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Package benchmarking is an important first step to inform the decision making process when considering packaging redesign for an existing brand |
Package BaselineTM
Major decisions to change or update a brand’s appearance are often made on the basis of intuition (“It feels outdated.”) or in response to competitive activity (“They changed, so maybe we should also.”). As a result, many packaging changes come too late, after the brand has gone into decline. In other cases, there may be unnecessary redesigns that are based on misguided assumptions about the brand’s current packaging — and that waste resources and risk confusing or alienating the brand’s loyal users.
Package Baseline is an important first step to inform the decision making process when considering packaging redesign for an existing brand, in order to:
- Evaluate the strengths/limitations of the Current packaging system
- Uncovering areas where Current packaging is stronger or weaker than competitive brand packaging
- Isolate the impact/contribution of packaging on brand perceptions vs. incoming brand name equity
- Reveal any risks associated with making a packaging change by evaluating the Current packaging vs. measures key to overall effectiveness at retail
- Profile competitive brand packaging to determine how others in the category are communicating and determine if there are “ownable” areas where the brand can expand in order to differentiate itself
- Identify visual equity elements in Current packaging to ensure that they are leveraged in any modified design
- Provide a base line against which Proposed design systems can later be compared
- Ascertain what shoppers’ priorities are at shelf and identify whether opportunities exist for better communication (i.e. which messages or design elements should be emphasized)
In addition, PRS can also conduct a Retail Reality-Check™ in-store audit to provide a visual “snapshot” of how products actually appear to shoppers in store, including documentation of the many packaging, shelving and merchandising challenges that may compromise effectiveness.
This service provides valuable insights at the beginning of the design planning process, by identifying considerations that should be factored into:
- Development of shopper marketing strategy
- Investments in merchandising and signage systems
- Development of point-of-sale materials
- Investment in new packaging systems/structures
- Creation of design briefs
Retail Reality-Check™ can further enhance the learning derived from Package Baseline™ by revealing challenges, implications and opportunities for both Shopper Marketing and Packaging.
Contact us today to learn more.