Alan Gilbody

If you are launching something new, always make sure that consumers know what it is, and what it’s for.

Have a look at this new product launched from Fairy. Quite a pretty looking design in a snazzy bespoke spray trigger. The question is, what is it?

It proudly proclaims, “skip the soak“, then shows icons of a pan and a dishwasher and a hob surface. Now, I consider myself fairly intelligent but I was bamboozled by this one!

Do I spray it in the dishwasher or on the products that are in the dishwasher? Also I don’t understand the relevance to ‘skip the soak’ when it comes to surface cleaning? Surely that’s a different thing?

Confusion ruled based on the naming strategy and choice of supporting icons.

For me it ‘skips’ two key fundamental points. What need is it meeting and how do I use it?

If you are launching a new product, you have to be clear to the consumer why this has been missing from their lives for so long, if you add to the confusion rather than solving a problem you’re actually creating a new one

#Marketing, #Design, #BrandDesign, #Packaging

Bright and bold may catch the eye but does your consumer know what it is?

I saw this brand in boots yesterday. It wasn’t in any particular section and was located on an aisle end so there was no immediate giveaway as to what the product was or indeed what particular need it would meet by its in-store positioning.

The same can be said for the actual pack design itself. If the product doesn’t have the benefit of being positioned next to the competition, the pack has a lot of the heavy lifting to do it to explain why you need it.

And that is where this particular colourful example fails.

Getting in close there is a hint to its contents whispered in very small type of the bottom of each of the packs.

Shout for attention by all means, but ensure this noise also contains why you are shouting in the first place

#Marketing, #Design, #BrandDesign, #Packaging

It’s possible to have too many layers on a design.

If you have a classic brand such as Carnation Milk, you can focus on the logo and key brand assets, and strip back all the other clutter, allowing its iconic status to lead.

This recent update by Carnation puts more weight on a serving suggestion to the detriment of some of the key brand assets and logo

I imagine the brief here was along the lines of ‘we need to show the consumers the variety of things this can be used for and its versatility as a product’. Now, whilst that may make sense for the back, when it’s incorporated on the front of pack, it tends to add busyness and encourage competing elements.

It’s more the language of what an own brand or a discounter competitor would do rather than a brand leader.

Remember, if you’re the brand leader, you’re the leader for a reason. This could be rooted in your history, your pedigree or the fact you are the brand consumers remember growing up with.

Don’t downplay this, be proud of your ability to stand out on your own merit, don’t feel the need to stuff lots of things on the front of the pack as this ultimately dilute why you are the leader in the first place.

#Marketing, #Design, #Branding, #Packaging

Here is an unusual pack that two has two specific challenges.

Whilst it arguably grabs attention, it’s not immediately clear what it is. On flow wrap bags it’s always tricky to put the brand logo on the top part of the pack near the crimp as this is the area of maximum distortion.

The net result is that it gets squished and as you can see here, becomes unrecognisable

Most flow wrap bags utilise the centre part the pack as that has much less distortion so maintains the integrity of whatever logo is positioned there.

And that brings me neatly onto the second key problem here, Malibu?! It’s very much the first thing you see or can at least recognise which then makes you think why are Malibu doing a popcorn based snack brand!?

This strange hierarchy on the flow wrap bag then creates quite a bit of confusion. Sure, some people may be intrigued enough to pick it up but it should always lead with the main brand first and the collaboration as a support.

Being loud and brave may grab attention but you have to do more than catch the eye, you have to break through confusion, encourage the consumer to trust you, that builds credibility, then they will pick it up.

#Marketing, #Design, #BrandDesign, #Packaging

Great brands have a story. Without a story, you behaving more like a private label product, and that makes it incredibly tricky to engage with your consumer.

It also makes it very tricky to qualify the higher price point than an own labelled product

I stumbled across this product at the weekend which suffers the very same. At first I thought this was a Sainsbury’s own label product.

It behaves very much like an own label product:

All of the elements such as the logo, the descriptor, and the iconography all compete for attention. They are all executed at the same size, equally space down the pack.

The naming felt generic and gimmicky rather than one that transported you somewhere.

The SRP was blank, this is a fantastic canvas that can be used to communicate the brand story, hold the brand message or contain a call to action.

The only taste cues, the coconut image was hidden behind this wall of blankness.

In short, it screamed private label.

When you are competing against the big players in any sector, it’s important that you catch and hold a consumers attention. You need to be intriguing enough to make them pick the pack up and explore all sides.

That’s when you know you’ve got them hooked.

Miss the story and miss this valuable connection.

#Marketing, #Design, #Branding, #Packaging

The first questions any consumer would ask is what is it, what does it do and why do I need it?

If those things aren’t clear, the consumer will quickly move onto a brand that they do understand.

Have a look at this example from Curél, it professes to be Japanese skincare, but the overall look and feel is probably more French or Swiss.

This means that it misses out on a great opportunity to introduce something new and innovative to the sector.

It’s also not immediately evident what benefit the product offers and what it’s used for.

Is it for hair? Is it for skin? Or is it for feeding Koi carp in a fish tank?

These are clearly really important things to get across and should be front and centre of every pack.

Your communication should be as clear and unblemished as the skin it treats.

#Packaging, #Marketing, #Branding, #Design

You always need to ask why. Why do I need that?

If the packaging design doesn’t successfully communicate, what specific need of the consumer the product is meeting, the chances are you’re not going to convince the consumer to put it in their shopping basket.

Take this example from Dole. There is probably nothing more convenient than a piece of fruit. You can tell when it’s fresh, you can tell what it’s gone off, it’s got its own handy wrapper provided by nature and you know it’s healthy.

Plonk the same item in a plastic pot and you have a bit of challenge on your hand unless you convince the consumer what benefit you’ve added by doing that.

Consumers don’t buy products they buy solutions. Always make sure yours is obvious.

#Marketing, #Design, #Branding, #Packaging

If your product commands a premium price point then the onus is on the brand to explain to the consumer why that price is deserved.

Take a brand such as that in the image below. The grapes seem hurriedly cut out and lack those subtle touches of depth of field, texture and lighting which evoke better ingredients and elevated taste.

The trouble is that it’s competing with many own brand offerings which are positioned at a much lower price point.

This requires the big brand name to set out exactly why the consumer should part with their hard earned cash and why this product in particular is a much better proposition.

It could be about having the freshest grapes or grapes that are picked at just the right time. That said, if the image doesn’t match the story that the brand wants to portray the consumer will never be able to extract that key and emotive piece of storytelling.

If you’re going to charge a premium and use images, make sure they tell the correct story and pull you apart from the cheaper alternatives or you will always be competing on price.

#Branding, #Design, #Marketing, #Packaging

If you’re working with a celebrity endorsement on a brand, how far should the celebrity endorsement go and ultimately which is more important the brand personality or the celebrity personality?

You could argue that a brand should pick a celebrity that matches its key values and. That would make the most sense as you are then adorning your brand with attributes that support what you want to say an how you want to say it.

Have a look at this example from Gordon,‘s partnership with Maya Jama. It’s probably fair to say that all Gordon’s assets have been diluted in favour of the celebrity endorsing the product. Whilst this may only be a limited edition, this departure does tend to work against the brand that it’s meant to be supporting.

Whilst Gordons may not be steep in high end quality there is a certain pedigree and heritage that should still be respected and I feel in this instance it’s moved it too far over to an alco-pop from the early 90s. Probably not the intention.

So if you’re picking a celebrity to endorse your brand, make sure you don’t dilute your assets in favour of theirs. Also, make sure both share the same personality so that the elements work in harmony rather than contradict.

#Marketing, #Design, #Branding, #Packaging

Here I s a fantastic example that shows the benefit of creating a robust pack architecture and hierarchy of information.

In fact, it’s so good you don’t actually need to understand the originating language to see it in action.

In the example shown there is a wealth of information presented to the consumer. It fills every available square inch of space on the front of the pack.

In theory cramming the pack with so much information, all squished up next to another, should be a challenge for the consumer, but what this example does brilliantly is create a hierarchy through colour and size.

There is a misconception that we read from top to bottom when we are accessing information on pack, the truth is that you actually read the most accessible piece of information first, in this instance the white text on the black background.

When you have lots to say like here, always ensure the other of the voices on pack know their importance in the orchestra and sing in harmony.

#Marketing, #Design, #Branding, #Packaging