For two specialty market presentations for Crest Whitestrips, Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, OH, chose uncommon book-style cartons. The paperboard cartons contain a polyvinyl chloride folding carton of the dental whitening system.
The novel duo was led by the spring 2001 launch of an “associates’ kit” sent to retail store managers and pharmacy personnel. That was followed, in winter 2001, by a test market for a consumer photographic gift pack of Whitestrips.
The cartons represent different adaptions and sizes of a straight-tuck five-panel, book-style carton. On the associates’ kit, the fifth panel unfolds. The cartons are made of 24-pt SBS offset-printed in four colors on two sides, die cut, folded, and glued.
The atypical cartons are structurally designed, converted, assembled, and packaged by Neff Packaging (Dayton, OH) in a turnkey contract packaging operation. Neff receives Whitestrips, packed in printed 4’’ x 5’’ x 2’’ PVC cartons from P&G, and inserts them into the paperboard cartons.
“The packaging was designed to communicate a premium, affordable whitening product,” explains Mike Lynch, P&G’s North American oral care project manager.
Mailed free to pharmaceutical and retail store managers, the associates’ kit consists of a 7½’’ x 8½’’ x 2’’ book-style carton. An inner section is die cut with finger holes to allow easy extraction of a
56-count Whitestrips carton, which fits snuggly inside. A 1½’’-wide single piece of scored B-flute corrugated frame fits inside the inner perimeter of the carton—where it is hidden from view—to bolster the strength of the carton’s walls.
An educational ‘fifth’
The book carton’s most striking feature is its cover, a fifth panel that unfolds to provide a 15’’-wide billboard loaded with product information.
“Much of the [carton space] was dedicated to education and usage instruction relating to the new technologically advanced delivery method,” Lynch points out. The educational aspect was as important as the packaging’s aesthetics. Unfolded, the three panels address, respectively, how Whitestrips work, what they are, and frequently asked questions about the product.
The fold-out billboard also eliminates the need for any literature inserts, which could become separated and lost after opening. The informational copy was written by Deskey Associates (Cincinnati, OH), which also designed the graphics.
After shrink wrapping, the sealed cartons were sent to P&G.
With a suggested price of $52.99, the photo gift pack was tested in two cities near Denver, CO, ahead of the 2001 Christmas holiday season. It consists of a book-style
9’’ x 2’’ x 9’’ carton containing a reusable camera, 56-count carton of Whitestrips, a picture frame, and an angled photo album.
Its fifth panel cover is single-wall SBS die cut with a large view window to display the contents.
Beneath the photo album is an angled platform of unprinted SBS. The wedge-shaped SBS better positions the album parallel to the package front to make it more pleasing to consumers. A clear shrink film overwrap seals and protects the entire carton.
Lynch says Whitestrips has yielded “terrific one-year results,” an outcome that should have P&G personnel smiling.
