Does Your Package Need Changing?
Posted on March 13, 2008 | Permalink
By Lane Casteix
A lot is expected from your packaging. Its core responsibility is it must contain and protect the product until delivered to the consumer, but it must do and be more than that.
It must be easy to use. If your customer finds it difficult to remove the contents for use, this could drive them to seek alternatives. What worked well as a package for many years may be seen as "dated" and inferior to newer ways to package products.
The package must also sell the product. For many brands it is the only sales tool the consumer ever encounters. That means the packaging must have strong "shelf presence" with "eye appeal" so it will be noticed in its selling environment.
The package must also deliver a message about the product. What do you want your customers to believe about your product? The package needs to convey that to them in a way that is believable.
The package has many responsibilities and has the potential to make or break a brand, depending on how well it is designed. This is a job for experts and is one that should not be entered into lightly. Identify weaknesses of your package before you attempt a redesign. Understand what about it works and what doesn't. Look at your competition and technology. Are you behind the design curve? Is there a way to move out ahead of it?
I am sure these are questions Wrigley asked themselves before they entered into a complete redesign of the key brands in their chewing gum line. They faced stiff competition from other gum makers who had newer packaging technology and more modern and target graphics on their packages. And they were losing share of market because of their allowing the competition to get ahead of them. Read the story here, but we will have to wait and see what the final design results are of this effort to revive a sinking brand. I think we can expect to see changes in the form of the gum (probably tab instead of stick) as well as changes in the way the package presents the product.