In many packaging companies, there is an identity crisis going on, and oftentimes, it’s considered a run operational or an expense for your supply chain.
So is it better to do with marketing or other aspects?
Packaging is a duality, in that consumers will see the little messages in the copy that you have, and of course customers look for not just good packaging, but also different nutrition information and to see any other pertinent information, along with the volume too.
Packaging is integral for a customer and brand’s relationship for a variety of reasons.
Some of this is more functional, such as making sure it stays preserved and it doesn’t leak, but then other times, it is used to offer some sort of emotional excitement to go along with it.
Another factor is that packaging and the product itself sometimes is an indistinguishable force to it. For example, tide, Gatorade, and others come in bottles which are unique, and other products also have their own signature bottles to this too, such as Starbucks having a cup, and in many cases, the product packaging is what sells it. Some people may not buy something if it doesn’t come in a fancy, signature bottle or box.
There are different marketing programs that utilize different innovations in terms of packing, which in turn help with improving the execution.
This can including controlling the color, the content, the management of the conventional or digital presses that are used, and other ways to really make packaging work for you.
There are so many different ways to use packaging, and in some cases, companies will literally get the users involved with this in order to truly get them excited for the product.
Remember the “share a coke” campaign that Coca-Cola did? That was using packaging to implement brad identity, and personal identity too.
You see this in other types of ways that companies use it. For a lot of people, they want to just order, and the package is right there. For example, a Casper mattress was put in a box, and usually, this is a good thing for most companies. It’s how they changed the category with their packaging.
You also see this with Eclipse gum, where they put the gum in a small cannister that fits in a cp holder, so of course, you can use that in new, innovative ways.
Packaging does in some cases belong in the supply chain, since that’s where the materials are purchased, the inventory is stored, and the transportation is used to coordinate everything. But packaging is much more of a marketing thing, since it can be used to help people identify with the product.
If you just push it under product supply, you will miss a lo of potential people.
Remember as well that if you don’t have packaging, good luck selling anything to the market, since this will bring product and customers in, and in a sense, packaging is a form of marketing, and is part of the origins of marketing as well.
So yes, they are needed. Packaging needs marketing of course, since you’re driving customers there but in the same vein, marketing needs packaging, since of course with the right marketing, this will in turn drive the revenue that you have forward, and in turn really shake up the world with the products that you have, and the focus of these products as well.
So yes, you definitely want to make sure both aren’t neglected, but instead trat them as one in the same, especially when selling to others.
Hoyt Gatlin 