Views from the Hills by R. E. Stevens, GENESIS II (The Second Beginning) E-Mail views@aol.com

Packaging, Your Billboard at the Point of Purchase

If the title looks familiar, you are right.  It was the title of my very first Views written in 1993.  I feel a need to address the topic and perspective again.  A couple of weeks ago while preparing to give a talk on "Packaging:  the most neglected feature of a brand,"  I visited a few stores to obtain some up-to-date material.

Think about the concept of a Billboard -- what is it's purpose? Companies invest their resources in billboards to motivate people to purchase their product.  By the same token, your label on your brand should entice the consumer to purchase your brand rather than any of the competitors.  If this perspective is true, why do so many companies ignore giving the consumer a reason to select their brand rather than a competitor?  There are so many brands on the store shelves that only show the brand name and the product category.  Are the manufacturers of these brands indirectly telling the consumer that there is no specific reason to purchase their brand?  Are they telling the consumer that there is no difference between their brand and other brands on the shelves?  I was always taught that a package should be attractive but intrusive.  The package should reach out to the consumer and say, "Here I am and here is the reason you should select me rather than any other brand on the shelf."  Is my education outdated?  I doubt it.

I found it interesting to compare the packages in different product categories.  Think for a moment about shopping for mayonnaise and a cold medicine.  In the mayonnaise category you will usually find that the packages will state the brand name and if the product is lite or regular and that is about the extent of the label information.  Thank goodness that is not the case in the cold remedies.  There are specific things that each option or brand of cold medicine will do for me as a consumer.  Such as no drowsiness, for headache pain, sinus pressure, congestion (nasal, sinus or chest), watery eyes, sneezing, runny nose, fever, sore throat, coughing, itchy eyes, etc.  Maybe it is just that the medicine is more personal and people care more.  Or is it that mayonnaise is just some white stuff that just lays in the jar and there is no difference between brands?

It would seem to me that the manufacturer of mayonnaise could find some relevant things about their product that would set it apart from the competition.  Something that would give the consumer a reason to select their brand over the competition.  could we not find a physical characteristic, an in-use benefit, end result, multi-use, economic, health or quality benefit to set their brand apart from the others on the market?

Take a tour down the store aisles and see how your brand stands out from the competition.  contemplate how you might gain an advantage over the competition through the use of packaging.
 


[Back][Index][Forward]