Consumers are having more trouble than ever remembering new product launches.

In research settings, even when their recall was aided in the form of a list of 50 new product launches in 2008, the “winner” on the list was mentioned only a stunning 22% of the time. At the bottom of the top 10, recall plummeted to a miserable 8%.

When researchers Schneider Associates, Mintel International, and Information Resources Inc. asked about new products from 2008, 69% of consumers who participated in the study could not remember a single new product introduced during the year. Researchers blamed these disheartening numbers on distracted and money-strapped consumers sticking with familiar products, so prospects also would seem lackluster for 2009.

Yet, in every challenge lurks opportunity. My thought is that creative teams might want to look for ways to make their package work harder. How can packaging lift your brand’s “experiential quotient”? One way is to inject sensorial dimension into package design. This issue of Shelf Impact! contains ideas for how brands around the store, from gum to dental floss to diaper-rash cream, are tapping into the sense of touch to do just that.

Packages exhibiting touch equity don’t necessarily have to cost more to produce. They can cost less if they’re well-thought-out so all relevant factors in design, manufacturing, and distribution are addressed. For example, new technologies coming on the market resemble tactile package surfaces such as brushed aluminum. These tactics often can save money in the supply chain while also elevating package functionality, a primary factor driving consumer purchase decisions.

Here’s the bonus for marketers: Consumers say that when a package “feels right” in their hand, their perception of product quality rises, too. It might fit their personal style. That’s just one way the product increases in value to them, and repeat purchase intent rises.

That is the kind of strategy that can make a product—new or existing—memorable and top-of-mind at the point-of-purchase.

P.S.: Based upon your input, Shelf Impact! is doing its part to become “greener.” Beginning with this issue, we reduce the number of printed copies of our quarterly magazine and introduce a digital version of the publication, in addition to our twice-monthly e-newsletter. Look for an e-mail link for the digital magazine in your inbox each month. Besides reducing paper usage, the digital format offers more reader interaction with important feature articles and quick links to information sources and advertisers. I welcome your comments and suggestions on our digital format at george@packworld.com

-By Jim George, Editor