Alan Gilbody

What is the most important part of your pack? Is it the product that you’re selling? Is it the descriptor? Or is it the brand?

In a world of own brand, it’s important for big name brands to stand out and explain to the consumer why they cost more than their own brand equivalent.

If, as in the example attached, the brand and descriptor are cramped towards the top of the pack and so collapse only exposing a photo of the product inside, then you’re not really explaining to a consumer why they should pay the extra for your product. Especially as due to the reduced visibility of your key brand components it’s going to be looking like one of the own brand equivalents that it’s trying to differentiate from.

The best place for primary communication on these sort of packs, especially in the freezer sector is front and centre so that it avoids this type of crumpling.

#Marketing, #Design, #Packaging, #BrandDesign

With the drive to more sustainable packaging, both in substrate and substrate reduction, it’s often worth bearing in mind that artwork needs to be set up differently to accommodate these challenges and ensure the pack looks is best from both a standout and appetite appeal point of view

It’s possibly a little tricky to see on this shot, so I’ve left in the white pack to the left-hand side so that you can see a comparison to true white.

The thin substrate means that transparency of packs can become an issue. This is often mitigated by putting a couple of hits of white down first before printing the graphics.

Think of it as putting an undercoat on a wall before you paint it

Failure to do that bit of housekeeping before the product goes to print means that you can have packs, as the one above, that looks very washed out because the translucent substrate means you’re looking through directly to the product in the bag

The white balance gets sacrificed by the product in the bag so you end up with food photos and the bowl as you can see on the food shot becoming very yellow and unappetising

Always set your print and expectations based on the packaging limitations. There are always workarounds.

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Having a robust pack architecture is hugely important, especially if you’ve got a wide and varied range. That said consideration should be given to ensure that it works in every eventuality and for every iteration of a pack, license packs included.

A robust architecture ensures that everything has its place and all the information can be accessed in the right order. That rigidity however can sometimes be at the detriment of the overall pack and things can get shoehorned in in completely the wrong place. 

Sometimes, rigid rules need to be flexed in order to allow for variation, especially when you have to build in pre-existing licensed elements

Have a look at this example from Kellogg’s for a Pokémon licensed product. The consumers eye first goes to the wide open space above the logo and below the Kellogg’s logo type.

The Pokémon logo seems to be swimming around in a huge abandoned area of the pack. The rest of the communication is pushed out to the peripheries creating overcrowding and competition between important areas. The net result, that all important product shot gets covered by the character. 

The character is executed in a similar hue and tone to the background so when you step back from the shelf, it disappears in to the background of the pack rather than standing out as a beacon to all of those Pokémon fans

The architecture is there to provide a framework on which to build consistency. For this reason, it’s important to look at negative space on pack and the size relationship and ratio between the elements.

Rigidity provides consistency, but that should never be at the detriment of differentiation

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Craft is all about care, consideration, experience and pedigree. The packaging has to hit the consumer with all of that brewing know-how and convince the consumer of it

This means playing certain category rules and if you’re going to break them in order to force some differentiation then ensure that this craft, experience and artisanship is fostered through the packaging design, storytelling and quality of print

Consumers use all of these quickly decoded signals to make an immediate purchase decision.

If as per the rather strange example below you miss out on all of that, however good the product, are you going to struggle to convince the consumer.

In this individual products instance it’s the fact that the IPA is made with surpless fresh pasta.

Poor execution can steer a consumer away before they have had a chance to understand an interesting brand story.

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There is a huge difference between how a pack looks on a design visual versus how it looks and behaves when it is in an in store environment.

What may appear as sleek, sophisticated and elegant at the Design stage may not have the presence that is necessary to make it stand out and get noticed in a busy supermarket fixture

Have a look at this example. The communication is screen printed directly onto the bottle rather than onto a paper label. This means that the canvas it is painted on is prone to the different reflections and refractions of supermarket lighting. 

This base canvas is incredibly difficult to build accessible communication onto, especially if in addition,  there is little contrast with the translucent liquid inside the bottle.

Always test designs in store. Supermarket shelves are a busy and competitive environment made even trickier by the harsh lighting. Make sure the Design allows for that otherwise you may, as here, go completely unnoticed. 

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Never waste space on pack .

Launching a brand into a supermarket is incredibly difficult process. Once you are in there, you have to do everything in your power to get the consumer to see you and understand you.

It’s an opportunity to tell the consumer a story and explain why your product best matches their needs.

This space is a premium so why waste it? Have a look at this pack from Toilet Duck. Is often difficult to see the area behind a blister pack, it can often be very difficult canvass to work with. That said, bold statements, colour, texture and punchy iconography is perfect for these awkward areas so that the pack visible from a distance.

Leaving that real estate blank makes the pack look unfinished and misses out on a golden opportunity to talk to your consumer.

You’ve paid for the space, never waste it.

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We often have challenges in fitting information on the back of pack. But when there is an abundance of room, there is no reason for text to be so small you can’t read it.

Have a look at this example with my hand as context

Consumers pick packs up in store. They read them. They explore them before purchasing. If you are selling products that require steps and stages for it to be used, your back of pack should always be accessible

Miss out on the legibility and what is bought for convenience will be seen as anything but.

#Marketing, #Design, #Packaging, #Branding

If you cast the glance at this pack on shelf, you’d be hard-pressed to know Which brand it was and what the product offering was.

The packaging doesn’t use any distinctive brand assets, the logo is executed at a similar size other components and the type and communication is difficult to discern on a busy supermarket shelf.

Is strange to think that the biggest name in energy drinks doesn’t use its distinctive checkboard asset on it multitude of different flavour offerings.

There was a time when it was the only energy drink in the market but there are so many competitors now, that establishing a set of assets that you use consistently across the range is almost a must.

Never be complacent, never assume that consumers are going to seek you out. Consumers are like magpies, we like shiny new things. We like intrigue and we like adventure.

Disappear into the background in the background support you may stay.

#Marketing, #Design, #Sustainability, #Packaging

If you cast the glance at this pack on shelf, you’d be hard-pressed to know Which brand it was and what the product offering was.

The packaging doesn’t use any distinctive brand assets, the logo is executed at a similar size other components and the type and communication is difficult to discern on a busy supermarket shelf.

Is strange to think that the biggest name in energy drinks doesn’t use its distinctive checkboard asset on it multitude of different flavour offerings.

There was a time when it was the only energy drink in the market but there are so many competitors now, that establishing a set of assets that you use consistently across the range is almost a must.

Never be complacent, never assume that consumers are going to seek you out. Consumers are like magpies, we like shiny new things. We like intrigue and we like adventure.

Disappear into the background in the background support you may stay.

#Marketing, #Design, #Sustainability, #Packaging

If you are promising your consumer success then capturing that emotion, that excitement is imperative

If however you present it back as here like a GCSE biology textbook to the consumer that excitement will be swapped out for a general foreboding and feeling of hard work. That feeling you could only get on a Sunday evening when you realise you’ve forgotten to do your homework as the end credits for Antiques Roadshow roll up. 

Too much text or copy can be daunting for consumers. They simply won’t read it. The back of pack should, well, stay on the back of pack not creep around and take over the front.

Always focus on the benefit to the consumer. What will this offer me when I use it? What will it look like, what should I expect? 

The last thing that consumer wants to see is a variety of staged photos of said product empty. 

Show them the magic, the transformation and what success looks like

#Marketing, #Design, #Sustainability, #Packaging