Packaging Strategies

Since products are judged by the package they come in, marketers should spend a lot of time preparing strategies that best fit the product.

Learning Objective

Outline the different packaging strategies available to product marketers

Key Points

Enhanced functionality is a key way to add value to packaging. Use packaging functionality to bring new benefits to the category/brand and to differentiate from competitors.
It's crucial to understand if your brand is appropriately dressed for the markets and cultures it operates in. Research at the beginning of a launch, re-positioning or development process can really give your product the opportunity to shine.
Marketers must start seeing packaging as an investment, not a cost if they want to remain competitive. Pack design should be given the same consideration in the mix – it is a ‘guaranteed' daily connect with consumers.

Terms

touch point
The interface of a product, service or brand with customers, non-customers, employees and other stakeholders – before, during and after a transaction.
point of difference
A term used to describe the individual factors of a company's product which cause it to differ from its competitors. It can be synonymous with a company's unique selling proposition (USP) although not interchangeable, and is critical in defining the competitive advantage and branding strategy.
marketing mix
A business tool used in marketing products; often crucial when determining a product or brand's unique selling point. Often synonymous with the four Ps: price, product, promotion, and place.
category killer
a product, service, brand, or company that has such a distinct sustainable competitive advantage that competing firms find it almost impossible to operate profitably in that industry (or in the same local area)

Example

Toys are advertised in shops and on product packaging. The educational benefits of toys are also explained on packaging for the benefit of parents and should be made explicit. . Benefits include skills that a child will gain, such as hand-eye coordination, exploration and problem solving. The packaging is also made to entice children.

Full Text

Packaging

Many people judge a product by the appearance of the packaging it comes in. Yet so many marketers treat the packaging of their brands like an afterthought. In the battle of the brands, packaging can create a strong point of difference. It creates an image of the brand that can be the on-shelf purchase trigger or at-home touch point for consumers across a range of products and categories. There are several different packaging strategies firms can use to make ordinary products look more exclusive.

Packaging as an Investment, Not a Cost

Marketers (and businesses) must start seeing packaging as an investment, not a cost if they want to remain competitive. Pack design should be given the same consideration in the marketing mix – it is a ‘guaranteed' daily connect with consumers. If cost was always a factor, disposable pepper grinders might never have made it to the shelves.

Steal Cues

Marketers can bring new meaning to the category or brand by ‘stealing' cues from others. Color is just one cue that can give taste and fragrance perceptions – in chips, green says cheese and onion, while blue says salt and vinegar. Marketers can leverage this by ‘stealing' color, shape and texture cues from other categories to infer meaning and introduce new thoughts about their own category/brand. For example, using motor product shapes and colors for personal care products could be one way to attract men to this traditionally female category.

Create Involvement and Ritual

Enhance the consumer's experience with the brand by introducing involvement and ritual in their packaging interactions. ‘Forced' involvement through packaging can actually enhance the overall experience of the brand and result in significant growth. Just pushing a wedge of lemon into the neck of a beer created a whole new type of beer drinker.

Think Functionality

Enhanced functionality is a key way to add value to packaging. Use packaging functionality to bring new benefits to the category/brand and to differentiate from competitors. One of the best ways to come up with functionality ideas is to observe your consumers using your products in their own environments and to ask questions. Who is using the product? How are they using it? When are they using it? How can I save them time or make their lives easier? How can I offer them even more to justify the price/a premium?

Quick Wins

The simplest of packaging ideas can constitute quick, big wins. Pack size changes, material changes, updated graphics and changes in the brand naming hierarchy are just some of the ways to unlock new growth for a brand. Don't overlook the obvious. The simplest packaging changes can yield great opportunities for a brand.

Smart Research

It's crucial to understand if your brand is appropriately dressed for the markets and cultures it operates in. Research at the beginning of a launch, re-positioning or development process can really give your product the opportunity to shine.

Packaging is often only researched as a straight comparison at the end of the development process. This ignores the opportunity to be more strategic in approaching packaging. The right kind of research, conducted early in the process, can help brand marketers identify potential issues and opportunities in their packaging development brief and unlock what is really important to the brand and the pack users. This point in the process is also where emergent trends and future direction can be tapped into and leveraged for innovation.

LeapPad Advertising

Educational toys advertise skills to be learned and are creatively packaged so that children will want to play with them.

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