Package your way to a place in the sun

By Deepika François

Brands evoke a host of feelings from total disdain to pure love. What creates this distaste or affinity and what are the reasons for brand loyalty? In a changing world, where consumers' needs are constantly on the move, brands need to fight for their place in the sun and mere brand names may not be strong enough. This could explain the reasons for some of the global brands to rethink their positioning and seek out different ways and means of standing out amidst the clutter.

Symbolic in origin, brands have always evoked a certain visual association. Today, this visual environment is even more crucial, considering the shifting of loyalties from branded goods to store owned brands and home grown brands. The drawing power of the visual space is often a point of difference and has given rise to a design school that works in strategic partnership with marketing to create that stand out appeal for products, be it mass or niche. 

Design is no longer or not at all an execution or a decorative station at the end of the initiative, says Olivier Mermet, design leader of low income markets and FMOT (First Moment of Truth) design at Procter & Gamble Asia. He sees design as more of a strategic function, believing it to contribute directly to the brand experience. This may not be far away from the truth, considering the importance laid on the visual experience to differentiate one brand from the other at the purchase area.

While research has shown that the actual moment of purchase is totally arbitrary and could depend on a host of reasons including product shape, volume and product placement, the packaging could make a difference in those few nanoseconds before a purchase is made. Chris Plewes, creative director of Anthem Worldwide calls packaging the tipping point. In fact, the product benefit may sometimes be secondary to the visual impact it emanates.

This makes it an even more challenging proposition for marketers to drive momentum towards their products and mass-market brands face very unique challenges as opposed to the niche ones. Typically, mass-market brands face fierce competition and find themselves limited by the cost factor. Christian Huber, managing director of Boncafé International believes that "loyalty for mass market brands tends to be lower as consumers are generally more cost conscious than brand aware".

Mass-market brands are also challenged by the rise of local brands that represent core local values and in some instances carry more attractive features than they do. Mermet of P&G identifies more potential for design in niche markets, as they have a unique brand positioning. Niche brands may also have the capacity to invest more to get their message across. Mass-market brands don't always have this freedom, so packaging becomes more crucial in this segment. As Plewes from Anthem puts it, it is about telling the same story in a unique and compelling way.

From the realm of creative conception, the path to the supermarket or store is an intricate and complex story to tell. Often, the fundamental principles apply but the paths are traced differently. "Design can give a lot of emotional connection and aspiration", says Mermet from P&G but marketers need to know if their products are wanted. Unwanted products may never see the light of day and globally the number of products that never reach the store are staggering.   

Brand loyalty is often earned through a tedious process and while visual appeal may be the first moment of truth, the product needs to be experienced for the truth to be lived. For Mermet, brand is only a word but it is an experience when it comes to life. Bringing a creative idea or brand idea to life can be done through a host of ways - the actual product design, its packaging, the advertising and the experience at the point of sale (POS). Shirley Foenander, VP, marketing and communications of McDonald's Restaurants defines a desirable product as a combination of function uplifted by style. The product has to satisfy and the point of sale is only a way of getting people to return to the store where they experienced it but would not form the core of the experience.

Marketing budgets are also being moved to focus more on packaging than advertising in more mature markets like North America. This could be linked to the growing loyalty that store brands receive from consumers and the emphasis laid on good packaging by brands to get their products off the shelves. "But packaging like anything when it becomes familiar, becomes wallpaper", says Leonardo O'Grady, integrated marketing communications director at F&N Coca-Cola Singapore. He believes that point of sale can help support one's packaging when it becomes too familiar.

POS could serve as a mini-theatre for the brand according to Mermet, who sees its role as activating certain key elements of the brand. While some may do POS well, some do it badly. The important aspect of POS is to keep it simple, particularly if there is complexity in the brand message. Sam Ahmed, global brand director of Anlene explains how its POS had to firstly create awareness of bone health and secondly create differentiation. "This put pressure on our POS and we realised we needed to educate our consumers by simplifying our message."

POS when done really well can accentuate or educate on product benefits and drive conversion as much as the packaging. It particularly works well with the impulsive buyer, points out O'Grady. However, some regard POS to be more of a disturbance and don't see its benefits in the marketing process.

Rather than regarding POS as a waste of time, it would seem appropriate to give it its due in the marketing process as a whole.

The design or visual journey is fundamentally one of aspiration, with packaging designers working to meet both marketers' and consumers' expectations. Rising to their needs and satisfying them would not be possible without a fresh approach at the beginning of each project. Designers like Plewes ask marketers to write packaging briefs for them in the place of advertising ones.

Mermet feels there is a dilemma between marketing and design functions. "Marketing comes with very strong beliefs and processes but this is normal because they have to deliver on the business", he says. On the other hand, design plays a critical role in managing the quality of the consumer's interaction with the brand. Desmond Loh, founder and account director of OXO explains that a stand-alone design proposition would be superficial and would need to be a part of a clear business vision. So one could say that design would have to convert creativity to make business sense.

Beyond the visual appeal that products generate lies innovation. Without fail, every designer I meet cites innovation. If a candy bar is just another candy bar, then its bound to end up in the bin of wasted ideas. Plewes identifies the need for innovation not in the product itself but in its benefits and cites the example of how toothpaste was redefined from mere toothpaste to a whitening one that made it stand out from the others. Not only do designers need to innovate but also to do so within the constraints imposed on them by each market. Translating visual ideas to suit the needs of local markets, creating consistent brand equity and brand positioning is all a part of the packaging design business.

"I will listen with my eyes and memorise the insights,' says Mermet, differentiating from traditional market research that is more data focussed. Designers would also have to put away their ego and work with brand identity. For any brand, packaging and POS would have to reflect brand identity in a holistic way. Foenander of McDonald's highlights that "From a food standpoint, the best food experience is one where the food and packaging collaborate to excite the senses".  Michael Goh, brand general manager at M.A.C Singapore explains that their visual merchandising and store design are built to create a certain synergy at the point of sale.

Polarities between design and brand could easily break brand loyalty and lead consumers away to another one. In order to be relevant, brands shouldn't stagnate either. While mass-market brands may face tougher competition, it may force them to move forward. Anlene found that almost all milks claimed they were hi-calcium ones. Forced into stagnation, the brand had to make itself more appealing and dynamic.

Perceived to be milk for old, sick people, Anlene underwent a serious remodelling process, coming out as an attractive and indispensable solution for the forty plus woman in preventing osteoporosis. Primarily the packaging moved from the rather classic picture of a glass of milk with two "happy old people" to a more mobile and fluid form. What was interesting about the campaign was the turnaround time from conception to launch (around seven months) and the investment, between $5 to $10 million.

Mass brands not only invest large amounts in packaging but also test them to understand if they meet the needs of the consumer. P&G is very much a testing company, says Mermet, and is well respected for its consumer market research focus. McDonald's also conducts pre-launch tests and so does M.A.C. In fact M.A.C products are not only tested at headquarters in New York, they also get tested backstage to gather qualitative feedback from professional makeup artists, explains Goh.

Singapore is appealing to many global brands who launch new products here before introducing them in the region.  This could be linked to the costs of testing that tend to stay reasonable in this market as opposed to certain others. But there may be a long way to go in terms of packaging in Singapore as opposed to more mature markets like North America and Europe. While there are great examples of packaging in Singapore, it's very underdeveloped, says Plewes.

But Singapore reigns as a shopping haven. It is a great place for retailing with store design aiding packaging to create stand-out appeal. But it may be rather early in the day to talk of an emotional bonding between consumers and retailers. After all, a store is but another brand and often own labels are sold on the cost savings factor rather than sheer loyalty. While store design is important, it would be impossible for it to tell the story of a brand, let alone its own. However, it could make the customer's voyage a more pleasant one.

Fundamentally, both store design and package design have their predefined tasks and they're both driven by the need for consumption. As more and more people find satisfaction through the shopping experience in an increasingly materialistic world, neither store brands nor mass-market brands risk losing their identity.

Mass-market brands have their emotional hold over consumers and as O'Grady of F&N Coca-Cola says, Coke is identified as a positive drink. What design can do for brands in an era of fast consumption is to create an emotional link or bond and pave holistic brand equity. Whether its package design or store design, both need to work well for products to be picked. Identifying one's target audience, maintaining uniformity in terms of brand message and deciphering both the commercial and emotional needs give birth to unique brand attributes.

These attributes combined with the freedom to shop can create a momentum that drives business. With the birth of more sophisticated mechanisms, consumption is more than civil but an art. If consumption is symbolic of freedom, then all brands can find their raison d'être. All designers can hope for their limelight and marketers can build new brands.

This is a cyclic process and one that won't fade way. Brand equity is a fragile thing though and as markets expand, there will be need for more creativity in the marketing process. Often, the process of product selection is led by brand name, personal experience or quite simply the visual appeal. But brands are also prone to ageing.

As brands age and stagnate, packaging can reinvigorate life into them. Marketers and designers need to work together to prevent brand decay and to put the spark into their brands. It is this brand life that will speak to consumers as they voyage through a store. The biggest challenge for any brand may be human nature after all and packaging could be the alchemist for the brand becoming the chosen one.

[Box out 1]

The Barbie Collection- brought to you by M.A.C

M.A.C launched its Barbie collection worldwide this spring. Sold out almost everywhere, the collection had the Barbie head cleverly embossed on both packaging and the products. Drawing on the image of Barbie as one the most iconic dolls of recent times, the models boasted an almost flawless Barbie look. According to brand general manager Michael Goh, "It was also very much aligned with the fun and trendy qualities of the brand and one that increased sales by a double digit figure." 

[Box out 2]

From hi-calcium milk to bone nutrition expertise

Perceived by consumers as milk for old, sick people, Anlene underwent a major repositioning exercise. Round about 2000, the market saw a great influx of hi-calcium milk and almost all of them claimed to build strong bones. Anlene needed to create a point of difference, which it did by transforming itself from milk that built strong bones to one that was a bone nutrition expert. This was done by fundamentally focusing on the expertise of the brand and by reflecting this expertise in bone nutrition from packaging to POS. Launched region wide, the campaign focused on "communicating science in a relevant way" and POS included bone scans to educate on the dangers of osteoporosis. "We were given a goal of you need to grow this brand by a minimum of 13% and we've grown it up to 20% this year", says global brand director of Anlene, Sam Ahmed.