Packaging

Think of a product. For instance, Coca-Cola.

The image that usually comes first to mind is the pack. Which is why packaging plays such an important role in building the brand’s image.

Of no less importance, is its role in sales.

Packaging encounters the consumer at a crucial juncture—the moment, at the shelf, when she is about to make her purchase decision. This is the moment the pack must sell the product.

Packaging is also a form of advertising. Good packaging augments advertising in building brand equity and generating sales. Inferior packaging, on the other hand, can weaken brand performance.

Over the years, as media advertising has fragmented, and media costs have increase, brands are relying relatively less on media for advertising support. This increases the importance of the role of package as the advertising campaign.

Consumer research supports marketers through the stages of development of packaging—review, exploration, screening and optimization, and validation. It helps them identify the functional and graphic elements of the design that break through the visual clutter on-shelf, improve the communication and strengthen the imagery.