Importance of packaging in marketing

1. Importance of Packaging in Marketing
June 30, 2014
“Marketers influence demand by making the product appropriate, attractive, affordable, and
easily available to target consumers.” - Philip Kotler
Importance of Packaging in Marketing
Marketing as a subject, to many, is seen as something of common sense, very often we
marketers hear phrases like these - ‘if it is good, it will sell’, ‘don’t add cost in the line of
production’ or even ‘convince me that your idea will work, give me contingencies if it does
not’. Such instances push back a lot of crazy (brilliant?) ideas that we may have.
However, before all these occur, our world bases competencies very much on what functions
the product have; in the mid-90s, mobile phones were a technological breakthrough as people
have to scramble to the nearest public phone to answer an important message on a pager.
Product development back then, focuses on functionality of product and conveniences
towards the end-user. Marketing today, takes on a high holistic approach; to include cost,
packaging, sustainability to the environment… the list continues of course.
“Marketing is a contest for people’s attention” - Seth Godin
This article shall focus on the importance of packaging as the title suggests. Before a product
embarks on its journey to the shelves, tons of work has to be done; carefully designing the
packaging, cost analysis, material choice… all decisions made will influence a world of
difference to the success/failure of its launch.
Hence, packaging serves many purposes, they are

2. 1) Protection of product
You wouldn’t want your product to be packed in an awkward way (i.e: packing a thumbdrive
in a big tin container used for cookies) or it could be worse, to reach the shelves damaged.
Examples of product range that are so carefully and ingeniously packed are hi-tech items
such as laptops.
2) First Impression Matters
How would you like your meal served? On a properly garnished and decorated plate or mixed
up like a scrambled egg? Products that are creatively packaged will definitely lodge
themselves deep in consumers’ memory. For example, a Smirnoff Vodka poster I saw with
peel-able fruit wrapping got stuck in my mind for quite some time. It is a very clever use of
packaging design that fulfills its purpose as a seal for the bottle as well as its purpose as a
marketing tool for the company.
3) Differentiation
Extending the argument from the above point, such packaging will also serve to differentiate
your own product from most competitors. Much like how Apple took the world by surprise
with its iMac back in the late 90s, by just using bright colours and different monitor designs,
Apple was able to market their product into the market with the best outcome (back then, all
computers come in that dull grey tone). Similarly, creative packaging these days are most
effective
“Design is creativity with strategy” - Rob Curedale
Anndy Lian
Chief Marketing Officer
Scientific Tradition Pte Ltd
www.scientifictradition.com