Also in this report:
– Classico delivers on its promise p.16
– Fruits & Passion design a self-indulgent success p.16
– Fiole du Pape bottle belies its contents: ‘There’s a sucker born every minute,’ says Pigeon after being duped by brilliant design p.17
– Competitors pale beside Minute Maid p.17
– Tazo Tea tin an objet d’art p. 18
– Lea & Perrins BBQ creates honest bond p.18
– The Lactantia look p.19
– Harvey Nichol’s style p.19
Close your eyes. We’re going to try a little experiment.
Are they closed? Good. Now try answering this question: what comes to mind first when you think of the Coca-Cola brand?
Time’s up. All those who saw the sinuously curving bottle and the red label with that distinctive flowing white script – raise your hands.
We thought so.
As marketers sometimes need to be reminded, a product’s packaging plays no small part in its success.
Why? Because in many ways the package is the embodiment, on the shelf, of the brand and all that it stands for. One need only consider the iconic status that the Coke bottle or Corn Flakes box enjoys today to appreciate just how powerfully effective a package can be in building brand identity.
As Michael Butler, president of Toronto-based Design Partners observed in these pages a few months ago, ‘The image that’s going to appear in the consumer’s mind when they think about these products is the package – not the product itself.’ In the glass, after all, one cola looks rather like any other.
What exactly, then, are the attributes that make some packages better brand-building tools than others? In search of answers, Strategy asked nine prominent designers to identify examples of packaging that they felt worked especially well in support of brands, and explain why.
The designers were free to pick examples from anywhere in the world. Strategy asked only that their choices be recent – we didn’t really want nine essays on the Coca-Cola bottle – and that they refrain from citing their own work.
Their picks appear on these pages. Some of the package designs chosen orginated here in Canada; in those cases, we have identified the design firm responsible.
Stephen Candib’s pick: Instant Quaker Oatmeal
(Packaging created by Marovino & Associates, Mississauga, Ont.)
Stephen Candib is managing director, brand identity and packaging, with Toronto-based Tudhope Associates.
As I roamed the aisles of my neighborhood supermarket, pushing my cart within the posted speed limit and looking for a package to review for this article, I found myself humbled by the sheer volume of packaging on the shelves.
The cereal aisle is particularly fascinating. The selection is daunting. Enormous amounts of money are spent convincing consumers of the benefits of different cereal brands.
It is graphically frantic: face panels are loaded with product claims, promotions and flashes. The marketing wheel of fortune spins furiously: everything is either new, improved or old-fashioned. There are products targeted at the child, the adult and the adult’s inner child. Athletes, Disney characters and a whole menagerie of cereal mascots shout for attention.
In the midst of this cacophony, Instant Quaker Oatmeal maintains its dignity while strongly proclaiming its brand message.
Most recently updated in 1994, its packaging does a great job of cutting through the clutter.
The original Quaker Oats was the first product to be ‘packaged’ for consumer convenience, and has been available for more than 100 years in a box printed with the image of the Quaker man. Henry Parsons Crowell, the man behind that image, believed he was on a mission from God to bring oats to the masses, and his friendly Quaker man has over time become a powerful cultural icon.
‘Original’ flavor Instant Quaker Oatmeal makes clear references to the traditional Quaker Oats packaging, which features large white type on a blue background, and red colour coding. The constant elements used in all the Instant Oatmeal packaging are the Quaker man and the powerful white typography on a dark blue band.
The various skus are differentiated through strong color coding and different photographs. The ‘billboarding’ effect created by this approach is quite striking on-shelf.
The downside may be that new skus will not stand out from the group. But the packaging approach is strong enough to support a ‘new flavor’ flash to call attention to any new skus as they appear on shelf.
Oatmeal in itself is hardly interesting to look at, precluding the sort of product beauty shot so typical in cereal packaging. So the photograph here is secondary – more of an emotional hot-button – and can be updated to reflect contemporary style without significantly changing the rest of the package, which is where the true power of the brand is expressed.
The package ties the brand to the product: it isn’t just oatmeal, it’s Quaker Oatmeal. A brand is largely a statement of trust, and if it doesn’t say Quaker Oatmeal – well, can you really trust it?
The lesson is as obvious as the package: keep the design simple and consistent, and over time it will become indelibly imprinted on the minds of consumers.
Quaker has thankfully resisted the urge to update the Quaker man, as has happened to other personalities such as Betty Crocker and Aunt Jemima. He still embodies the warm and fuzzy equity of the brand – and so long as he is not ensnared by moral turpitude, he should continue to make Henry Parsons Crowell’s successors smile.
