How To Make Your Packaging a Super Model

Getting press on your packaging requires a story, says Nancy Trent, president, Trent & Company Public Relations

Written by Nancy Trent, president, Trent & Company Public Relations

Author Bio: Nancy Trent is the founder and president of Trent & Company, a global marketing communications firm that is focused on healthy lifestyles, beauty, healthcare, skin care and the spa and medical spa fields. www.trentandcompany.com

Industry insiders know that it’s not only what’s on the inside of your product that counts; but it’s also the packaging. The right packaging can become a media star and your brand’s very own celebrity spokesmodel.

My objective is to open marketer’s eyes to the vital role packaging plays in receiving editorial placement, getting on the shelf at retail and catching the consumer’s eye while shopping, all of which can result in sales worth millions.

Media publicity provides a third-party endorsement for consumers. That third-party endorsement gives retailers the confidence to put products on the shelf.

Editors receive hundreds of products a day. The smallest aesthetic details can secure or derail national press coverage. For example, packaging cluttered with text and unoriginal shapes that do not photograph well, won’t make the layout. When it comes to making the page pop, art directors and editorial staff prefer sophisticated fonts, sleek patterns, and bright colors as the elements that stand out best on the page.

While editorial staff may love the stuff that gets squeezed out of the tube, very often it’s not the tube that needs to make the cut.

Getting press on your packaging requires a story. Is it ironic? Innovative? Interactive? Does it have a green angle, a unique shape or is it cause-related? Just like a product, its package should have a point-of-difference that appeals to media.

Tell the story of your package to media when you tell the story of your product. Great photography is essential. Including images and information on the packaging in press materials will help get the message across. A specific press release on packaging highlights and trends will call more attention to the product’s unique selling points.

A quality product is necessary, but great packaging will help sell it. It’s fundamental in the marketing of a product, and packaging designers and marketers need to work hand in hand to be a success.

Package designers could be far more effective if they knew what marketers were looking for, what their ultimate goals are. Marketers need to know what trend package designers are seeing in their professional journals—what materials, fonts, colors and shapes are “hot.”

Think of packaging as wearing a killer suit for a presentation. Wrapping an already great product up into an even better package, gets you through the door, pre-sells you to the person you are trying to impress, and can help seal the deal.

When it comes to showing off your package virtually, capture it the way you would capture your spokesperson in a headshot. Take into consideration pose, expression, lighting, and the message and tone you want to get across.

Every product has a personality and a story. Its package does too. Choose colors, typeface, images, and key messages to appeal to your target customer. Packaging provides a vital extra shot at grabbing someone’s attention and a strong influence on the purchase decision.