What does your packaging say about you? What are your consumers’ first impressions of you? Questions such as these are important in establishing a marketing technique for your brand.
Effective packaging creates a lasting first impression that stands out from competitors. We’ve previously talked about common packaging mistakes, but now let’s discuss how packaging can make (instead of break!) your marketing strategy!
Effective Packaging Makes your Brand Memorable
A product’s packaging can disclose a lot about the product and brand. After all, it is a consumer’s positive experience with the product that keeps them returning.
To stand out against competitors, it is important that brands first, grab people’s attention and secondly, retain their attention. This is all doable with effective packaging.
However, what exactly does it mean to have effective packaging? This includes elements such as:
- adequate packaging materials
- the right amount of information
- an eye-catching and memorable design
- sustainability
Let’s dwelve into each of these respective points!
Utilizing the Correct Packaging Materials
First things first, each business needs to be aware of the type of packaging that suits their products best. This involves considering factors such as weight, thickness, dimensions and shape.
For example, heavy items such as automative parts, require strong packaging such as a triple walled grade of corrugated boards. Lightweight items, on the other hand, can opt for a single wall corrugated board or paperboard.
To provide additional security for a product, consider corrugated inserts, which are a versatile and cost-effective option. Especially when dealing with more delicate items such as kitchen equipment or beauty products, these inserts are great for protection!
The security of the products is key in order to have zero damages from environmental factors as well as transportation.
If the packaging breaks or gathers moisture and dust, this can damage the product. In turn, it causes the customer to feel unsatisfied as they are led to believe the business is too careless to search for sufficient packaging.
Nevertheless, with the use of custom inserts, these risks can be mitigated!
If you’d like to know more, check out our previous blog posts on choosing the right packaging materials and choosing the right box for your product!
The Use of Informative Labels
Once the packaging material has been considered, it is time to think about what sort of information to include.
According to marketing expert, Steve Truan, 30% of a consumer’s product decision-making is based on product packaging. Thus, a product’s packaging requires essential information in order to succesfully market the product.
Beyond brand name and company logo, essential information also includes an ingredients list, instructions pertaining to how to utilize, consume or operate the product as well as highlighting the product’s benefits.
To ensure that a brand is including the right kind of information also means understanding the brand’s target audience. Factors like the target audience’s age, gender and what would motivate them to want the product are important to consider.
For example, ELXR Juice Lab provides plant-based eats and drinks in order to promote a healthier diet. Their packaging highlights the fact that they are organic and includes the specific ingredients featured within each product.
By doing so, EXLR is providing transparency to their younger target audience who may seek healthier alternatives.
Similarily, Halo Top ice cream also revamped their packaging to easily emphasize the benefits of their products.
In their earlier packaging design, Halo Top included the grams of protein and net carbs along with the calorie count. However, in their newer packaging design, they solely focus on the calorie count since their target audience mostly just wanted to know the calorie intake.
The CEO of Halo Top, Justin Woolverton decided that focusing on the number of calories further promotes this low-calorie ice cream option and does not create feelings of guilt for consuming it.
Design Techniques
Beyond including the essential information, the overall packaging design is also an important marketing technique. Different colors allude to different reactions.
For example, black and white hint at simplicity, blue hints at professionalism and bright colours hint at playfulness.
Fun fact: digital marketing entrepreneur, Neil Patel, mentions that professional services firms utilize blue since it builds trust and reliability!
However, as design trends change over time, it is important to keep up with them. Consider creating variation in your packaging by offering seasonal or holiday packaging options.
If budgeting is a problem, opting for inserts such as thank-you cards are another way to introduce some developments to your packaging. Handwriting cards adds a personal touch and makes customers feel further appreciated.
For further promotional material, including coupons or coupon codes, contest elements (puzzles, games, etc.) or QR codes (that can lead to discount pages in your website or exclusive giveaways) can make a customer feel extra special.
In turn, they interact with the packaging longer and form a stronger bond with the brand.
For example, to increase customer loyalty, Shea Brand includes a thank-you card and coupon codes such as 20% discount on the customer’s next purchase.
Keeping Sustainability in Mind
Next, it is important to consider sustainability.
Market research company, Mintel, emphasized that sustainability is a top packaging trend as consumers become more environmentally-conscious of their choices and attempt to eliminate harmful materials from their daily life.
Packaging should reflect this and provide recyclable options that are plastic-free. This includes cost-effective alternatives such as bamboo and corn-starch (which we will talk about very soon in our blog!).
By ensuring that their packaging is eco-friendly, businesses also showcase to their customers that they care about the environment and want to reduce their carbon footprint.
A greater percentage of customers will then feel happier supporting the business and want to purchase more items from them!
How to make an Excellent First Impression Today
Make sure to consider every marketing aspect when thinking about packaging and its design. Whether it be selecting the type of packaging, deciding on a colour or looking for sustainable packaging materials, we’re here to provide you with a variety of customizable options!
Contact us today to speak to one of our project consultants who can help you make the best first impression with your packaging! You only get one chance to make a first impression…LeKAC is here to ensure that it’s a good one!
