Packaging Paraphernalia

To some, the word packaging refers to what contains a product, the 'wrapper'. But there are major marketing implications that need to be recognised as well.

There are 3 main purposes for the product packaging:

1. Safety and utilitarian porposes. It protects a product on its journey from manufacturer to customer. It mustn't be tampered with, might need to be child-proof, and may need to be resistant to factors eg evaporation, spoilage or spilling.

2. Packaging implements a brand's marketing guidelines. It helps identify the product and therefore might prevent substitution of competitive products. It's a "silent salesman" in a way. Often the packaging design is what differentiates the product when other attributes seem common. Eg non-drip spout, a reusable container, or just something innovative (like the pump-pack toothpaste was).

3. Companies may package a product in a way so as to increase profit potential. A package may be so attractive (think Apple) that people will pay more just to get the special package, even though the additional price exceeds the additional cost of packaging.

Some criticisms of packaging include:

• Packaging depletes our natural resources (hence a trend to produce with green materials)


• Packaging is excessively expensive (eg beer, it accounts for roughly half the production cost)


• Health hazards may be an issue (aerosols, substrates for food packs)


• Packaging can be deceptive (wrong, or missing information)

and so marketers face some real challenges in satisfying these complaints while at the same time retaining the marketing effectiveness, consumer convenience and product protection features of packaging.

New trends are on their way too such as neon drink containers like this. And down the track we'll see interactivity built in (eg for sales promotions, product feedback etc). It's interesting that the new technology arising sees improvements in non-packaging areas, ie with the neon example it doesn't directly address the 3 fundamentals, it simply screams "I'm glowing green, look at me look at me buy me buy me 'cause I'm nifty!" (which will work a treat).

The point of all this is that a product these days isn't simply the tangeable outcome of the purchase. It's the whole experience from research through to usage. If the experience is positive, it should make for repeat purchase, extended word of mouth or both. Companies that skimp on packaging budgets should think again, as it lays before usage in the experience chain.

It's what you do with it

I've been inspired today. After reading various articles and blogs, some marketing magazines, and discussions with colleagues, it seems that the only recent trend anyone wants to discuss is online. "Growth in online advertising is enormous"......"companies should be allocating more resources to online...." etc.

That's all great, but there's two things to be mindful of. Firstly yes, it's all happening online but that's no surprise. Secondly, let's not simply rely on the media to solve all our problems.

Interestingly some articles reiterate that traditional media ('offline' - it's starting to sound a little vintage!) is still the best format. Research shows that newspapers are still the #1 trusted medium for advertisers. But it's hard to go past the direct response of online, or the accountability for that matter.

The point I'd like to make is this. I'm seeing more and more that advertisers are sensibly utilising online media, but are not being smart about the execution. It's easy to say that a web banner is beneficial because people can click through, but the banner shouldn't simply be a rezsize of their latest press ad.

As internet usage grows, desensitisation to online advertising grows. Since the early days before spam filters came along, our time has been wasted trying to discern the genuine relevant information from the annoying. Luckily for the advertiser, the most common way to pay for online advertising is 'per click'. Suddenly all of those impressions that went nowhere aren't an issue. Good stuff. This means that for the users who do click through, we'd better ensure their expectations are met at the other side. Bespoke landing pages are a great start.

My receptiveness to banners is low, but my propensity to click from a Google (or equiv) search is high. It's still the most effective solution because I am empowered - I get to 'choose my own adventure". For this reason, Google Adwords (again, or equiv) is often one of my first recommendations to clients in search of an effective online tool. Click throughs may not be any higher, but the click through rate is far higher, and the quality of user is better as they are automatically pre-qualified due to their search words. Again, the key to maximising effectiveness is not to simply start a campaign, but to ensure the design of it (in this case the keyword selection, and the accompanying copy) is well thought out.

It's a vast online world out there, and there are no blanket solutions. The common theme to successful campaigns is smart strategy and planning.

Consumer motivations

Motivation is the driving force that impels consumers to action. It's produced by a state of tension that exists as the result of an unfulfilled need. Consciously and subconsciously, we strive to reduce this tension through behavior we anticipate will fulfil our needs and thus relieve us of the stress we feel. The course of action that we pursue is formed on the basis of our thinking process (cognition) and previous learning. Hence, marketers who understand motivational theory attempt to influence the consumer's cognitive processes.

Motivational research also provides marketers with a basic orientation for new product categories and enables us to explore consumer reactions to ideas and advertising copy at an early stage, thus costly errors can be avoided.

How does all this help the consumer? Well, whether gratification is achieved at the end of the process depends on the course of action being pursued. Targeted advertising influences the learning and cognitive process so that (hopefully) the consumer's purchase decision is more goal oriented. For example if someone expected to become a legendary rockstar by buying a Fender guitar, they are likely to be dissapointed. If however, the person takes music lessons and practises diligently, they may succeed.

There's a plethora of detailed research on this topic available, far too in-depth for this blog. Keep it in mind for your next strategy meeting!

The 5 Whys

I love this methodology, because it’s something I’ll undoubtedly face when my boys start talking – although will probably be the ‘infinite whys’!

The 5 Whys is a simple process of determining the root cause underlying a problem. The rationale is that if you only ask once what the problem is, you get a superficial answer. Only after asking a fifth time (more or less of course) can you really establish the cause. This has significant implications for an advertiser.

Recently, a client of ours advised their webstore sales were slow, and it wasn’t worth investing in redeveloping. When asked why (the first time) it was because it didn’t generate any significant revenue for them in comparison to their instore sales. If we left it at that, nothing would change and they would be missing out on a fantastic growth opportunity. 5 Whys to the rescue.

We can’t justify redeveloping our webstore (the problem).

Why? – it doesn’t generate significant revenue (first why)
Why? – not many people are buying from us online (second why)
Why? – they can’t browse as easily as they can instore, and don’t know what shipping will cost (third why)
Why? – the existing webstore template restricts any design changes, and there is no shipping calculator or internal protocol (fourth why)
Why? – we don’t have a business plan for the webstore (fifth why)

Now we have something to work with. My job as a marketer is to illustrate to clients a benefit (ie a return on investment) for any initiatives we recommend. 5 Whys isn’t a rule, it’s a way of pausing to consider all facets underlying the brief rather than rushing in and risk arriving at an ineffective solution.
(Please note any opinions expressed are my own and not that of my company or employer)

A History Lesson in Advertising

I like to keep up to date with the latest trends in advertising, as you may have noticed. But I always keep going back to the fundamentals.

If I ever need a wake-up call, if ever I find myself over-complicating things, I pick up my copy of "Ogilvy on Advertising" (David Ogilvy, 1983). This is a grass roots approach to advertising and one that, twenty four years on, is as valid as it was when written.

This is not a book review but a suggestion that as online media becomes more prevalent, try not to get caught up in the visual hype of web design and interactive media. After all, why are you advertising in the first place? Not to look good, but to increase sales or sales enquiries. Let me give you an excerpt:

"...head of marketing at Ford, inserted advertisements in every other copy of the Reader's Digest. At the end of the year, the people who had not been exposed to the advertising had bought more Fords than those who had. In another survey it was found that the consumption of a certain brand of beer was lower among people who remembered its advertising than those who did not. The brewer had spent millions of dollars on advertising which un-sold his beer."

So grab yourself a copy. $44.95 last time I checked, although mine only cost me $1 at Vinnies (there's a plethora of research books there too, highly recommended!).

I'll leave you with some of Ogilvy's predictions for post-1983:

1. There will be a renaissance in print advertising.
2. Advertising will contain more information and less hot air.
3. Billboards will be abolished.
4. Candidates for political office will stop using dishonest advertising.
5. The clutter of commercials on television and radio will be brought under control.

Ok so maybe this book is a little out of date! But trust me, the fundamentals will never change.
Ogilvy, D. (1983), Ogilvy on Advertising, John Wiley and Sons, Toronto, 1983 ISBN 0-517-55075-X (and Pan Books, London, 1983 ISBN 0-330-26985-2). (Please note any opinions expressed are my own and not that of my company or employer)

Online Video Marketing

Nobody goes around "surfing" in a serendipitous style anymore ... so what you really need to address is the desire from the user to get what they are looking for in the least time possible and in the most effective way (from a communication viewpoint).

OVM is the key differentiator for companies with an online presence wanting to effectively communicate their product profile and benefits within the shortest possible time. There is nothing else that comes close to the effectiveness and persuasion power of a well designed video message.

This doesn't mean that putting up a 10-min video tutorial on your site will automatically double your enquiry rate or that you will instantly sell more of your product. There is more to effective video communication than just slamming some video content up on your website.

Video is a complex, highly multidisciplinary art, and extracting the best out of it is not as simple and clear-cut as writing a news story or a blog post.

But why is video the best way to go? Because, today, the average attention span of a web user today is measured in seconds. Once delivered to you on a red carpet by a major search engine search query, or via a link, the new web visitor applies only a very limited effort and time to see whether they can make sense of what you are communicating/selling/proposing and to decide whether your content, style, look and approach are a good fit for what they were actually looking for. If you can engage their interest right there and then, and offer a fast, highly visual way to let them discover what your message is, you're halfway there.

Do your research. Keep your presentation clear and succinct. Keep it educational, informative, and ensure you end with a call to action. As with the site itself, your viewers have a small attention span so you need to maintain interest.

If you need any further help, feel free to contact me or leave your comments on this article.

(Please note any opinions expressed are my own and not that of my company or employer)

Word-of-Mouth Marketing

When was the last time you raved about a good movie to a friend? You might not have realised it at the time, but you were providing the best possible advertising for the movie makers…word-of-mouth advertising.

If you endorse the movie, chances are they will go and see it. Your genuineness will be far more credible than the Hollywood hype. Fear melts away, and any uncertainty or doubt surrounding the decision disappears as the movie is presented truthfully.

Further to this point, you must have a good product or service for word-of-mouth to work in a positive way. If the movie isn’t liked, the negative word will spread even faster. For every person willing to spread the positive word there are eleven who will spread the negative.

So word-of-mouth marketing might be described as ‘giving people a reason to talk about your products and services, and making it easer for that conversation to take place.’

To get started, list the objectives you want your word-of-mouth advertising to accomplish. You might say, "I want everyone talking positively about my business." That's great, but it's too vague.

Marketing goals and objectives must always be specific. They should have time limits and detailed methods for accomplishment. For example, "I want to cut our returns by 50% in the first quarter to improve customer perception of our products and customer service." "I will accomplish this goal by having each employee go over every purchase in detail with the customer, before the product leaves the store." "I will follow-up with every customer within seven days of purchase." "Each month I will record and analyse the reasons for returns." If I do these things, two things should happen. First, my return rate should go down. Second, the number of satisfied customers should go up.

What's the best way to handle customer complaints? Welcome them. Make it as easy as possible for customers to complain to you. Follow-up with satisfaction cards or phone calls. Stop customer problems before they get out of hand.

When it comes to customer service, you are competing against every other type of business. Customer service is a "feeling" the customer experiences, not a thing they can see, touch or smell. They know it when they feel it. Customers respond to confidence, fear, a genuine smile, gestures, voice inflection, body language, eye contact, and or course, attitude.

If you expect customers to spread the word about your business, everything that happens to them in your business must be a positive experience. The products, the service, the personnel and the follow-up must all be first rate.

How does your word-of-mouth stack up?

(Please note any opinions expressed are my own and not that of my company or employer)