Instead of working strictly from a packaging brief, Stuart Leslie, President of 4sight Inc., New York City, favors a more direct approach with consumers to satisfy their unmet needs, as he discusses in this chat with Shelf Impact!

With consumer markets fragmenting into ever-smaller niches, the need to understand who your consumers are and what motivates them to purchase has never been more important. You can learn about the latest research and strategy development approaches in use today at the ninth annual Proof: Market Research & Strategy Development for Package Design conference.

You said…

In June, Shelf Impact! asked you this question: “Does your design process integrate graphic branding with structural functionality, or do you consider aesthetics of secondary importance?”

Simoniz, Bolton, CT, has developed a line of car-care products with a high-performance formulation that creates high gloss on auto surfaces. The company is using packaging to bring branding dimension to the advanced product formulation as a communicator of value and a squeaky clean shine—and to enhance product protection in distribution.

Betta Foods, an Australian manufacturer of ice cream cones and specialty confectionery products, is adding convenience to candy packaging with a resealable zipper on its Natural Real Fruit Flavored Liquorice AllSorts and Liquorice Bullets varieties.

For Teen Everyday Skincare System skincare products, packaging is the messenger for inspirational messages and a bit of attitude.

The challenge: The Stratis Group, Caldwell, NJ, wanted to reinforce the essence of Hawaiian fruit on the label to boost sales for its Hilo Gold Noni Juice. The solution: a decorative full-sleeve shrink label to stimulate maximum purchase impact.

Plastic containers with handles have recently elevated convenience in the sugar aisle, which has been home to paper sacks for decades. In Canada, here is how another marketer improves convenience in sugar packaging.

Organic Valley, LaFarge, WI, has found an innovative way to extend its brand reach and bring the healthful benefits of milk to the ballpark. The dairy packages about 8 oz of milk in aseptic cartons for distribution at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, WI, during baseball games of the minor league Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.

Unilever's Breyers brand created a new ice cream product based on new processing technology that swirls extra silky, smooth ice cream together with a range of indulgent toppings. Marketed under the Swirls subbrand, packaging sells the ice cream's distinctive design pattern to consumers.

In order to be truly effective, packaging has to literally deliver the heart and soul of the brand in a way that forges strong, emotive connections with the consumer. The days of delivering a hierarchy of features and benefits on packaging in a dry manner, sans emotion, are over. But where do emotive cues come from?

With this issue, Shelf Impact! begins a more inclusive era in dissecting the marketing strategies and trends driving packaging decisions today.

Can a package in the self-grooming aisles really influence which product a guy buys?