Package Design | packagedesignmag.com

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(April 2008) posted on Sun Oct 25, 2009

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Several factors are increasing the frequency of package redesigns, from printing technologies, brand security, and consumer engagement. The forum was open for the following questions: Do you think that the industry is entering a new era of frequent "lateral" or "promotional" design updates? What are the keys to managing package design updates so brand messages do not become diluted? Do you believe the PAM brand messages have been diluted on the example here? The most detailed responses are here:

Leslie Tucker, principal, IQ Design Group, New York, NY
PAM Original, I believe, is very simply "all-natural 100% canola oil." The previous PAM (left) and its flying food feels a little lighter, fresher, healthier, brighter, all-natural. The restaged PAM (right) feels a little stagnant, heavy, not as fresh. The reason for PAM’s popularity and why it’s in almost every American kitchen cabinet, I believe, is that it’s a core cooking ingredient for all-natural, fat free, no-stick, healthier cuisine.

The movement in its graphics (left) gave PAM that feeling. The new PAM logo (right) is a nice beginning to refreshing the line, but unless the brand is on a new trajectory, I think PAM’s unique selling proposition and “reason for being” could be lost, leaving current consumers underwhelmed. The goal of a successful restage is to keep the consumers you have, and then attract more.

Jim Stringer, creative director, XO Create!, Atlanta, GA
I feel design updates like any packaging alteration are fine as long as they are warranted. Simply making vanity changes for nothing more than the sake of being fresh is a dangerous and costly move. The key to making these frequent changes (when warranted) is maintaining the visual brand elements and managing the information hierarchy, so the read is quick, efficient and does not alienate the consumer. I feel the PAM example given does accomplish this very well.

David Lemley, president, Lemley Design, Seattle, WA
Many times packaging updates are handled as knee-jerk reactions to marketplace performance and competition. The keys to managing frequent updates are to have strict, powerful, authentic (uniquely ownable) brand and packaging standards in-place prior to needing an update.

I do think the industry is entering a new era of frequent lateral design updates. I am not sure this is good for anyone except packaging design firms and the brand managers who are looking for a short term needle movement. Often the design details are trendy which ensures that they will need to be updated again as soon as the style changes.

The PAM update is nice; and yet, it’s also a good example of design eliminating consumer-centric point of sale relevance in the process of attempting to be optically pleasing. I suppose that PAM has enough brand equity in the non-stick coating spray category to forego showcasing what it is and how it benefits the consumer, but I would want to see data to prove this before modernizing anything, particularly the logo. I also see the new design following a trend to have close-ups of food items on serving utensils (which isn’t bad in and of itself).

If I didn’t know PAM and what it does for me in the kitchen, I might buy Crisco spray because its design follows the proper rules of engagement for package design:

  > Get attention (good color, strong type, etc.)
  > Get the consumer to ask: What is this and why should I care?
  > Offer a “why-to-buy” message in order to lead them to reassurance statements, imagery, etc.
  > Share the details, price, features, guarantees, etc.

In this case I think PAM got the order wrong. “Original” on the package is as important as the logo (which has been modernized), and the “What-it-is-statement” is so small I cannot read it. If PAM is the original non-stick cooking spray, why copy others.

Bill Wynkoop, lead creative director, Lazer Design Services, Rochester, NY
The key to a design update is to keep the interest of the customer in mind. If this doesnt happen, then the brand message can easily be diluted. Such is the case for me with this redesign. ConAgra chose to stress "Original" as part of a new flavor and function differentiation. However, the consumer value of the productits non-stick benefitis lost. I believe ConAgra would have been better advised to have considered the positioning on the PAM website: "baking, broiling, or grilling—PAM's got you covered." Reconsidering how this redesign opportunity could have better related the product benefit to the consumer.