As a brand owner, developing and creating your brand and product range, you’re likely wearing all the hats. There are so many challenges to overcome that it’s easy to get tunnel vision and focus on what YOU want to say, but this isn’t always what your consumers want to hear.
When you’re passionate about your brand, you want to tell the world everything about the who, where, when and why – so your audience starts to love it as much as you do. But I’m sorry to say that doing this has the opposite effect.
Being overwhelmed with information is a massive engagement turn off.
People can only digest three key points of information at a time, so when it comes to brand owner packaging design, less is definitely more. Consumers spend mere seconds looking at digital or in-store shelves and your packaging design has to grab their attention – immediately! Too much information and they will quickly move on.
The first thing we do with new clients is encourage them to get into the mindset of their consumer. Really think about what THEY need to know, what will intrigue them to take notice; what will make them want to find out more. Shifting your focus to the consumer will have a big impact on how well they engage with your brand.
Here are a few questions we ask when helping our clients really focus-in on their consumers:
1. Is it clear what your product is and what it does?
I know this sounds obvious, but we’ve seen it happen so many times. Just because you think it’s obvious what your product is and what it does, does not mean a consumer will. Getting a sense check from someone less familiar with your brand could make a big difference in how you communicate product benefits.
2. Is your brand identity more than just a name?
A strong brand identity will give you authenticity and becomes a recognisable asset across all your brand touchpoints. It’s a combination of typography; graphic treatment; colour and positioning on pack.
A common mistake is to put more focus on the product name/descriptions, but this is the focus of own-label packaging. After all the effort you’ve put into developing your amazing product, you want to be building a strong and credible brand.
3. Are you using the right category cues?
Every product category has certain visual elements that help tell consumers your product belongs there. You can create disruption through typography; graphic elements; colour, but if you’re not including at least some category cues the consumer will look straight past your product.
And don’t forget, as the heart of your brand, packaging design is just the start of the consumer journey. Brands have so many other touchpoints available that you can still have depth to your story. Use all your touchpoints to enhance the experience, creating new and exciting discoverable elements wherever the consumer finds you.
Championing the power of packaging design to help more brands launch, grow and thrive.
If you’re interested in an objective view of your brand and packaging design, talk to Kate about our ‘Consumer Perception Visual Audit’.
Join us…
We’re helping more brands launch, grow and thrive through sharing the why and the how, sprinkled with a little creativity to inspire you. If you want to elevate your brand and really engage your audience, then this is the place to be!
