Shelf Impact! and Dragon Rouge to conduct quarterly study using recent product launches and summarize fi ndings at year’s end.

Introduction

Shelf Impact! and Dragon Rouge, an international brand and design consultancy, have begun a joint venture to research the drivers of eff ective innovation. Every quarter, we will seek input from marketers, innovators, and branding specialists on a sample of recent product-packaging innovations.

Starting with this issue of Shelf Impact! and continuing with each issue in 2009, we will report the findings. In December, we will compile and report on the ratings across all products, and plot the results in a chart. Our goal is to establish key metrics to measure the success of new ideas and launches in package design and innovation.

The results for this article summarize responses received in December 2008 and January 2009 from 400 brand/ marketing managers, designers, and materials suppliers. Using a 1-to-5 rating scale, participants evaluated packages, selected by Shelf Impact!, for 10 recent product introductions in food, beverage, household, personal care, and cosmetics. Evaluations were based on five criteria:

1. The product concept’s ability to provoke new ways of thinking about a category.
2. The product structure’s ability to present new ways of interacting with a product type.
3.The packaging graphics’ innovative cues that help bring the product positioning to life.
4. The packaging’s use of innovative materials.
5. The relative eff ectiveness of the packaging production process.

To view an image and brief description of each of the 10 packages, go to www.shelfimpact.com/go/1.

Across product categories, two key factors generally drive reaction about innovation. One is an innovative product that redefi nes its category and the other is an innovative package structure.

If structure is perceived as the most eff ective way to convey a breakthrough product, innovative graphics, materials, and production processes follow at second, third, and fourth, respectively.

Survey respondents selected GE’s Caulk Singles as the most innovative example of packaging in our first-quarter list of packages. Everything about the Caulk Singles package structure speaks about benefit (single-dose caulk) and supports the brand idea of "effortless beauty," respondents said. Beyond the product's aesthetic appeal (it breaks away from commoditized category cues) and the humorous graphic treatment of a droplet of glue on the packaging, the struture addresses a consumer frustration often associated with the category; the mess associated with tubular caulk containers.

Procter & Gamble's Cascade Complete All-in-1 Action Pacs was the second highest-rated performer on the list. The product's soft, transparent pouch prompts consumers to rethink dishwashing detergent as transparent, easy-to-use, and fast-acting.

Our respondents perceived Caulk Singles and Cascade Complete as successful innovations because the packages embrace a key macro trend that can be thought of as "silicone." This trend recognizes that as store shelves become more crowded with products, consumers gravitate toward product and packaging innovation that is playful while also making the product easier to use.

Daring structures...will pay off

Caulk Singles and Y Water earned the highest marks for package structure. Both succeed as alternatives to predictable, cylindrical packaging.

With a canteen-style shape and distinctive seal, Caulk Singles redefines the adhesives category with a new package shape. Through curiously playful triangular packaging, Y Water, a low-calorie, “functional” drink, introduces a structure previously unseen in bottled water—and the modular plastic units double as building-block toys for kids. The package shape supports the brand message of a “developmental” drink for kids.

By leveraging structural design to explore new usage contexts, Y Water becomes relevant to young people while also addressing issues of environmental sustainability.

Lowest marks in structural design and overall innovation among the packages in this survey went to 5-Hour Energy, a performance drink “shot” with nutritional supplements. Survey respondents believe that 5-Hour Energy packaging fails to challenge category paradigms and instead plays it safe with a standard cylindrical structure.

Graphics unleash the humor

Successful packaging graphics encourage consumer trial by countering negative associations with an added dimension of fun. Highest marks in graphics innovation went to Busy Bee Honey, from Golden Heritage Foods, and Caulk Singles. Though honey appeals to many consumers, images of its makers typically do not. Busy Bee demystifies the origins of honey while also portraying the bee in a new light. We needn’t be afraid of bees; they’re our friends and partners in sweetening meals.

Caulk Singles also removes barriers to entry for the consumer by humorously addressing our fear of making a mess. The red drop oozing down the front of the pack encourages us to take caulking less seriously and have fun while doing it.

Lowest marks in graphics innovation went to Maybelline Dream Matte Powder. The packaging has minimal graphic treatments, and its monochromatic brown potentially could be confused for the powder color inside the package.

Materials and functional benefit

Materials innovation is driven by the ability to align functionality with real consumer needs. Again, Caulk Singles earned the highest marks, followed by Oscar Mayer’s Stay- Fresh Reclosable Trays.

Most consumers need only a small amount of caulk for one job. By enabling one-time use, Caulk Singles offers a product that’s relevant to a majority of consumers who perform home repairs themselves.

Oscar Mayer accomplishes the disposability objective through reusability. Offering a reclosable vacuum seal, Oscar
Mayer leverages the insight that a package of bacon lasts most consumers for two or more meals.

5-Hour Energy scored lowest in materials innovation. With an image of a runner ascending a mountain, the graphics imply outdoor use. However, on a mountaintop, miles away from the nearest trashcan, a hiker probably thinks little about package disposability and the environment.

Sustainability and economic realities

Innovation in packaging production is driven by perceived improvements in sustainability. Caulk Singles also scored highest in this fi eld, followed by Oscar Mayer Stay-Fresh Re-closable Trays and BeautiControl Skinlogics Lip Apeel.

By offering single-use quantities, Caulk Singles prevents waste that results when caulk dries up in larger, multiuse containers. Stay-Fresh Trays reduce plastics consumption by encouraging reuse. Lip Apeel reduces packaging resources by consolidating multiple products into a single unit.

The lowest-rated package for sustainability considerations was Maybelline Dream Matte Powder. Low ratings are likely the result of the attached mirror, which must be purchased along with the makeup.

Clearly, respondents to our first survey like the Caulk Singles and Y Water packages. The lesson learned is that it is okay to dare to be diff erent on shelf.

-By Eric Zeitoun

The author, Eric Zeitoun, is President of Dragon Rouge USA, an international brand and design consultancy. Contact him at eric@dragonrouge-usa.com or 212/367-8800.