Packaging Youth Brands for Shelf Appeal That Communicates Across Many Levels

By Bill Goodwin

In the many years that I have been designing, it has never been more apparent that marketing strategy is influencing packaging design. Consumer product marketers strive to establish bonds with their intended target audiences by creating a brand personality or image that is immediately identified and ultimately pulls the consumer towards it. This is especially critical for high fashion, premium brands where a well-executed image is key to the brand's success. In these cases, packaging is called upon to do more than just support a premium product positioning. A truly successful packaging execution evokes an emotional response from consumers; it creates a distinct visual impression that is instantly identifiable to the brand. Packaging that is tied to the brand through the successful use of materials, structural, and graphic design is what we at AGI/Klearfold refer to as "Iconic Packaging."

It is possible to use a tailored color pallette and similar graphics across two SKUs to appeal to both kids and tweens.

Every kid knows that lunch tastes better out of a cool lunch box than out of a paper bag! No one reading this (or writing it, for that matter!) would argue that packaging is a mighty marketing powerhouse, and that in the face of recent challenges posed to most traditional media, packaging is the largely-unsung hero of modern marketing.

While those of us who have been in and around the package design industry know that visual appeal is a major factor in building brands and brand loyalty, nowhere is it more apparent than in the youth market. Today's youth are the world's most valuable market segment--they are the lifelong customers waiting to be wooed. They are the arbiters of what's hip or hot. And they are hard to reach--getting harder every day with more channels, less free time, and more emphasis on less TV. But the one thing that can--and does--influence this dynamic audience is packaging.

The growing influence of today's young consumer

Today's youth is involved--if not in control--like no other time in history. At the same time, they are more engaged in, and savvy of, our current culture of consumerism. Our most successful clients have recognized that benefiting and providing benefit are not mutually exclusive outcomes of product offerings and marketing efforts for kids, tweens, teens, or any audience for that matter.

Kids influence a large majority of household purchase decisions, to the tune of 70% or more by some estimates. Together with their Moms, today's kids easily influence up to 85% of all household purchase decisions, including everything from food to fashion, games to groceries, toys to treats, and vacations to vehicles. This is a fact not lost on any Dad, including myself!

Such purchase decisions are made in an inclusive environment. More and more families today are making decisions together. In most purchase decisions, Moms, or the gatekeepers, choose the category and kids choose the brand: "Honey, we need cereal, which would you like?"

Yet kids are also gaining independence. Annual spending by kids ages four to 12 has doubled during each of the last three decades, and tripled in the 1990s, to $40 billion. Currently, kids under 14 influence nearly 80% of grocery purchases, including $10 billion directly. And by 2006, kids' direct buying power is expected to approach $52 billion.

Forming brand relationships

Successful marketers have earned a relationship with youth largely through the tailored offerings this group has come to expect. On some levels, a brand relationship with kids shares commonalities with those of nearly any demographic. First understand consumer needs, and then meet those needs on as deep a level as possible. Of course, the first step to meeting a need is knowing what need states exist and in turn, those to which we must appeal.

At the same time, defining our strategic goals in approaching our youth audience is essential. For instance, are we introducing, extending, or revitalizing a brand specifically tailored to a youth segment? Are we seeking to introduce an existing brand which has yet to engage kids, tweens, teens, or twixters? Or are we simply future marketing--affording ourselves the advantage of awareness in the interest of a future brand relationship later in life?

Package design for youth brands

Best practices in package design require a determined strategy at the outset, as well as comprehensive ethnographic and demographic studies. An effective design brief facilitates solutions which will meet strategic objectives, assuming a deep understanding of the target audience.

It is widely understood that we shop visually, forming images into narrative by which purchase decisions are made. This is certainly the case for kids of all ages, requiring an understanding of the various stages of development in providing effective packaging communication. The benefit, or "why to buy," must be communicated visually and dynamically--regardless of the benefit's complexity.

Trends in every category of package goods have largely reflected the need for effective visual communication, mostly due to global and multilingual initiatives. At the same time, dynamic and exciting product depictions which were once limited to such categories as toys and cereals are now ubiquitous in most consumer packaged goods.

Licensing has met this challenge by affording marketers a host of characters and stories that are familiar and associative. A child spots a familiar character and asks for the product, or Mom recognizes that her child will like it when she brings that product home.

To grab kids' attention, it is best to let the visuals tell the product's story, even a complex story.

Second to licensing, color is the most powerful tool in packaging for kids at any age. Proper application of an appropriate visual language for a specific demographic ensures that packaging will engage and communicate effectively to kids as "just for me," as well as garnering approval from those who care for them.

Package structure is an essential component, yet is largely underleveraged in most categories. Food marketers (particularly in novelty candy and snacks) are an exception, offering an array of brilliant innovations. Today's snack innovations are meeting the need for on-the-go, anywhere-they-want packaging solutions with nomadic packaging tailored specifically to a host of unique needs.

Ultimately, opportunities abound for the creative few who endeavor to provide our youth with branding and packaging solutions which meet their needs. At a time when many sectors of our economy saw little or no growth, those industries which appeal to the young (be it in age or at heart) have spawned opportunity. Without a doubt, the future is in the hands of our youth, as well as those who provide them benefit.

Bill Goodwin is president and CEO of Goodwin, a branding and marketing consultancy specializing in strategy and design for brands targeting the youth market. Bill can be reached by visiting www.goodwindesigngroup.com or calling 877-468-6434.