The importance of a seamlessly connected brand journey
For brands today, stand-out packaging needs to be an integral part of the broader marketing strategy. In this article, Equator’s Executive Creative Director Howard Wright runs through the key elements to consider, explaining how product packaging and photography can be created for and rolled out across multiple touchpoints – from social media to physical advertising campaigns – to create a seamless brand experience that conveys a consistent, authentic message.
From the product packaging in your kitchen to the bus shelter advertising on your commute, to the social media apps on your phone there’s a good chance you’ve already encountered a significant number of brands today. As consumers, we are bombarded by their messages. For brands, the ability to stand out and leave a lasting impression is paramount, and they can do this effectively by telling their story in a consistent way across multiple touchpoints, creating an integrated experience that resonates with customers.
While packaging is an important part of a brand’s marketing strategy, we often see a disconnect between the two, particularly when it comes to retail brands where the packaging activity and marketing campaign are often approached at different times (this is logistical; packaging comes much earlier in the calendar because it has to be designed, printed and passed to the supplier). But the most successful campaigns tie the packaging design and marketing strategy together with a consistent look and feel.
As the only medium actively chosen by the consumer, packaging is integral when it comes to marketing. Everything else – billboard posters, radio ads or social media promos – can be walked past, switched off or scrolled past. Packaging is what the consumer invites into their home and engages with for the lifecycle of the product. It gives brands an opportunity to convey what the product stands for, reinforcing purchase drivers, whether that’s key selling points (sustainability credentials, product provenance) or emotional associations (nostalgia, comfort).
Helping consumers judge a book by its cover
To support a brand’s message, packaging uses a set of core elements: colour, typography and tone of voice, photography/imagery, brand awareness and (for food) nutritional and health claims. We often say, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ but the opposite is true when it comes to packaging, as consumers have learned behaviours around certain visual cues. Learned behaviours can include but aren’t restricted by; a white pack, for example, makes us think ‘value range’ – unless it’s high value in terms of production – and historically a black or dark coloured pack with metallic colour suggests ‘premium’. If illustration is used, we might see something as ‘quirky’; if photography focuses on ingredients, we perceive quality; and if the packaging uses earthy tones, the product seems ‘natural’. All of these elements, which come together on a piece of packaging, are specifically and uniquely chosen to convey not only what the brand stands for but what the product inside will offer.
Thinking ahead for brand consistency
Achieving consistency across multiple touchpoints, from packaging to marketing, is a process that demands a certain degree of thinking ahead, especially when it comes to imagery. At Equator, when we’re working on photography, we stay mindful of the different shapes and cutters that it will need to sit in. Too often, when imagery is generated for a piece of packaging, only the parts that will be seen are created – so if it crops off the edge of a box, for example, the shot won’t be finished. It’s far better to consider the different types of crops you might need (pillar box crops for social media, for example).
A good approach here is to build the shot up. So, if the first shot is packaging, you would start with that and, while the photography is on set, consider whether there would be any gaps if you were to take the packaging cutter off and give it a completely different canvas. Do you need to add elements to fill space held by logos, product titles or legal copy, so that the same shot is useable elsewhere?
The same goes for designing a logo or character for a piece of packaging. At Equator, we try to design for the different ways in which it might be used. If it is going to be used in full colour, it might also be used in two colour or possibly single colour, depending on whether it’s a primary piece of packaging or something basic like a stamp. We also consider how something changes when it goes from being printed to being animated or being on screen, thinking about who will be viewing it and how it will be viewed. By asking these questions, we can create the asset in a way that is truly adaptable and won’t result in it being too different from one touchpoint to the next.
Ultimately, it’s all about consistency. When packaging imagery is created at a different time to marketing imagery, it can end up with a different look and feel – especially when a different team has taken over. One of the biggest challenges around maintaining brand consistency is how something is briefed in and how the brand strategy is interpreted. With a consistent team, there is a consistent creative vision. Technical challenges, including how to translate what you have achieved on pack to a social or above the line strategy, are more fully understood, and you avoid misinterpretation and re-briefings, which can end up being quite costly.
Building trust with a cohesive brand experience
Creating a cohesive brand experience that is consistent no matter where it is encountered removes ambiguity and confusion and builds trust – but it must ring true. When brands try to be too many things to too many people across multiple platforms, it creates a disjointed message. It is far more effective to make sure consumers not only understand what you are trying to say but recognise that is it relevant to you and that you truly mean it. Every piece of communication – from the visual elements to the tone of voice – must be consistent and representative of your brand and its values. Achieving this, across packaging and marketing activities, is the best way to deliver a seamlessly connected brand journey that organically and authentically captures consumers’ attention.
Howard Wright is Executive Creative Director at Equator, a global packaging design agency delivering strategy to shelf without compromise. To find out more, visit https://equator-design.com/
