one if I think that I won’t use the entire amount at once – even if it’s not the brand I would normally buy – just for that added convenience of being able to keep the cheese fresh in my fridge. Create value to your customers Shopping is a major leisure time pursuit for people and a product that engages, delights and captivates the consumer at point of purchase, is as good as sold. Good design gives you leverage. A well-thought out and witty packaging solution, gets more free press and word of mouth promotion, better shelf space and ultimately more sales, so you actually spend far less money on marketing. The Elements of Spice grinder range was so radically different to anything on the market even globally, it was featured in Vogue, Wallpaper and many of the world's top foodie magazines, was recommended by British Vogue's -Nigella Lawson herself, and dubbed "An extraordinary collection" in an article in The New York Times. A truly great package and some PR may be all the marketing you'll need. A packaging led approach to branding works across the board. If your product can be put in a bottle, bag, box or tin, why then not a charming and memorable one, that enhances the customer's experience of your brand. Whether as a hedge against downturns in the economy, local or global competition, producing lusted after packaging can be the best business decision you'll ever make.[3] Thank you very much to the following blogs for your assistance in putting my ideas together: http://www.flexpackmag.com/Articles/Branding_and_Marketing/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000258441 http://www.22michaels.com/2011/10/marketing-through-your-packaging.html References: [1] http://www.ehow.com/facts_5110520_benefits-packaging.html [2] http://www.flexpackmag.com/Articles/Branding_and_Marketing/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000258441 [3] http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/13/2551.html "Lovemarks reach your heart as well as your mind, creating an intimate, emotional connection that you just can't live without. Ever. Take a brand away and people will find a replacement. Take a Lovemark away and people will protest its absence. Lovemarks are a relationship, not a mere transaction. You don't just buy Lovemarks, you embrace them passionately. That's why you never want to let go." - Saatchi & Saatchi[1] Lovemarks is a marketing concept that is intended to replace the idea of brands. The following are the key ingredients to create lovemarks: Mystery: Great stories: past, present and future; taps into dreams, myths and icons; and inspiration Sensuality: Sound, sight, smell, touch, and taste Intimacy: Commitment, empathy and passion The relationship between lovemarks and other selling concepts is through a simple schema based on respect and love. The full schema is as follows:
Coca-Cola An example of a company that didn’t understand its customer’s emotional attachment and cultural significance or self-identity that people attached to the product is Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is a classic example of a love mark. Coca-Cola decided to change coke so they carried out market research including surveys and focus groups to find out if people preferred the taste of the 'new coke' or the 'old coke'. They never researched to find out the emotional connections people had with the classic (old) coke. All research pointed to people liking the taste of the new coke, so Coke pulled the classic coke and started selling the new tasting coke. There was a massive backlash against them. ‘Company headquarters in Atlanta started receiving letters expressing anger or deep disappointment. Over 400,000 calls and letters were received by the company, including one letter, delivered to Goizueta (CEO), that was addressed to "Chief Dodo, The Coca-Cola Company". Another letter asked for his autograph, as the signature of "one of the dumbest executives in American business history" would likely become valuable in the future. The company hotline received 1,500 calls a day compared to 400 before the change. A psychiatrist Coke hired to listen in on calls told executives some people sounded as if they were discussing the death of a family member’.[3] Other Lovemark examples: Dove's campaign for real beauty: ‘You could argue that this campaign goes way beyond what we want and need when we're buying soap. But their campaign is certainly inspiring. And precisely because of that many people feel an intimate connection with the brand. They perceive Dove as a brand that's more inclusive, positively feminist etc. And they might always reach for Dove at the drugstore because for them that brand is a "Lovemark" that goes beyond a mere fad. They love the product, but also respect it.[4] Benefit makeup: "I just like standing in front of the Benefit counter looking at the packaging; that tells you something up front. The company has drawn up this funky, yet fun and feminine image that totally suits who I think I am and who I want to be. They allow high-quality makeup to be fun again, like it was when I was a little girl. Love the product, love the image and love the idea that I use Benefit cosmetics. Makes me happy every day when I put on my lipstick".[5] Packaging your product: The right packaging of your product is important not only to communicate your brand image and your product, but if your brand strategy is to become a ‘lovemark’ you need to ensure your product is lovable, and this is includes creating great packaging. Packaging is one of the ‘sensuality’ ingredients of a lovemark. You need to ensure that everything you do, including your packaging design, is ‘loveable’ to your target market. People will love your product and your company if you provide them with a great product and great service, but you will need that extra ‘something’ to become a lovemark. This could include a great advertising campaign where you differentiate yourself from other brands and speak directly to your target market; like Dove’s ‘love yourself’ campaign featuring real women. Women were drawn to this because it speaks to them, makes women feel good about themselves, and the product is great. Research, research, research: If you don’t have a massive advertising campaign budget to do massive amounts of research, think about all the products you love. Figure out why you love them and figure out the regular themes: for example: I love Ecoya candles, because the product smells great, the candles are beautiful quality, they are packaged in beautiful, classy glass containers, that look amazing around the house. I love giving them as gifts because the packaging looks so expensive and lovely, and when I look at them, I feel happy. Remember of course to check with your target market what their lovemarks are, if you are selling a product that you are not the target market of. For example if you are a male and your product is targeted at women, you need to find out which the women in your target market demographics love and why. As per usual, it all comes down to research. If your product is great, your packaging is beautiful and your marketing campaign makes your target market feel great about themselves, then you’re on the road to creating a Lovemark. Packaging quote: “Not only will multisensory packaging make shopping a more exciting and fulfilling experience, but it has the ability to transform stores into theatres of dreams.” [6] References: [1] http://www.lovemarks.com/index.php?pageID=20020 [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovemark [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Coke [4] http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/natasha-koifman/brand-strategy_b_1515858.html [5] http://www.lovemarks.com/index.php?pageID=20015&lovemarkid=1096 [6] http://www.lovemarkscampus.com/tag/packaging/ I have read and heard so much on the ‘war’ on cigarette packaging over the last few years; first in New Zealand and now in Australia, so I thought I would write a brief blog to outline some of the cases for and against plain packaging for cigarettes from the various players, for the sole purpose of educating you on the importance of packaging for your business.
As you will see in the arguments outlined below, both sides believe that packaging is the life or death of a brand, and that’s why they are fighting tooth and nail over the plain packaging proposal. “The packaging of tobacco is a major part of its advertising ….that's why ASH and many other organisations support mandated plain standardised packaging of tobacco products - and why the industry is fighting it.”[1] “There are strong grounds for believing that current packaging glamourises smoking and that tobacco products packaged in a standardised colour, typeface and form would improve the effectiveness of health warnings, reduce misconceptions about relative harmfulness of various brands and reduce the overall appeal of smoking….The intensity of opposition to plain packaging legislation by tobacco companies suggests that tobacco industry executives believe that such measures will reduce sales and company profits.” [2] The case for plain packaging 1. Plain packaging will help make smoking history: ASH Australia director Prof Simon Chapman has told UK health leaders plain packs will help "make smoking history" Stripping cigarette packs of their colourful exteriors and forcing them to be sold in plain packaging could prove fatal for the global tobacco industry. The Tobacco Journal International, the self-styled leading international trade publication for executives in the world of tobacco’s front covers in 2008 said simply: "Plain packaging can kill your business." Chapman explains "We're not expecting plain packaging to have much impact on existing smokers. It's a policy about the next generation of kids who are coming through, so we would expect to slowly starve the industry of new customers by de-normalising and de-glamorising their products." Bind taste tests show that consumers detect little difference between most brands of cigarettes, the successful marketing of some brands as cool, or macho, or feminine, or "lite" has helped sustain a hierarchy in which premium brands sell for a lot more than budget lines, despite costing much the same to produce. In an era of widespread bans on tobacco advertising, seductive packaging remains the last place where what Chapman calls "semiotic signalling" is maintained. Replace those colourful packets with nothing but a plain colour, the manufacturer's name and a massive health warning, and many people will stop buying the premium brands, he argues.[3] “Adults and adolescents perceive cigarettes in plain packs to be less appealing, less palatable, less satisfying and of lower quality compared to cigarettes in current packaging. Plain packaging would also affect young people’s perceptions about the characteristics and status of the people who smoke particular brands.”[4] Quit Executive Director Fiona Sharkie says plain packaging is an effective way to deter potential smokers. "We have research that shows the more that we remove design elements from cigarette packs the less appealing they are to teenagers." Ms Sharkie says it is a necessary move."It's a product that we shouldn't have any glamour or fashionability or aspiration associated with," she said. "It's a deadly product and we need to do every thing we can to remove anything attractive about it."[5] Cigarette companies are panicking over plans to enforce plain packaging because the move will harm sales. Former tobacco Marketing Executive Craig Seitam says "They're going to lose all of their brand identity…But more important, I think that the packet that they like to sit down on pub and restaurant tables and on their desks are now going to be less seductive and attractive to potential new smokers."[6] 2. It would reduce misconceptions about ‘healthier’ cigarettes: Unregulated package colouring and imagery contribute to consumers’ misperceptions that certain brands are safer than others. Removing colours from cigarette packs and misleading terms such as ‘smooth’, ‘gold’ and ‘silver’ would reduce false beliefs about the harmfulness of cigarettes. [7] The case against plain packaging 1. It will fuel a cigarette black market: Selling via an unregulated black market could mean people will get their hands on more harmful cigarettes. Australia's big tobacco companies have made new claims about an increase in illicit tobacco trade in the run-up to plain packaging laws coming into force. [8] 2. The government would lose out on billions of dollars in tax revenue: A report by Deloitte commissioned by BAT, Philip Morris and Imperial claims counterfeit and contraband tobacco, fuelled by the packaging reform, has tripled in the past year, costing a billion dollars in lost tax revenues. [9] 3. A government enforcing plain packaging violates global intellectual property laws: Honduras has complained to the World Trade Organization, claiming that Australia's plain pack laws violate global intellectual property rules. [10] Conclusion: In conclusion, tobacco companies do not want to be forced to package their cigarettes in a plain boxes because packaging is vital to a company’s advertising strategy, brand image, consumers perceptions, attractiveness to the younger generation, and most importantly, sales and profits. Packaging quote “Plain packaging can kill your business." [11] References: [1]http://www.ashaust.org.au/lv3/action_plainpack.htm [2] http://www.cancer.org.au/File/PolicyPublications/Position_statements/TCUCCVBkgrndResrchPlainPak190511ReEnd_FINAL2.pdf [3]http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jan/24/simon-chapman-plain-cigarette-packaging-activist?fb=optOut [4] (Section 5.2.3) http://www.cancer.org.au/File/PolicyPublications/Position_statements/TCUCCVBkgrndResrchPlainPak190511ReEnd_FINAL2.pdf [5] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-05-29/poll-finds-majority-back-plain-cigarette-packaging/2735530 [6]http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-05-29/poll-finds-majority-back-plain-cigarette-packaging/2735530 [7] (Section 5.2.2) http://www.cancer.org.au/File/PolicyPublications/Position_statements/TCUCCVBkgrndResrchPlainPak190511ReEnd_FINAL2.pdf [8]http://www.news.com.au/business/cigarette-smugglers-beat-plain-packaging-laws/story-e6frfm1i-1226345382857 [9] . http://www.news.com.au/business/cigarette-smugglers-beat-plain-packaging-laws/story-e6frfm1i-1226345382857 [10]http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-04/honduras-complains-at-wto-over-australia-tobacco-logo-ban.html [11http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jan/24/simon-chapman-plain-cigarette-packaging-activist?fb=optOut Welcome to my monthly blog – where I will be sharing my thoughts and ideas, as well as hopefully educating you about my favourite topic – marketing!
As this is my first blog I thought I would introduce the basics of branding. As many of my customers are small businesses, it is vital that when they come to me for their packaging needs that they have a thorough understanding of their brand before they invest in designing and purchasing their packaging. Branding – a (very) brief overview: The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers." [1] A brand can take many forms, including a name, sign, symbol, colour combination or slogan.[2] The word brand has continued to evolve to encompass identity—it affects the personality of a product, company or service. It is defined by a perception, good or bad, that your customers or prospects have about you.[3] 10 basics of branding: Before creating your brand it’s always a good idea to look at what other brands on your ‘level’ are doing. For example if you are a luxury product or service, you should start looking at the logos, slogans, images and colours other luxury brands are using. You will start to see a pattern of the fonts, language and colours used for example. Use a mood board if necessary. If on the other hand, your brand is targeted towards the discount/value market, you should look at what other successful discount brands are doing in their marketing efforts. The last thing you want to do, is to look expensive by creating a logo or branding that evokes luxury when you’re trying to attract bargain hunters! When developing and maintaining a brand you need to consider: 1. Your Personality: your product / service’s personality that you want to portray to your audience (target market): if your product or service was a person, what personality would they have? Would they be young, fun and outrageous? Would they be smart, confident, or sophisticated and mature? If you are a family Lawyer for example, you would probably want your brand personality to be smart, mature and noble. 2. Your logo needs to invoke a particular feeling / idea to your target audience. As already discussed above, if you are a luxury product / service, you would have a completely different logo as a discount product / service would have. Think about the Versace logo compared to the Paul’s Warehouse logo. These companies are going after different target markets, and have therefore invested time and effort into their logo to symbolise what their customer can expect. 3. Your slogan / tag line should be very short in length, concise, meaningful and in line with your brand image. Think about how you explain your business to potential customers in a brief way. Then try to shorten it into a small sentence or even a few words. Use this on your business cards, website and other marketing materials along with your logo. 4. Your images: the images you use in your marketing communications (website, brochures, letterheads etc) should reflect the image you want to portray to your audience. Look at the pictures that brands like Gucci have on their website, compared to Payless Shoes. Both have great photographs of their products, but Gucci will use background images to create a luxury feel, whereas Payless shoes will show the product on a plain, practical background. 5. Messaging: your key messages and brand attributes- think about what your product or service’s unique selling point is or what your key message is. 6. Everything you do in business is branding! From how you answer your phone or write emails, your email signature to your staff uniforms. Think about Jetstar and how they behave on a flight compared to Qantas. I’ve been on flights where Jetstar flight attendants make jokes over the intercom about each other, the weather or the latest sporting achievement or failure whilst the guests are boarding the plane. They are smiling and jovial as people enter, and wear bright uniforms. On the other hand, Qantas staff act formal and pleasant. Their uniforms are classic, demure colours. You wouldn’t expect to see them horsing around as people take their seats! 7. Consistency: use the same colours, font, logo placement position and look all the time. Unless you embark on a brand re-launch, at all times, you should have the same look and feel to your brand. If you have differing logos or colours it can confuse your customers. If you meet a potential client at a networking event, and give over your bright red business card, with gold italic lettering and logo, if they then search for you online, they will be confused and even turn away from your site, thinking they are on the wrong page, if they land on your logo is different and if website if it is blue, with silver Times New Roman font for example. 8. Ensure your brand speaks to (and attracts) your audience / target market. If you have developed a new environmentally friendly soap – you would be best to go with eco-friendly packaging in earth colours with images or words that would attract your target market. There’s no use having a bright pink plastic packaging with fluoro writing that might attract 13 year olds. (Unless that is your target market!). Remember research is vital – you need to carry out research with people from your target market to find out which images, words or colours attract them. 9. Advertise via the appropriate vehicles for your brand. Make sure you fully understand why you are advertising in certain magazines / newspapers / websites and if they fit your brand personality. Always think about what ROI you would expect. Make sure you research who the audience is of the people that consume the magazine, newspaper or website and ensure it matches your target market. 10. Location: where you sell your product / or carry out your service is vital to brand imaging. A luxury sleepwear brand would not distribute their pyjamas in any shop in any suburb. They would only sell in upmarket boutiques in upmarket areas. On the other hand, a t-shirt brand targeting gothic teenagers would also need to research and sell in handpicked boutiques or shops selling similar wares in areas that are frequented by teenagers. A packaging quote to finish off: “It's important to realize that packaging always either has a negative or positive influence on the purchaser. A negative impression can detour a potential customer, just as a positive reaction can influence a customer to buy. A time to pay special attention to your packaging is when you are in the launch of a "new" brand.”[4] Laura Lake In next month’s blog, I will discuss how to create great packaging. References: A special thanks to John Williams whose ideas have broadened my ideas and have made the bones for this blog: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/77408 [1] American Marketing AssociationDictionary. Retrieved 2011-06-29. The Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) endorses this definition as part of its ongoing Common Language: Marketing Activities and Metrics Project. [2] http://www.oxfordlanguagedictionaries.com.ezp1.lib.umn.edu/language_web/Language_web.html [3] http://chiefmarketer.com/disciplines/branding/brand_experience_03042007/ [4] http://marketing.about.com/cs/brandmktg/a/brandimage.htm |
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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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