Alan Gilbody

Sometimes all the information is on there but how it’s presented lets the brand down.

I was in the garden centre this weekend and as an amateur gardener, is often hard to work out exactly what you need.

Often, as with the pack below, all the information is there but as you scan the shelves, your eye tends to rest on products that not just meet your need, but also cue how you will feel after the product has done its magic.

Take this plant feed from Vitax. The key benefit is presented on the packs directly underneath the logo however because the tone of voice is far too functional and the emotion and joy is missed they look more like a treatment for something bad rather than the promise of something good.

Remember, the consumer decides emotionally and justifies logically, so always make sure you capture exactly how it will make them feel with as much gusto as what it does!

#Marketing, #Design, #Branding, #Packaging

Here’s an interesting example of making a bit of noise to stand out.

There are 2 areas to note where this has been used efficiently. Firstly on the can, the logo is positioned at an angle. Breaking symmetry like this causes the eye to rest when you scan across a busy fixture.

It’s a fantastic way to break from the normal horizontal placement of logotypes, it also has the added advantage that you can make logos ever so slightly larger on this increased canvas.

The other area to note is the SRP. Normally these often forgotten areas of the design system feature a very lacklustre logo which in many cases are smaller than the actual logo on the pack

Here however, it’s been tiled, repeated and wiggled round multiple angles, again breaking the symmetry, unweighting the noise and stand out.

If you’ve got something interesting to say, always be bold!

#Marketing, #Design, #Branding, #Packaging

Characters on pack should always be engaging, recognisable and help convey the brand story.

A good character works just as well off pack as it does on pack to help cue and recall the brand in the mind of the consumer.

As with a brand story, differentiation and uniqueness are key in facilitating this. Plonking some sunglasses on a lemon doesn’t cut it. Take this character off pack and it could belong to any brand.

We have created lots of characters over the years, from Freddo Frog through to the Aquafresh Nurdles on the kids range. Front of mind each time was giving them a key role to play.

In the case of Aquafresh, the Nurdles were based on the three striped Aquafresh toothpaste icon and had two main roles to play in the brand communication.

Firstly, they were used to help educate parents on the key stages of development in kids teeth and secondly to create relatable personalities for the kids to engage with.

So successful were these that they even have their own cartoon show!

Give the character a role and ensure they are created with distinctive assets that you could only ever attribute to that brand and they will help sell your product like miniature animated salesman.

#Marketing, #Design, #Branding, #Packaging

Never forget which arena you are operating in.

There are lots of brands that have seen huge success by getting consumers to sign up to subscription models on their own website.

These brands have had huge support on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok because they offer something very different to the consumer.

One such example is natural deodorant brand Fussy.

The big issue some of these brands have is when they move from an online subscription model to the in-store environment using exactly the same Pack design and brand architecture.

Whilst these may work in small digital images they don’t translate particularly well to the supermarket shelves where they’re up against some fairly fierce competition with brands designed to stand out. In this instance Fussy doesn’t.

Clearly it makes no sense for brands to have two different liveries for two different environments so it always makes sense as this transition is happening to reevaluate what you’ve got and make it work in all environments

This doesn’t mean starting from scratch. It’s often about taking what you have and making it work harder.

Remember, the consumer always wants to know what need of theirs are you meeting and why are you the best brand to solve this problem.

#Marketing, #Design, #Branding, #Packaging

What do you do when your competition are also in the same format?

Structure or format has always been a way to create differentiation, but what happens if logistics or cogs doesn’t allow and you have to follow suit?

Have a look at these interesting solutions where normal silhouettes are challenged with a ‘sticky up bit’ – that’s the technical term!

These additional parts to the established cutter, instantly break symmetry on shelf and catch the eye.

They also create that little bit more branding area to elevate a key message.

A great example to show how it’s possible to both play the rules but also challenge the norm to ensure you win the customer.

#Packaging, #Marketing, #Branding, #Design

Trigger spray packaging is known for it’s really awkward canvas. There’s a lot of important info to try on in an awkward and tiny area.

Many brands look to extend this canvas by using tags or pop over covers on the top of the trigger spray itself.

This example below, however, used a sticker directly onto the top of the tray. Yes, a sticker! This meant that many of the packs on the shelf were crinkled and stuck back on themselves.

For a household fragrance product, looking tatty is the last thing you want to do!

It’s always much better to put the most salient pieces of information on the pack itself as otherwise it may appear less an integral part and more and afterthought.

#Branding, #Design, #Marketing, #Packaging

Here’s something I see a lot in supermarkets with cylindrical packs.

There is little to no chance that the shelf stacker is always going to arrange things facing forwards, therefore it’s advantageous to repeat the branding so that the pack is recognisable from multiple orientations.

If dual facing is not an option, you should look to find ways of extending the brand communication around so that, unlike the example, below the packs are recognisable.

This approach doesn’t often require radical rethink, it’s just about splitting the back of pack into two and arranging it down the sides in the same way as a can of Coke does.

A simple trick but makes the world difference in store and ensures that consumers don’t miss you.

#Packaging, #Marketing, #Branding, #Design

Here’s a great example of ‘consumers decide emotionally then justify logically’.

Cleaning is an arduous task. I don’t think anyone really enjoys it. Successful products in this sector need to be pitched to have a transformational quality and elevate mundane tasks to effortless ease.

Clearly, fluorescent colours and a grinning face are going to retract your attention, but funnily enough it wasn’t that that held my attention on this example

Selling a sponge to a consumer is an incredibly tricky task. A sponge is a sponge isn’t it?

Not if you can create 2 different states, which each have a different benefit as in this example.

Interestingly, they haven’t promised clean dishes or sparkly surfaces at all. The product focuses on its ability to ‘transform’ which subconsciously, in the mind of the consumer cues a magical transformation from problem to solution. Clever.

Catch the consumers attention first, then tell your story. When you need to pull yourself apart from the competition having clear differentiation in a category that has often lacked innovation will always draw a consumers attention.

#Branding, #Design, #Marketing, #Packaging

Cursive type is a fantastic visual shortcut towards vitality and naturalness in branding.

Although this may not always work for every font without a little tweaking.

Have a look at this example which I saw whilst walking down the juice aisle.

At first sight I read it as ‘beef’ which is obviously a bus ride away from what the product is trying to communicate.

With a little crafting and layering on the pack, this could be easily remedied without losing any of the energy and naturalness in the chosen font.

Remember, it’s always worth taking a few steps back to ensure the brand works as well from a distance as it does close up.

#Marketing, #Design, #Branding, #Packaging

What works well on a design visual may not work well in reality.

Stripping thing back can work well in order to focus on a single minded benefit and increase stand out on shelf.

That stripping back and simplification can go a little bit too far though.

Have a look at this example from Strongbow. The can now features the Archer icon as the hero element. However, where and how this has been positioned on the can is not necessarily optimum when it’s sat in the SRP in store.

The logotype has disappeared behind the SRP and the icon is so large that when seen in context of the curved face, it removes much of the immediate recognition and recall.

In fact, the only mention of the brand name is on the SRP but is knocked back so much it’s quite tricky to see from a distance.

Strip things back and simplify by all means, but never so much that it sacrifices recognition.

#Marketing, #Design, #Branding, #Packaging