“Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.” – Jeff Bezos, Amazon
A strategic packaging plan could influence potential customers to join your brand. A study of 1,500 Brits, that explored the effect of packaging and branding on shopping behaviors, found that at least one in six people thought Coca-Cola’s bottle was the most recognizable in terms of packaging.
The Coca-Cola bottle was thought to be just as identifiable without a logo or the product itself. This begs the question, is it what’s outside of the package that counts? We are now more than ever critiquing the appearance of packaging, so taking some tips from the most recognizable brands of 2016, let’s have a look at how to make your brand more eye catching.
Branding Your Business With Packaging
At the core of every successful organization is a product or service that proves itself as the customer’s first choice. Whilst building your business make sure you are establishing a strong brand that customers will recognize and trust.
Not only will good branding promote and distinguish your product or service it will give customers a reason to choose you over your competitors. Easyfairs, organizers of Packing Innovations and Luxury Packaging London, the U.K.’s premier event for all things packaging, recently commissioned important research on the matter.
Coca-Cola may have come out on top, however, Toblerone finished as a close runner up, with Marmite’s glass jar given the bronze title for product packaging.
“The Coca Cola bottle was designed mainly to be distinctive…Specifically, they wanted it made in such a way that it would be recognizable even if the label had come off, and it would be harder for other companies to imitate,” Dr. Ann Wilson, a lecturer in Visual Culture and Design History in the Media at the Cork Institute of Technology, said.
The Product Packaging Formula
- The main purpose of a brand’s packaging is to safeguard the product from any harm or damage during shipping and whilst on the stockist’s shelves.
- Packaging should be eye-catching to attract the customer to the product.
- A brand’s packaging also gives details of nutritional guidelines, the brands sustainability policies and other product information.
Packaging is the connection between the customer and the product and more than likely the packaging will be the first thing customers come in to contact with. We thrive off of visuals, colors and branding, in fact, 90 percent of the information transmitted to our brains is visual.
Make sure your product is giving out appropriate messages about your business to potential customers. Visual impact is instant and having better packaging than your competitors may drive your business ahead of the opposition.
So, with such competition in the market for amazing packaging design, what tactics are brands adopting?
Packaging Supplies: The Coca-Cola Effect
Coca-Cola has had years to successfully build their packaging strategy and marketing. The brand is evolving and in recent years they have moved into the personalized packaging market.
In the past, personalized packaging was only available in more luxury markets where personalization came at a higher price. With their “Share a Coke” campaign Coca-Cola brought personalized packaging to the mass market.
The campaign itself was built by Lucie Austin, marketing director of Coca-Cola South Pacific and her “Project Connect” team, who had a plan to inspire and strengthen the bond between the brand and the public. The “Share a Coke” campaign printed 150 of the world’s most popular names on Coca-Cola bottles.
“My reaction was childlike. I knew many others would have the same reaction,” Austin said about seeing her name on a Coke bottle.
The campaign encouraged customers to make it a social experience by using the hashtag #ShareaCoke on their social media accounts. Since the launch more than 658,000 photos were shared using the #ShareaCoke hashtag on Instagram alone.
What’s more, Coca-Cola elaborated on their popular name campaign and drew further inspiration from names across the world and hopped on the bandwagon of popular phrase trends by utilizing terms like “BFF” and “Bestie.”
Top Ten Most Recognizable Brand’s Packaging
The Star recently did a roundup of the most recognizable brands. Here’s the top ten:
- Coca-Cola Bottle
- Toblerone Triangle
- Marmite Jar
- Pringles Tube
- KFC Bucket
- Heinz Ketchup Bottle
- Fairy Liquid Bottle
- Apple’s iPhone Box
- Walkers Crisp Packet
- Amazon Box
Above are just some of the world’s biggest brands. With great packaging and recognizable branding in mind, we hope your business is inspired to create protective packaging with a personalized edge.
The “Share a Coke” campaign is a testament that a slight adjustment to your packaging strategy could increase your sales and boost your brand’s awareness.
Melissa Lang is a writer from Glasgow, Scotland and is currently working for a Kraft Wholesale company. Melissa has a keen eye for all things design and in the past has consulted on business branding and marketing. A strategic packaging plan could influence potential customers to join your brand. We take you through what you should consider and what’s working for Coke.
Part of me thinks it might be easy to forget the main purpose of the brand’s packaging. Safeguarding the product is important. On the other hand, it’s probably easy to get caught up in making the packaging look appealing to possible buyers.