Packaging design can attract new consumers to a product or brand. Effective packaging tells a brand's story in a glance and conveys the quality of the product. It creates an emotional connection and influences purchasing decisions, especially for younger consumers who value authenticity and want to engage with brands on social media. Good packaging design considers negative space and simplicity to attract attention on crowded store shelves.
3. 3
They aren't influenced at all by advertising
They would rather buy a car and lease a house.
They review blogs before making a purchase
They value authenticity as more important than content.
They want to engage with brands on social networks
They want to co-create products with companies.
They are using multiple tech devices.
They are brand loyal.
They expect brands to give back to society
Hello, just to introduce myself quickly - my name is Sinead O Frighil and I’m the marketing director for Irish whiskey at Quintessential Brands. For the pat 2 years I’ve been working on the launch of our Irish Whiskey portfolio, as well as the development of our new distillery in Dublin. So packaging is something which is very close to my heart and I’ve spent a significant amount of time working on, from design to ultimate delivery of final product.
So if I look at this brand owner perspective, I would categorise the Key Challenge as Living in a world of too much choice
We are living in a world where competition is ever increasing, number of brands and choice is growing, on and off trade are endeavouring to offer consumers a choice – but risk running into overwhelming consumers with the sheer volume of products available.
How can we use packaging to not only crate standout, but create familiarity and bond with consumers?
The world is now slightly ‘obsessed’ by the millennial consumer – and they are now defining the rules of engagement around the approach and understanding of who and how we are marketing to.
However, despite everything said about this new fickle generation (of which I still consider myself part of!) there is still one truth that holds – they are brand loyal and want to build meaningful connections with brands.
And in a world of ever increasing digital connection, alcohol (and food for example) present the unique opportunity for physical connection with brands – and sharing real experiences – so packaging becomes even more relevant for consumers.
So here is the real challenge as brand owners and creators – how do we use our packaging to create meaningful connections for consumers ad inspire that loyalty amongst them.
Normal go to when looking at creation of brands is to look at the white space. Tends to be a divergence here – and what dictates the go to is price.
As you go up in price, there are obvious higher expectations on the level of the liquid, but also of the packaging, that is should feel crafted rather than produced, with bespoke materials, hand touched elements, and real attention to detail.
However, there is another element which is crucial, especially for the less experimental consumers – and this is a lot more of the consumer pool than you think. So there is another side which is all about making the brand simple, and most importantly familiar to them.
And ultimately – you can create the most beautiful pack in the world – but if you cannot make it commercially successful then it is not right for the brand.
So here I have a couple of examples of brand approach to attracting consumers through packaging – quite diverse, as my dad always says there more than one way to skin a cat
The Dubliner Irish whiskey was launched in 2016, and while it had had existence as a whiskey & honeycomb liqueur, it was relatively unknown, with the exception of in Australia where it was performing well. So challenge to us – taking liqueur, re-engineering it into a whiskey and taking on the standard Irish whiskey category, which is of course, dwarfed by the outstanding success of Jameson.
Having defined the brand and the brief, this went out to a number of different design agencies – and unsurprising, a lot came back offering something which was edgy, trendy, targeting millennials…..and ultimately off brand. What we were seeking to do was create immediate connection with consumers and breed a sense of familiarity. Now I will be the first one to say that this is not a modern ‘challenging’ pack, as we are so often told as marketeers. However, within 12 months its one of the fastest growing whiskies in the US for a couple of good packaging reasons
Clear brand name and simple ‘get’ – consumers immediately associate with Ireland, city of Dublin
Clear product rationale – Bourbon Cask aged, so pack is immediately giving product rationale for consumers to drinks. Added product quality cues with name of company, product of Ireland, signature, etc.
Feels familiar – despite being new to market, spending time in the trade with bartenders and consumers, I kept getting told how glad people were that we had brought The Dubliner back, that they used to drink this when they were younger, etc….. While there is obviously some confusion on what they were drinking before, there is an inferred brand loyalty and warmth for the brand – so greeting and old friend as opposed to encountering something new and unfamiliar. And in a world where brand loyalty is key, this has been a huge benefit for us, because were not starting from scratch. The more facetious amongst us can say ‘well you're tricking consumers into buying your brand’ but I don’t believe this is so – were leveraging or brand assets to build the brand.
Second example is Don Pap Rum for a brand whose manifesto is to revolutionise your rum drinking experience, then this is one who has certainly achieved this through the pack. There challenge in this was twofold – creating a premium rum brand, and enticing consumers to a brand new and relatively unknown category – Filipino rum.
This is a pack which screams craft and differentiation, and cries to be picked up off the shelf for its look – but most importantly, its telling the story of the Don Papa, the Filipino revolutionary and liberator, tells the story of the rum and where it comes from, and leans strongly on the heritage of the Philippines, and the local flora and fauna – with over 40 local animals on the label.
This pack has been crucial in making Don Papa successful in changing a ‘local’ spirt into an international seller, and sitting proudly alongside other premium rums on shelf in markets across the world.
Third and final example is Hop House 13, a relatively new entrant into the ‘craft’ beer segment, and has grown to 3% of the total Irish beer marker in the past 2 year, 4 times larger than any of their competitors. However – this is a Diageo brand, and an innovation from Guinness in Dublin – so successfully embedding this brand in the trade and consumers mind as ‘craft’ has been a huge achievement.
At first glance the packaging looks simple, but there is real power in this – clear lock up and standout, very simple and stark colour palate, and most importantly, translatable branding which can be lifted straight from the pack and applied across all secondary packaging, POS, events and all communications. A challenge every brand has is that what works on the pack cant always translate into other applications – but this has smashed it and created an incredibly iconic, and recognisable brand within a relatively short space of time.
So looking at how to attract people into a pack or brand – there is no single solution, but for me there are a few things which are key
Staying true to the brand
Making it familiar and accessible – fitting in, can be standing out
Design for function, not for beauty.
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