Ted Mininni

Contributing Writer

Colorful, friendly characters with smiling faces populate the Medibag First Aid Kit to reassure injured kids.

Disrupt before being disrupted

Disruptive consumer product brands represented by equally innovative packaging have the potential to own categories. Are you ready to stake out your territory as a disruptor?

In the shape of a cannon ball, Captain Morgan’s Cannon Blast packaging prompts consumers to stop, touch, and buy.

Touch me. Feel me. Buy me.

While packaging has to be visually enticing to be noticed, it also has to appeal to the other senses as well if it is going to make the brand stand out from a sea of choices.

CONCEPT REINFORCED. For Taco Bell and Doritos’ co-branded Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Tacos product, packaging—which looks like a snack-sized bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos—reinforces the entire concept beautifully.

Co-branding for a competitive edge

To deliver greater value to consumers and provide product differentiation, national and licensed brands are working together to produce products and packaging with a complementary message.

USING THE FORCE. Lego’s licensing partnerships with the likes of Star Wars, Harry Potter, and a number of superhero brands appeal broadly to kids who are fans of these strong entertainment properties.

Create a brand new world with packaging

If you wanted, as a marketer, to create a unique brand story that would be avidly adopted by a group of consumers, how would you accomplish that?

More from Ted Mininni

Category disruptors: You break it, you own it

Consumer brands that dare challenge the expected need to deliver their products in category-disruptive packaging. Breaking the status quo helps brands to own their categories; it’s what leaders do.

SLIMMER STRUCTURE. It’s no accident that lower-calorie food offerings are being presented in smaller, slimmer packaging. Kellogg’s To-Go Breakfast Shakes offer a perfect example.

Appeal to the subconscious through package design

In order for packaging to work as an effective branding tool, it must evoke positive emotions, memories, and personal context in a conscious and subconscious manner.

CONVEYING FUN. When consumers hone in on Crayola crayons, they see a cutout that shows a range of crayon colors within their boxes. This clever cutout has been broadened into a “smile” that promises fun for customers.

Let your packaging be the ultimate brand storyteller

Packaging that appeals to consumers’ emotions provides a memorable experience that builds trust and a connection with the consumer. Does your packaging tell a story?

Exceed consumer expectations through package design

Consumers are delighted when their expectations are rewarded—and exceeded—when purchasing a branded product. So how can packaging be optimized to bring the brand to consumers’ attention, sell them, and deliver more than expected?

Visual trumps verbal in creating a memorable brand identity

Strong visual design assets stick with consumers more than verbal communication. That’s why packaging plays such an important role in the marketing mix.

How to standardize package design without killing creativity

The most effective style guides clearly demonstrate how a brand’s visual design assets can be incorporated, regardless of product category needs, without stifling innovation.

Great package design is a core brand value

Forget good design: Go for great. Great package design substantially increases the value perception of a brand, building consumer loyalty and commanding a higher retail price.

Replacing rigid plastic lids with peelable foil makes for easy opening.

Designing for the senior demographic

With birthrates falling and the senior demographic growing substantially across the globe, marketers and retailers need to evaluate their offerings to ensure they are accommodating this powerful purchasing group.

Oreos' snack-and-seal pack makes opening and reclosing easy.

Are package designers ignoring the strongest segment of their audience?

With birthrates falling and the senior demographic growing substantially across the globe, marketers and retailers need to evaluate their offerings to ensure they are accommodating this powerful purchasing group.