Put some feeling into it
In the book Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain, António Damásio, professor of neuroscience at the University of Southern California, argues that emotions are essential to decision-making. His view is based on his studies of individuals whose connections between the “thinking” and “emotional” areas of the brain are damaged. While these individuals are capable of rationally processing information about alternative choices, they are unable to make decisions because they do not know how they feel about the options.
Whether or not emotions are essential to all decision-making might still be up for debate among scientists; however, the strong influence emotions have on purchasing decisions is widely recognized by marketers and has led to the big business of advertising. But retailers, which have limited advertising budgets, often must find other ways to connect with consumers emotionally on the private brand side. Product packaging is one such way.
Don’t be so practical
Consumers have multiple options in most product categories. Therefore, packaging could be a retailer’s “one shot” at capturing their attention, states Matthew Keller, vice president of sales and marketing, Eagle Flexible Packaging, Batavia, Ill.
Jill Ahern, senior director, consulting for Packaging Technology Integrated Solutions at HAVI Global Solutions, Downers Grove, Ill., agrees.
“Packaging is the primary physical consumer interface with the product prior to purchase and the only communication vehicle for your product that nearly all product users and potential customers will see,” she says. “Packaging brings a product to life; not linking it to emotion is a tremendous missed opportunity.”
Unfortunately, private label packaging tends to be more functional than emotional, states Todd Maute, partner with New York-based CBX. This is especially true when it comes to verbal communication on the package. For example, Nabisco sells Triscuit crackers, but a retailer sells private brand “woven wheat” crackers.
“I have no emotional connection to a woven wheat cracker, but I can have an emotional connection to a Triscuit [cracker] because it stands for something,” he says. “I think it is an untapped opportunity to enhance the story [each retailer] is telling about the product through more than just functional descriptors.”
He gives the example of how CBX was able to help New York-based Duane Reade, prior to its acquisition by Walgreen Co. (now Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.), Deerfield, Ill., overcome this functional-versus-emotional design challenge.
“We worked with Duane Reade and their DR Delish line to change the names of their sandwich crème cookies to ‘Studio Dunkers’ and ‘Duplex Dunkers,’” Maute says. “We were able to communicate the stuffing level without being so functional. Instead, we used the name of the item to support the brand and support the story of the product.”
But packaging design encompasses much more than just the product name or description. For example, color, imagery and typography are all essential packaging design elements. If done right, the combination of these components could trigger an emotional connection or evoke certain memories and draw in the consumer, states Liz Fisher, creative director for Chicago-based Kaleidoscope.
And packaging structure that addresses the consumer’s needs will also create a connection. For example, a consumer with an on-the-go lifestyle will connect more strongly with a package that is designed to meet their needs, whether it be resealable, grab-and-go or ergonomically designed for single-hand use, Keller states.
Tell the brand’s story
But to create an emotional connection with consumers, retailers need to do more than offer a package that is pleasing to the eye and easy to use. They also need to employ meaningful storytelling and brand positioning that resonates with their target audience, Fisher says.
“Ultimately, the brand must tell a holistic story, and packaging must be an experience from the moment the shopper sees it, picks it up and touches it,” she adds.
Deborah Ginsburg, founder and CEO of Oakton, Va.-based Strategia Design, agrees.
“To create a connection emotionally, you have to look at the package in a more holistic way, not in a compartmental fashion,” she says. “The package needs to tell a story about the brand, the product and the results.”
One way for retailers to connect with consumers is by focusing on “story topics” that are currently important to consumers: responsible sourcing, sustainability and fair trade certification.
“By telling a story on pack and allowing the customer to buy into the product, and ultimately the brand, you can create an emotional connection that allows them to feel they are contributing to the cause,” Fisher adds.
Certifications such as non-GMO and organic are also generating emotional responses among consumers, Ginsburg says. Offering such certifications speaks directly to a company’s commitment to issues over and above profit, and that commitment resonates with consumers.
But retailers’ brand stories need not be limited to social issues. For example, store brands focused on value have the opportunity to make consumers feel smart by assuring them that they are paying less and getting more product, Ahern states.
“The emotional payoff of this is feeling proud,” she adds.
Coca-Cola recently had a “huge hit” with its “Share a Coke” campaign because of the brand’s ability to connect emotionally with its consumers through personalization, Keller states.
“After a decade-long decline in soft drink consumption, Coke was able to reconnect with the consumer and boost overall consumption,” he adds.
When Coca-Cola personalized its bottles with names, consumers enjoyed finding their name on a bottle of Coke the same way they enjoy finding their name in a souvenir shop while on vacation, Ginsburg says. It made consumers feel special and gave them something to talk about and share with their friends.
“Social media posts capturing the measures consumers took to find their name, or the name of someone close to them, as well as the frustration resulting from not find the name, are clear evidence of an emotional connection,” Ahern notes.
Conversely Coca-Cola’s can campaign, running in tandem with the bottle campaign and using nicknames and relationship phrases such as “BFF” and “Showstopper,” has not elicited the same excitement level and passion, Ahern adds.
“This is a great example of how emotion influences consumer behavior and that it isn’t entirely about the product; it is also about the package and emotional connection,” she maintains.
On the private brand side, Trader Joe’s has been able to offer its customers a consistent and recognizable story Maute states. Each category’s product packaging has its own tone of voice, language, verbal communication strategy and design strategy but they all connect back to the same original story: a store that is fun, quirky and unique.
“Store brand packaging today is just as much of a brand as any local or national brand,” Ginsburg adds. “The consumer wants to feel understood, accepted, inspired and valued.”