Want Results? Avoid Beauty Contests When It Comes To Package Design
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Tim Robertson
May 9, 2013, 12:20:02 PM5/9/13
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Article Title: Want Results? Avoid Beauty Contests When It Comes To Package Design
Author: Tim Robertson
Word Count: 575
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=127159&ca=Marketing
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=127159
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=127159
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Marketers will often turn to focus groups for feedback on current or proposed packaging design. Unfortunately, traditional focus groups tend to mimic beauty contests. They turn into opinion gathering sessions that support a participant�s point of view, rather than providing feedback on consumers� actual buying behavior within the store environment where products are purchased.
Participants play art director over design issues, confuse the brand with the package design, react emotionally to price increase questions, and talk about what they �like� and �don�t like�. As a result, the output quality of this type of research is minimal at best.
On the other hand, effective behavior-based focus group research measures the effect of brand influence, analyzes the buying behavior of participants in a comparative retail environment, and uses eye-tracking technology to find out what consumers pay attention to � and what they ignore.
The significance of brand influence
Effective brand value testing involves separating the brand name from the actual proposed or current package design. This measurement gives an indication of how the brand is perceived prior to seeing a packaged product. Participants are then introduced to the packaging and asked if the new or proposed package design adds, or detracts from, perceived brand value. Marketers may be making a costly mistake if the perceived value of a brand is negatively affected by a new design architecture.
Buying behavior of participants in a retail environment
Packaging design is measured and tested in the comparative marketplace for which it is intended. A comparative marketplace is one in which the competition sits side by side for comparison and consideration. This is a circumstance that does not usually occur in print and broadcast media; as competitors usually do not jockey to be side-by-side.
According to Wharton School research, over one third of the brands displayed on the shelf are never seen. A colorful and exciting new design that is approved in the boardroom or chosen in a focus group may fail if all the other packages on the shelf in the same category are equally as colorful and exciting. Contrast is what makes a package design stand out on the shelf, and this can be achieved through the effective means of both design and structural innovation.
Eye-tracking technology
Consumers spend 2-3 seconds scanning a package for relevant information. If they do not immediately comprehend the benefit they will move on to a competitor�s brand. It is imperative to know what consumers are seeing and what they are not, and this can be done effectively with eye-tracking technology. This type of research gives marketers an idea of which messaging to prioritize, and which information to minimize.
Not surprisingly, the more text there is on a package, the less it will be read. Unfortunately, many well-meaning marketers think the opposite, and act accordingly. Some of the product designers at Microsoft have put together a great parody of this practice by showing how the Microsoft marketing department would redesign Apple�s iPod package. Instead of the simple and elegant messaging Apple created, it becomes a hodgepodge of system requirements, badges, call-outs, sub-branding logos, benefit statements, feature lists, and more!
Effective behavior-based focus group research goes beyond "opinion gathering", giving researchers the feedback necessary to understand the impact and value of both present, and proposed packaging design in real-world terms.
About The Author: Tim Robertson saves companies time and money. Visit http://www.bigcitygraphics.ca/methodologies.html to discover new ways to make package design research impactful and worthwhile.
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=127159
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
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Message delivered directly to members of the group:
publish-the...@googlegroups.com
*****************************************************************
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Tim Robertson
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=127159
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=127159
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
*****************************
Article Title: Want Results? Avoid Beauty Contests When It Comes To Package Design
Author: Tim Robertson
Word Count: 575
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=127159&ca=Marketing
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=127159
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=127159
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
Marketers will often turn to focus groups for feedback on current or proposed packaging design. Unfortunately, traditional focus groups tend to mimic beauty contests. They turn into opinion gathering sessions that support a participant�s point of view, rather than providing feedback on consumers� actual buying behavior within the store environment where products are purchased.
Participants play art director over design issues, confuse the brand with the package design, react emotionally to price increase questions, and talk about what they �like� and �don�t like�. As a result, the output quality of this type of research is minimal at best.
On the other hand, effective behavior-based focus group research measures the effect of brand influence, analyzes the buying behavior of participants in a comparative retail environment, and uses eye-tracking technology to find out what consumers pay attention to � and what they ignore.
The significance of brand influence
Effective brand value testing involves separating the brand name from the actual proposed or current package design. This measurement gives an indication of how the brand is perceived prior to seeing a packaged product. Participants are then introduced to the packaging and asked if the new or proposed package design adds, or detracts from, perceived brand value. Marketers may be making a costly mistake if the perceived value of a brand is negatively affected by a new design architecture.
Buying behavior of participants in a retail environment
Packaging design is measured and tested in the comparative marketplace for which it is intended. A comparative marketplace is one in which the competition sits side by side for comparison and consideration. This is a circumstance that does not usually occur in print and broadcast media; as competitors usually do not jockey to be side-by-side.
According to Wharton School research, over one third of the brands displayed on the shelf are never seen. A colorful and exciting new design that is approved in the boardroom or chosen in a focus group may fail if all the other packages on the shelf in the same category are equally as colorful and exciting. Contrast is what makes a package design stand out on the shelf, and this can be achieved through the effective means of both design and structural innovation.
Eye-tracking technology
Consumers spend 2-3 seconds scanning a package for relevant information. If they do not immediately comprehend the benefit they will move on to a competitor�s brand. It is imperative to know what consumers are seeing and what they are not, and this can be done effectively with eye-tracking technology. This type of research gives marketers an idea of which messaging to prioritize, and which information to minimize.
Not surprisingly, the more text there is on a package, the less it will be read. Unfortunately, many well-meaning marketers think the opposite, and act accordingly. Some of the product designers at Microsoft have put together a great parody of this practice by showing how the Microsoft marketing department would redesign Apple�s iPod package. Instead of the simple and elegant messaging Apple created, it becomes a hodgepodge of system requirements, badges, call-outs, sub-branding logos, benefit statements, feature lists, and more!
Effective behavior-based focus group research goes beyond "opinion gathering", giving researchers the feedback necessary to understand the impact and value of both present, and proposed packaging design in real-world terms.
About The Author: Tim Robertson saves companies time and money. Visit http://www.bigcitygraphics.ca/methodologies.html to discover new ways to make package design research impactful and worthwhile.
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=127159
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
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