Second-quarter results point to need to think beyond established category paradigms.
Shelf Impact! and international brand consultancy Dragon Rouge return with new findings from our exclusive quarterly innovation-tracking survey. This initiative began in the magazine’s March 2009 issue (visit the archives at www.shelfimpact.com) and asks marketers, innovators, and branding specialists to evaluate a sample of recent product-packaging innovations around the following 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 effectiveness of the packaging production process.
Results compiled for this article summarize responses from nearly 600 brand/marketing managers, designers, and materials suppliers received in February and March 2009. To view an image and brief description of each of the nine packages reviewed this quarter, go to www.shelfimpact.com/go/2.
The scores don’t suggest that any of the packages mentioned are not innovative; scores reflect the ratings of the packages relative to each other rather than in comparison to new packages on the whole. Our goal is to take package samples from across categories in establishing key metrics to measure the success of new ideas and launches in package design and innovation on the whole. Shelf Impact! will present these findings at the end of the year.
Category disruption
In the second quarter we have a three-way tie for first place. From the packages in our sample, Archer Farms Cereal, Activate drinks, and Hammerite Metalmaster each earned a composite score of 3.8/5. While vastly different in form and function, these three designs support one key insight learned from our first-quarter results: Focus on category-disruptive product concepts with out-of-the-box packaging structures.
With custom-sized paperboard packaging and a distinctive sealing system, Archer Farms has re-envisioned the cereal category by returning packaging to its functional roots. For years, rectangular cardboard packaging and in-box cereal bags have been “sacred cows” in the cereal category. Why? Does this system maximize space internally? Prolong product freshness? Enhance ease of use? The answers to these questions are no, no, and no. Archer Farms has challenged this sea of sameness while also driving shelf visibility by drawing inspiration from outside of the category. With curved edges and an oblong shape, the cereal container’s structure takes its cues from baking products rather than a direct competitor.
The design addresses two key issues that traditional cereal packaging neglects: freshness and transparency. It prolongs product freshness by abandoning board-stock perforations in favor of a foil-laminate lid stock and a polypropylene overcap. And by replacing traditional bag-in-box packaging (which makes us think we’re getting more product than we actually do) with a film-coated foil liner, Archer Farms fills cereal packages from bottom to top.
Similar to Archer Farms, Activate also leverages structural design to address issues surrounding freshness, transparency, and ownership. Recent research indicates that most vitamins lose potency over time when dissolved in water. Activate addresses this through a groundbreaking cap design that keeps vitamins and nutrients fresh by separating them from water prior to consumption. Twisting the upper cavity of the cap activates an internal blade, piercing the membrane between the powdered formula and the water, and releasing the ingredients into the beverage.
Though the package is different and intriguing, it might be daunting for consumers to purchase a make-your-own nutritional beverage without transparent knowledge of how it works. Through both graphics and structural design, Activate tackles this challenge brilliantly at multiple consumer touch points. At the point-of-purchase, opposite-facing graphic droplets remove an initial barrier to entry by illustrating the mechanism in action. Later, vitamins are released into the water; the triggering of energy mirrors the energy burst the consumer is about to experience.
In addition, the Activate packaging creates significant consumer engagement by immersing users in the process of creation. The package encourages consumers to mix the ingredients manually.
The third innovation survey winner, the Hammerite Metalmaster paint gun canister, brings many benefits of commercial painting home to the D-I-Y craftsman. As many consumers have experienced, air leakages in traditional paint canisters can make the product’s lifespan frustratingly short. Either the paint dries up completely, the aerosol escapes prematurely, or both. Metalmaster prolongs the paint’s lifespan through a plastic inner bag that keeps the metal paint and propellant separate. This two-pronged approach preserves aerosol during paint dispensing and prevents paint from hardening through contact with the package itself.
Beyond finishes and graphics
Survey respondents thought that overall, Zeda Dark Angel bronzing intensifier and Pampers Sensitive Swaddlers were lowest on the innovation scale among the nine packages reviewed in the newest survey, for both conceptual and structural innovation. The respondents indicated that Dark Angel’s gem-style cap is different from its competitors, but the package on the whole could do even more to advance either the product’s functional benefits or the category overall.
Pampers Sensitive Swaddlers took a similar approach to innovation. This package’s point of difference centers on a proprietary matte varnish intended to communicate a “soft as a baby” product. Introducing touch equity is innovative in this category, and that benefit is evident to consumers who hold the package. However, the plastic bag’s square shape resembles many disposable-diaper packages.
We’ll save a detailed conclusion for our end-of-year results. In the meantime, we already can see a general trend emerging. When innovation is linked to benefit-driven structural designs, it has a much greater chance of success with consumers. Keep experimenting, and dare to be different!
The author, Eric Zeitoun, is President of Dragon Rouge USA, an international brand and design consultancy. Contact him at eric@dragorouge-usa.com or 212/367-8800.
