Как выиграть в маркетинге упаковки в эпоху нового потребителя

Poorly selling products have all kinds of problems, but well-selling products always share one common trait — great packaging!

Coca-Cola's quote bottles, Jiangxiaobai's bottle copy, the little blue cup's sleeve creativity, Lv'ai's candies... Classic cases of successful creative marketing built around product packaging keep emerging. Undoubtedly, when business is bad, changing the packaging may be the most cost-saving and effective solution.

I. Understand the demand gap of the concept

Before packaging a good concept, we need to deeply understand the demand gap of the concept — that is, consumers' demand for and expectations of a certain concept. Only by accurately grasping consumers' psychology and behavior can we align the concept with their needs and trigger resonance and appeal.

1. Social trends and changes

Observe the current social trends and changes in the communication context, and don't let the concept's context become misaligned. >Only by seizing consumers' desire for and pursuit of emerging concepts can you come out ahead in the trend. This requires understanding young people's subcultures and micro-cultures, and especially grasping the habits and logic of their communication, so that you can talk to insiders in their own language.

1. Psychological and emotional needs

Gain an in-depth understanding of consumers' psychological and emotional needs — as the saying goes, sweeter than first love, cooler than an ex-boyfriend; a good concept gets into people's hearts. Uncover the points of emotional resonance in consumers; by touching their emotions, you can make them drop their armor and be unable to resist, so that the concept is packaged with more appeal and resonance.

1. Exploring application scenarios

Scenarios are where a concept takes effect, so grasping scenarios is also key to developing a concept. Is your concept for advertising, for product packaging, or for a leader's speech on an important occasion? These different scenarios call for different directions in concept packaging. To understand the demand gap of a concept, in a nutshell, is to figure out to whom and where to communicate — this is what you need to think about and understand before developing a concept.

II. The craft of crafting a concept on the spot

To package a good concept, once you have figured out the demand gap, you can start brainstorming. There may be many approaches, but here are a few common ones for reference:

The English-abbreviation method: Through concise, powerful English abbreviations, express the concept more precisely and succinctly, so that people can remember your concept at a glance.

The number-and-formula method: Using combinations of numbers and formulas to express the concept more concisely and tersely — after all, we live in a fast-food era. Numbers and formulas are not only intuitive and concise; the key is that formulas already have a consensus in people's minds, and can quickly convey the core message of a concept.

The symbol-and-code method: Symbols and codes are intuitive and symbolic, and can quickly convey the core value of a concept. Packaging a concept through a unique symbol is the most intuitive value association, because symbols are deeply rooted in people's hearts and rich in connotation; using symbols can quickly convey your appeal. Codes are similar to symbols but offer more room for play; codes are generally used for internal R&D plans or new-product development, both unifying the project name and giving people a sense of impressive sophistication.

The analogy-and-contrast method: Analogy and contrast are also common approaches to developing a concept, because the core of a concept is, first, to be novel and unique, and second, to be understood at a glance — even making people clap in approval — so contrast and analogy are good methods. In packaging a good concept, one should not only pay attention to the external form of packaging, but more importantly convey the core value and meaning of the concept, and establish emotional resonance and connection with consumers.

Only by truly understanding consumers and creating valuable concept packaging can you succeed in the market. Let us take insight and innovation as our weapons, create more eye-catching concept-packaging cases, and bring more surprises and creativity to the market.

III. "Packaging" at the level of brand strategy

1. Packaging can produce a direct visual impact

High-quality packaging can make your product stand out from the many homogenized products — for example, Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Even if your brand value doesn't have high recognition, if your product has high-quality packaging, it will sell better than other similar products.

1. Packaging can open up markets

When a product's sales are stuck in a bottleneck or the product's returns are low, you can change the status quo entirely by changing the packaging; you can use an old product to drive a new one, and even boost sales through packaging design. For example, Coca-Cola's "maid's silhouette".

1. Product packaging value > product functional value

Relatively speaking, when technology has reached the peak of its era, the possibility of pulling ahead through technology becomes ever smaller, so making an effort in packaging is more likely to be recognized. Take vivo and oppo phones: while others were all competing over value for money and functionality, they took an earlier step, starting with the packaging and appearance of the phones, and likewise survived in the super-competitive mobile-phone industry.

1. Give consumers a reason to be willing to pay a high price

Many products on the market are not inherently of high value, but once put in a gift box or given new packaging, the price goes up. This is also a function of packaging — giving consumers a reason to be willing to buy a product at a high price.

1. Packaging is a necessary process for building a brand IP image

Packaging can package not only products but also corporate culture and a brand's founder; at the same time, a corporate image can be packaged through similar types of celebrities. The process of packaging is the process by which a brand IP image takes shape, and a process in which a brand keeps focusing.

1. A walking communicator

Excellent packaging can fully produce a secondary-spread effect. Many people, in order to let more people see their brand, design their LOGO large or covering the whole packaging, making the packaging lose all sense of premium — so who would be willing to carry it out again? If you have brand influence, then you can do this — for example, a supermarket event somewhere gave a luxury-brand packaging bag with the purchase of 20 yuan of vegetables, leading many people to throw away the vegetables they had just bought in order to get the bag. If you want to cultivate consumers into spontaneous communicators, then respect them: while ensuring product quality, design the packaging a little better.

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn), original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-379365.html