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Define the packaging profession as 'strategic'

In the mid-’90s, a few companies found out that packaging itself could differentiate their products from the competition.

In the leading-edge cases, the package became the product. (Think GoGurt and Minnetonka brands. Later, Method dish soap and others continued and ought to be in an “Innovation Hall of Fame.”)

Those leaders drove an evolution that moved packaging from being a tactical, technical support function to a strategic business function. Companies like P&G, Kraft, Clorox, and Apple found ways to integrate that idea into their corporate DNA. They fostered business functions and trained people to think strategically about packaging.

We’ve all seen momentum grow as packaging emerges from being a technical function to become a business function. What’s the biggest challenge now? Helping packaging professional continue to grow as strategic thinkers. It involves honing the skills to leverage packaging’s value to their organization’s advantages. Any answer is complicated by this factor: Today’s professionals also have to grow into the leadership roles being vacated by the wave of retirements among those who led a few years ago.

Here are seven areas where professionals need to focus. They are not the only areas, but they are key to success. (A “tip of the hat” to my colleague Mike Richmond who helped shape these ideas.)

1. Define the packaging development process as a strategic exercise where packaging professionals lead multi-disciplinary teams. Know the process has to extend all the way to the end of the package’s life.

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