What's In Store? Power-Packed Packaging
Don't treat your packaging as an afterthought.
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| A.J. Khubani is the president and founder of TELEBrands, a leading direct response consumer products company. |
By A.J. Khubani
Source: Response Magazine, August 2007
www.responsemagazine.com
It was 1989 when my company launched its first product – Ambervision sunglasses – at retail. At the time, the sunglasses were packaged in a plain brown box with a colored label. While the product did well, packaging has since become much more sophisticated, and I've learned how critical good packaging is for the retail success of direct response television products.
At TELEBrands, we work with packaging specialist Don Braca and his company, Adcomm Advertising, in Fairfield, N.J. Braca and his team created the original red "As Seen on TV" logo for us nearly two decades ago.
Together, we have found that, too often, DRTV professionals spend millions of dollars on television advertising and leave retail package design as an afterthought. This is a huge mistake, since the package that sits on the shelf is what is going to sell your product long after the television advertising has gone off the air.
Working with Adcomm, we have developed a strategic approach to packaging, which has helped our retail sales skyrocket. By using a five-point approach to package development, we have seen impressive sales increases. Our approach includes the following considerations:
- Competition. Our first step when we're creating packaging for our retail products is to visit the stores to which we'll be selling. When we were preparing the packaging for our WhiteLight™ tooth whitening system, we purchased one of each of the tooth whiteners on the shelf of a local retailer and re-created the space in our office. This allowed us to see what the competing products looked like and to design a package that would stand out among the crowd.
- Package type. The most common packaging options are boxes or "clam-shells" – plastic cases that are fitted to the product. Choosing the right option depends on the product size and shape. While clamshells are generally a more expensive packaging option, they allow the product to be more clearly shown and are usually more durable than boxes. In addition, they can be designed so that they can be displayed on peg board or on a shelf, which offers important merchandising options to the retailer. Products requiring assembly should generally go in boxes.
- Size. Understanding the size constraints of the retailers with whom you'll be doing business is critical. While a product in a slightly larger package can help draw more attention, oversized products may be limited in where they can be displayed. Exceed the retailer's height restriction, and you could size your product right off the shelf while driving up your packaging costs.
- Design. Choosing the right colors, graphics and text are essential parts of the package design process. Your design should stand out, but not in an inappropriate way. For example, we could have chosen a bright fluorescent box for WhiteLight, which would have stood out on the shelf. However, such colors are often used to signal warning or danger, which couldn't be farther from the message we wanted to send to potential customers. Instead, we chose a crisp color scheme of white and blue, with chrome accents to make the package stand out while depicting the perfect image for this product.
- Testing. We always test our packaging concepts with focus groups. This tells us whether we've hit the mark – or whether we need to go back to the drawing board and make some changes. Of course, such a comprehensive approach is not inexpensive. We typically spend $20,000 to $50,000 on package development for our products. However, we never fail to see that expenditure pay off in increased sales, fewer returns and respect and appreciation from retailers who see our investment in packaging as a commitment to their businesses, as well.
