Sometimes, a student may confuse packaging with a product. Packaging is just the means of protecting and delivering a product to ensure that it gets to the consumers in good condition. A good package will give all relevant information about a company, even more than the mission statement of the company itself. Packages can enhance brand equity through awareness. Colours play important roles in packaging. Colours have the ability to induce a buyer to make a choice on a product. Colours can also appeal to people’s emotions. For instance, research has revealed that colours, like red and orange, give consumers feelings of excitement.
Product branding is the process of creating a unique name and image for a product in the minds of consumers among competitors in the market. Brand image is what consumers perceive a brand or product to be as well as how a particular product is positioned in the market.
The growth of supermarkets/big stores and the increasing demands of consumers from product manufacturers have made packaging to perform functions to a product other than the traditional function of protecting the product. These include:
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Drawing consumers’ attention to a product: Consumers, these days, are more demanding than they used to be in times past. So, product manufacturers, in order to attract the attention of consumers to their products, must make their products appear in attractive, appealing packages.
Breaking through product clutter at the point of purchase: There are so many competing products in the market today. At the point-of-purchase, for instance, a consumer in a supermarket is faced with so many products to buy. What will make a particular product break through competitive clutter at the point of purchase by a customer is how the product is packaged. A well packaged product is likely to attract consumer’s attention more than the one with an inferior package.
Justifying product price/value to consumers: A well packaged product can clearly explain why a particular product is charged a higher price than a similar product in the market. At the same time, it tells consumers the value they stand to gain from such a product more than competing ones in the market. It helps a consumer to take a decision regarding which product to buy in the market. By so doing, it communicates certain values to users or consumers.
Motivating consumers’ choice of a product: Good packaging can create an identity or image for a product and in the process motivate consumers to make a brand choice. Although the choice of a product is not only a function of package, it places a very important role in influencing consumers to make a choice concerning a product.
Creating image to users: The way a product is packaged can create an identity to users. Users of a particular brand of phone or car, for instance, can communicate to the public about a certain social class they belong in the society. In Dubai for instance, some wealthy individuals exhibit their wealth by driving in gold-plated cars.
The makeup of good packaging
Visibility: – visibility has to do with the ability of a package to attract consumers’ attention at the point of purchase. A well packaged product in attractive colours will always attract the attention of consumers than those in dull colours. Many brands in product, such as soft drinks, make use of bright packages for visibility purpose.
Information: Before a consumer buys a particular product, his attention is first drawn to product information, like usage instruction, benefits to consumers, etc., written on the package. Package information is useful because it can help to:
• encourage purchase trial – putting to use or test a newly introduced product
• encourage consumer repeat purchase behaviour- a consumer buying the same brand of product over-and-over again
• providing correct product usage instructions- guiding consumers on how to go about using a product.
Emotional Appeal: Packaging must bring out emotional appeal from the consumers. Emotional appeal is concerned with the ability of a package to bring a desired feeling or mood such as elegance, prestige, cheerfulness, fun, etc. These elements are achieved through colour combination in the package. If the emotional content is left out, it will not drive purchase behaviour from consumers.
Workability: Workability refers to how a package functions, rather than how it communicates. Workability, in specific terms, deals with how product packaging is able to protect the content, save as storage, prevent unintentional breakages, and achieve environmental friendliness etc.
Conclusion
Packaging is not a product, but a means of protecting and delivering a product to consumers in good condition. A good packaging can deliver information about a company even more than its mission statement. Good packaging can create positive brand awareness and in this way, increase brand equity. Product branding aims at creating a unique name and image for a product in the minds of consumers. The growth of supermarkets and the increasing rate of consumers’ demands from product owners has necessitated packaging to perform functions other than the traditional function of protecting the product These include – drawing consumers’ attention to brand, breaking through product clutter at the point of purchase, motivating consumers’ choice of a product, and creating an image to users, among others. The makeup of a good packaging includes visibility, providing product information, creation of emotional appeal and workability. Workability, in specific terms, deals with how product packaging is able to protect the content, save as storage, prevent unintentional breakages, and achieve environmental friendliness etc.
Assignment:
In 800 words, identify five areas that can help a product appeal to its target audience through product packaging. First prize- N10,000 worth of recharge cards. The two other best written answers will get N3,000 worth of recharge cards each. Written answers should be sent to:info@brandiq.com
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