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On paper, a world of opportunity

The consensus view is paperboard is hardly old-fashioned. But both consumers and retailers believe it can do far more to intensify the visual theater, clarify the price-value relationship with the product, and improve security.

Film-laminated paperboard cartons for two Procter & Gamble dry detergent brands offer examples of the shelf 'pop' that store ma
Film-laminated paperboard cartons for two Procter & Gamble dry detergent brands offer examples of the shelf "pop" that store ma

Paperboard packaging—the largest segment of the packaging industry—has significant opportunities to improve its position in consumer goods packaging. Capitalizing on those opportunities will require an understanding of a fundamental marketing shift in which consumers have become king, relying more on their own judgment and far less on the pull of traditional advertising messages.

These key conclusions were drawn from a series of consumer focus groups and store manager surveys and interviews. Consultancies Packaging & Technology Integrated Solutions (PTIS) and NewProductWorks (NPW) led the research for the Paperboard Packaging Alliance (PPA), a joint initiative between the Paperboard Packaging Council and the American Forest & Paper Association.

Focus-group participants expressed that they like and understand paperboard as a “comfort” packaging material. It provides ample space for a sexy billboard on packaging and its physical dimensions often solve home storage issues. But both consumers and retailers share the view that paperboard packaging needs to go further in leveraging color, shape, and special effects—even the choice of paper—to awaken their senses and explain the price-value relationship of the product inside the package.

Here are five other important takeaways from the two years of research:

• In consumers’ minds, the product and package are one and the same.

• The package helps create an overall product perception and promise.

• The package is the product until the time when the product is consumed and the package is disposed of, reused, or recycled.

• Older consumers view products in paperboard packaging as familiar and trusted. When executed well, paperboard packaging strikes consumers—younger and older—as contemporary.

• The objective in package development should be to use paperboard to create winning marketplace product solutions rather than merely creating a great package.

In part, says PTIS President and Chief Executive Mike Richmond, the research dispels the perception by some in the paperboard industry that paperboard packaging has gained a staid reputation. “The opportunity for paperboard packages to play a stronger role is clearly there,” Richmond says.

Charlotte Addison, a PPA steering committee member and market development manager at MeadWestvaco, says the findings sound a clear call to action: “What this research is telling us is that we have a strong value proposition. Historically, paperboard manufacturers have been insulated in the process. We need to get more integrated in the total approach, and part of it is by providing education.”

A new forecast from The Freedonia Group Inc. supports the view of paperboard as a desirable packaging material. The Cleveland-based market research firm said U.S. demand for paper packaging (excluding boxes) will increase 2.3% per year to $8.4 billion in 2008. Freedonia forecast that many segments will register growth based on the presence of niche or entrenched markets where paper holds strong competitive positions. Paper’s use in combination with film and foil to improve package performance and aesthetics will provide additional opportunities.

Probing consumers

Consumer focus groups provided the first layer of the PTIS/NPW research. The consumers interviewed offered rich insight into what they view as the pluses of paperboard packaging while signaling areas that need improvement. Here is a summary of focus group participants’ observations of paperboard packaging, in terms of both shelf impact and functionality in the store and after the package arrives in their home:

• They view paperboard as an effective packaging material for connoting positive product attributes such as modern, relevant, fun, and premium quality. Interestingly, consumers younger than 20—who are very highly visual—emphasized this point. Marilyn Raymond, managing director at NewProductWorks, led the focus groups. She cautioned that consumer perceptions depend on the product category.

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