Spotlight: Entertainment Store Packaging

Brand Firm Devises a "Universal" Color Palette for the Discovery Channel's Stores and Packages

When The Discovery Channel bought and renovated 167 retail stores formerly owned by The Nature Company, they sought help in devising a comprehensive strategy to help them move from on-air to on-the-shelves and drive sales. They started by asking Parham Santana, an accomplished retail brand strategy firm in New York City, to create a comprehensive and unified brand strategy for Discovery Networks' new in-store packaging and point-of-purchase merchandising. Earlier this year, Parham Santana helped Discovery launch a new "Tools for Life" line that targets women shoppers at retail.

Discovery's Consumer Products division defined the primary goal of the initial project as four-fold: 1) emphasize product over packaging or brand; 2) allow for total flexibility and cross-merchandising; 3) create a 'family destination' theme with in-store support and signage; and, 4) allow for additional Discovery product vignettes to co-exist within the store.

"Our goal is to integrate our brand positioning to all consumers by building 'threads of consistency' throughout all brand touch points," says Scott Eichler, vice president of product and creative development of Discovery consumer products. On each and every package, Discovery wanted the product to be the "hero," and make an instant impression with a strong billboard image. Parham Santana was able to unify multiple product categories under one brand strategy without the brand becoming over-simplified.

The new guidelines, outlined in three "brand bibles," (for Adults, Women and Kids) have been implemented on thousands of SKU's throughout the entertainment leader's retail programs. The guidelines are thorough enough that package designers and manufacturers need minimal direction when introducing a new Discovery Channel product.

Across the board, across the brand

Parham Santana simultaneously created unique packaging systems for retail, as well as mass merchant licensing programs. "The new system will evolve Discovery's existing brand and packaging into a more integrated program by creating a cohesive brand impression throughout multiple channels of usage and distribution," says John Parham, founding principal of Parham Santana.

The universal brand assets devised for Discovery
Channel products tie together lines aimed at adults
(left), women (center), and kids (right).

Parham explains that Discovery was interested in finding a synergy between their on-air presence and their in-store presence. "The customers' shift from one medium to another must be as seamless as possible," Parham stresses. The packages and stores were designed simultaneously around a detailed planogram strategy that would define how and where colors would be grouped together, or mixed, and the background colors that would best accentuate the products. Parham and Santana were lucky enough to have an in-transition "laboratory store" nearby where they could test their color-merchandising ideas and planogram strategies.

The most successful aspect of the entire Discovery Channel brand strategy may be the expertly devised universal brand assets that Parham Santana carefully assembled. The assets include new brand typography, graphic patterns, and icons. The goal of a universal color palette is to have an appealing shelf impact no matter how the packages are arranged or how the elements are combined in stores.

Targeting women electronics consumers

The Discovery Channel had identified women as an important retail shopper and asked Parham Santana to develop a women self-purchase packaging strategy—tightly focused and gender specific. Recent studies showed that more than half of consumer electronics sales, in dollars, were made by or were strongly influenced by women. This may be partly because the woman of the house controls the purse strings and partly because decisions on bigger-ticket items often involve interior design issues.

When Parham Santana set out to define a color palette that would appeal to women specifically, they took the direct approach: They asked women what colors they liked these days. Through qualitative focus groups, it was quickly clear that old standards such as pastels or "gem" colors were no longer the way to go. A far departure from stereotypical feminine colors, the bright color paradigm of Discovery's universal palette consists of middle tones of active brights such as "digital green" and soft brights such as "inner orchid."

"Marketing to women in what was once a stereotypical feminine voice is a thing of the past," said Maruchi Santana, co-founding principal of Parham Santana, and a female voice herself. "Our research shows women are embracing bolder colors and energetic design sensitivities once thought unpopular. Today's woman consumer is far removed from the traditional 'hygiene aisle' shopper of the past. She gravitates toward a bright, modern palette, reflecting her energy, creativity and control."

Through color and messaging, Parham Santana emotionalized women's self-purchase sales in the store, and to help define the new "Tools for Life" line of products. The way to a loosen the purse strings, it seems, involves humanizing each product by selling a "story," by stressing the product's benefits, and by making the package fun, colorful, and energetic. "Color is an important part of this new line," adds Santana, "and one thing we know is true—you buy with your eyes."

What Colors Do Women Like?

A recent survey was conducted by JoAnn R. Hines, founder of Women in Packaging Inc., a professional organization supporting over 800 women packaging professionals. The survey addressed several points specific to women shoppers, and produced a few unexpected results.

Most unexpected was the finding that close to 90% of women respondents said that celebrity endorsements on packages had no influence on their buying decisions. Also, women said that tying a product or package to a "cause" did not make them more likely to buy that product. Other findings confirmed a now-common mantra: "Pink is for girls, not for women."

Which colors do you like the most and least in packaging?

JoAnn can be contacted at jrhines@womeninpackaging.org.