4 Need to Know Retail and Packaging Trends for 2021
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A lot changed in 2020 but few industries have been as affected as extensively as retail. Make sure you’re keeping up with the changes by staying current and aware of trends. Here are 4 retail and packaging trends to check out for 2021.
1) The importance of standing out in eCommerce
It is now critical to incorporate corrugate into your brand’s online packaging in a way that elevates the experience. Ecommerce shipping design is shifting from regular and plain packaging towards a more functional/stimulating unboxing process for consumers. You can achieve a more sophisticated “luxury corrugate” through thoughtful engineering and art direction, and by personalizing your brand’s shipping packaging.
A personal experience with a salesperson isn’t an option , so the packaging is the true first impression of your brand. Provide your customers a great experience through a shipping package that speaks for itself.
2) Sustainability continues to grow in importance
Aerie Reusable Tote Made From Recycled Material
Consumers are starting to pay more attention to not only what their products and packaging are made of, but also their carbon footprint. Often in the past sustainable options were more expensive but there are a many ways to go about creating sustainable packaging. The concept of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” can all be applied in different ways to design an eco-friendly package. Using recyclable materials or creating a reusable design with alternative materials are both ways to incorporate sustainability.
3) Sampler kits are driving huge sales numbers
12 Days of Clean Beauty Kit for Whole Foods Market
60% of customers who receive free samples covert to full-size products. Brands are seeing sales of sampler kits skyrocket compared to previous years. Consumers can no longer test products in store, so giving them the opportunity to test out products from the comfort of their own homes is critical. Sampler kits not only give consumers a chance to find their favorites from your brand, but also provide the excitement of experiencing something new. If your company isn’t offering sampler kits, now is the perfect time to start!
4) Loyalty programs are more important than ever
Your loyalty program can be a deciding factor in whether consumers choose you vs the competitor. Can you say your loyalty program is going above and beyond your customers’ expectations? These programs are an optimal way of thanking the customers who have stuck with you through these trying times. Showing them how important they are to your business is a necessity. A gift incentive, and an unexpected thank you note can go a long way toward building loyalty and creating advocates. VBX Solutions manages multiple loyalty programs and we’re happy to talk to you about how we can take yours to the next level.
What trends or opportunities is your business missing out on? The VBX Solutions team can help you explore your options, and work with you to find the best fit for your brand to drive sales. To learn about these options email us at info@vivaboxsolutions.com
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
+1.212.652.2024
Three ways to make your sustainability program successful
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Three ways to make your sustainability program successful
Sustainability is a way to take care of the earth that takes care of us. Times are changing regarding how people treat the planet, and the packaging industry is changing with those times. There has been a lot of progression in the green movement, but there are still plenty of opportunities and simple changes that can be made to keep up that progression. Packaging made with recyclable material is an important part of sustainability, but there is much more to it.
Now more than ever, consumers have been taking the initiative to research exactly what is making their products/packaging sustainable. Sustainability goes beyond recycling; the modern-day consumer is also interested in the amount of waste being used and other environmental benefactors to create the items they shop for.
There are three pillars for creating a greener packaging program: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. As mentioned before, recycling is a key ingredient to sustainability but certainly not the only one. Reducing is another staple to an eco-friendly package. Reducing the amount of material or pieces used on packaging can save a plethora of resources and energy. Providing consumers with the opportunity to reuse your packaging also creates an opportunity to save materials and energy. A reusable package is the gift that keeps on giving. Keep reading to find out how you can apply reducing, reusing, and recycling to your companies packaging.
Reusable and Recyclable Boxes
The Three R’s of Sustainability: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce:
Reducing the amount of materials and energy being used to create your brands packaging supports sustainability. There are a few simple ways your company can reduce the amount of waste being used on your packaging. In earlier times, luxury packaging meant going all out with boxes inside of bigger boxes, inside of bags, with plenty of wrapping paper and a ribbon on top. But current times are different. The idea of less is more can certainly apply to luxury packaging. By keeping it elegant, yet simple, you can still wow your customers and reduce waste at the same time. Another way your company can provide outstanding packaging while still hitting the goal to reduce, is combining your box and your bag into one package. If you’re asking yourself ‘How can that be possible?’ or ‘What does that even mean?’ take a look at the bag below. By using a more box-like structure and attaching a handle to the top, we were able to eliminate the need for a separate box and a bag. Eliminating the need for both leads to a reduction in the use of resources.
Reusable Box / Bag
Reuse:
Reusable bags and packaging are a GREAT way to support sustainability. Reusable bags are nothing new to the world of eco-friendly packaging. You can find these types of bags everywhere, from the grocery store to the mall. Providing reusable packaging to your customers eliminates the need for continuous waste, supports eco-friendliness, and provides your customers with a piece of your company to hold on to. Want to take it a step further? Create your reusable package with recyclable material. After all the uses your customer gets out of it, the product can go on to be generated into something new. For example, cotton canvas tote bags are both recyclable and reusable.
A gift with purchase is an excellent way to send a reusable product home with customers
Cotton Canvas Tote Bag
Reusability is more than just tote bags. Any durably made box, bag, or even gift with purchase can prevent waste by providing the consumer a convenient reusable package.… take a look at these Sephora Favorites boxes. Once they have served their original packaging purpose, they can go on to be used again for whatever the customer needs. Items that can be kept and reused for reasons outside of shopping lead to less waste in landfills.
Recycle:
Recyclable material is the key component to eco-friendly packaging. There are plenty of combinations that can be made to keep your company’s packaging eco-friendly. It’s as simple as switching from unrecyclable ink to a soy-based ink.
Some examples of eco-friendly packaging components include:
· Mono Material (consisting of only one material)
· Paper Handles
· Post-Consumer Papers
· Poly-Mailers
· Natural Materials- Cotton and Canvas
Reusable Tote Bag
Choosing the wrong finishes can render your eco-friendly design un-recyclable. So how does your package composed of recyclable materials magically become nonrecyclable? Those finishing touches and add ons being used may very well be the culprit. If any part, no matter how small, of your package is not recyclable, the whole package will end up in a landfill.
Some examples of nonrecyclable packaging components include:
· Laminations
· Foils
· Poly ribbons
Once any of these materials has been added, it doesn’t matter that the main components are eco-friendly, it is still deemed nonrecyclable as a whole. If you want your brand’s packaging to be truly sustainable opt for environmentally friendly inks, finishes and adornments.
Some examples of eco-friendly inks and finishes include:
· Soy-based inks
· Water-based varnishes
· Vegetable based inks
There is a lot to consider when thinking about your sustainable packaging program. VBX Solutions can help you explore your options, and work with you to find the best solution for your brand. To learn about these options email us at info@vivaboxsolutions.com.
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
+1.212.652.2024
Using Kits to Provide In-Person Experiences at Home
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With the changing behaviors going on in the world right now VBX Solutions knows education attractions are some of the hardest hit companies regarding the new norms created by the pandemic. How can you provide your customers with a personal experience your education attraction would normally offer in-person, from a distance?
VBX Solutions has been trying to find the perfect idea to help our clients make the most out of the situation and we have the solution. We have seen huge success with the education kits, and we are going to tell you why. When you think about what your attraction is really offering it’s not only the knowledge you have to share, it’s also the experience of being able to physically see, touch, and listen to something your customers are interested in. An education box can replicate that emotional bond customers would normally feel from visiting your establishments. People are so eager to get back to a pre coronavirus world and supplying them with an experience in a box is a great way to do just that.
This sample education kit we created provides information this aquarium has to offer as well as fun ways to get engaged. Visiting an attraction provides customers with an experience as well memories with loved ones to last a lifetime so why not send that home to them.
Booklet
· The kit comes with a booklet that provides mom and dad with information about all the perks of membership with the aquarium.
· It also provides them with fun and engaging activities for the whole family to get them involved with each other and your business.
o i.e. Take your kids to a nearby creek and see how many creatures they can name.
QR Code Attachment
· A QR Code is placed on the information booklet. This QR Code leads to more information about the animals in the aquarium and online games.
Explorer Coloring Book and VIP Pass
· The coloring book supplied has fun images of aquatic life and comes with a set of crayons.
· The package includes a fun “VIP Pass” to get kids eager about the opportunity to visit the aquarium when it is open.
Experiment
· This educational kit provides a clean water experiment for the whole family to do.
· Sending an experiment home to customers gives them an interactive piece of the aquarium as well as a way for the entire family to get involved and spend time together.
The entire VBX Solutions team plays a role in the lifecycle of getting kits like these prepared to go, but where the process really begins and ends is with our clients. Before we start designing any kit, we meet with the client to determine their goals, objectives, and KPIs.
From there, our Creative team gets to work on designing the package based off of what the clients goals are. From mood boards to sketches to prototypes, our team creates a multitude of concepts that support your brand’s promise.
Once the design is complete the manufacturing process begins and materials are collected from around the world to create the perfect package.
While the packaging is being manufactured our project managers start sourcing kit elements, identifying brands and content to include in the kit.
Finally, the packaging and content arrive at our fulfillment center where it is kitted and either stored in our warehouse awaiting drop shipment or is delivered to the client’s distribution center
With all the changes being made to the norms of society it is important for businesses to keep their target market engaged with what they have to offer. Providing clients with the experience of your establishment from the comfort and safety of their own home is a great way to show them you care about their loyalty. VBX Solutions would love to help you with taking that next step to go above and beyond with your customers. VBX Solutions can help you pinpoint ways to more effectively keep your target market interested in you and help navigate through any sore spots your business may be suffering from. Email us at info@vivaboxsolutions.com to discuss what we can do to help your education attraction flourish during these hard times.
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
+1.212.652.2024
There's Still Time to Design Your Way into a Great Holiday 2020 Season
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Seasonal Packaging: Brand Recognition at Your Fingertips
How important is seasonal and holiday packaging to brands? Considering that packaging has become the primary face of any brand and product, regardless of the time of year or season, it is safe to say it is extremely important. A company’s brand tells a story—it adds personality and animation into the consumer’s perception of that company. As brands compete for attention in an ever-growing market of products, packaging has become key to helping brands rise above the clutter and there’s no better time than the holidays to put a limited edition special pack or promotional kit in-stores/online. There’s just enough time to start and finish a project efficiently (adding to your ROI) if you get going in April.
A Quick History Lesson
While holiday or seasonally-themed product packaging may seem like a relatively new concept, the act of packaging gifts has been around for centuries. Originating in Asia, around 2nd Century B.C., the Song Dynasty would gift money to government officials in ornamental envelopes made of bamboo, hemp, and rice.
In the West, elaborate packaging was much slower to catch on. The Christmas card wasn’t developed until 1843, and took until the 1860’s to gain increased popularity.
Especially around Christmas, the increase in popularity of cards eventually led to the development of Victorian decorative papers to accompany the cards. These papers, however, were expensive to produce and were only affordable to the wealthy.
As gift-giving became more accessible to the masses, packaging became more popular as well. Ranging from wrapping paper and ribbons to printed boxes and unique containers, more varieties of packaging were created to satisfy holiday and seasonal needs.
So, what are some of the best ways to rise to the top during any season, holiday, or event? Here are a few steps to determining how to choose the best packaging for your target customers, all year round:
1. Choose your holiday (or season, or celebration…)
Depending on your product, some holidays will be more effective for holiday packaging. Foods and beverages normally do well on all occasions—Valentine’s Day, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, for example. Other products might find it harder to make connections as easily, but could make a huge splash with seasonal milestones that are aligned with their brand voice and point of view.
As an ever-increasing number of celebrations pop up on a global scale, like Pride week, Women’s Day, Earth Day, and China’s Single’s Day, products and packaging can find ways to attract more consumers and boost brand recognition and loyalty.
For example, Skittles found a way to support Pride week with their “Give the Rainbow” packaging, where they changed their rainbow-colored candies and packaging to white.
Image: AdWeek, June 2016
2. Order appropriately
When planning seasonal and celebratory packaging, there are more things to consider than design. As exciting as it may be to showcase great packaging for the occasions, be sure your forecast is dialed.
There are ways to avoid this, of course. One way is to include packaging changes that can be removed, such as a label or ribbon. Another way is to make limited time only GWP or PWP special-packs that are easy to gift and typically under $29 retail encouraging busy shoppers to buy more than one.
3. Show them something special
During high-purchase holidays, vying for shoppers’ attention is competitive. Adding a touch of creativity to primary and secondary packaging designs are ways to rise above the noise.
Nutella proved this with its idea of offering customers the chance to personalize jars with their names or to purchase original packaging designs labeled as “limited editions” (7 million designs, to be exact)—to great success. We’d love to see them do this again with multiple trial-size snacks that are fun to dip — would be great social media fuel.
Image: DeZeen, June 2017
Image: The Body Shop, 2018
4. Make it sustainable
Sustainable packaging is also a way companies can reinforce special packaging—for holidays, celebrations (like Earth Day), or an all-year commitment, especially with millennials and Gen Z, though not limited to them. Consumers are more conscious than ever about reducing their ecological footprint and demanding companies provide more environmentally friendly packaging. One way to respond to this is by offering reusable packaging such as ornate bottles, good TSA bags, dopp kits, clutches, or hinged cases. The Body Shop is known for this, often presenting its gift ranges in tins that buyers can put to other purposes once they have used the product itself.
5. Create something luxurious
Clearly, product packaging for holiday, seasonal, and celebratory events must be extraordinary and special in some way. To stand out, you need a great packaging design for the products you provide (primary) and the secondary packaging so you can boost sell-through, paying attention to both the visual and tactile elements.
Luxury packaging is an art, and a custom box can be the canvas. Here are some practical tips for creating experiential packaging that keep consumers coming back for more:
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Visual: Choose the right color! Simply put, the right color sells more. Human eyes are especially attuned to the subtle influence of color and, of course, it helps if the color you imagine during the design is the actual color that prints. Special, custom colors and finishes are a great way to give packaging a one-of-a-kind, distinctive look. Those custom colors stand out in wall of brown boxes, greens and reds and Christmas time, or the standard “natural” colors that line the shelves.
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Tactile: The sense of touch is important, and as Vivabox has said many times before, it is usually one of the only physical touchpoints a consumer has with a brand. Human beings are wired to respond to physical touch, so the experience is important to brand recognition and loyalty. For example, because consumers are influenced by the look and feel of packaging when making purchase decisions, a well-designed custom box can be embossed (raised lettering or artwork) or it can be debossed (recessed), it can be coated in felt, RPET, papers that feel like wood or linen, and so much more.
Image: Neutrogena Hydro Boost, 2019
Every consumer is influenced by packaging. It’s important to remember that the person buying your product is more than likely buying it for someone else. Since they are buying for other people, first impressions matter, mainly because many consumers consider the outside packaging to be a reflection of the quality of the product inside.
Although holidays and certain seasons can be busy, your brand and business can benefit from these packaging strategies, if planned correctly. Vivabox can help your brand meet modern packaging needs for any holiday or seasonal event. Contact us for details.
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
+1.212.652.2024
Developing Promotional Kits: 5 Tips For Success
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We’ve all heard the expression “thinking outside the box” so often, it’s become something of a cliche. But what about rethinking the box itself? When your marketing team is developing promotional kits for a client, it’s essential to think about what the brand hopes to accomplish by launching this kit, and to use the product’s strengths, selling points, and target audience to devise a fresh new way to reach a possibly already oversaturated market.
Today’s marketing departments face unique challenges that largely didn’t exist just a decade ago. While their predecessors were up to their eyeballs in decisions pertaining to TV, radio, and print media, present-day marketing professionals need to concern themselves with how their client’s product or service is received by a global audience connected via social media. Not only has our consumer base grown in numbers, but it has also grown in sophistication- people no longer want to feel as if they are being sold something, and instead are more drawn to story-driven narratives about a company’s founders, brand identity, or social consciousness. This authentic aspect helps drive sales, build brand loyalty, and raise the level of consumer awareness for a company, and must carry over from website to social media pages to email campaigns. By developing promotional kits, your marketing department can help make your brand’s story more three-dimensional and bring it to life by giving consumers an actual, physical thing they can touch and experience. The ability to hold something in your hand, to try it out and feel it, can help make more conversions than even the most polished SEO. In a digital world, it’s still important for companies to establish a physical connection between their products and their customers, and there’s no better place to start than with a well-developed promotional kit. Here are a few fundamentals for developing promotional kits that can help you turn even the most jaded consumers into an enthusiastic customer base.
What’s in the box? WHAT’S IN THE BOX???
The very nature of a promotional kit is to make someone excited about opening it! Think back to being handed a birthday present in your childhood: chances are the more beautifully the box was wrapped, the more you couldn’t wait to see what was inside. The same holds true for a promotional kit- the more creative the package, the more a consumer is likely to want to open it. By developing a promotional kit design that aligns with the identity of the brand and resonates with your target market, you are getting a lot of people interested in your product before they’ve even seen it.
Picture Perfect
OK, pop quiz- what’s the first thing people do these days when they are served a particularly exquisite meal? They whip out their mobile devices and photograph their dishes for social media, right? And once it’s posted, that’s free advertising for the restaurant that prepared the food. What if you could generate the same frenzied excitement responsible for restaurant food photography with your promotional kit? By getting exceptionally creative with packaging, your promotional kit could find itself featured on many an influencer’s Instagram feed. In fact, if you’ve got an impressive-enough promotional kit to warrant it, you could find your product featured in a YouTube unboxing video with over 1 million views, depending on who received it. That’s right- your promotional kit could wind up being slowly, lovingly taken out of its box by a high-profile YouTuber while 1 million people watch intently. It pays to create promotional kits that inspire that kind of large-scale intrigue!
Be Heard
A number of companies in today’s marketplace use their brand as a platform for speaking out about social, political, and environmental issues that are near to their hearts. A promotional kit can make a significant impact on a like-minded target audience by incorporating these views and ideals into its packaging strategy. Several quick-service restaurant concepts, for example, use inspirational quotes from famous people such as Gandhi, Rosa Parks, and Anne Frank, to decorate their paper bags, cups, and other consumables as a way to promote their products and their values simultaneously. By developing promotional kits with a message, a brand can be heard and seen at the same time, and build a following based on shared ideals and beliefs.
Take It Easy
Of course, when developing promotional kits for a brand, the goal is always to make the company stand out from the rest of their competition, but this does not necessarily mean the kit has to be overly complex. In fact, the more complicated the design of your promotional kit, and the harder it is to open, the more of a turnoff it can be for recipients- not just for the kit but potentially for the brand itself! It’s best to take a simple design concept and build on it from a creative standpoint. That way, your target audience will be able to appreciate the kit’s singularity without becoming frustrated while opening it!
Listen to Your Brand
As marketing professionals, it is your job to take a kernel of an idea and help it explode into a creative, memorable, and beloved concept. Products are helped along by the catchy slogans, engaging content, and exciting imagery that their advertising and marketing team comes up with, but not even the most awe-inspiring tagline will do a single thing unless it speaks to the brand’s already-existing values. For example, a fast-food burger joint markets a lot differently than, say, an investment firm, just because of how different the two products are. By staying tuned into your core audience, the nature of the product itself, and how the brand wishes to be represented, your team can develop a promotional kit that hits all the right notes!
The art of developing promotional kits is something that will continue to be highly valuable to a marketing firm, regardless of how much farther down the digital rabbit hole we go. People are always going to want an actual product sample they can try before they commit to a purchase, and by knowing exactly how to put together a killer promotional kit, your team will have a distinct advantage over competing brands who are putting out less exciting kits, or no kits at all, to consumers.
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
+1.212.652.2024
The Top Five Benefits of Outsourcing Your Packaging Strategy
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The outsourcing of branding and promotions to marketing agencies for a brand is not a new strategy. It has been a proven practice since agencies opened their doors. At the same time, there are branding strategies that are always changing, so there is a steady learning curve to keep up with. Competing brands and the ever-changing demands of consumers challenge in-house teams to stay on top with new trends while maintaining day-to-day work, and has created the perfect storm of requirements. Nowhere is this more recognized than with packaging.
Consumer demands for packaging change often, especially when they require seasonal designs, more versatile uses, product variety, convenience, GWP, a more eco approach, and product protection. Since packaging is as important as every other element of a brand (arguably a top 3 priority), these ever-changing demands impact every packaging brief, at least they should.
In-House Pain Points
As one of the only physical touchpoints consumers have with a brand, and as consumers grow more averse to talking to real people or asking for help in stores, packaging has become more relevant than ever. These trends have made it hard for in-house marketing departments (and those stand-alone marketing agencies) to keep up the juggling act. Packaging demands are simply changing too fast and becoming more prevalent in consumer purchasing decisions. Those demands are more than the logo, a brand voice, or attribute call-outs, this also means meeting packaging regulations, material, and shipping cost projections, and accessibility to the machinery that makes the packaging, not to mention the right assembly and quality controls and getting them delivered on time to the right distribution centers
Mental and financial resources are tight in business. Businesses may see the opportunity to design a new category or put a product in to fill a gap or new customer demand, but the company is not structured efficiently to capitalize. They might prefer to source the product directly, but there are no custom-ready solutions. It takes time and work to deliver a customized “only available at” product, but who has time to do that when executing the current business plan? There are frictions – working with brand standards, legal approvals, and logistics systems that are hard to navigate. In the end, it’s a great idea, but too complicated to execute.
Operational costs, space limitations, additional labor costs, and logistical planning are all financial and time-management expenses most businesses cannot afford to take on in-house.
The Benefits of Outsourcing
This is why outsourcing, especially with unique SKU development, custom packaging, seasonal packaging, and new product or loyalty kits, has become a must for a wide range of businesses to keep up with growing customer demand and stay ahead of the competition.
“A third-party product management (3PPM) provider is an extension of your business,” Vivabox COO, Peter Allen, said. “It manages anywhere from a single SKU to an entire product line of a company’s portfolio and executes product design, creative development, sourcing, manufacturing, and shipping into your distribution centers. You get to focus on the marketing and selling activities, and the rest is taken care of for you by the 3PPM.”
Allen has collaborated with several companies who struggle with in-house packaging. For most, the packaging is an animal they simply cannot tame because it requires several moving parts that cost time and money. When a packaging company is a 3PPM provider, the sole focus is building the best packaging solutions for the brand. It has the knowledge a packaging company should have, which allows companies to focus more on what they do best for their brand and leave the packaging logistics to the experts.
Here are the top 5 benefits companies experience when working with a 3PPM packaging provider, like Vivabox:
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We help lower costs of product acquisition and design, and we can rapidly respond to changing trends in the industry.
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We can help with a single SKU, or we can build entire categories for your brand.
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We become an extension of your business, supporting you with account managers that learn how your business executes and tailors our process to meet your requirements.
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We work with your teams—creative, marketing, finance, operations, and legal to make the process seamless—saving an average of 9 hours per person, per month involved in the project on the client-side
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We align with your business and bring you expertise from outside and inside your category to help you see new opportunities.
If you find yourself in a position where you would greatly benefit from a 3PPM, but you are not sure where to begin, Vivabox Solutions can help. We have the capabilities to fill multiple roles in your business. We take concepts and bring them to life with creative strategies, all the way to building and delivering that product concept to you and serving it up for you to sell.
Learn more by contacting Vivabox.
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
+1.212.652.2024
Using Custom Promotional Boxes in a Marketing Campaign
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In order to understand the challenges faced by the average promotional marketing team, it’s necessary to get inside their heads a bit. What’s the biggest obstacle they need to overcome in order to get consumers to use their product or service? How can they effectively introduce their brand to their core audience in a way that informs, entertains, and educates? When it comes to marketing, custom promotional boxed are one of the best ways to meet these objectives and build a strong brand identity while providing the information their target market needs about the product they are offering. Here are some basic strategies for custom-packaging promotional boxes in a way that will get the right people to pay attention to your brand.
Unboxing Match
If you’ve been paying attention on social media lately, you’ve likely spotted a trend that’s showing no signs of going anywhere. From YouTube to Instagram, unboxing videos are a widespread phenomenon that can provide maximum exposure and recognition for your brand at absolutely no cost! An unboxing video is just what it sounds like: a video of a person unpacking a new product so that other fans of the product or brand can see its contents. While an unboxing video can be made for just about any product on the market, it is most common to see an electronic device, such as an iPhone, or a collectible toy, such as a limited-edition LEGO set, get unboxed for others’ viewing pleasure. The unprecedented rise of the unboxing video has made many companies pay closer attention to how their items are packaged, and strive to make every unboxing experience as aesthetically-pleasing and satisfying as possible.
Since a custom promotional box’s primary function is to introduce consumers to a new product or service, or even to the brand itself, it makes sense that, if a promotional box was packaged interestingly enough to generate excitement and intrigue, unboxing videos would be made and shared over social media outlets by excited members of your target audience. This exposure could potentially lead to the brand and product being blogged about and reported on by industry heavyweights and consumer reviewers alike. All of this publicity can be very good for an as-yet-unknown startup company or new product that has not gained significant traction among its core audience. By amping up the excitement with custom packaging, your promotional box stands a better chance of becoming the subject of positive buzz.
Identity Check
When you think of the phrase “brand identity,” chances are you think of that handful of mega-corporations who have created entire mini-societies based on consumer devotion to a product. A solid brand identity is a quick and efficient way to summarize your company’s mission, values, and process while also building an emotional bond with any consumer who shares those sentiments. Before you plan your packaging strategy for a custom promotional box, it is vital to give serious thought to just how you want your target audience to feel about your company and its products based on this first experience.
Are you a quirky, irreverent anti-corporation that wants to do some good in the world? Are you a serious-minded company that business professionals have relied on for over five decades? Perhaps you are an industry disruptor poised to change the face of our modern world forever. Whatever your brand, the first step of your marketing campaign should be to define its identity and then use that information to design your custom packaging concept for promotional boxes.
Make It Stick
People receive things in the mail all the time- and most of it gets tossed in the trash or recycling bin! It’s sad but true that a substantial number of promotional marketing materials never even get opened by their intended recipients. What if you could guarantee that your company’s custom promotional box would be the one they open? With creative custom packaging, you can! People enjoy being entertained and pleasantly surprised, and they want to feel as though a specific brand message resonates with them. In our modern world, we receive so much input that it all starts to sound like white noise after a while. By custom-creating a standout promotional box, you can ensure that your target market will tune in for a moment and receive your brand’s message loud and clear. With a creative approach to packaging, your promotional box will be the one that sticks with your audience long after they’ve opened it.
Take it Easy
Just because your custom promotional box’s packaging is innovative and eye-catching, that doesn’t have to mean it’s hard to open! Think of the end recipients and the experience you want them to have, so you can customize your promotional box in a way that eliminates difficulty and frustration. All too often, marketing departments choose form over function, which can lead to costly product packaging blunders. Imagine how a consumer will feel about your brand if he or she can’t easily and quickly open the promotional box’s packaging? It’s best to make sure that however you choose to capture your brand values through packaging, it will not require an advanced engineering degree to actually open it!
Label Yourself
You want to make sure that your custom promotional box not only ends up in the right hands, but is then opened and reviewed by those who need to hear your message most. There’s no way you’re going to achieve your end goal of imprinting your brand logo onto the brains of everyone who encounters your promo kit if you don’t first imprint it on the packaging itself. Highly-visible, brand-specific labeling that uses both the company name and logo will go a long way toward helping people remember you. A delightfully-packaged little promotional box that sparks imagination and generates buzz is great, unless nobody can even figure out who put the box out in the first place! By making sure your brand name is front and center, you can be sure that people will be able to identify your company before they ever open the package.
When you are custom-designing the packaging for your promotional boxes, be mindful of the end result your organization is shooting for, and you’re sure to land on just the right strategy! When in doubt, make sure to refer to these helpful hints and your promotional materials will stand head and shoulders above the rest of the competition.
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
+1.212.652.2024
Using Customer Loyalty Programs in Retail
kitting
With the rise of big-box stores, online shopping giants, and same-day deliveries, the retail landscape has changed dramatically in a relatively short period of time. Consumers now have the freedom and flexibility to shop for virtually anything, any time of day, and enjoy affordable pricing, free shipping, and other perks that were once unheard of in the retail world. Because of this, the competition between retailers has never been more fierce. It is getting increasingly difficult to build and retain consumer loyalty with so many options available to shoppers nowadays. This seismic shift in how people purchase necessities and luxury items has caused a struggle among retailers to keep up with changing trends, as well as a constant search for a magic formula to stand out against competitors.
One of the most popular ways retailers maintain a healthy, thriving customer base is through loyalty programs. Many larger retailers offer customer loyalty programs that offer discounts and rewards earned through purchases. This strategy is effective not only by giving consumers an added incentive to do their business with a particular store, but also by ensuring that customers are likely to spend even more money when they return to use their reward points or earned discounts.
What Makes a Customer Loyalty Program Successful?
In order for a retail customer loyalty program to gain success among its target audience, it should meet the following requirements:
No Cost to Join
If a customer loyalty program is free, customers are far more likely to sign up than if there were a monthly or annual membership fee. While some retailers do offer rewards programs that cost money to subscribe, the free loyalty programs are almost universally more successful and popular than the ones that charge.
Keep in mind, however, that in order for a retailer to support a free rewards program, they must be able to cover the costs of the goods or services that are being given away or reduced in price. A prime example of this is the Starbucks rewards program, which is free to join and incredibly popular among its customers. Recently, customers could receive any menu item for free each time they earned 125 stars, at the rate of one star for each dollar spent in the store. Additionally, certain promotional events allowed customers to earn double or even triple stars on special days or at off-peak, “happy hour” times of the day. However, Starbucks recently had to change its reward redemption structure, as it became clear that customers were using their earned rewards stars toward big-ticket items, such as salads and sandwiches, rather than much-cheaper cups of coffee. The rewards program now operates on a tier system, but this has not seemed to hinder the success of the program.
User-Friendly
From the basic structure of the customer loyalty program to the ease and convenience with which points can be redeemed online, user experience is everything. When rolling out a new customer loyalty program, a retailer must make sure that both the desktop and mobile website or app supporting the earning and redemption of points is intuitive, convenient, and simple to use. Additionally, the structure of the program should be easy to understand and clearly laid out to avoid confusion and frustration among customers.
Not surprisingly, the Amazon Rewards Visa is one of the most user-friendly customer loyalty programs in existence. A digital native, Amazon has always led the pack when it comes to innovating online retail systems, and its rewards program is no exception. Though becoming a Rewards Visa member does require signing up and being approved for an Amazon credit card, after that, the reward points are as easy to redeem as they are to earn – both on and off the Amazon website. Even more importantly, members are able to access their point balance and view past transactions, earned reward points, and more on the website or mobile app, making it convenient, easy, and, as Amazon itself would say, “frustration-free.”
Great Incentives
As consumers everywhere can probably tell you, not all customer loyalty programs are created equal. Some retailers, for example, offer things like “store cash,” which can be redeemed only during select weeks and take a percentage off of a future purchase, rather than giving a customer anything for free. A good rewards program should offer a healthy balance of same-day discounts and the ability to redeem points toward free items. Some of our favorite incentives give the consumer a choice of special addition kits which make them feel rewarded while also introducing them to new products.
However, the ease with which customers can receive rewards is just as important as the incentives themselves. A number of customer loyalty programs tend to make people spend far too much before parting with even the smallest incentive on the tier. Movie theater rewards programs are a notorious offender, forcing rewards members to spend literal hundreds of dollars on ticket and concession purchases before even being granted a free small popcorn valued at five dollars!
No Expiration Date
A reward earned should be a reward kept. However, some retailers have structured their customer loyalty programs to include expiration dates for discounts and free items, even though a consumer has earned the points fair and square. The expiration date strategy is a purposeful one, designed to make customers come back sooner. However, it can be a major turnoff to earn enough points for a large reward, only to be told by a sales associate that those points expired one week ago! By structuring a customer loyalty program with no expiration dates, you are showing customers that you value them as people, not dollar signs.
Chick-Fil-A does a very nice job of handling the balance between when points are earned and when they are redeemed. Their loyalty program allows customers to spend their accumulated points either little by little or in one lump sum. A customer can use the Chick-Fil-A mobile app to easily keep track of how many points they have earned, as well as which free reward items are available to them. Once a customer redeems a reward, it becomes a coupon that is only available for 24 hours, but since most customers wait to redeem their reward points until they are already at the restaurant, this system does not cause confusion or frustration for anyone involved.
By keeping your customer loyalty program simple, free, and easy to use, you will be able to provide incentives that entice consumers to keep coming back to your retail store over and over again. Follow these guidelines when structuring your customer loyalty program and you will have a devoted customer base in no time. How can Vivabox help you create a successful loyalty program? Contact us to find out.
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
+1.212.652.2024
What a White Label VIP Customer Care Service Could Add to Your Business
kitting
As a business looking for opportunities to get ahead in the marketing and service focus of modern retailing, your first instinct may be to do it all yourself. Unfortunately, that is not always the best solution.
Building a customized, high-touch VIP customer care solution from scratch by attempting to meet the exact specifications of your business can be time-consuming and complicated. That’s because building your own solution can lead you to make mistakes, like spending too much money developing tools and solutions that already exist in other formats, or you may miss out on resources and expertise in the specific space where you need a focused solution. Or you simply don’t have the bandwidth to train, monitor, and launch a specialized high-touch customer service team.
These pitfalls are easy to avoid if you opt for a white label solution, rather than building one yourself. White label products and services, like the Vivabox VIP White Label Customer Care Service, help you deliver on your Brand Promise & Customer Care commitment using our outsourced team who operate under your “banner” — that’s the white label part.
Vivabox’s White label VIP Customer Care Service offers you the following benefits:
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High-touch, limited quantity & limited time only rewards, gifts, influencer packages, and pop-up shop gifts, and special experiences need a specialized customer care team experienced in delivering above and beyond. We do that for you.
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Our team uses software, yes, but they’re people. Real people. Customer care experts adept at delivering special products and special value to your most important customers.
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It’s quick and easy to brand. We represent your aesthetic, tone, and service level as if it was…you! White label solutions are generally fully integrated, which makes branding easy. You can be free from concerns about needing to spend time and money on research or development because white label services are doing the work for you. Simply enough, we help propel your brand’s experience for you so you don’t have to cut corners that could backfire on your brand identity.
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You can scale your services portfolio. The most significant benefit of using white label marketing is to broaden your offerings. You don’t need to specialize in each and every service that you offer, and outsourcing provides a much broader range of services for your business.
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You can focus on your core competencies. Core competencies benefit from scaling your services. In many cases, the solutions that companies hope to build themselves fall far outside of their areas of expertise. It’s not smart to stretch your resources to do something that doesn’t fit within your core competencies. Pre-packaged solutions offer your business an opportunity to trust the experts in the specific space you are focused on, and avoid making the same mistakes that others have made before you.
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Improve your customer loyalty, retention, and NPS. Broaden your rewards and event strategies. With a third-party provider taking responsibility for most important service delivery, you can focus more time and effort on managing your retail spaces, relationships, and product array. Every time your Growth or Marketing team comes to you with a special promotion, or award tier, you won’t have to say no to them just because you don’t have the capabilities in-house.
White label solutions, like the one Vivabox provides, help businesses use unique branding and high-touch customer care so you can offer a product or service without investing in infrastructure or technology creation. Done and done — at the speed of today’s retail environment.
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
+1.212.652.2024
How to Create the Best Brand Experiences in a Box for ROI, Growth, and Loyalty
kitting
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
+1.212.652.2024