Branding for Performance
by Hadley Sharples, Project Editor

When McNeil Pharmaceuticals' package design firm saw the drugmaker's recent television and print advertising campaign for its Motrin brand of pain reliever --"For moms who don't fool around with pain"--it realized that the packaging for the product didn't fit the image presented in the ads. The design firm, the Bailey Group, saw an opportunity.

"We thought the packaging didn't reflect the new positioning of the brand from an advertising and promotional standpoint," says Russell Napolitano, executive vice president and partner of the Bailey Group, a 40-employee, 18-year old design consultancy located in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. "The ads were all about empowerment and strength. They had a fashion-oriented look, with bold words and music that complemented this theme. The packaging just didn't fit with this treatment."

After identifying and substantiating that Motrin was closely associated with the color orange, the Bailey Group redesigned the packaging, using a more vivid orange hue. The logo also was made bolder using a beveled deep blue typeface instead of the previously used white. Additionally, the packaging of the pediatric line was paralleled with the adult version, and was enhanced with the image of a sweeping clock to emphasize the advantage that McNeil says Motrin has over its competitors—eight-hour fever relief.

Branding fluency
The opportunity to create a powerful packaging image for Motrin came as a result of the Bailey Group's focus on helping its clients think more strategically about product packaging, and the latter's importance to the value of the brand. The company now becomes involved with the overall branding of a product very early in the process so as to help its clients create and translate a particular brand identity to all of its packaging, advertising, and promotional pieces.

"We've gone from design shop to full-service strategic branding firm," says Christopher Bailey, the company's president and founding partner. "Instead of being simply executional, we're now a lot more strategic, because that's what our clients are demanding of us. They're really looking for more of a one-stop shopping experience. They want their branding firms to be fluent in what their business is about, and to have a way of delivering that expertise."

Although the Bailey Group's primary focus is consumer package design, the firm has extended its reach into brand and corporate identity, and structural and environmental/retail design and name generation. Its clients come from a broad range of industries, including automotive, food and beverage, health and beauty aids, household products, and pharmaceuticals.

Performance branding
The Bailey Group can attribute much of its success to a four-stage "performance branding" methodology that it has developed. At the onset of a project, the firm conducts extensive research into a client's product line, its consumers, and competitors in order to develop a sense of the company's brand. The creative staff then uses this information to develop design concepts.

"By approaching things this way, we are developing designs based on some very sound strategic thinking," Napolitano says. "The client is bringing us in on the ground floor, from the point at which a product is a concept written down on a piece of paper to when it is actually formulated, the structure developed, and the product produced and tested. This way, we get to know the product intimately."

The Bailey Group then uses this research to develop a brand character, or brand essence, says Napolitano, for the product. "This is where we develop the personality of the brand, including the imagery, colors, texture, and sound," he relates. "We're really trying to build an individuality that the brand can stand for. Everything that touches the product--the packaging, advertising, merchandising, and promotion--should support that essence."

Capturing the essence
Bailey Group designers are involved early on to bring the brand essence to life from a creative standpoint. A staff of 17 designers works on Macintosh computers running Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to create numerous package concepts to present to the client.

"The software is a great tool to combine imagery and optimize colors to look a certain way," says Bailey Group creative director Dave Fielder. "But you can't push a button that says 'create a great package or a brand identity.' That has to comes from the mind of a creative designer." Fielder relates that his team of designers prints a number of package concepts on an Imation RIP-powered Xerox color printer. The staff then works with the client to narrow down favorite concepts.

Once the client has selected several package designs, packages often are tested with consumers through a focus group or similar testing method. "Directionally, focus groups are very useful, because clients should never assume they know what the consumer thinks," Fielder states. "Sometimes the consumer will choose the complete opposite of what the client thinks they will choose."

Once the client selects a particular design, the job moves into the production stage, where the Bailey Group's staff of seven production personnel takes the design and creates mechancial artwork for production. The production staff then prepares the file to meet the printer's specifications, and sends the electronic file via e-mail, FTP, or CD to the printing company. The printer supplies a DuPont Waterproof proof to provide a true representation of the final printed piece for approval by the client. The selected design concept then is adapted to the various offerings within the client's product line.

Solidifying a niche
While other segments of the marketing and communications industry have struggled in the recent economic downturn, the Bailey Group has managed to solidify its niche.

"Companies are realizing that it's much tougher in traditional marketing media to stretch their dollar as far as it can go," says Chris Binner, director of business development for the Bailey Group. "But no matter what the state of the economy, the one constant they always have is packaging, because it's the only thing that sells on the shelf or in the aisle. Many times the packaging is the sole advertisement for the brand."

Binner says that his company has now set its sights on attaining clients in new markets, including services, technology and software, and hard goods such as those sold at Home Depot and Lowe's. To that end, the firm recently developed a new brand identity for the Bosch Tool Company's newly acquired brand of spiral saw, called RotoZip. The new packaging concept, which packages the product in a canvas bag, will be launched at home centers this autumn.

As economic conditions improve, the Bailey Group is poised to apply its strategic branding process to an expanding roster of clients. "I think the world is our oyster, and it's up to us to decide where we want to go next," Binner concludes.

Structural Engineering
Increasingly, the Bailey Group has been designing actual structures for its clients' products. For example, the company recently redesigned the bottle for Clean & Clear skin cleanser so as to make it more appealing to the 12- to 17-year-old target consumer. The design team replaced the old stock bottle with a sleeker, more contemporary version that has unique curves and a translucent cap and pump.

To produce a new structure, the production team hires an outside engineering firm to create a mold of the new design, ensuring that the structure meets its design objectives. Finally, the firm develops standards for the visual communication strategy that it has developed.