Developing Promotional Kits: 5 Tips For Success
packagingstrategy
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.
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6 Ways to Use Packaging Strategies in Marketing
packagingstrategy
The concept of using product packaging as an effective and memorable marketing tool has been around for over 150 years. For over a century, companies have utilized creative packaging strategies to ensure that their products resonate in the minds of consumers and stand out against the competition. From the iconic shape of a Coca-Cola bottle to popular cereal-box mascots Snap, Crackle, and Pop, using product packaging as a means to cement a brand identity in the collective conscious is nothing new. However, thanks to advances in technology, we are now able to incorporate product packaging strategies into marketing more seamlessly and effectively than ever before. Creative minds at companies across the United States work tirelessly to make more and more innovative packaging decisions so that their products will be the ones their consumer base remembers.
With the abundance of packaging options available to product manufacturers, it can be difficult to select one that stays on-brand, creates excitement and appeal, and helps distinguish the product from its peers at a single glance. While you want to form a lasting impression among your audience, you also want to make sure they understand what your company and its products stand for, so they can build loyalty to your brand. Here are seven of the most popular ways to use a strong product packaging strategy in your marketing campaign.
Keep it Green
As we continue to become more conscious of our collective carbon footprint, we are more interested in purchasing products with eco-friendly packaging. By choosing to package your product using biodegradable or reusable materials, you are letting your consumer base know that your company is deeply committed to preserving our environment. You can put your target audience’s mind at ease by using responsibly-sourced materials, such as plant-derived plastics, recycled cardboard, or natural fibers, in your product packaging, so that your consumer base feels good about supporting a company that cares about our planet.
Insta-Worthy Inspiration
We live in a society that loves to share photos of everyday life, and no platform makes it easier than Instagram! Your consumers are constantly on the lookout for “Insta-worthy” photos that will generate buzz on social media. Consider a packaging strategy that absolutely pops in a picture, whether your packaging is luxe, rustic, or just downright quirky. By packaging your product in a highly attractive way that looks amazing on Instagram, filter or no filter, you’re on your way to having it picked up by a brand influencer. This kind of exposure could skyrocket your business overnight!
Stay True to You
When consumers think of your brand and products, what adjective do you want them to use to describe you? The answer to that question can go a long way toward deciding on a strong packaging strategy. It’s important to let your choices be guided by your brand values, not the other way around. For instance, a family-owned company that makes and sells artisanal cheese probably will want their products to evoke imagery of tradition, legacy, and old-fashioned quality, while a company that manufactures high-end cosmetics may opt for ultra-luxe packaging that puts consumers in mind of glamour and celebrity status. No matter what type of product you sell, it is always important to make sure your packaging is in line with the rest of your branding.
Make it Limited
One sure way to generate excitement is to release limited edition products complete with special packaging. Perhaps you want to market goods that are only seasonally available, such as special coffee blends or candle scents, using holiday-themed packaging. Or maybe you have created anniversary-edition packaging to commemorate the number of years your company has been in business. No matter the occasion, a packaging strategy based on a timely or seasonal offering creates a sense of urgency that drives consumers to buy the items you are selling before they run out.
Send a Message
Does your company place value on being an ethical and responsible voice for certain political and social issues faced by members of you target audience faces? A number of companies choose to use their packaging as a platform for sending messages that correspond with the core beliefs of their organization. For instance, if your company is committed to promoting children’s literacy, you may want to use a packaging strategy that incorporates famous quotes from beloved children’s books. Similarly, if you own a business that strongly supports animal rights , you may wish to include messages that echo your commitment to the cause on all of your product packaging. You can use your products to educate your consumer base, which can make a huge impact on our society!
Simplify…and Save!
Sometimes the most effective packaging is none at all! If you are trying to convey a brand image of simplicity, it may be best to employ a minimalist packaging strategy. If, for example, you wish to reduce the wasted space created by standard food item packaging, such as a box or can, perhaps try to use a slimmer, more streamlined container to stand out. Not only does a packaging decision like this help distinguish a particular brand from the rest of the competition, but it also can help a company save money by cutting down on packaging costs. Additionally, a simplified container can add value for consumers who wish to cut down on unnecessary bulk for easier storage and disposal. By keeping it simple and designing product packaging that carries a lower profile than that of your competitors, you’re actually helping it stand out from the rest of the competition!
When choosing the right packaging strategy for your product, keep in mind that, first and foremost, you must choose something that will resonate with your target audience and cause them to select your brand over others on the market. The more you know about your chief consumers, the more you will be able to make informed packaging decisions based on what matters most to them, By sticking to your core brand values and knowing your audience, you can effectively market yourself using distinctive packaging that sets you apart from the crowd!
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