In both communication and marketing terms, designing and making effective packaging is no simple matter. It is a constant challenge for marketing offices, designers, graphic artists and printers.
The pace of modern life makes this increasingly complex and, in fact, rivalry between brands on the supermarket shelves is increasingly fast-paced with consumers taking at most 10-15 seconds to choose which product to buy.
This requires a minimalist approach to communication and an ability to grab clients’ attention with something innovative.
It should not be forgotten that the primary purpose of packaging is to contain and conserve products optimally, in addition to representing and communicating a brand’s identity and corporate philosophy.
Packaging: what it is, when it was born, why it is important
The earliest mention of modern packaging dates back to the early 1800s. Specifically the first example of unitary packaging as we know it today dates to 1850, with the first bulk product to be packaged being soap. The idea came from an American, Benjamin Babbitt, who decided to cut up his product into pieces of the same size and wrap it in paper rather than continuing to sell it by weight.
The individual soaps were then sold as gifts and, in the space of just a few years, packaging evolved beyond a simple piece of paper to a full-blown product identification device.
Packaging’s function was thus no longer simply to protect products but also to serve as a communication tool for the firms making them.
Over the years packaging has taken on a full-blown promotional and persuasion function.
To be effective packaging must both contain and conserve the product and grab consumers’ attention with information on its quality and characteristics.
The role of packaging does not end at the supermarket shelves, either, but lasts as long as the product remains at the client’s home and is being used. This means that the winning strategy is getting across the right company brand identity to keep the importance of the product and the producer alive in clients’ minds.
Innovative packaging: 4 key features
If the aim is to outclass competitors with your packaging it is important to be absolutely certain that it serves all these functions:
Identity storytelling – it is crucial that your packaging speaks volumes of the product inside it and marks it out from its direct rivals, with a unique and distinctive message.
Conservation and protection – it should never be forgotten that packaging must also protect products from dirt, shocks, moisture and other factors, conserving it throughout its life.
Communicating key information – packaging must include all legally required information on ingredients, use instructions, recycling methods and all other product use information. It must be simple and user-friendly but also complete.
Winning– it must also outdo the competition with the right font, colours and copy. Here it is vitally important to analyse your competitors and make use of the latest cognitive neuroscience discoveries, coming up with something unique and persuasive which gets consumers buying.
Choosing the right packaging for your project
Packaging is frequently the foremost communication and marketing tool as regards consumer choices. Packaging equals first impressions. It is what consumers see before they can look at, touch or consume the product in it. In this case there is no doubt that you actually can read a book by its cover.
And it is this which makes printing so vital. Choosing the right partner and the best technology on the market means promoting your product and firm and increasing sales.
This is why we at Faenza Group, with our forty years of expertise, can guarantee the best technologies on the market. For both large scale projects with Offset H-UV and small scale print cycles with digital printing and HP 12000 Indigo.
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