Taking advantage of the packaging to enhance your brand

An entrepreneur has many possibilities to do business. He just has to figure out the right strategy and where to “hit”. If you have a company and you are poorly positioned on your segment is much better to change strategy.

For example, if you are in 6th place in the rankings regarding your product segment, you have to immediately move from that step, otherwise your brand simply does not exist, as any Mr. No One.

The idea of taking advantage of the packaging to increase product sales is often associated with strategies that only big corporation brands can afford.

As an industry expert, I can tell you with certainty that it is not so!

In today’s market, the packaging delivers the greatest opportunities specifically to SMEs.

With smart choices, SMEs can compete head to head on the shelf with the giants of their category. A challenge on equal terms on the pitch (at the point of sale), where million dollar advertising campaigns count less and less. Again, if anyone still believes in millionaire investments…

In fact, there are companies with a limited production and a focused product line, with real unique and differentiating features. In many cases, these products are classics or have become classics. It is about products that do not require frequent renewal.

These companies, with the right investment in a packaging strategy aimed at sales, can be guaranteed a special place on the most prestigious shelves.

Few targeted choices are the secret weapons that make them sell over the years with virtually no other marketing investments.

Today’s case study is about “Chiostro di Saronno”, a brand that belongs to Paolo Lazzaroni & Figli S.p.a., led by Dr. Luca Lazzaroni, a very well known name in both the Italian and international sweet markets.

Each Chiostro di Saronno branded product incorporates unique features and is full of ideas to make it differentiate from competitors, but only a package able to communicate this message may enable the company to reap the fruits of what sown.

In a situation like this, the challenge in developing the packaging is delicate: to communicate the differences and uniqueness of individual products and to make clear in the mind of the consumer the concept of “timeless” product.

Typical products (such as macaroons, cookies, panettone and pandoro) made from a historic brand should exploit this opportunity and the packaging is the most suitable instrument.

Let’s see some of the packaging choices that characterize Chiostro di Saronno products.

Material

The choice of the Tin Box (a canned pack) has a specific reason: it is a material that offers, from the start, a distinctive element that helps the consumer to identify a traditional product (in addition to ensuring the product all the benefits that I listed in the article dedicated to the Tin Box). This solution has not been applied to the entire gamma, but only to Chiostro di Saronno branded products that could get enhanced from it. In other situations, the hardcover, the classic case (also for practical purposes) responded optimally to market needs.

 

Do you want to know how much a single pack cost? CLICK HERE→ 

 

Visual

This is the most delicate part. The research and study of the visual component always requires a careful analysis, especially in those products related to the historicity concept.

We perfectly know that everything related to graphics is based on trend. Here you have same examples.

In the eighties, pictures were taken with films, full of blurred lights and dark shadows, often accompanied by objects that enriched the picture itself. Today, photos are taken with digital cameras, and huge post-productions. Pictures are much brighter, basic, minimalist and no object removing visibility to the subject.

This means that even an untrained eye can read the non-verbal message that the packaging is communicating: product from the 80s, old, outdated or ugly.

In order to develop from scratch a timeless packaging, it is necessary to emphasize elements that will not recall a specific time period.

A photograph with a main subject often has the limitation that can be immediately placed and associated with a specific time period.

Therefore you will have to use a zenithal photograph to make sure that the packaging can be actually placeable in 1914, believable for 1964, sold in 2014 and up-to-date in 2064.

This approach provides the maximum return to the company, because it does not force to periodical restyling, necessary when positioning the product in an accurate time frame.

In short, the challenge consists in positioning the product with no time spectrum, a timeless product. We did exactly that with Chiostro di Saronno product line.

 

A UNIFORM BRAND

Even when the restyling work is done to different products along the years, it is still possible to coordinate each individual product to the brand. We need precise and clear guidelines. When looking at the current Chiostro di Saronno product line, we see there is continuity between the products that leads the consumer to bring each item to the brand.

The initial problem of many companies is exactly that one: having products which are sold but that are perceived as uncoordinated among them, unable to exploit the power of the brand. It is the outcome of wrong actions, often conducted without an overall vision and therefore unable to reinforce the brand itself.

Ironically, a multinational company, investing so much in communication, might be wrong coordinating the packaging of a product line and the damage would be definitely lower than that of an SME making a mistake like that, which could make them lose everything.

Focusing on the trademark and on the Chiostro di Saronno image allowed us to coordinate every single package with a consisting format in different jobs.

Basically, the main effort of each action was focused on two objectives:

• making a timeless product
• strengthening the brand

Similar situations present 2 problems:

1. Many companies production is characterized by strong differentiating elements but are unable to communicate them properly through the packaging. Negative consequence: the consumer does not perceive a difference and ignores the product by opting for the cheapest.
2. A huge opportunity lost: selling without allowing the consumer to associate your brand to the product he bought. It puts you in a position to start from scratch every time you get with a product on the shelf. Your brand, in these conditions does not exist, in fact you’re the famous Mr. No One.

If the consumer does not associate your products to your brand you are missing a great opportunity, you are putting at risk the position of your products (although at this time the sale gave you the reason).

A strong brand is the most important guarantee for every company to be recognized and preferred by the consumer.

This may be due to the packaging as I have just shown with our case study.

Think of the image of your products as the best marketing investment you can make today.

To conclude: the packaging of your product is an imperative and mandatory investment, why do it wrongly?

In fact, to err on the packaging guarantees you two certainties:

A) Not selling

B) Losing a lot of money

If you want to know how we can help you make your brand recognizable in the head of the consumer in order to increase your sales, contact us and our specialists will help you with a free consultation.