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"WeListen" Blog

Strategies to Ensure Your Brand Stands Out on the Shelf and Online

Getting your product noticed in a sea of consumer goods is one of the most challenging tasks CPG packaging teams face today. Consumers that visit brick and mortar stores or an e-commerce site are literally bombarded with brands, which makes it extremely difficult to get your products noticed. How can CPG packaging help your brand stand out? What strategies should you use to differentiate your product on the shelf and online?

CPG Packaging that Stands Out

Words matter, but they won’t entice consumers to pick your product off of a crowded shelf, according to Branding Strategy Insider. They suggest that words are the least important component when designing CPG packaging. At the top of the design priorities list is color, followed by shapes, symbols, and words. The research finds:

  • Colors typically catch a consumer’s attention first, taking shoppers just five seconds to find the product. CPG packaging can emphasize color to draw the eye away to a specific area of a store. It can improve on-the-shelf visibility, and, according to the article, can increase brand recognition by 80%.
  • Shapes can draw the eye but also trigger memory and attract the consumer to the product. Shapes can communicate advantages or benefits and can be paired with color to create a recognizable brand.
  • Symbols create meaning quickly. Symbols in the form of logos are associated with brands. For example, consider Apple, Target, or Nike, which are all unmistakable symbols associated with a brand. Repeated exposure gives these symbols instant recognition with consumers to make a brand stand out.
  • Words have been shown to clutter the package, according to Branding Strategy Insider, and can create competing impulses that conflict the shopper. They suggest instead using language to focus on one key competitive point of differentiation to make the product stand out.

Let’s look at toys, an undeniably competitive product category. Packaging World says 70% of toy purchases are planned before the purchase. More than 75% even said they knew the stores they wanted to shop. But the remaining 30% of consumer toy purchases are spontaneous, making standout packaging an imperative.

The NPD Group studied more than 2,300 consumers and found that product packaging influenced two-thirds of these shoppers when making a spontaneous purchase. Of participants, 78% said they prefer shopping in stores because they can interact with the toys they purchased. However, marketers should also recognize that 70% of toy purchasers said pricing also plays a factor in their decision-making.

Obviously, in these scenarios, product packaging has a huge impact. When coupled with a memorable brand story, it can drive the consumer purchase.

CPG Packaging More Important Than Ever

In today’s competitive shopping environment, it’s not just about attracting traffic to a store. Instead, brands must focus on CPG packaging to attract the customer and ensure the purchase. Developing a superior style for your brand by incorporating product packaging using colors, shapes, symbols, and words (in that order) will help guide the consumer’s purchase toward your product. Having a strong and consistent shelf identity will move more products, whether the purchase comes from a brick and mortar shelf placement or an e-commerce point and click.

PKG Brand Design is always on the forefront of new CPG branding and packaging initiatives; please subscribe to our blog for the latest package design industry news!

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