10 Packaging Trends That Could Make Consumers Buy In 2007!
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| JoAnn Hines, The Packaging Diva, will be speaking at INPEX® Thursday June 7, 2007 at 10 a.m in the Inventors University™ |
Part 3
By JoAnn Hines - The Packaging Diva
People are sick of conventional advertising. Let's face it, most of today's ads aren't working or, at best, aren't generating sales. So marketers need other methods of communicating the product's worth to the consumer. The package becomes an obvious and valuable means to that end. The point is if someone doesn't pick up your product they are never going to buy it. That's where the packaging as an advertisement comes into play. How can you engage the consumer at the beginning of the product relationship?
The package is your silent salesperson and it better have the right message delivered to the right audience -- no matter what product is inside. It's all about the package (or should be) and who buy's it and why is it purchased. Understanding and cultivating the consumer is an ongoing task. Consumer preferences can change on a whim. When it comes to product packaging, it's important to understand the mindset behind consumer decisions. Each year new trends move into the foreground. Yet, while some are here to stay, others move on as quickly as they came in to being. Some trends become mainstream across all industries, ethnicity's, and generations. Trends have power. Use them wisely and you could reap the rewards. Below is part three of a series by JoAnn Hines, the Packaging Diva that could impact whether the consumer will purchase your products or not.
Trend #7-WOM - Word of Mouth Marketing
Do you have a satisfied consumer? How can you persuade them to pass the word on to other potential customers? The key is to create a buzz about your product that is so strong a consumer needs to tell someone about it.
What To Look For and Do: How can you turn a customer into an evangelist for your product? Offer them something special in return for their loyalty or support. Offer them other products made by your company. Set up a rewards program. Don't just offer a few cents off. That doesn't work. Give something of real "value" to the customer and not necessarily money.
Trend #8-Your Nose Knows
Smell has been one of the least used senses incorporated into product packaging. That is changing. Companies are figuring out ways to "connect" to the consumer through the sense of smell. Look at the success of Verizon's "Chocolate phone" (incorporating the scent of coca) into the product marketing. The continued growth of scent marketing is more than just an odor; it's a way to reach consumers through a sensory relationship.
What To Look For and Do: Integrate smell into your product package-not just a fragrance but a smell that is integral to the marketing concept. Look for continued advances in packaging that smell like the product within.
Trend #9-Se Habla Chinese?
I recently read a staggering statistic. China is now the world's largest packaging market. It's relative to disposable income and the demand for increased consumer goods as incomes increase. In the US, we are already well established in marketing to the Hispanic consumer. Virtually every packaged product is bilingual, but what about markets outside the US? We are no longer the primary player. It's important not to overlook the globalization of consumer product packaging. Your product may be delivered to a consumer halfway round the world.
What To Look For and Do: Think global. Think about customers from all countries; not just the country of the manufacturer. Be sure and study the cultural ramifications too. What works for product packaging in one country might not work in another.
Trend #10-Code Orange.
Consumers are worried. Look at the recent e-coli and salmonella product recalls. Consumers are leery of what they buy, what it's made of, how it's processed, and where it comes from. More
importantly they are beginning to question its security through the distribution channel.
What To Look For And Do: Pay attention to packaging innovations that can track, record, and provide product integrity or security. Look for devices that consumers, not just the manufactures, can understand. For example, there are labels that change color when a product has expired or has become contaminated. This gives consumers a heads up not to purchase that particular product. One negative trend I need to mention - Gotta Change.Why? Why fix what isn't broken? Consumers are fed up with products that they like but they can't identify because of the new and improved product packaging. Look for ways to engage the consumer with the existing product packaging that is familiar and trusted.
Pay attention to and study packaging trends. They offer predictions of where the market is moving. Trends have to be understood in order to appreciate how they can impact your business. Have you ever counted how many new product introductions there are annually, and how many failures? Give it a shot. Trends can make or break a product's profitable introduction or prelude its disaster. Be sure to keep your packaging on track with the consumer and incorporate packaging trends where they make sense. Being wise to the power of the trend can fortify your brand loyalty to a very fickle, elusive and changing consumer.
