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Management summary: Worldwide Package Design

As for the Advanced Marketing team work we decided to choose as our theme something that comes up to our lives every day that we dont even realize it: packages. If a book has a beautiful cover with an eye catching image there are more chances that well pick that up. Thats what happens with us to everyday products: we instantaneously choose products that have more funny and eye catching packages than others not that attractive. Though the first purpose of packaging was not to be attractive it was just to protect and transport it (logisitic functions of protection), nowadays it is not only designed to seduce the client and lead him/ her to choose a particular product rather than another similar one, but also to become the extension of the brand and the values that this embodies. For example, if we think about Coca-cola brand, the first image that comes up in our mind is the can/bottle of Coca-Cola. The visual memory of packaging facilitates consumers identification and selection of products from stores displays. For this reason we chose this as our research topic. The way we chose to present our research is through a blog and interviews. For this we chose to contact some package design companies in Brussels (Face to face interview- in USB), Istanbul (through email-on Blog) and we also collected some nice and brief examples of package designs around the world that we presented in our blog: www.worldwidepackagedesign.wordpress.com. We worked with a Chinese graphic designer (contact of our Chinese colleague) that helped us making our group logo and our representing business card. We chose to make interviews in order to have a more real view of how package design companies deal within their business, always taking into consideration the different cultures. We successfully interviewed the Creative director of Monalisa agency in Brussels and Art Director of Turkish company Marka. In our group we come from different countries: Bolivia, China, Portugal/India and Turkey. Since our international and mixed background we thought it would be interesting to check why and how package design differs among cultures. This gives us a big opportunity to understand the different perspectives on which people see and like products. For instance, after the interview we had with Catherine Faucheux, creative and managing director at Monalisa, we realized how international companies have to play within the markets to suit to consumers taste and values. For example, the packet of fresh creams of Alpro soya has different images in the package depending on the country where its going to be marketed. This happens due to the different cultures, values, tastes and associations of the product with its usage. We included our theme, package design, into services. According to Mary Jo Bitners Servicescapes: The impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees services are not tangible. But a package of a product is something tangible, we can touch it. The first function of packages was to protect and transport the product. Over time package design gained more and more

importance due to the growing competition, need of more products and consumers demand providing packages thus more added values. Package design is a strategic element to companies so that they can transfer their image and brand to consumers. Its a key marketing tool, since its the first communication presented to the consumer. The better a package design is perceived the more it leads to positive emotions/feelings, making the consumer have an overall better experience. The key is how effectively the company manages the experience. Companies compete best when they combine functional and emotional benefits in their offerings. Emotional bonds between companies and customers are difficult for competitors to sever.1 To compete successfully in this territory, a growing number of organizations are systematically applying the principles and tools of customer-experience management to strengthen customer loyalty. Unlike many product or service enhancements, the holistic nature of these experiential designs makes them very difficult for competitors to copy.2 For example FedEx: it refreshes its image by shaping its invested physical facilities like boxes convenient for transportation in the service center to the distributors and everything else has a consistent design and conveys the feeling of here it goes easy and here we go carefully with my goods to transport.

On our blog we focused on some main categories, namely: General overview of Package Design We started with the concept of packaging design, and explained the relationship between package design and service. A Look at Eastern World some examples and singularities of packaging design in China and Japan are presented Growing importance of eco friendly package design a new trend and major concern for companies towards the environment. Hey! I Am Wine from Different Countries different packaging of white wine in China, Europe and South Africa. Some examples of European package design Some interesting points of Package Design like for example the color perception on different cultures and thus on packages, among others.

From these days we have been working together we realized the importance of a product package: its not just the package, it means much more than that. Especially on international markets where companies have to adapt their package design (form, logo, color) to the characteristics of the target market before entry. For instance, in Mexico yellow flowers stand for death and are widely used in the Day of the Dead. A company had to change its logo in Mexico otherwise it would be associated with
1

Berry, L., Lewis, C., Managing the total customer experience, 2002, MIT Management Review. Retrieved from http://www.customerlifecycle.us/pdfs%5Cwhitepapers%5CManaging%20the%20Total%20Customer%20Experi ence.pdf 2 IDEM

the Day of the Dead. The packaging is literally the product identity. It should be effective, practical and have a full brand identity in the environment where it is being marketed.

Materials presented on this assignment: Blog USB- containing interview made in Brussels Group logo Business card Hand made box

Group members:
Guangyan Liu Ningyu Yang Ozge Kucuk Umme Ahmed Ximena Canedo

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