Simoniz line adds distinction, clarity to auto aftermarket products

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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.

“The design of the packages was critical to the success of the Liquid Diamond rollout,” explains Chuck Tornabene, President of Simoniz Retail Products. “We knew that we could not achieve our retail market goals with any me-too product.”

Marketed under the Liquid Diamond subbrand, the line includes spray car polish, paste car polish, liquid car polish, UV protectant, tire dressing, and a self-drying car wash formula. Vivid yellow containers communicate gloss and value, compared with often darker-color packaging of competing brands.

An angular, faceted design distinguishes the 32-oz motorized spray polish bottle and the paste container lid. The 32-oz bottle’s design includes a motorized push-button sprayer that operates with a battery-powered pump. The polyvinyl chloride (PVC) container is design- and blow-molded by Novapak Corp. (www.pvcc.com) in a beveled, faceted shape. Transitions between facets are rounded to ease gripping and prevent “stress risers” caused by sharp transitions that can fracture during shipping and handling.

The 13-oz paste wax comes in a custom-designed, blow-molded PVC container from Novapack. Deep undercuts enable the containers to nest on retail shelves, and the transparent lid repeats the line’s signature faceted design.

According to Simoniz, the paste and liquid spray polish containers are blow-molded on a flexible schedule, as retail demand requires. Rounding out the line, the UV protectant is packaged in a 22-oz angle-ribbed sprayer PET bottle and the self-drying car wash comes in a stock 64-oz handled oblong PVC bottle. Novapak also provides each of these packages.

With design, production, and label assistance from Total Pac (www.totalpac.biz), the pressure-sensitive labels were flexo-printed in seven colors, including four process colors, an extra layer of black, and two special fluorescent colors. The labels were finished with a high-gloss UV coating to “sell the shine” of the products.

With such attention to detail, the Liquid Diamond family brings a distinctive and unified look, and a clear value message, to the auto aftermarket category, which is cluttered with copycat packages.

You said…

Is structure or aesthetics more important?

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?”

This topic drew many passionate answers, and this month, we share more of them with you.

“As a graphic designer with experience in structural design, I work very closely with my structural designers in designing POP displays and packaging. We constantly bounce ideas around when we start a project. I may have a graphic idea that I'll ask the structural designer if they can do something differently in the structure to help enhance the graphics I have in mind. Or they do something structurally that gives me an idea for graphics. The graphics and structure must work hand-in-hand for a project to be successful. Having a structure background in addition to my graphics and printing production experience is a huge advantage for me and the company I work for and is reflected in the success of our designs and growth of our company.”

“Structure always comes first, then graphics get to work with what is left for them.”

“My design process integrates branding with structural functionality because aesthetics are so much more important for the market and can't be ignored in the design process.”

“It's all of a piece—a little ritual of symbolic stickiness—contents, structure, graphics. I see it as an integrated sculpture that induces the viewer/buyer to pay attention to it, find out more, and ultimately buy it.”

“Aesthetics result from the combination of the two. However, if the graphic branding is poor, consumers won't even notice your brand.”

“Structure drives concepting; concepts are paired down based on cost, aesthetics, and uniqueness.”

“I would say 70/30 structural/graphic. If I can design a package and by looks alone grab attention, then I am really on the right track. Yet sometimes we need graphics to aid in the overall shape.”

“Aesthetics are becoming more and more primary, and then you make the package actually work.”

Proof topics: Special-edition, cost effective packaging

Dan Hill

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.

Proof, produced by the Institute for International Research, will be from Oct. 1-3, 2007, at the Wyndham Hotel in Chicago, and Shelf Impact! is again supporting the conference as a media partner.

Douglas Miller

Additional speakers and topics have been announced for the conference, including:

• Douglas Miller, Production and Operations Manager, Bath & Body Works, “Designing for Manufacturability: Creating Packaging that is Cost-Effective Without Jeopardizing Quality and Visual Appeal.”

• Liz Mohr, Senior Insights Manager, Unilever, “Special Edition Packaging: Worth the Risk?”

• Dan Hill, President, Sensory Logic Inc., “Make Them Fall in Love. Decoding Facial Expressions to Build Emotionally Engaging Packaging.”

Liz Mohr

UPCLOSE A good ‘harvesting’ can create winning brands Stuart Leslie 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! SI: What do you mean when you talk about “harvesting” a brand? Leslie: It takes into consideration what the brand means to consumers, and what their needs are, including those that aren’t being met, and then delivering on it. With this understanding in hand, you develop branding and design concepts to meet consumer need states and find an appropriate cost of goods that matches the brand owner’s price and branding strategy. SI: How do you accomplish this? Leslie: Through in-depth research and a team approach. Understanding consumer needs and perceptions is critical in developing successful products. It starts with looking for needs that consumers have that aren’t being met. If the product is an existing brand, start with the brand’s consumers today and study their world. Our designers do that first, and then they brainstorm directly with consumers. We’re finding that is the most efficient and best way to get on the fast track with new ideas. Once we have ideas to work with, we put a full design team together to create the design concepts and then show them to consumers for their feedback. There are advantages to proceeding this way. You can blend packaging aesthetics with cost savings and even create new product categories with products that make busy people’s lives more organized and less stressful. SI: How does this approach of harvesting, or cultivating, a brand differ from traditional design methods? Leslie: Normally, designers wait for a packaging brief from the product manufacturer. It’s “tell us what you need and we’ll design to meet it.” When you harvest a brand, the collaborative mind-set is different. You meet as a team and come up with a concept. You ask questions like: Should it be a wipe or a spray? What type of package should it be in, and so on. We’re all helping to define the scope of a product. The traditional model is still to execute a packaging brief. SI: Are certain brands better suited for the brand-harvesting approach than others? Leslie: Harvesting works best for existing brands that have strong equities but haven’t taken advantage of them in any new way in a while. People are rooting for them. They’re cheering the brand on as if it’s their old friend.