Consumer purchasing practices are affected by many marketing factors.  competition at the shelf is at an all-time high in many categories, and manufacturers are looking at every aspect of the product and marketing mix to remain competitive.  with 5,000-plus new SKUs on the grocery store shelf every year, existing brands and new products find it more and more difficult to gain trial.  In addition, the declining effectiveness of traditional promotional/advertising techniques challenge marketers to devise new and unique methods to promote their brands.

In this struggle for survival, packaging has become recognized as a crucial part of the marketing mix.  Packaging plays many different roles:  communicator, transporter, container, protector and instructor/educator.  A package's most important role is it ability to sell the product and build a brand's image.  Simply by being on the shelf, a package has the potential to generate millions of advertising impressions each year.  If a package is noticed and if it communicates the product's reason for being, it can be as effective at driving trial and building brand image as a major advertising campaign.

Significant advances have been made in most aspects of packaging technology (i.e. engineering, graphic design and the materials used) to meet the tremendous opportunities that packaging provides.  The result is a wide array of consumer-focused packaging that is graphically powerful and persuasive, ergonomic and functional and includes many other attributes that give packaged goods producers more marketing leverage at the shelf.

OPTIMIZING SHELF IMPACT

After legal and regulatory considerations, a package designer has substantial flexibility in developing the optimal package.  With an infinite number of possibilities -- but a finite amount of space and money -- how can a designer develop a package that maximizes his brand's chance for success?  The following are issues that should be considered when attempting to design a package to maximize shelf impact:
 

• Generating shelf impact is easy.  Shelf impact, in addition to meeting communication objectives and building a brand's image, is the hard part.  For example, a bottle of salad dressing with a hot pink label will generate shelf impact, but consumers are unlikely to purchase it.

 
• It is important to evaluate the shelf impact of competitors before attempting to improve shelf impact.  You might find that a product has a very high level of noticeability in the category, thus a redesign is unnecessary.  But because private labels and smaller brands often emulate the appearance of market leaders, shelf impact should be evaluated regularly to ensure that a package continues to be noticed at the point of purchase.

 
• The importance of shelf impact is dependent on the category in which product competes.  For example, shelf impact is of much greater importance in a highly fragmented category with low brand loyalty (i.e. barbecue sauce) than in a category with only a few major players where shoppers tend to be more loyal (i.e. canned soup).

 
• Shelf impact is not only important at the point of purchase, but a product needs to also compete in the "pantry shopping" process.  Fewer and fewer families plan a menu -- more and more decide what to eat when they get home from work.  this process usually involves scanning the freezer, refrigerator or pantry.  Not only is it necessary for the front panel to be noticed, but in a pantry, the side or back panel might be the visible part of the package.

There are also many issues to consider when attempting to design a package that maximizes trial potential by most effectively communicating the product's reason for being:

• Less is more.  At the point of purchase, consumers will typically only pick up two to three pieces of information from the front panel of the package.  The elements of the product's reason for being must be prioritized and only the most important or most differentiating should be emphasized.

 
• The amount of information and the type of information communicated on the package depends on how unique the product is.  If the product is not meaningfully different from its competitors, communication of the brand and its imagery should be the primary focus.  If the product is unique, those elements should be emphasized.

 
• Because perception of value is generally a key driver of purchase interest, it is important that elements that relate to a consumer's perceptions of the product's value be clearly communicated on the package.  for example, if a product costs more than other offerings in the category, it is usually important to explain why (i.e. more contents, greater convenience, etc.).

 

Things to consider when attempting to build brand imagery through package design:
 

• In the consumer's mind, the package is the product.  When consumers think of a product, they almost always visualize the package and its graphics.  When you think of Snapple, you visualize the bottle, not the tea.  When you think of Coca-Cola, you see red, not brown.

 
• All aspects of marketing communication need to communicate the same image.  The image communicated by the package should be the same as the image communicated by advertising.

In order to identify the ideal combination of functional and graphic elements, consumer research is often necessary.

There are many methods for conducting qualitative and quantitative packaging research.  A guideline to consider when researching the package is to always research the real-world environment in which the package will compete.  When researching shelf impact, communication and imagery issues, the research should be conducted on the shelf, in the store.  when researching functionality and usage issues, the research should be conducted with consumers at home.

A REAL WORLD PACKAGE TEST

Sorensen Associates Inc uses a package research methodology called, "On-Shelf Package Breakthrough Study:  A Method to Measure the Shelf Impact and Communication of Package Designs."

Unlike study methods that rely on data collected from consumers in controlled situations (i.e. mall intercepts, mail panels, focus groups, etc.), the Sorensen test is fielded in supermarkets or other retail channels directly at the point of purchase.  the product is placed on the shelf alongside existing offerings.  consumers are prompted to examine the shelf and are asked questions to determine shelf impact, purchase interest and package appeal for the test package, as well as other products in the category.

There are many methods of improving the shelf impact, communication and imagery of a product.  Generally, to improve shelf impact, a package needs to look different than the other items in the category.  color is most commonly used to distinguish a product (Healthy Choice Frozen Dinners), but a unique package structure can also be effective at generating shelf impact (Arizona Iced Tea).

One of the most effective ways to improve the communication of a package is through the picture of the product.  For example, if a product's key deliverable is ease of preparation, a picture of a child preparing it may improve its convenience perception.  Another way to improve communication is through flags or bursts.  A properly placed banner can communicate a key point.

When considering placement of these icons, it is important to keep in mind that generally, consumers read a package the way they read a book (top to bottom, left to right).  It is also important to remember that less is usually more.  If shelf impact, communication and imagery are improved, purchase interest in the product is also likely to improve.

ONE COMPANY'S EXPERIENCE

In 1997, a food manufacturer introduced a new product (packaged in a folding carton) in a category it had been doing business in for some time.  We'll call the new product "Super Crunch" (which is not the actual name and is not to be confused with any other products that might have actual branded names similar to this fictitious product.)

The new product offered all the benefits of the company's original line, but with some significant preparation enhancements.  The new product also had more servings per package, thus it was priced substantially higher than the original line.  After the introduction, sales did not materialize and initial volume was lower than expected.

In evaluating the reasons for the sales shortfall, the team considered several issues (distribution, shelving, product delivery and promotion), but concluded that packaging was likely the primary cause of slow sales.  During its introduction, Super Crunch was not supported by advertising, thus the product had to gain trial by being noticed on the shelf.  In addition, because the brand was already a dominant player in the category, the new product had to differentiate itself, communicate its reason for being and justify its higher price.

After reviewing the Super Crunch package used in the roll-out, it was determined that the package looked too similar to the brand's other products in the same category.  In addition, it was believed the product illustration did not adequately show how it was intended to be prepared and used.  There was also concern that the package did not communicate the higher number of servings in the package, thus reducing its perceived value.

Two new package designs were thus developed.  Both designs changed the food illustration and adjusted the location of several banners and flags.  Deemed highly important and differentiating, the intended preparation method was moved to the top left corner.  New design No. 1 showed this information in a flag, while new design No. 2 had it without a flag.  Both new designs prominently displayed the number of servings in a red banner in the center of the package.  New design No. 1 maintained the same general color scheme and graphics flow, while new design No. 2 changed the colors and graphics slightly.

FINDINGS & CONCLUSIONS

The key finding emanating from this study was that the brand team was right.  A few key measures reinforced the fact that low trial rates from category users and a variety of misunderstandings about the product all stemmed from misperceptions that evolved from the packaging.

In general, the current package did not fully convey the benefits of Super Crunch.  By moving the key preparation benefit to the top-left corner of the package, consumers more accurately understood what the product was.  This was particularly true for new design No. 1, which had the information in a flag.  The revised product shot and tweaking of other banners/flags also contributed to the improved communication.  The serving size was also more accurately conveyed.

In addition, the new designs generated greater shelf impact, particularly new design No. 2, which looked substantially different than the current design and the package design on the brand's other products.  This clearly suggested that the package was not maximizing Super Crunch's trial potential.

The improved shelf impact and concept communication, led to an improved perception of value for the money and intent to purchase.