Running Head: DEVELOPER/NEW PRODUCT PACKAGING

NEW PRODUCT PACKAGING

TLMT351 Packaging

Donald Williams

AMU

6 September 2014
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One of the most demanding markets to penetrate into is the foreign goods market. It

could have been much easier had there been a forecasting algorithm that could be able to read

consumer minds. However, there is none. Product manufacturers all over the world are often at

the mercy of their customers as their wishes, tastes and demands change quickly depending on

the current trends, economic environment, pop culture and most surprisingly gas prices. Figures

show that most of the new products introduction products fail within the first few months of

inception mainly when ill-advised strategies get into practice. Vast amount of money is usually

spent every year in market testing in U.S. markets. An endless list of would be customers is often

surveyed to decide whether or not to introduce products to the market. Nonetheless despite

having the extensive surveys and interviews almost 50 percent of new products fail in the first

year (Klimchuk & Krasovec, 2013 ). However, the more a product is tested before entering its

full production phase, the more likely it is to earn the desired sales and profits.

Packaging is the process taken when designing and producing a container for a product.

Traditionally, the primary function of the package was to protect and hold the product in a

central location. Recently, however, many issues have transformed packaging into being a

significant component of marketing (Wells, Farley, & Armstrong, 2007). Intensified competition

and confusion on supermarket shelves mean that packages must now carry out many sales duties

from drawing attention, to describing products, to closing the sale. Packaging helps in

promotional campaigns, trend setting, new products character definition, medium in the

marketing mix and pricing criterion, and as an instrument of crafting brand identity and shelf
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impact in all product groups. The marketing mix is the utilization of product prices, channels of

distribution, packaging, promotion, advertising and personal selling process used to avail the

final products to consumers.

Companies realize the power of proper packaging to create immediate consumer

recognition of the brand. For example, the average supermarket stocks 47,000 items; while the

average Walmart supercenter carries 140,000 items. The ordinary shopper passes by some 400

items per minute, and around 30 to 80 percent of all buying verdicts come while in stores

(Klimchuk & Krasovec, 2013 ). In this highly competitive atmosphere, the package may be a

seller’s best and last chance of influencing buyers.

Hence, for numerous companies, packaging itself has become a major promotional

medium. Poorly crafted packages can give consumers headache and losses for the company.

Think of all those hard to open containers, such as DVD cases sealed with sticky labels, finger-

splitting wire twist ties, or plastic clamshell seal containers which require the equivalent of the

fire department’s Jaws of Life to open. Such packaging results to what Amazon.com terms wrap

rage (Wells, Farley, & Armstrong, 2007). The frustration customers feel when trying to free a

product from a nearly impenetrable package. Using a folding carton in a small run will give ease

to the consumer when trying to access the products held inside. However, arriving at this stage

won’t come that easy.

The productions company back in China will have to come up with catchy colored

cartons that will appeal to the everyday consumer. The best ways of finding the best three colors

to use on the cartons would be by getting hints from sites such as color lovers where people vote

for their most favored color combinations. Not many people use these sites, but the few that do
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tend to represent the opinions of a whole generation of people starting from the young to the old.

On top of using eye catching colors on the carton selecting, the right logo for the company would

be necessary. That also goes along with adding a few words on the carton to describe the

company’s values and the benefits which its products would bring to the consumer.

If the test run happens to succeed in U.S markets then, it will be highly important not to

alter the original shape of the product, instead negotiate for more strategic places where to place

the products in the supermarkets and large volumes. Value adding to the final product would also

be important in making sure that the product stuck onto the minds of the consumers. These can

be done by wrapping the initial products in the test run onto the final products in the stalls of

course to be free gifts for buyers. One of the exceptions of changing a products packaging

however would be if the product failed to attract the anticipated audience. For example, Heinz

revolutionized the 170-year-old condiments industry by inverting the standard ketchup bottle;

giving customers the chance of quickly squeezing out even the last drop of ketchup. Along with

these it also adopted the fridge-door-fit form which meant it would fit slots and shelves more

easily. A cap also made it simpler for youngsters to open. The following four months showed the

benefits of good packaging styles with sales jumping by over 12 percent (Holmes & Paswan,

2012). When customers see the Heinz logo on the fridge door every time they open it, it’s taking

marketing inside homes. That brings us to the importance of branding and consumer behavior.

A substantial part of the marketing process is to realize why customers make a purchase.

When defining a target market, having the knowledge of consumer buying behavior will aid

marketers in the reduction of uncertainty hence allow them to respond better to customer

demands. The theory of consumer behavior covers huge grounds. (Holmes & Paswan, 2012)
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Defined consumer behavior as the activities and decision processes taken by people when

evaluating, buying, using, selecting or disposing of products.

Branding

A brand is a design, symbol, name, sign or a blend of all these used to identify the maker

of the product. Consumer’s perception on the brand is that it is an important part of a product

that helps in adding a products value. Clients attach meanings to brands and cultivate brand

relations. Brands mean a lot beyond a product’s physical appearance. For example, consider

Coca-Cola. In an unusual taste test of Coca-Cola versus Pepsi, 67 subjects were connected to

brain-wave-monitoring machines while they consumed both products. When the soft drinks were

unmarked, consumer preferences were split down the middle. But during the brand identification

process, subjects choose Coke over Pepsi by a margin of 75 percent to 25 percent (Wells, Farley,

& Armstrong, 2007).

When drinking the identified Coke brand, the brain areas that lit up most were those

associated with cognitive control and memory a place where culture concepts are store. That

didn’t happen as much when drinking Pepsi. Why? According to one brand strategist, it’s

because of Coca-Cola’s long-established brand imagery the almost 100-year-old contour bottle

and cursive font and its association with iconic images ranging from Mean Joe Greene and the

Polar Bears to Santa Claus. Pepsi’s imagery isn’t quite as deeply rooted. Although people might

associate Pepsi with a hot celebrity or the “Pepsi generation” appeal, they probably don’t link it

to the intense and emotional American icons associated with Coke. The conclusion is plain and

simple: Consumer preference is not taste based. Coke’s iconic brand appears to make a

difference. These helps to show that if the product becomes successful in the US after using the
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folding carton, a company logo along, proper labeling and distinctive colors, it wouldn’t be

advisable to change its look in any way possible. Loyal customers would question such a move

and some opt to try different products that were in early competition when the companies test run

product was doing well.

References

Holmes, G. R., & Paswan, A. (2012). Consumer reaction to new package design. Journal of

Product & Brand Management, 109 - 116.

Klimchuk, M. R., & Krasovec, S. A. (2013 ). Packaging Design: Successful Product Branding

From Concept to Shelf. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Wells, L. E., Farley, H., & Armstrong, G. A. (2007). The importance of packaging design for

labeled food brands. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 677 -

690.