Branding

Getting orientation correct on cylindrical products is incredibly difficult in store.

You’re relying on the shelf stacker to orientate your product the right way in the first place and you are relying on the customer who picks your product up to put it back facing the correct way.

Have a look at this example of St Moriz tanning cream. Now, there are a couple of key issues here, the first as I mentioned above is the orientation of the logo.

As this is not centred on a cylindrical canvas and positioned on the right, it can have the tendency to disappear around the side of the pack, reducing brand recognition completely.

It is much better on these tight cylindrical surfaces to make sure logos are centralised, especially if they are vertical.

The other point which is a smaller and possibly more subtle one is that white seems an odd choice for a brand that promises to make your skin anything but?

What works on a flat design visual does not always work in 3 dimensions.

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Are you behaving like a product or like a brand?

The chances are, if you look like everything else that’s out there you’re following the category cues of a product rather than building in differentiation and an engaging consumer story.

Take these three examples situated on a shelf next to one another.

They’re in the same packaging format. They follow the same packaging architecture and they utilise pretty much the same style and content in their photography.

So why would I choose one of the other?

And here’s the big challenge, how would you remember as a consumer which one you bought last time?

Create an emotional connection and win the consumer. Follow the crowd and disappear into the crowd.

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If you are a brand with lots to say it’s often a challenge to work out how to fit this on pack.

Lots of brands out there offer a variety of benefits or have a variety of different accolades that they are keen to showcase to potential new consumers.

One of the biggest challenges is then, how do I fit all of that in without it looking like a ‘poundshop window’?

There are two things to bear in mind here, is it better to put everything on or be single minded and focus on one or two of these benefits AND how do you create a robust architecture which permits pride of place without interfering with any of the main communication?

Have a look at this example from Rakusen’s. All of the benefits and accolades are crammed up in the top part of the pack and so tend to saturate the main brand logo and product communication.

In fact, it’s hard to know where to look first.

Imagine taking a step back and looking at this on shelf, from around 2m away it tends to just look like a jumbled mess. This is because you have multiple components, all at the same size annd all competing for attention.

It’s much better to think about creating a foreground, a mid ground and a background in order to control how and when a consumer can access this abundance of information.

Confuse a consumer and they’ll struggle take everything in.

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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.

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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.

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We are getting to the position where it’s very difficult to tell the difference between some vegetarian options and meat.

I understand the rationale behind offering up a comparable flavour for plant-based options for consumers that miss the taste, but when you try and replicate the entire feel and form of a meat based product and pitch has plant based, I wonder whether this is going a little too far?

Have a look at this example which echoes a marbled steak almost better than many supermarket steak offerings!

Interestingly, the narrative on pack mentions that in such a bonkers and ridiculous world, it was only a time only a matter of time before a plant based steak would come a thing?! If even the brand is mocking the proposition is it a stretch too far?

Should products and packs be trying to replicate what they are desperately not wanting to be, or should they be carving out their own niche and creating something unique?

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It’s not always what you say, but how you say it.

If you’re trying to evoke ‘clarity’, and ‘soothing’ with your brand naming, your choice of letterform on the logotype should also support that.

Have a look at this example from Buttercup cough syrup.

A letterform has been created that works against the main benefit of the brand and product.

The logotype looks very oily and ‘bunged-up’. Additionally, the choice of font for this has meant much of the letterform fills in so you can’t see it clearly from a distance.

This ‘bunged-up’ reduction of legibility and clarity will ultimately hint towards the overall efficacy of the product.

Every component on your pack should help support what you’re trying to say and leverage the consumer benefit you’re trying to meet.

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Why is it that the free from aisle is often free from appeal and excitement

One word that often comes up when you chat to brands and clients about the ‘free from’ space is the word compromise. Compromise is a tricky word and conjures up the notion of ‘not quite as good’.

In fact, many of the products are absolutely fantastic and faced with the challenge many consumers wouldn’t be able to spot the difference, so why is it an area so free from any love and attention from a brand point of view?

The image below from Freee is a good example of where brands aren’t potentially doing themselves, any favours, by taking a very functional and utilitarian approach tends to support the idea of ‘compromise’ before the consumers even got it home.

Clearly brands operating in this space need to communicate their point difference but why should that be at the sacrifice of taste?

Be the brand that shout “as good as” or end up being the one that cues compromise.

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With pharmaceuticals, If you don’t look contemporary and ‘of the moment’, you erode consumers trust.

Consumers need to know you are up to date with your knowledge. The style and tone of voice created by your pack design is a visual shortcut to this.

Have a look at this example from I-Caps. Compared to many of the competition, the packaging design looks fussy and stuck in the past.

Simplifying the product information and laying it out in a more clean and considered way allows the consumer to better understand the product and quickly identify what it is and what it does without any confusion.

If you’re not providing a contemporary solution, particularly in the area of pharma, the consumer will quickly move onto a brand the offers up-to-date and more advanced solution.

Whilst the messaging may be solid, consumers pick up on certain cues that seem dated and will draw opinions and conclusions accordingly.

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If you are promising perfection, then you need to be clear with your consumer how they’re going to achieve that.

Accessibility and clarity of information are incredibly important, particularly if you’re going to make big bold sweeping claims such as ‘perfection’.

In-store lighting can be quite unforgiving on reflective surfaces. Combine that with very small claims hidden in the bottom corner of a pack and it is never going to help support your case.

Have a look at this example from Seven Seas which suffers from both of these issues. The cartons are printed on a highly reflective metallic substrate, rendering much of the information hard to access under the in-store lights.

All the information you need is on there. It’s just incredibly difficult to read.

It is much more effective to use a varnish to mute the metallic substrate so that it is not quite so reflective.

Locking the claims to the ‘7’ icon so that the consumer makes a clear link between the two would also have the advantage of making them more accessible, transferable and an integral part of the brand story.

Perfection is impossible, but you can always get closer.

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