A packed room consisting of branding/marketing professionals, suppliers, and packaging production managers learned Wednesday at PACK EXPO about three points that are driving today's package innovation:
1. A distinctive structure continues to be the single most powerful signal to communicate innovation to consumers.
2. Innovative materials and production processes enhance the credibility of perceived innovation. They also can help weave the product story into the brand story.
3. Innovative graphics most strongly support perceived innovation when integrated with an innovative structure to cohesively express a brand story. However, graphics alone are not sufficient to tell the whole story.
These points were generated on the basis of an exclusive packaging innovation survey conducted over the past two years by branding consultancy Dragon Rouge and Shelf Impact!, a sister brand of Packaging World. The results were presented by Jim George, Shelf Impact! editor and Packaging World marketing and design editor, and Eric Zeitoun, Dragon Rouge USA president.
The survey is conducted quarterly with brand owners, suppliers and packaging operations managers, and the results are published in both Packaging World and Shelf Impact!
The objectives of the ongoing survey, George pointed out, are to establish how innovation is perceived and to set metrics to guide future package design.
Structural innovation, the surveys continually have shown over the past two years, is the leading driver of perceived product innovation, Zeitoun said. "Structure allows brand owners to enhance the brand experience and also to resolve pain points that the consumer is feeling," he said. "Structure can enhance the emotional benefit associated with a brand."
George cited GE's Caulk Singles as a stellar example of a package that marries meaningful structural and graphic design, and provides the additional benefits of ease-of-use for consumers and a smaller package footprint. The package earned the highest compliments from survey respondents among the more than 50 packages that have been analyzed in the survey during the past two years. The Caulk Singles pouch, George said, provides usage and footprint benefits not seen with traditional caulk-gun tubes.
Package structure goes hand-in-hand with compelling graphics in well-executed designs, Zeitoun stressed. Structural and graphic design should be done together, rather than in sequence, he advised.
1. A distinctive structure continues to be the single most powerful signal to communicate innovation to consumers.
2. Innovative materials and production processes enhance the credibility of perceived innovation. They also can help weave the product story into the brand story.
3. Innovative graphics most strongly support perceived innovation when integrated with an innovative structure to cohesively express a brand story. However, graphics alone are not sufficient to tell the whole story.
These points were generated on the basis of an exclusive packaging innovation survey conducted over the past two years by branding consultancy Dragon Rouge and Shelf Impact!, a sister brand of Packaging World. The results were presented by Jim George, Shelf Impact! editor and Packaging World marketing and design editor, and Eric Zeitoun, Dragon Rouge USA president.
The survey is conducted quarterly with brand owners, suppliers and packaging operations managers, and the results are published in both Packaging World and Shelf Impact!
The objectives of the ongoing survey, George pointed out, are to establish how innovation is perceived and to set metrics to guide future package design.
Structural innovation, the surveys continually have shown over the past two years, is the leading driver of perceived product innovation, Zeitoun said. "Structure allows brand owners to enhance the brand experience and also to resolve pain points that the consumer is feeling," he said. "Structure can enhance the emotional benefit associated with a brand."
George cited GE's Caulk Singles as a stellar example of a package that marries meaningful structural and graphic design, and provides the additional benefits of ease-of-use for consumers and a smaller package footprint. The package earned the highest compliments from survey respondents among the more than 50 packages that have been analyzed in the survey during the past two years. The Caulk Singles pouch, George said, provides usage and footprint benefits not seen with traditional caulk-gun tubes.
Package structure goes hand-in-hand with compelling graphics in well-executed designs, Zeitoun stressed. Structural and graphic design should be done together, rather than in sequence, he advised.
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