Break Through:
Defy the Category With Conviction

By Phllippe Becker

The premium Niman Ranch bacon box tells many stories with intriguing design ideas both inside and out, anchored by the pretend Niman Ranch Times newsletter on the inside of the box.

Breaking through. We've all learned it, worked it, and preached it—we even based our design businesses on it. But how often do we actually succeed?

It's no secret that—now more than ever—creating or even maintaining a sustainable, leading brand is more difficult to do. Yet for many advertisers and manufacturers, one of the most effective tools in creating a breakthrough brand is hiding in plain sight. To steal from The Graduate, I have one word for you: packaging.

Packaging is the only medium that has a direct and immediate connection to the customer at the most critical point in their relationship with the manufacturer—at the point of product choice. Innovative packaging that breaks through the noise is critical to brand expression—initiating, validating, and cementing the relationship with the consumer.

So it begs the question: "How do we work to elevate design and packaging to be consistent with the unique positioning of the brands they represent?"

In an effort to guide our business, we've identified the following best practices to rise above the noise:

Create cross-disciplinary partnerships

Given the complexities of the marketplace, no single discipline or expertise can bring a product to life to its fullest potential. It requires a true partnership between R&D, procurement, manufacturing, marketing, and design.

Senior management needs to establish partnerships with their creative agencies much earlier in the product development process. And we as a design community need to develop our expertise and resources far beyond our current services. This creates a better understanding of the product's reason for being and role within the retail environment.

Positioning the product well: standing out but fitting in

One of the greatest challenges we face in developing new brands is creating a design that highlights a unique concept—while still fitting into a known context within both the competitive shelf set and the consumer's mind. In many cases, you need that context to have permission to take the consumer to a new place. In essence, the product's positioning against the competition and how it is expressed on the package help the consumer make that leap of faith to trust the product, sample it, and build a "relationship" with the brand.

Do your homework—The first step is to study the marketplace, dissecting and understanding the visual and verbal language of the competitive set. It is critical to understand the common, cliché, and overused tactics that clutter the category but are well-understood by the consumer. For example, in the supermarket bacon category, visual cues have traditionally been limited to a vacuum package and brand name. Little has differentiated brands from a visual perspective. With Niman Ranch, an artisan meat company distributed throughout the U.S., this was an opportunity.

Break the rules—With the category cues understood, Niman Ranch changed direction—zigging while the others zagged. The goal was to elevate their bacon as a premium, artisan product. By incorporating a cardboard sleeve with authentic graphics and metallic gold ink, their bacon took on an entirely different appeal than the competition—and the new look has been well received in the market.

By doing our homework and breaking the category clichŽs, we were able to create a vibrant brand that resonated within the category, but also stood apart from the competition.

Appreciate the shift in consumer consciousness and conscience

Last, but not least, on our list of best practices is having an appreciation for the consumer. Consumers have greater power in the marketplace then they did just 15 years ago, when the failure of New Coke served as a defining moment.

Today's consumers are educated, savvy, and cynical with more choices and outlets for purchasing products. They have become sensitized to the language of design and have come to value it and seek it out in products. Look at iPod and Target's slogan—Design for All—as perfect examples.

In the case of "Niman Ranch," we understood that consumers:

• support companies with earth-friendly practices
• seek healthier products
• seek authentic brands with a story to tell

All of this was leveraged into the design of the product packaging. For example, PBD utilized the inner sleeve to create the "Niman Ranch Times," a newsletter that helps communicate the Niman Ranch story and explain what Sustainable Family Farms are.

It's still not easy

Even with best practices in place, breaking through is difficult. Products launch and fail every year. Existing products fade because they lose relevance to the customer. By following these best practices, however, you'll have a better chance to gain an edge and create a product, brand, and package that resonate with the consumers and establish the brand as a category leader.

Philippe Becker is the Creative Director of Philippe Becker Design Inc. (PBD), a San Francisco-based branding and packaging design agency founded in 1998. PBD clients include Disney, Forbes, Gap, Safeway, T-Mobile, Whole Foods Market, and Williams-Sonoma. PBD's website is www.pbdsf.com, and Philippe can be reached at 415-348-0054.