Speak to your shoppers

Large consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies usually can afford to spend a lot of time and money marketing their big brands to consumers. Retailers, however, have limited resources for marketing their private brand products. Store brand packaging, therefore, plays a critical role in making that all-important positive first impression on the shopper in store.

Make a connection

To build true brands, retailers must invest in packaging design that connects with shoppers. Often, that means differentiating the overall look of store brand items from the rest of the brands in the category.

Although retailers have made a lot of progress here, too many “me too” package designs still can be found among store brand products in the marketplace, says Diane Mullane, vice president of client services for Toronto-based Shikatani Lacroix Design.

“Package design can make or break a product — or a brand,” she says. “It either communicates true brand differentiation effectively or it doesn’t. The package must create a moment of engagement with the consumer while communicating the brand’s message and values.”

Important design attributes are elements that deliver on the value perception, communicate via a clear hierarchy and engage the consumer, Mullane adds. And retailers should approach differentiation with purpose: to consistently meet the needs of the shopper.

The relationship between the brand/product and the shopper should be top of mind, explains Jim Lucas, executive vice president, global insight and strategy for Des Plaines, Ill.-based SGK.

“Demonstrating understanding of [the] shopper and empathy are critical,” he says. “Therefore, the two most important things that packaging, the ultimate in owned media, must do are establish fit with the shopper’s lifestyle and make it easier to find the right product for them.”

In addition to aligning the packaging with shopper needs, the retailer also needs to align it with the brand’s promise, functioning to reinforce the consumer experience, says Jill Ahern, consulting services senior director at Packaging Technology Integrated Solutions, a division of Downers Grove, Ill.-based HAVI Global Solutions.

“Whether the brand promises superior performance, natural ingredients or higher quality than expected for the price, the package look, feel and function should all reinforce that promise,” she says.

John Giesfeldt, senior manager, marketing for WS Packaging Group, Green Bay, Wis., agrees, noting that holding on to and growing SKU strength will require retailers to develop “packaging and decoration solutions that complete an overall store brand strategy.” In other words, the whole should be greater than the sum of its parts.

And to extend the reach of a brand in a society that continues to skew older, retailers might want to consider “age-neutral” packaging.

“Creators of packaging concepts need to align elements of their designs with the demands of this market segment,” Giesfeldt says. “Graphics should be legible; the packaging shape needs to be ergonomic; and functional elements such as easy-open and re-closure features need to be suitable for older people to use without difficultly.”

Thoughtful merchandising goes a long way toward maximizing packaging-related brand-building efforts, too, he says.

“Effective merchandising delivers an educational and exciting experience that serves as a basis for brand building,” Giesfeldt states. “This transfers and links the positive association of a specific brand with the retailers. And that brings the store brand experience full circle.”

Look to the leaders

Lucas does note that retailers are getting much better in communicating via packaging product origin/provenance, natural or organic status, efficacy and other product qualities. And in doing so, they also are taking advantage of many different packaging aspects such as color and finish to establish relevance and improve shopability at the shelf.

He points to UK’s Tesco as a retailer leader here. The company’s recent redesign of its Healthy Living Brand touts “big on taste, lower in calories” and is a continuation of its ongoing packaging development.

“But there are lots of good examples out there — Safeway’s Snack Artist or Open Nature, Target’s Simply Balanced, Kroger’s Simple [Truth], etc.,” Lucas says. “What differentiates them seems to be their uncanny understanding of where the shopper is/is moving to. They all realized that while they might not be making earth-shattering changes in people’s lives, they can make their shoppers’ lives a little bit better.”

Mullane adds Brampton, Ontario-based Loblaw Companies Ltd. to the list of retailers that are doing a great job of delivering true brands — in great part via packaging — that meet shopper needs. She points to the company’s new premium President’s Choice Black Label line as an example.

The … products’ distinct packaging design, featuring sleek black packaging and stunning sepia-toned photography taken around the world, has a unique point of difference,” she says, “engaging consumers with the story behind each product — where it’s from, who produces it and why it was chosen.”

But it’s important to note that success here can be found through different approaches.

“Some retailers have adopted and delivered on a low-price, good value strategy, and the packaging platform aligns and controls costs to deliver against that promise,” Ahern explains. “Other retailers are building a following and a brand promise on the premium positioning of the retailer’s own brand, and they are delivering on that just as effectively.”

Both strategies are successful because the retailers understand the value they are promising and the need to deliver against it — and they are able to translate that messaging to their packaging, she says. “The retailers that are not as successful often are not clear on their value proposition or are trying to be all things,” Ahern adds.

Keep them loyal

First impressions via great packaging are important to building product trial and, ultimately, strong brands. But first impressions aren’t everything — the packaging also has to perform as expected after purchase.

“Recent consumer studies have found packaging underperforming,” Giesfeldt notes. “When designing packaging, along with focusing on how the product will look on the shelf, we also need to take into account how the packaging has to perform throughout the entire lifecycle of storage, use and disposal.”

Steve Kazanjian, vice president of global creative for MeadWestvaco Corp., Richmond, Va., says the national brands have been putting more thought into the role of packaging throughout its lifestyle during the past five years or so.

“The in-store experience — although it’s hypercritical to still raise awareness, cut through the clutter and make a conversation — is just one part of the story,” he stresses. “The end use experience becomes really, really important because that’s what’s going to drive consumers back into the store to purchase the item.”

MeadWestvaco’s study found that the packaging attributes consumers want most include features that keep the product fresh/effective, make it possible to get all of the product out, protect the product from spilling/breaking and make it easy to reclose or reseal the package.

Mullane adds portability, ease of storage and ease of disposal to consumers’ wish list on the convenience side.

“Safety ‘tamperproof’ features are also important, as well as sustainability — with biodegradable packaging ensuring less packaging goes to the landfill,” she says.

Consumers who experience a post-purchase packaging problem can even wield an influence on other consumers’ decision to purchase, or not purchase, that product for the first time. Social media and other forms of digital communication are making it easy for consumers to share their product experiences, Kazanjian says. In fact, a recent MeadWestvaco study found that 22 percent of consumers who write an online product review make packaging part of the conversation.

Collaborate for success

Retailers that work closely with both the packaging design firm and the packaging company to achieve their goals stand the most chance for building true brands via packaging. As Lucas points out, they will have a much better likelihood of developing a shopper-responsive design instead of an adaptive one. Some retailers are even beginning to bring shoppers into the co-creation/co-development process, he adds.

“Moreover, if the design or packaging firm is involved from the start, there is a much better chance of developing a [successful] solution,” he says.

Ahern agrees that retailers can reap significant benefits via collaboration in the early stages of design and development.

“Decisions that are made in packaging design and development have a ripple effect throughout the project and impact every element of the packaging,” she says. “As decisions are made, options narrow for other elements of the package.”

The packaging format, for example, determines line and fill speeds, while the packaging material determines what will and won’t work as far as printing and label options, Ahern explains.

It’s important for retailers to communicate important emotional aspects of the shopping experience to the creative team so the entire team can bring a concept to life — via packaging that attracts the target shoppers and allows them to interact with it, Giesfeldt says.

“Sometimes it’s hard to coordinate schedules,” he adds, “but when you think about it, the saying ‘We never have enough time to do it right, but we always have enough time to do it over’ is a truism that hopefully pushes us to the realization that collaboration at the right time actually decreases time to market.”