In This Issue

In rhythm with a new audience—at a cost savings When a brand favored by professionals goes mainstream, communication challenges with the new audience can be considerable.

FUSE : Ideas for elevating the packaging of your brand Some of the brightest branding and design minds in the business will highlight this year's FUSE: Design, Culture, Branding conference (formerly Brand Identity and Package Design).

Package Gallery

Research: Sustainability is beginning to drive shopping decisions

How much weight does the sustainability factor carry with consumers?

One survey estimates that nearly 50% of U.S. consumers consider at least one sustainability issue when selecting products in the store. And for many of those shoppers, the materials used in the packaging also have become important when choosing not only which brands to buy but also which stores to patronize.

In 2007, Information Resources Inc., a research firm, surveyed more than 22,000 U.S. consumers. They were asked to consider organic, environment-friendly products and packaging, and the treatment of employees and suppliers pertaining to sustainability issues. The results show that sustainability is increasingly influencing purchasing decisions and that consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and retailers positioned well for sustainability will likely have at least a short-term advantage on shelf.

Following are some of the survey's principal findings:

• A majority of leading CPG companies and retailers have supply chain sustainability programs in place, but some consumer-focused efforts are in the early developmental stages.
• About 25% of consumers who responded consider two or more sustainability factors in their purchase decisions. Though product origins are important, 29% said eco-friendly packaging influences their brand selection, and 21% opt for stores that offer a good selection of products with environmentally friendly packaging.
• Sustainability factors are particularly important among older baby boomers and smaller households. In larger households with budget constraints, price may outweigh sustainability as a purchase-decision variable.
• CPG companies and retailers that have failed to target the 55-and-older segment with sustainable-packaging and product initiatives may be missing opportunities for sales.
• Sustainability-driven consumers allocate a higher share of spending to drugstores and a lower share to supercenters.
• Consumers within the sustainability-driven segment have high purchase indices in food and beverage categories.

A report detailing the results says that many sustainable-packaging initiatives are under way but aren't always communicated to consumers. In terms of packaging, the report recommends that CPG companies and retailers:

1. Identify opportunities to reduce packaging and leverage recycled, recyclable, and biodegradable materials among private-label products.
2. Increase availability of products with sustainable packaging.
3. Plan to optimize shelf space as package size is reduced.
4. Clearly communicate all significant sustainable-packaging enhancements on package labels, point-of-purchase displays, and other in-store communication tactics.

In rhythm with a new audience—at a cost savings

When a brand favored by professionals goes mainstream, communication challenges with the new audience can be considerable. The products are usually of premium quality, with a corresponding price point. The right packaging is essential in introducing the brand to mainstream consumers.

enlarge

In consumer electronics, Shure Inc., Niles IL, shows how to do it and reduce costs. The company has marketed its professional-grade earphones for 80 years to musicians under the Shure brand. But recently, consumers with discerning ears have begun purchasing the earphones to improve the sound quality of their iPods. The professional-grade Shure product family costs considerably more than consumer-level audio products. Without packaging that clearly communicates the product-quality differences, shopper confusion is likely.

Shure responded by reintroducing its brand in new packaging to roll out its SE line and leverage its heritage as a professional-grade audio equipment brand. Packaging, says Jon Stookey, Associate Manager, Integrated Marketing, is essential in segmenting the brand from less-established competitors and signaling differences among its own products.

One challenge the company faced was expressing the value of its super-premium products, which retail for $200 and higher, compared with $30 and lower for budget-quality competing brands. Shure, creating a branding and design strategy with MiresBall Design, began by eliminating its curved PVC clamshell packages in favor of decorated cartons to more effectively communicate the price point, Stookey says.

Shure opted for a fifth-panel, windowed SBS carton. Inside the carton, the products rest in a molded RPET tray. The tray sits inside a high-impact polystyrene tray that provides tamper-evidence over a circular die-cut window on the carton's front panel, yet it allows shoppers to view the product through the package.

The new cartons require only half of the packaging components that were needed for the clamshells, reducing materials costs by 20%, Stookey says. Distribution and transportation costs are lower, too. The 5-oz cartons weigh 50% less than the nearly 10-oz clamshells, notes Chris Stelter, Project Manager. And by changing from curved clamshells to cubed cartons, twice as many packages now fit on a pallet, he says.

The carton design is equally important in brand positioning. The dominant red color has been retained. But designers opted for a richer red on the package top and black on the bottom, with white lettering and a blue band across the carton's midsection. This color scheme supports a high-end product and signals the brand's U.S. heritage, explains John Ball, Partner and Creative Director at MiresBall.

The foldout fifth panel contains in-depth technical information about the product. On the front panel, the tagline "Legendary Performance" and photo of a performing musician, with the message "Developed for the pros!", also signal product quality.

FUSE : Ideas for elevating the packaging of your brand

Malcolm Gladwell

Milton Glaser

Some of the brightest branding and design minds in the business will highlight this year's FUSE: Design, Culture, Branding conference (formerly Brand Identity and Package Design). The conference, produced by the Institute for International Research (IIR), will be April 13-16 at Pier 60, Chelsea Piers, New York City.

Shelf Impact! will again continue its support of the conference as a media partner.

During the pre-conference symposia on April 14, Peter Thum, Founder of Ethos Water and Vice President, Global Brand and Product at Starbucks Coffee Co., will deliver the keynote presentation "Changing the Way People Think About a Commodity and Building a Brand With a Social Mission."

Malcolm Gladwell, author of "The Tipping Point" and a leading writer on science, culture, and human behavior, will kick off the conference on April 15 with the keynote address "What We Can Learn From Spaghetti Sauce: Finding Customers' Truest Tastes."

Also on April 15, Milton Glaser, one of America's most celebrated graphic designers, will explore the topic "Changing Minds."

Terry Schwartz will be among the many speakers offering design perspectives of consumer product manufacturers. On April 16, Schwartz, Senior Director, Brand Design, ConAgra Foods, will discuss "Moving Beyond the Brief: Creating a Brand Essence That Connects Everything the Brand Does."

Peter Thum

The symposia day will include concurrent breakout track sessions on sustainability and packaging innovation, global design and brand strategy, and emotional branding and the quest for experiences. The conference days will offer afternoon tracks on design, strategy, and trends affecting packaging. View complete registration details and the program agenda.