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6 Package Design Ideas for the “New Reality”

August 2, 2011 at 8:27 pm by Ted Mininni

It’s no secret: consumers are shopping more selectively; reluctant to part with their hard-earned dollars unless we – consumer product company marketers and package design experts – give them justification for doing so.

Rather than letting viable brands gradually lose share, marketers should put repackaging at the top of their list to achieve cultural relevance in the “New Reality.”

Consider these six ideas for accomplishing this goal:

• Create unique, highly differentiated package structures that contribute terrific stand-alone value.
• Develop packaging that changes product delivery systems for the better. Isn’t adding convenience to consumers’ lives a winning strategy?
• Leverage heritage brand assets that elicit consumers’ fond memories and emotions to make these products overwhelming choices.
• Sell premium products’ assets as affordable small luxuries. Isn’t that meaningful to cash-strapped consumers who are eschewing extravagance?
• Help consumers simplify their lives. Isn’t that something we all crave?
• Tout the cleaner, greener, and safer properties of consumer products where applicable. Help consumers feel good about doing good with their purchases.

Consumers are deliberating more at the retail shelf. They’re more likely to change loyalties, purchasing those brands that increasingly mesh with their values, and these “values” aren’t all about price.

What are you doing with product packaging to fully leverage your brand values?

• Given the shift in consumer perception and spending habits, which packaging speaks to the “new reality” in your view?
• Which package design ideas would you add to this list and why?
• How can consumer brands reposition leveraging those values in package design, color, imagery and brand communication to appeal to the new consumer?

Let’s hear from you. We’d love to get your take.

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