In This Issue

J&J exec: Down economy no time to slack off on brand protection "Don't fall back on your anti-counterfeiting efforts in a down economy; counterfeiters love this economy," says David S. Howard, and he should know.

NPD Group report: Package design can influence unplanned toy purchases Seventy percent of toy purchases are planned, with the first decision consumers make being where to shop.

Package Gallery

New vodka and a touch of elegance, at $37 per bottle

By Jim George, Editor-in-Chief

First impressions are everything for a new brand, especially in a crowded aisle like vodka. How can a newcomer brand gain attention at a premium price point amid such intense competition?

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Bravado Imports, Lititz, PA, has an inventive approach for its Quay (pronounced 'key') Vodka Mediterranean: material innovation. The company examined existing packaging in the category and found ways to alter how materials are used. The results not only give the brand its own personality in the vodka aisle—at $37 a bottle—but also a style and elegance that rival longtime competitors.

The base of the 750-mL glass Quay bottle is 1 inch thick; the additional weight boosts perceptions of product quality. In a departure from many spirits brands, the brand name and logo are spray-painted directly on front panel of the glass surface. Additional copy is silk-screen-printed on the square bottle's square side panels. That frees up the front panel to remain "clean," with a "Quay Mediterranean Blue" gradient ending about one-third of the way down the slim, tapered bottle.

The design glorifies and reflects the cultures and refinement of Europe's Mediterranean region, explains Joseph Durovey, Bravado Executive Vice President.

"We have plenty of competitors with many beautiful, fancy bottles trying to grab people's attention off the shelf. With this kind of high-end product, especially from a new and unknown company like ours, your package really needs to look the part," Durovey says.

Bravado began by consulting with its France-based bottle manufacturer and decorator, Saverglass, to decide on the bottle shape. They selected a square shape that tapers from a wide base to a slimmer shoulder, to contrast the round bottles that are common in vodka.

Durovey says the goal was for a rich, slightly greenish-blue color to reflect the colors of the Mediterranean Sea. The company had Comp24 conduct color studies with explorations initially evolving from magazine advertisements and other blue-paper examples. Bravado gave Comp24 smaller-size samples of its new bottle to test different color iterations.

"In 2-D on a monitor screen, you would not get a feel for the transparency. Here, the saying 'What you see is what you get' is not true," says Carl Perman, Comp24 Senior Vice President.

Once the color tone was decided, the next step was deciding color coverage on the bottle. Should the color be translucent or opaque? "With vodka, you want to show the purity and the clarity," Durovey says.

Bottle samples used both color gradients and solid blue colors, with the aid of an airbrush artist. The decision was made to use a gradient that leaves the bottom half of the bottle clear. Saverglass applies the colors and label information using a proprietary painting process that includes clear-coat protection. Ingredients information and "romance" copy are printed directly onto each bottle's side panels.

Bravado continues the Mediterranean theme and wave icon on white-coated SBS six-pack cartons.

"It was extremely helpful for our bottle manufacturer to have the Comp24 bottle to copy and get the translucency precisely correct," Durovey notes.

J&J exec: Down economy no time to slack off on brand protection

By Jim Butschli, Editor, Healthcare Packaging

"Don't fall back on your anti-counterfeiting efforts in a down economy; counterfeiters love this economy," says David S. Howard, and he should know. He's Director of Product Protection for Johnson & Johnson (J&J). The higher margins and volumes of these products and brands make them more susceptible to counterfeiting. Ideas for brand managers: Authentication that also engages consumers

Speaking recently at MD&M East, a medical design and manufacturing show in New York, NY, Howard delivered the following points:

• Counterfeiters continue to grow in sophistication. J&J found evidence of this when it uncovered counterfeit product in Vietnam. Howard said the blister package materials in the counterfeit packaging "were superior to our own."
  
• Concerned that counterfeiters might be buying legitimate packaging machinery for illegal purposes, Howard questioned whether machinery manufacturers qualify the companies purchasing their equipment, or do they consider every sale a good sale?
  
• Another evasive tack being taken by counterfeiters is that they operate more frequently on a "hit-and-run" basis. They work in smaller quantities so that by the time a company or organization is on their trail, they're long gone.
  
• Technology is an enabler, not a solution. No single technology can prevent product counterfeiting. Layers must be utilized and features must be changed. Howard advised product manufacturers to stay nimble. No technology should be deployed that cannot be updated quickly.
  
• It's not necessarily wise to share information on your Web site touting that you've found counterfeit product. Counterfeiters read your Web site and can learn valuable details to avoid future detection.
  
• Counterfeiters typically employ a black light as a way to look for anti-counterfeit measures on or in a package.

NPD Group report: Package design can influence unplanned toy purchases

Seventy percent of toy purchases are planned, with the first decision consumers make being where to shop. However, for the 30% of toy purchases that are spontaneous, eye-catching packaging and product display influence the buying decision.

Those were the conclusions highlighted in "Toy Purchase Decisions," a new report from market research company The NPD Group. The report was based on feedback from more than 2,300 respondents in a pre-identified sample of toy purchasers. The online survey was conducted June 2-9, 2009.

The report finds that more than 75% of toy shoppers who made planned purchases knew where they wanted to shop. Though 90% of these retailer-driven shoppers actually made the purchase where they originally planned, when asked what they would have done if the toy they planned on purchasing were not available, more than 40% said they would have looked for the same product in a different store.

Of the unplanned purchases, nearly two-thirds were influenced by an item-related factor. The primary reason was a child requesting a specific toy. But attractive packaging and an effective product display also were strong factors inducing purchase.

Packaging that enables consumers to interact with a product also is a more critical factor in toys than for some other categories; 78% of shoppers in the study say they prefer to purchase in stores rather than online because they want the ability to see and interact with the products prior to purchase.

Analysis of the results also shows that price point plays a significant role in making unplanned purchases, because the two categories with the most unplanned purchases also have the lowest average retail prices.

Toy-brand managers examining the value equation between product price and package quality also should know this: 70% of consumers say they have a price in mind when toy-shopping. Then they seek products that meet their price criteria.

"As we head into the critical holiday season, during which approximately 50% of annual toy revenues are generated, it's important for manufacturers and retailers to understand just what it is that drives toy purchase decisions among parents and gift-givers," says Anita Frazier, industry analyst for The NPD Group.