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Best Practices for Undertaking Package Redesign

Here’s a blueprint for ensuring that package redesigns are justified.

Package Design

Every package redesign is a gamble, but the odds for a favorable outcome are enhanced by following best practices. Unlike lists of misguided reasons and good reasons for package redesigns, sequence matters with this list of best practices because they are step-wise.

Have the support of top management. That’s not to suggest that top management should be directly involved in package redesign. Support should take the form of making it clear throughout the company that packaging is a strategic tool and a source of competitive advantage. As a logical consequence, package redesign receives the same recognition. Of the various ways to demonstrate support, none are more convincing than giving packaging a position on the organization chart reflective of its prowess.

Have a realistic packaging philosophy. At the core of this best practice is understanding what packaging can and can’t do. Without that distinction, package redesign can be undertaken for the wrong reasons and with the wrong expectations. Packaging’s capabilities are limited to these functions: containment, protection, communication, convenience, and utility. The functions don’t only apply to consumers, but to partners throughout the supply chain. A package redesign is misguided if it will not improve one or more of those functions.

Take an interdisciplinary approach. Marketing is not the only discipline with a vested interest in package design. Others include sales, line operations, distribution, legal, and purchasing—just to name a few. The various interests can conflict, requiring compromises and trade-offs for an optimal net result. No discipline should have carte blanche authority. An advisable alternative is a committee, its members representing the various vested interests, and headed by someone with a packaging-related title.

Have effective channels of communication and information. Indicators that might warrant a package redesign can be numerous and dispersed. Effectively funneling them requires monitoring relevant environments, tapping relevant informational sources, and conveying what’s learned to the right parties. The objective is to convert information into intelligence and to make that intelligence actionable. The network should not be more complex than needed; however, in all cases, what’s needed is more than just a 1-800 consumer feedback line.

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