Packaging Valentine's Day for Profit

Packaging Valentine's Day for Profit.
by JoAnn Hines Packaging Diva
Packaging News You Can UseTip Of The Week
Issue #1293 - Feb 8, 2008

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UPCOMING EVENT ON SUSTAINABILITY:
Sustainable Packaging Event Set for Feb. 26

Join me JoAnn Hines, “The Packaging Diva,” in exploring what really works in the world of sustainable packaging innovation. Find out how you can take innovative, best sustainable practices and incorporate them into your brand. Hines is one of three presenters in the Retailing Today-sponsored program, “Best Practices in Sustainability: Top Trends, Tips and Takeaways from Thought Leaders in Green Retailing,” which will occur Feb. 26 from 6:30-9:30 a.m. at the Embassy Suites, in Rogers, Ark. The seminar agenda includes:

•Exclusive Consumer Study: What is “Green,” and Who Cares? Understanding how responsive (or unresponsive) today’s consumer is to the latest in green’ merchandising and marketing by Art Angel, research director for Leo J. Shapiro & Associates.

•Sustainable Packaging — From “Green” to “Great.” Hines offers her perspective on what it takes to maximize the appeal of green packaging.

•Ten to Watch: Best Practices in Green Retailing. This virtual tour of 10 retailers at the cutting edge of sustainability is presented by Tim Craig, editor-in-chief/associate publisher of Retailing Today.

For more information and to register, visit www.retailingtoday.com/beyondbentonville/index.aspx.

If you cannot attend and want to order the post show report email me please for details.

FEATURE ARTICLE:Packaging Valentine's Day for Profit By JoAnn R. Hines, Packaging Diva

Holidays are a great time to market new packaging innovations. Consumers look for that special something to celebrate the occasion and prowl the isles for that unique gift that means you are special to someone. Valentine's Day is one of the best holidays because it’s emotionally connected to the heart; and the heart is at the crux of what connects product packaging to consumers. If your product packaging cannot "connect" to the consumer, then it will never make its way out of the door.

So what is the emotional connection that says to consumers “buy me or pick me up for a closer look”? Pulling at consumer heart strings can be accomplished in numerous ways. Remember those "E" words I often write about (evoke, engage, emotion). How can you capture that essence in your product packaging?

However you reach out to your consumer it needs to be something unique and beyond the ordinary. It could be a clever new design, shape or in the case of chocolate, trade on the packaging innovation of "chocolate smells packaging. I recently cam across some very unusual "packaged" Valentines:one was a lucite keepsake container and one was in deep purple. So much for pink and red.

By the way, did you know that vanilla is the number one fragrance that appeals to men? This may be attributed to remembering to all those homey smells, apple pie, and mom. So why not utilize a vanilla smelling package to appeal to that man in your target market? "Connecting" to the consumer (whether man or woman) is paramount in getting them to buy. I'm amazed at the success of vanilla soaps and shampoos. That translates that into opportunities for product packaging innovation.

In any case, your product needs to be more than just the typical Valentine's Day product packaged in red or in some cases pink with a big bow and cellophane. (That is so passé.) I received a great package of chocolate from Noka Chocolate. Surprisingly, it was packaged in black. The packaging was a great concept too. Not only was it an elegant package but after the chocolate is gone, long before Valentine's Day in my case, the box is designed to be saved and reused as a keepsake holder. Hitting emotionally on two fronts "saving the environment" (packaging trend for 08) because I'm not throwing it away and by giving me something to reuse in a "meaningful" way (not just as junk). It got my interest and a mention here as a company that put a lot of thought into their product packaging. (By the way, if you're packaging diamonds, be sure and send some my way for a product review tee, hee.)

However you evoke, engage or emote the consumer it’s important to look for ways to distinguish yourself from your competitor’s product. Can your product packaging piggy back off a cause that lends itself well to the heart? It just so happens that the American Heart Association, has made February Go Red for Women month. There are myriad's of ways to make a "heart" connection with Valentine's Day. Obviously "red" anything will work, but last year I wrote about companies that were missing the opportunity to capitalize on chocolate: Missing the health connection to buying chocolate not as an indulgence but as a necessary component to a healthy life. This year it seems that a few companies have taken notice in their product offerings. Healthy is "in." Just look what is happening to trans-fats.

The important thing to take way from this article is how you can turn Valentine's Day into a profitable opportunity to package your products. It’s a holiday when participants expect to get or give something special. As a result, consumers are ready and willing to spend money on that unique item that shows them or their loved one that they are a special person in the giver’s life. Accomplish that with your product packaging and you will have a winner -- and a heartily profitable one too.

NO GREEN OR PACKAGING PICKS THIS WEEK


Regards,
JoAnn Hines
Packaging Diva
All Packaging All Of The Time

I package people, products and services. Get started in the right direction by visiting any one of my websites for free advice, articles or just plain help. You can ask a question to a packaging expert too, list your packaging request, subscribe to my complimentary newsletter Packaging News You Can Use or just visit my website to ask me your packaging question. I *will* find your perfect packaging solution!

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