In our Digital World, Your Packaging May be the Only Physical Connection You Have with Your Consumers. Three Ways to Make Sure it Counts.
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The process of opening a new product can be a gift-like experience which embeds itself into the consumer’s psyche and can even be as great as the product itself.
Packaging is a visceral experience, and as our culture becomes continuously more visual, it feeds more than our desire for something to simply be a container. Our packaging has to mean as much as the product inside of it. Whether it has an aesthetic or ecological meaning, we want our packaging to be a reflection of us. There is a reason why brands rely on them so much. Without the right packaging, people will walk right by you, or even worse, not like you.
So here are three things to think about as you move forward with packaging ideas for the holidays and beyond:
1. The Outer Gift
In the best case scenario, we want our customers to be loyal, and packaging can build and maintain loyalty in a very tangible way. For example, think about a Tiffany box—many of us have never seen one in person, but if someone set one in front of us, it would take a lot to hold us back. There is an entire ethos surrounding that simple robin’s-egg-blue-and-white packaging, and it makes what is inside that much more coveted.
These experiences should be at the foreground of every brand’s identity, and packaging tugs at the very foundation of our consumer experience, whether we are aware of it or not.
According to Danielle Sauvé, Director of Customer Insights and Experience at Danaher Product Identification Platform, “Product packaging is often the only physical marketing channel that the consumer physically touches.”
So, customer loyalty is just as grounded in the tactile experience as it is in the visual and digital experience. Every detail is essential to address.
2. Seasonal Packaging
Adjusting packaging during holidays or other seasonal events is also a way to increase brand loyalty. If the packaging changes enough to be seasonal, customers appreciate the effort. However, be careful…adjusting for holidays or other events should only be taken so far. Customers still want to be able to identify the brand easily rather than hunting for it on a shelf.
Tasteful seasonal packaging is difficult to come by, so also think about how measured you want to be when implementing your packaging strategy. For example, as impressive as Christmas may be for many, the red and green combination can be a bit harsh or garish to others. Many who want to be more tastefully understated may go with more natural color combinations or interesting plaids.
3. The Inner Gift
Another layer of packaging that is just as important is the layout. How does it look once it is opened? As convenient as some packaging is, if each piece is bubble wrapped and jumbled in a box, the customer experience declines rapidly. One does not want to go from the elation of opening a beautiful box to cursing under their breath to unwrap multiple items in taped plastic. If the experience turns sour, you can bet that customer loyalty may as well.
Another common complaint is buying a product with the notion that the packaging is sustainable, only to get inside to find unrecyclable plastic materials. No one wants guilt wrapped with a bow.
So what does all of this mean for the brand? The consumer experience should be a pleasant one from the moment one starts looking for a product, through the unwrapping and big reveal, to the moment when they wonder whether they will keep the box or recycle it. It may be easier said than done for many businesses, but it is a necessity to think about every step of the buyer journey if you want to build and maintain consumer loyalty.
Looking for a solution? We can help.
Headquarters
9211 Corporate Blvd Ste 110
Rockville MD 20850
Satellite Offices
Dallas, TX
Paris, France
San Francisco, CA
Scottsdale, AZ
info@vivaboxsolutions.com
Phone
800-529-1988
Minimum Order Quantities:
RPET Totes: 3,000
Kraft Shoppers: 5,000
Rigid Boxes: 3,000
Folding Cartons: 5,000
How to Create the Best Brand Experiences in a Box for ROI, Growth, and Loyalty
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Nearly every client asks us how to build the best box ever made. I’ll tell you. Apply consumer and influencer insights to create a sense of wonder. Why?
When we review performance stats with our clients and brands, we found a commonality among the most successful ones, and it has a lot to do with humanity and our world today. Sounds huge, but it’s manageable, let me explain. It boils down to our complex desire to experience wonder – if only for a moment – in an age when we’re feeling more disconnected and the velocity of life is catapulting us to what’s next quicker than ever. Wonder and tactile, authentic experiences have been stripped away in today’s era of insta-everything. We want to be surprised, but also in the know. We want to feel something and sink into a moment but also curate our response. Filter your consumer insights through this lens to create the highest ROI, best performing “brand experiences in a box,” that’s the secret. B2B, B2C, same application.
In today’s digital, volatile world human nature’s response is to seek self-expression, optimism, purpose, and natural narratives.
Our senses send complex messages to let our brains know what is going on around us.
Our five senses, Smell, Touch, Taste, Vision, and Hearing, work together to explain what our world is. However, when the world’s volatility and human connection rock off their axis, we seek ways to understand why our world is too – and that requires five additional senses to bring everything into focus again. Self-Worth, Saving Time, Feeling Special & Beautiful, Humor, and a Sense of Purpose combine to help us feel valued, present, and
In a word? We’re all seeking WONDER.
wonder | ˈwəndər | noun a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable: he had stood in front of it, observing the intricacy of the ironwork with the wonder of a child.
• the quality of a person or thing that causes wonder: Athens was a place of wonder and beauty.
• a strange or remarkable person, thing, or event: the electric trolley car was looked upon as the wonder of the age. • [as modifier] having remarkable properties or abilities: a wonder drug.
• [in singular] a surprising event or situation: it is a wonder that losses are not much greater.
Humans are seeking wonder, and brands are seeking two things: authenticity and embedded experiences. Think Supreme on the cover of the NY Post – a brand embedded into morning and evening commute times, and it was unexpected. Influencer Marketing promises to deliver both authenticity and embedded access to consumer’s lives. Done well, it can (and frankly, trial, education, discovery, and loyalty kits can too) if you look at them as more than product delivery.
Give your consumers and influencers a way to editorialize with their own voice and style, save them time, be sure they feel important, sometimes a sense of humor can break through, and don’t assume they know what your higher brand purpose is. Show them with an extraordinary narrative they can believe in.
Our minds were not developed to thrive solely on digital experiences. Yes, it’s just a box, but it gives us something we crave. Sensorial, tangible experiences and bite-size trial in a world of overwhelming choice.
What does your kit feel like? Smell like? How does it make someone feel? Can it help them immediately save time or feel better about themselves? Do they know what your brand purpose is? Better yet, can they feel it?
That’s a win, every time.
Looking for a solution? We can help.
Headquarters
9211 Corporate Blvd Ste 110
Rockville MD 20850
Satellite Offices
Dallas, TX
Paris, France
San Francisco, CA
Scottsdale, AZ
info@vivaboxsolutions.com
Phone
800-529-1988
Minimum Order Quantities:
RPET Totes: 3,000
Kraft Shoppers: 5,000
Rigid Boxes: 3,000
Folding Cartons: 5,000