Brand and Packaging

The Power of Packaging
Alice Louw & Michelle Kimber
The Customer Equity Company*

In recent years packaging has developed well beyond its original function as merely a means of product protection and now plays a key marketing role in developing on shelf appeal, providing product information and establishing brand image and awareness. As packaging’s role in the marketing mix gains momentum, so research into this arena becomes increasingly important. Given the potential for packaging to successfully achieve marketing goals; does research into packaging truly reflects its value within the marketing mix? Do we fully understand the role that packaging plays in a marketing environment and how best to leverage this tool to influence consumers? If packaging is so important, what is the best way to measure its effectiveness?

*

The Customer Equity Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of TNS (UK) which has been set up

to develop the marketing sciences and support brand equity and Commitment modelling worldwide.

1

What is packaging?
The definitions of ‘packaging’ vary and range from being simple and functionallyfocused to more extensive, holistic interpretations. Packaging can be defined quite simply as an extrinsic element of the product (Olson and Jacoby (1972)) - an attribute that is related to the product but does not form part of the physical product itself. “Packaging is the container for a product – encompassing the physical appearance of the container and including the design, color, shape, labeling and materials used” (Arens, 1996). Most marketing textbooks consider packaging to be an integral part of the “product” component of the 4 P’s of marketing: product, price, place and promotion (Cateora and Graham, 2002, pg 358-360). Some argue that that packaging serves as a promotional tool rather than merely an extension of the product: Keller (1998) considers packaging to be an attribute that is not related to the product. For him it is one of the

Bibliography: Books 1. Aaker, D., Kumar, V. and Day, G. (1998), Marketing Research, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., United States of America, pp 186-216. 2. Arens, W. (1996), Contemporary Advertising, Irwin, United States of America, G-12. 3. Cateora, P. and Graham, J. (2002), International Marketing, McGraw-Hill, New York, pg 358-360. 4. Gladwell, M. (2005), Blink, Penguin Books, London. 5. Rice and Hofmeyr (2000), Commitment-led Marketing, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, pg 216. 6. Schiffman, L. and Kanuk, L. (2000), Consumer Behavior, Prentice-Hall Inc, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, pp 125-127. 7. Godin, S. (2004) ,Free Prize Inside, Portfolio Hardcover, pp. 154 Journals 1. Ampuero, O. and Vila, N. (2006), Consumer Perceptions of Product Packaging, Journal of Consumer Marketing, 23/2, 2006, pp. 100-112. 2. Cramphorn, S. (2001), Packaging to the Rescue, Admap Magazine, December 2001, Issue 423. 3. Gelperowic, R. and Beharrell, B. (1994), Healthy Food Products for Children: Packaging and Mothers’ Purchase Decisions, British Food Journal, Vol. 96 No 11, 1994, pp. 4-8. 4. Hill, H. and Lynchehaun, F. (2002), Organic Milk: Attitudes and Consumption Patterns, British Food Journal, Vol. 104 No. 7, 2002, pp. 526-542. 5. Hill, H. and Tilly, J. (2002), Packaging of Children’s Cereal: Manufacturers versus Children, British Food Journal, Vol. 104 No. 9, 2002, pp. 766-777. 6. Imran, N (1999), The Role of Visual Cues in Consumer Perception and Acceptance of a Food Product, Nutrition and Food Science, Number 5, September/October 1999, pp. 224-228. 7. Jugger, S. (1999), The Power of Packaging, Admap Magazine, October 1999. 8. Löfgren, M. (2005), Winning at the First and Second Moment of Truth: an Exploratory Study, Managing Service Quality, Vol. 15 No. 1, 2005, pp. 102-115. 9. Maholtra, N. and Peterson, M. (2001), Marketing Research in the New Millennium: Emerging Issues and Trends, Marketing & Intelligence Planning, 19/4, 2001, pp. 216-235. 10. Nacarrow, C. and Wright, L. and Brace, I. (1998), Gaining a Competitive Advantage from Packaging and Labelling in Marketing Communications, British Food Journal, 100/2, 1998, pp. 110-118. 28 11. Rettie, R and Brewer, C. (2000), The Verbal and Visual Components of Package Design, Journal of Product and Brand Management, Vol. 9 No 1 2000, pp. 56-70. 12. Rundh, B. (2005), The Multi-Faceted Dimension of Packaging, British Food Journal, Vol. 107 No. 9, 2005, pp. 670-684. 13. Sheier, C. and Egner, S. (2003), Tracking Consumer Attention at the Point-ofSale, ESOMAR Retailing/Category Management, Dublin, October 2003 14. Silayoi, P. and Speece, M. (2004), Packaging and Purchase Decisions, British Food Journal, Vol. 106 No 8, 2004, pp. 607-608. 15. Sinclair, C. and Knowles, A. (2006), Packing a Punch: Using Packaging as Effective Advertising and Communication to Build Your Bottom Line, Market Research Society, Annual Conference, 2006. 16. Siu, N. and Wong, H. (2002), The Impact of Product-Related Factors on Perceived Product Safety, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 20/3, 2002, pp. 185-194. 17. Young, S. (2003), Winning at Retail: Research insights to improve the packaging of children’s products, Young Consumers, Vol. 5, Issue 1, 2003. Websites 1. Bubley packaging research, http://www.bubley.com/t-scopes/research.html 2. Miriam Webster dictionary, http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/gestalt 3. Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachistoscope 29