Sarin Kouyoumdjian-Gurunlian, from Marcus Evans—a global, multi-faceted media, corporate marketing and business intelligence company—recently interviewed Jason Shaw from Procter & Gamble on what it takes to design “irresistibly superior packaging that works across consumer touchpoints.”  Kouyoumdjian-Gurunlian was kind enough to share his interview with Beauty Packaging. Shaw was a panelist at the Marcus Evans AmericaPack Summit 2022. (Copyright © 2022 Marcus Evans. All rights reserved.)
 
Sarin Kouyoumdjian-Gurunlian: What draws consumers in? What difference does the package make?
Jason Shaw: Uniqueness. We are now dealing with many different consumer touchpoints, so the package has to work for every environment. For retail specifically, we work hard for our products to look unified but differentiated at the same time. We want to make sure each offering is clear for the consumer. Who am I? What am I? Why am I right for you? That is what we focus on. For the digital environment, you have to strip back, and be more clear on how the consumer will benefit. Of course, photography and rendering style must also be taken into account, so the products look and perform at their best, especially on a small screen. 
 
SKG: How does the unboxing experience contribute to brand equity?
JS: Whether it is a high-priced item or a lower cost tube of toothpaste, in my world, the unboxing experience is critical, especially in some Asian markets like China. We have done a number of unique opening experiences. From our team in home care, we borrowed an idea, so when you unboxed our paste packs, it would give you a message. We have done the most work on the unboxing experience in our power brush business, looked at the time it takes to unbox the product, the ease of set up, made sure all the materials are sustainable, and so on. We want to carry people’s enthusiasm from purchase to the unboxing experience, then first use, and continued use of the product.
 
SKG: How are your package designs used to communicate your brand story?
JS: We do a very good job of that. Our brands are almost 70 years old, so there is a quality impression that we need to convey, as our products tend to be premium-priced. There are brand assets, signature assets that we care for, manage, and continue to evolve. We continue to invest in our legacy assets, always making sure our branding is clear. We have a unique point of view, and we want that to be conveyed to the consumer.
 
SKG: What does it really take to create a compelling story through a package?
JS: For us, the package is part of a holistic communication plan, which includes advertising and all digital mediums, so we want to make sure there is a thread that runs through all of those. The product and packaging need to be enticing at every one of those touch points. It takes a highly collaborative effort, many people working together, to make sure that those assets are compelling for people.
 
We have to make sure we deeply understand the work of the people who contribute, not just those in our direct organization, but all the organizations we collaborate with. The best insights can come out of working with our purchasing group or printers. Really getting in and understanding what the work is, and the problems you are trying to solve. Do not be too prescriptive about how you go about doing something. Just try to clearly define the problem, what job you are trying to achieve, but keep it like an open brief, to get as many diverse ideas as humanly possible for you to lock down on something.
 
SKG: Are there any touch points that some packaging directors should focus more on?
JS: There are two areas of opportunity they could improve on. With TV advertising, we have a playbook and know what works and what does not work best, but I think we can be a bit more polarizing or take more of a chance on how packaging is portrayed. For consumers, the product and the package are one and the same.
 
Digital is the other area of opportunity, where we can display the package in a more unique way rather than focusing mostly on the functional aspect. It should not just be about people zooming in to get product info. As we become more digitally savvy, that is certainly an area we can improve.
 
SKG: What new trends should packaging professions start planning for?
JS: The evolution of metaverses, and how packages and products show up in such an environment, is something I am personally interested in. We have started to do 360 degrees of our packs and products to make sure we are prepared to go into any digital environment, whether that is Amazon or our own branded sites or metaverse. That is the biggest trend I see people trying to get their arms around. What is happening in that environment from a brand-building standpoint, how our products show up, is a totally new world. It might be the same product you see in retail, but many brands are creating products bespoke for that particular environment.