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5 Tips on Redesigning Packaging for Inclusivity

When updating your packaging to be more sensitive to today’s social issues, follow these five design strategies to ensure your brand’s continuity and accurately reflect your core values.

In a world calling for social justice and inclusivity, many well-known companies are closely reviewing and changing their brand identities.
In a world calling for social justice and inclusivity, many well-known companies are closely reviewing and changing their brand identities.

In a world calling for social justice and inclusivity, many well-known companies are closely reviewing and changing their brand identities. These highly recognizable brands——among them Mrs. Butterworth’s, Cream of Wheat, Uncle Ben’s, Aunt Jemima, and Eskimo Pie—either have imagery or names that could be considered racially divisive, insensitive, or promoting inequality in some way. These moves are not just knee-jerk reactions, says consumer research firm AMC Global. “Brands know that consumers are looking for them to take a stand and ‘walk the walk’ when it comes to social issues,” the company says. “In fact, our research shows that people are watching brands closely right now, so being silent is not an option.”

While rebranding and packaging design modifications are a crucial step in an effort to eliminate racial bias, there are some challenges inherent with any brand refresh, AMC advises, saying that “companies do not want to rebuild decades worth of brand equity and recognition.” With this in mind, AMC advises the following five tips for successfully rebranding and changing the visual identity of your packaging to help ensure continuity, even while changing an identity to meet current social pressures and challenges.

1. Effective communication: When you make a major change to your brand or packaging design, your consumers want to know why. Be transparent and specific. A communication-pro tip: Lead with functional, and support with emotional. Communicate why the change supports the core values and brand promise of your company, while at the same time reassuring consumers that it’s the same great product. Leverage effective communication tactics, such as strategic POS messaging and social media campaigns as well as traditional outreach methods. Says AMC, “A rebrand or new package design can fall flat if not fully supported with a strong marketing and communication plan.”

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