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Importance of packaging towards customers
Review of literature on the influence of product packaging on consumer buying behaviour
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Coca-Cola. And Apple. Two companies from two very different industries, yet both have such strong brand identities, it has become iconic. A brand identity should be “the heart and soul of a brand.” [2] (Aaker, D. A., 2010, p. 68) But it’s not just a strong brand identity that has made these two brands internationally known. In both cases, it has been a strong combination of brand identity and well-considered packaging, which have put them at the forefront of their respective markets. This paper argues why both brand identity and packaging are vital to a successful marketing strategy, and that they are more powerful intertwined, than as two separate elements. While people have differing opinions on what the relationship between packaging and brand identity is, it is clear that most support the idea that success depends on how well these two elements are collated. [1] On its own, a brand identity is the vessel in which a brand communicates its “identity and value[s] to consumers and […] stakeholders.” [5] (Nandan, S., 2005, p. 265) It plays a central role in a successful marketing strategy for any company, providing a brand with a “direction, purpose and meaning”. [2] (Aaker, D. A., 2010, p. 68) With such a competitive and overcrowded market, the role of a brand identity becomes essential. A brand identity helps communicate a brand’s individuality, enabling it to establish a powerful presence amongst competitors. [5] (Nandan, S., 2005, p. 265) In fact, Nandan, S. (2005, p. 276) states that, [a] company may have a unique vision, a superior product, strong management and an efficient distribution system – yet if it is not able to convey the core benefits of the brand to its target audience it will ultimately fail. [5] It will f... ... middle of paper ... ...an, K. S. (2000) How Packaging Shapes Brand Identities, Boxboard Containers International. (pp. 18, 19) [5] Nandan, S. (2005) An exploration of the brand identity-brand image linkage: A communications perspective, Brand Management. (pp 264 – 278) [6] Newman, K. A. (2009) Packaging is critical to brand identity, Packaging. (pp. 30 – 34) [7] ¬Holdway, R., Walker, D. and Hilton, M. (2002) Eco-design and successful packaging, Design Management Journal. (pp. 45 – 53) [8] Underwood, R. L. (2003) The communicative power of product packaging: Creating brand identity via lived and mediated experience, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice. (pp. 62 – 76) [9] Lashinsky, A. (2012) Inside Apple. United States. John Murray. Cited in Heisler, Y. (2012) Inside Apple’s secret packaging room. Retrieved May 28, 2014 from http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/79642
Packaging can seriously impact your sales profits, by affecting your consumer's perceptions of your brand. How does this happen? For one thing, the purchase decisions made in-store are made unconsciously, for the most part. Yes, while traditional packaging methods are betting on your consumer's use of logic, rationality and reason, eye-tracking tests have indicated another reality. What is that reality? It's that your consumers are making their purchases based on emotion and instinct.
In every given business, the name itself portrays different meanings. This serves as the reference point and sometimes the basis of customers on what to expect within the company. Since personality affects product image (Langmeyer & Shank, 1994), the presence of brand helps in the realization of this concept. Traditionally, brand is a symbolic manifestation of all the information connected with a company, product, or service (Nilson, 2003; Olin, 2003). A brand is typically composed of a name, logo, and other visual elements such as images, colors, and icons (Gillooley & Varley, 2001; Laforet & Saunders, 1994)). It is believed that a brand puts an impression to the consumer on what to expect to the product or service being offered (Mere, 1995). In other application, brand may be referred as trademark, which is legally appropriate term. The brand is the most powerful weapon in the market (LePla & Parker, 1999). Brands possess personality in which people associate their experience. Oftentimes, they are related to the core values the company executes.
Branding is defined as “the promot[ion] of a product or service by identifying it with a particular brand” (Merriam-Webster, 2015). Branding is also used to create a corporate image or brand by utilizing logos, corporate statements, and other images that will be associated with or displayed on all of that company’s products (Wolak, 2002). A brand is a valuable, enduring asset that is essential in creating and maintaining competitive advantage in an industry (Wolak, 2002; Murphy, 1988). This corporate asset can be just as important as the product or service behind it, because it carries name recognition and peace of mind to customers in the purchase decisions they make everyday (Hall, 2008). Brands essentially work as a “shorthand device” for consumers to evaluate product decisions by conveying a message of uniform quality, credibility, and experience
Have you ever thought how much research and effort a company has done to make their product appeal to you? A company will conduct surveys, record human responses to specific images, and adhere to government regulations not to mention all the different designs produced, just so that you will want to buy their product over their competitors. In Thomas Hine’s essay, What’s in a Package, Hine discusses the great length the response that a consumer should have when looking at a product’s packaging, the importance of manufactures’ marketing campaign, the importance of packages depending on the culture, then finally to why designs will change over time.
According to researches packaging has progressed from containers provided by nature, to the more complexed use of materials and process providing a change to what is displayed on the grocery shelves today. Several factors contributed to the reason for packaging of which included, competition in the marketplace as well as shifting lifestyles, as the market of goods grew, consumers went from purchasing goods they needed to selecting a product based on the unique design and label to decorate their counter tops, making consumer choice a very large factor in packaging.
There are many definitions of the term brand that are significantly different. Some definitions are based on the brand as a determinant of visual corporate identity of the company. Thus, the definition of the American Marketing Society perceives brand as “the name, term, design, symbol, or other feature that distinguishes one seller's product from those of others.” Visual identity is certainly important, but not the only aspect of the brand. It is a new dynamic experience of the product, which is created in the mind and emotions of consumers. In today's competitive environment, brand can be defined as “a set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships which, integrated, influence customers´
Marketers assert to develop branding and packaging strategies that signify the brand’s products in a way that establishes lasting impressions in consumers’ thoughts. Because brands distinguish the many product offerings in the marketplace, brands help consumers choose between product offerings. When branding and packaging strategies clearly illustrate worthy product expectations, and products remain true to branding messages, positive consumer perceptions ensue, and brand value is strengthened.
This essay will critically discuss the creation of brand meaning is a central issue for contemporary brand management from multiple perspectives. It will begin by defining what brand meaning is. It will explore the various meanings of brand meaning and how these meanings can be created. It will explain the creation of brand meaning in terms of how and by whom brand meaning is created providing relevant practical examples and making reference to the academic literature. Then, it will analyse why the creation of brand meaning apparently has become such an important issue for managers, consumers and within society in general. Lastly, it will evaluate the implications of my arguments for branding theory and practice, and end with a conclusion.
The importance attached to packaging cannot be underscored by anybody. Companies use packaging as a marketing strategy and marketing is branded with frequent cases of unethical practices. Customers are always very cautious when dealing with marketers. It is because of this reason that over the time ethical packaging has been evolving and attracting attention from different government authorities for regulation. Nevertheless, businesses that are committed and have cultivated a deep culture of good ethical packaging practices continue to enjoy the benefits of ethical packaging.
When people go to a store in order to buy food or commodities, they are faced with a problem of a wide choice of goods because nowadays there is a huge range of different producers. Moreover, all of them try to be recognized on the market by creating a significant image. As a result, companies create own brands. According to American Marketing Association (2013), a brand is “a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.” Also, the process of creating connection or association between emotional perception of the consumer and company’s product with target of creating distinction and building loyalty has known as a brand management (Hislop, 2001). For instance when someone mentions Apple, most people instantly think about high quality and high-tech. Another example is Coca-cola. This company many years has and develops long-term relationships with customers by not only selling cold drinks but also providing a lifestyle. That means that loyal customers are satisfied with added value that the company offers instead of other companies (Bergström, Landgren & Müntzing, 2010). Hence, brand management influences consumers’ behaviour and satisfaction by creating brand identity and loyalty.
What comes to mind when you hear the term “brand” or “branding” in marketing? Nike? McDonalds? Five dollar foot long? Whatever it is, the importance of branding in the marketing mix should not be argued against, instead, it should be studied further to reveal what makes this aspect so important. Therefore, the following is an assessment of what a brand means to consumers and the effect it has on their purchasing behavior. This will also evaluate the importance of brands to the companies that own them and the qualities each company hopes to attain when creating their brand. Lastly, this assessment will uncover reasons for brand failure and offer suggestions on how businesses may build a stronger brand.
One of the ways that CP Corp can gain the competitive edge they so much wish to gain is through packaging. The packaging of a product is undoubtedly the first thing that a customer witnesses when he or she goes out to shop, whether physically, online and surprisingly so even in an advertisement. The packaging thus has to have a theme that not only captivates the consumer but also one that leaves a lasting impression on them so as to associate with the product in question.
The reason to choose to analyse packaging, its sustainability and design, in the theory of Ecology was brought by the fact that it is the biggest thread to climate change, created through the work of graphic designers. A packaging could be the final product of a really interesting idea and extremely beautiful visual result. But even so, given our climate’s state of constant change, if this packaging is not designed to be eco-friendly, sustainable or organic, it already has lost its value and purpose and becomes needless and unnecessary. Such project can instantly join the massive pile of products that threaten the environment.
And there is an arguments about the packaging aim , some of them is that the packaging is more preferable to be the promotional tool rather than used in the development and extention of the product. Keller [12]
Even with commodities, there are quite a few parameters which brands can use to position themselves to capture a place in the consumer’s memory and consequently in their shopping basket. A few of the more widely accepted of them are: Consistency of Product Quality, Customization of the product to the extent possible, Providing a wider range of products, Identifying the most profit generating segments of the market and modifying or adding an offering to cater to their specific needs, Unique packaging, Emotional Branding and even basing branding on building a unique image to the extent of professing to have a brand personality. In fact focusing on getting consumers to build an emotional identification with the brand and its personality has a far longer lasting effect and builds far greater loyalty than focusing on just functional and utility attributes which a competitor would also able to easily match if not surpass.