Package Design | packagedesignmag.com

(June 2011) posted on Wed Jun 01, 2011

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Today’s brand owners rely more than ever on packaging to entice consumers to purchase their products — so much so that the package itself often serves as a keystone of integrated marketing campaigns built out with print, electronic and social media components.

An early pioneer of this strategy was Absolut Vodka, whose iconic advertising campaign continues to be a textbook example of successful marketing. The campaign, which began in 1980, made the distinctive Absolute bottle the star or “the hero,” and was often the only thing shown in the advertisement along with a two-word tagline. More than 30 years and 1,000 ads later, the campaign has become an integral part of modern culture and been recognized with hundreds of awards.

Brand owners continue to make unique packaging structures, new materials, eye-catching colors and first-in-category graphics the stars of the show and the catalyst for brand awareness. Nowhere will this trend be more evident than in The Brand Zone at PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2011, being held September 26–28 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, a special pavilion that will help brand owners discover innovative materials and containers to increase visual impact, enhance convenience, maximize shelf life, add functionality and improve sustainability scores.

Let’s take a look at a few recent examples of brands that are using packaging as the platform for their advertising and marketing strategy.

Diet Pepsi slims down and shows off a new, trim silhouette
Diet Pepsi recently rolled out a taller, sassier new Skinny Can. The new packaging, available to consumers nationwide, launched with a series of fashion events and celebrations during New York's Fall 2011 Fashion Week, which took place during February 2011. According to Advertising Age magazine, PepsiCo built a major marketing campaign for 2011 around the new package. Plans include print, out-of-home, TV and digital buys, and of course, the package itself is front and center in renderings and copy calls out the new design. In addition to promoting the can, ads support the concept of "getting the skinny" — i.e., the inside scoop — on the latest in culture, fashion, style and design.