What does your label say about your brand?

Let’s assume you market a quality product, and it’s in a busy category that requires some measure of shopper expertise to make a selection. What drives a shopper to pick up one product instead of another?

Often, it might be the attractiveness of the label. Make no mistake about it, shoppers do read labels. But they also are swayed by their pure artistry. If shoppers are undecided between two or more products, the label design could be a tiebreaker.

If your product falls into this realm and you want give it a better edge at shelf, look at wine for label-design ideas. On michiganbythebottle.com, one author gives a good assessment of what goes through a shopper’s mind when scanning wine shelves; many shoppers are wine novices who can be easily persuaded to try one brand or the other. Therefore, the label is paramount in the buying decision.

If you operate in a category where consumers can be swayed in this same way, here’s a fun exercise to try. Have your creative team try to “kill” your brand. In other words, what types of labels would attract shoppers to your competitors? The exercise just might help you identify gaps that your product—and your label—can fill in your aisle of the store.