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Shelf Impact! Advisory
Board
Laura Bix, PhD
Assistant Professor, School of Packaging
Michigan State University
Marie Curi
Brand Consultant
Curiousity, LLC
Dennis Furniss
Vice President, Strategic Branding
BrandScope
Robert Hall
Vice President of Brand Development
Boston Beer Co.
Michael Livolsi
Brand Identity and Packaging Design Consultant
Brian Wagner
Vice President and COO
Packaging & Technology Integrated Solutions
Rob Wallace
Managing Director
Wallace Church, Inc. |
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JIM GEORGE TO PROVIDE
Bringing a tear to the eye
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One bottle shape, more than any other, has managed to not only differentiate itself from the pack but also to cross category boundaries to represent purity in products as diverse as dish soaps, high-end whiskeys, and perfumes. Remarkable!
How can the simple teardrop form accomplish this? What does this droplet shape mean to the consumer? Does it give the impression that each and every drop of liquid contained within the bottle has been dispensed one at a time? Does it further communicate care and attention to the manufacturing process? I would wager that the teardrop not only sends these messages, but also speaks to the purity of ingredients.
The shape also offers other benefits. A teardrop bottle, by nature, is bottom-heavy, which makes it more stable on the shelf and in the hand. "Slippery when wet" becomes less of a problem in the shower, as the bottle more often than not will instinctively stand at attention, ready for the next pour.
Despite the power of this simple, beautiful form, the same old stock bottles still dominate many product
categories. For example, in alcoholic beverages (vodka, wine, whiskey, beer, etc.), these forms are overused, and frankly, all too predictable! Sadly, this design abuse also is evident elsewhere in the store. Hot sauces, mayonnaise, pasta sauces, and olive oil are all guilty of the same design crime.
Where is the innovation? Where is the delight in the opening ceremony, the opportunity for display within the home? Understandably, there are inherent cost implications to producing proprietary bottle forms. However, in an increasingly crowded marketplace, the missed opportunity to help the consumer make that all-important purchase is surely worth the investment.
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Cooking up a recipe for innovation? Serve it up in manageable steps
What better time than this holiday season to serve up some thoughts on innovation by drawing parallels to food?
Design and innovation are passions of mine, in addition to food. Among their similarities, they both require a balance of science and art, and both often end with a somewhat unexpected, truly remarkable, serendipitous outcome. The following steps provide a glimpse at some core ingredients needed to produce successful brand innovation.
Define innovation. I am blessed to be married to a professionally trained chef. We still chuckle remembering the time when I stared at my options for Parmesan cheese in the store and opted for the green-canned variety. "Cheese is cheese" was my line of thinking. Eight years later, I fully embrace Parmesan Reggiano, aged 22 months, and would never go back.
As you think about innovation, don't make the same mistake I did. Cheese is not cheese and innovation is not innovation. You likely will not find true innovation unless you clearly align your organization on the type of innovation you are seeking.
Different people have different ideas of innovation. Are you seeking disruptive innovation (a la Clayton Christensen) or incremental innovation? Technical or commercial? Graphic or structural? Internal (cost savings) or external (consumer facing)?
Innovate strategically. Stick to your strengths. Start with what you do well, what you stand for, and the reasonable adjacencies—those white-space areas on the package that consumers logically link back to your brand equity—that will still be "on brand." Crest Whitestrips is very effective in this approach. Its hinged plastic tray contains extensive white space around the small primary and secondary labels.
In the food world, even the best chefs know their limitations. Understanding your limitations needs to be top of mind for your brand when it comes to innovation. Crest can innovate with whitening products beyond toothpaste (Whitestrips, Night Effects) because it's on-equity and in line with Procter and Gamble's mission of creating healthy smiles. Could Crest develop the next great thing in oral anesthesia? Probably. P&G has vast technical and financial resources. Would it be on brand for Crest? Probably not.
Try and try again. It's the whole ready, aim, fire metaphor. Companies often spend too much time getting ready and aiming when we should be firing and learning and firing again. My wife's spinach dip is a perfect example. It's been a 10-year "launch and learn" experience.
Or, look at this sequence of ready, aim, fire in the context of rapid prototyping. Spend a little. Learn a lot. Fast. This approach needs to be the mantra for your innovation focus. Jones Soda puts just this spin on its go-to-market strategy. The niche-beverage company throws many new products into the marketplace and then sees what works. Underperforming products are discontinued. Jones Soda frequently launches with quirky offerings. "Fufu Berry," moderately carbonated soda in 24-packs of 12-oz glass bottles with customized labels, and "Monster Mojito" soda in ghoulish four-packs available exclusively at Target stores near Halloween, have spawned a cult following.
Brian Erdman shares more thoughts on managing innovation.
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JIM GEORGE TO PROVIDE
As trends emerge, are you thinking innovatively?
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 Brand and category managers who want to grow market share should be paying close attention to two trends occurring in stores today. The first trend is an increase in more sophisticated store brands stressing value. The second one is the revival of the "center store."
A new report called Competing in the New World of Brands: The Next Wave of Private Label, by McKinsey & Co., estimates that as much as $55 billion in annual product sales could be at stake through 2017 if retailers emulate en masse the successful store-brand strategies of several leading-edge U.S. chains, and if national brands continue the status quo. The report cites Safeway, Wegmans, and Kroger among top-tier retailers driving the highest levels of private-label dollar share—22% of their total sales, on average. That compares with 15.6% for the bulk of the other retailers and about 10% for stores that focus mostly on national brands.
Safeway is becoming adept at riding store brands to build loyalty among shoppers. It is focusing on 10 core brands that fill unmet consumer needs around its stores by making them meaningful and relevant to Safeway shoppers. One of them is a line of good-tasting, "better for you" products marketed under the Eating Right brand. Packaging communicates both the enjoyment factor and the benefits, and Safeway is reporting success with its value-driven approach.
If other retailers follow suit with their store brands, McKinsey may be right on target with its estimate that private-label share in the United States could soar to 24% during the next 10 years—at the expense of national brands.
On the second front, retailers are realizing that a robust center store is effective in complementing the focus they've placed on fresh foods to distinguish their product assortment. What areas should be grabbing your attention? If you're a national brand, a recent study from Information Resources Inc. recommends tailoring new product offerings with a health and wellness positioning, and taking a harder look at the relevancy of your brands to your consumers.
Both of these trends offer savvy brand stewards opportunities for new sales. If innovation has not been a guiding principle in your creative process, could your brand benefit by redirecting your thinking?
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Package Gallery
A closer look at the newest trends in today's packaging.
Special beer packs salute hunting season
Mass customization is an effective way to solidify brand loyalty, and Miller Brewing Co. offers a novel idea in the beer aisle.
To mark the opening of the hunting season this fall, Miller packaged in limited-edition, blaze-orange cans in hunting-themed 24- and 30-pack carriers.
The special packages contribute to Miller High Life's continued support of Whitetails Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, and the National Wild Turkey Federation.
The special-edition aluminum cans are supplied by Ball Corp. and the paperboard multipack cartons come from Graphic Packaging International.
"Miller High Life has been closely associated with the outdoors and hunting for more than 100 years," says Kevin Oglesby, Senior Brand Manager. "So this initiative is truly a reflection of many of our consumers and a way to acknowledge their support of Miller High Life."
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Custom carrying cartons take the cake
A common consumer complaint in bakery products is that the containers are often awkward to carry. Frequently the cartons risk collapse or bend and damage the delicate bakery goods inside unless consumers balance the package in their hands as they carry it.
Elonen, a bread and bakery products manufacturer in Jämsä, Finland, believes it has solved this challenge with a custom carton design for its range of 20 desert cakes. Comprising what looks like an eight-sided carton overwrapped with a straight-edged sleeve, the container's film windows on the top and sides provide consumers with a view of the colorfully decorated cakes. Two handles on the top make carrying the package easy, while a perforated double line on the carton end flap facilitates carton opening.
Tako Carton Plant, a division of Pyroll, designed the cartons. Nova X coated, bleached paperboard from M-real provides protection for the cakes.
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SunChips packs boast Green-e logo
Product manufacturers are scurrying to show consumers they have embraced the "green" movement. Frito-Lay joins the parade. The company is adding a "Green-e" designation across the full line of its SunChips multigrain snack packs and becoming one of the first national consumer packaged goods brands to include the Green-e logo on packaging.
The Green-e logo is a designation from the Center for Resource Solutions to donate the use of certified renewable energy certificates (REC).
"Including the Green-e on the SunChips line of snacks gives the brand an opportunity to communicate its commitment to support green energy, and hopefully will remind and encourage consumers to take their own small steps to make our world a brighter place," says Gannon Jones, Vice President, Marketing, at Frito-Lay North America.
The SunChips RECs are part of PepsiCo's recent REC purchase, which matches the purchased electricity use of all of Frito-Lay's U.S.-based facilities, including those manufacturing sites that produce SunChips snacks. This REC purchase allows the SunChips brand to feature the Green-e logo on its packaging. The purchase of RECs helps drive the development of additional renewable energy capacity. Read an analysis of this development.
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