If so, that can make package innovation difficult, said Brendan Light, vice president of research and strategy at BuzzBack, a market research firm. Light led an engaging session on the topic at an April conference in New York called “Fuse: Brand Identity & Package Design.” Discussions on innovation took center stage.
Light explained that true innovation that results in successful packages today requires market research teams to engage consumers in the environment in which they use your product. Innovation, Light said, is most likely when the team understands that consumers’ desires are irrational and driven by subconscious and nonverbal motivations. In other words, what they tell you about your product may be entirely different from what they feel when they actually remove it from the package.
How can you get the most relevant information about what drives human behavior among your consumers? Light offered two recommendations:
• Audit your package-research methods. Are they outdated for accurately identifying and measuring the behaviors that shape consumer preferences today? Do they leverage the Internet’s interactive capabilities?
• Look for a common language in which consumers can identify to designers what packaging improvements might work for them. One approach is letting consumers express themselves via associations with photos and other images.
These tactics do not produce the final package design. Rather, they give designers the best consumer information possible to help guide their work. If you’d like more information on consumer research techniques and innovation, contact Light at [email protected].
