|
A great many shopping
decisions are made at point of purchase where packaging is
the brand’s key communication tool. However consumers
glance at only a fraction of the multitude of alternatives
screaming for their attention. This begs the question whether
packs are innovative enough to grab the consumers’ eye
on a cluttered retail shelf, given the short time span spent
shopping for each category. Will the pack drive brand awareness,
consideration and sales by inducing brand switching or reinforcing
brand commitment at point of sale? Finally, unlike the advertising
exposure that is relatively brief, packaging continues to
build your brand values during the extended usage of the product
and can drive your brand equity and loyalty.
Yet when consumers walk through aisles of cereal and milk
products, almost all pack shapes appear similar which fails
to create differentiation. There is an increasing need for
marketers to challenge the conventional and develop breakthrough
packaging. Some marketers are leading the way with outstanding
pack launches like contoured bottle shapes of ketchup, sports
drinks and kids’ shower gel.
Packaging can play a critical role in driving brand equity.
Often one of the strongest associations consumers have with
the brand relates to the visual equity of the packaging. When
consumers are asked what comes to their mind when they think
of Downy fabric softener, they indicate a “blue bottle”.
The pack’s appearance can drive brand recognition and
build its image. For instance, colours cue image associations,
which can differ across markets. While in Japan and Korea,
the colour purple connotes ‘premiumness’, it has
strong associations with inexpensive brands in the US.
Marketers have the opportunity to make relatively lower investments
in pack changes compared to advertising and promotions and
drive significant gains in brand sales. The redesign of the
Heath candy bar wrapper boosted sales by 25 percent and Rice-A-Roni’s
sales jumped by 20 percent within a year of the packaging
change. Clearasil’s acne medication’s packaging
is revitalised frequently to sustain a contemporary image
given that the teens are attracted to the trendy packs.
With packaging being such a pivotal marketing tool, why don’t
we research packs as much as we do advertising, rather than
basing packaging decisions on 'gut feel'? Creating numerous
sets of packaging prototypes becomes cost prohibitive, far
exceeding the interviewing expenses.
ACNielsen offers a cost effective solution to packaging testing
with its newly launched product packs@work. It uses interactive
digital technology using online research or CAPI (Computer
Assisted Programmed Interviewing) to simulate 3 dimensional
models of packs that can be rotated by respondents, thereby
eliminating the need for expensive pack prototypes. packs@work
examines the cut-through of the pack on a simulated retail
shelf.
CASE STUDY
A recently conducted packs@work study in a foods category
revealed that the new pack design exhibited increased shelf
prominence over the existing designs. The new pack's shape,
colours and graphics had strong linkage with the brand's core
values and identity which would work synergistically with
the advertising to drive brand equity. Launching the new pack
would strengthen the brand's sales by inducing switching among
the non-users and increasing brand commitment among loyalists.
The
new pack performs slightly better on Empathy and Persuasion.
Also
performs better than current pack on Impact and Communications.
|
