00:03:55 Agenda
Apramey explains what will be discussed in the session, highlighting two main sections:
- Best practices learned from academic research
- Industry best practices and how to efficiently test your pack designs
00:05:00 Role of packaging in the shopper’s journey
Apramey talks us through the different layers of pack design – outer–intermediate–inner – and their purpose.
Interestingly, packaging plays two main roles: it doesn’t just attract customers; good packaging can encourage consumption e.g. an easy-to-open carton of juice or milk is one customers will buy again and again.
00:06:28 Pack design and the customer journey
Apramey offers a high-level view of packaging throughout the customer journey.
The pack has to be visually appealing to attract initial customer attention among a sea of competition but it also has to generate a sense of curiosity, to make the customer want to know more about the product e.g. what flavour it is. The pack can satisfy this in the form of rational, sensory or even emotional information in the form of both text and visual representations. The next step is engagement. Once a customer picks up your product from the shelf – how they respond to the colour, the smell, the texture etc. all plays an important part in the customer’s decision to purchase your product or not. Lastly, before a customer decides to purchase, there are also some biases that come into play with regard to the packaging, such as whether the customer perceives the content to be more or less than what it actually is.
00:09:30 A look at Cambri’s study
Apramey explains the premise of Cambri’s study and the findings they uncovered.
Irresistible means making the purchasing process and consumption easy, engaging and takes your brand image in the desired direction. The package supports what your brand wants to be.
00:10:20 A pack’s effect on purchase intent
Apramey discusses why pack design is so relevant. Research shows that a great pack design has a huge impact on purchase intent among consumers.
In fact, if you can entice customers to touch the pack, there is a psychologically perceived ownership that makes customers more likely to purchase. Similarly, the longer a customer looks at a pack, the more likely they are to buy it.
00:11:56 Standing out from the crowd
Apramey lists some tried and tested tips to visually improve your pack. It’s important to be different from the competition… but not too different!
You can play with colours, be more or less complex than similar products, use a distinctive shape etc. However, it’s vital you don’t go too far and shock or catch customers off guard. Apramey highlights this point by discussing the poor performance of Crystal Pepsi and how it was so unexpected that consumers didn’t even consider it an option when looking to buy a cola drink.
00:14:28 The key message should be central
We dive into the importance of image and text placement on products.
Apramey also provides insight into why verbal and design cues are so important and how they can be cleverly employed to evoke the senses and drive purchase intent.
Go beyond taste and use multiple senses when describing food products, so customers can better imagine the product – crunchiness, texture etc.
00:19:08 Power structure and logo placement
A major question for brands is where to place the logo. It might come as a surprise that this varies depending on the size of the brand and how well people know them. Check out the recording to learn more!
00:20:17 Colour can increase irresistibility
Colour and shape must match consumers’ expectations e.g. orange juice cartons should be orange, not purple. The intensity of the colour can suggest whether the taste of the product is more or less intense, too.
Apramey reveals that even the cap colour can influence! Interestingly, black can hint at premium products while bright orange packaging can suggest bargain products. Green is associated with nature and organic products.
00:23:09 Combining shapes and colours
Following on from the influence a colour can have on a product’s success, Apramey explains how to best combine different colours with different shapes for maximum impact.
00:24:35 Size matters
Even though a one litre container contains – you guessed it – one litre of liquid, the sizing can lead or even mislead consumers. This is known as elongation bias. For example, consumers expect a taller pack to contain more than a shorter pack, even if the dimensions hold the exact same size. Apramey also advises how to best reduce pack sizes with minimal disruption.
00:26:13 Q&A session 1
00:30:38 Best practices
Next, Heli takes us through how packaging testing and research can help you create irresistible packs that your consumers truly love. She asks a series of important questions you need to consider to ensure your pack choice has maximum impact and really helps drive purchase intent.
00:34:20 Iterate, iterate, iterate
Moving on from the research flow, you’ve started working on your designs, and here is where you should take an iterative approach for best results, as demonstrated by both business and academia. You should run A/B tests on your knowledge of the benefits customers want from your product.
In addition, you should test your current design against new ideas to prove they work better, and that they effectively communicate what you want to communicate, freezing design when you are satisfied with the results.
00:37:18 Cambri can help you test
Heli explains how Cambri’s self-serve platform can empower teams to learn and iterate fast. She also gives a run through of a Cambri MaxDiff/based test for optimising your pack design.
00:41:42 Diving into the product testing phase
Cambri's product test flow carefully follows the customer journey. Heli goes through the different steps involved, from seeing the product on the shelf, to the customer's decision to buy or not. She also speaks about Cambri's pack design test and walks us through some real examples. Check out the recording for more details.
00:48:17 Getting pack testing right
Heli ends her presentation with some dos and don'ts to keep in mind when testing your own pack design, with some strong examples by way of illustration. Make sure to apply them to maximise your product's success rate.
00:57:10 Poll and final Q&A session
If you'd like to learn more about pack design and how to take your product to the next level, have a look at our article How to create irresistible packaging designs or watch the full webinar here.
We encourage you to see what other topics we've covered in our on-demand sessions!