Packaging drives awareness, with execution heading the priority list

Packaging does trump traditional advertising in value in today’s marketing campaigns. But don’t let technology alone drive future in-store efforts. Total execution will count.

Packaging drives product awareness, and it was reaffirmed in a recent Nielsen Co. study. In fact, in-store marketing has overtaken traditional advertising in influencing shoppers—a point that seems unfathomable to observers such as the Williamsmedia’s blog.

It is true that Procter & Gamble, among other consumer packaged goods companies, is looking at futuristic inks and other technologies to strengthen the package’s place in in-store marketing, as the blog points out. But marketers have to get past any notion that new in-store packaging requirements—from restrictions on displays to demands for smaller-size packages—issued by retailers present obstacles when they might actually offer opportunities as the CPG company-retailer relationship becomes more complex.

These trends provide the foundation for changing creative teams’ discussions about design to emphasize execution, whether or not they involve new technologies. As Phil Duncan, Global Design Officer at P&G, told the FUSE conference April 16 in Chicago, “Execution is strategy, and it’s the only strategy consumers see.”

Technology will make the in-store shopping experience easier, but it will be no substitute for optimizing on-pack messaging and emphasizing functional brand attributes. Those are the fundamentals that cement deep and meaningful brand relationships with consumers.

List: Digitalization Companies From PACK EXPO
Looking for CPG-focused digital transformation solutions? Download our editor-curated list from PACK EXPO featuring top companies offering warehouse management, ERP, digital twin, and MES software with supply chain visibility and analytics capabilities—all tailored specifically for CPG operations.
Download Now
List: Digitalization Companies From PACK EXPO
Conveying Innovations Report
Editors report on distinguishing characteristics that define each new product and collected video demonstrating the equipment or materials as displayed at the show. This topical report, winnowed from nearly 300 PACK EXPO collective booth visits, represents a categorized, organized account of individual items that were selected based on whether they were deemed to be both new, and truly innovative, based on decades of combined editorial experience in experiencing and evaluating PACK EXPO products.
Take me there
Conveying Innovations Report