Image source: Coca Cola United
We all remember when Coca-Cola first brought out their personalised cans and bottles, brandished with people’s names. Everyone used to scramble to find theirs and take a picture with it. What started off as a novel concept from the soda-manufacturing giant has become a top consumer trend - personalising your product packaging.
By including customers in the brand packaging, they are no longer outsiders looking in but become part of the brand experience.
Personalised brand packaging has become so popular that 66% of packaging professionals are implementing, or at least considering implementation, in their offering.
Packaging is more than just a space to display your brand name and inform consumers what’s inside. It has become a way to connect with potential customers on a more personal level.
If you want to get ahead of the competition, here are 5 personalised product packaging tips you should be aware of.
The rise of social media has brought with it the ability for customers to choose which brands they want to interact with, and sometimes, the ability to select what they want from brands and customise their brand experience.
Customers are increasingly seeking out personalised brand experiences to meet their evolving demands. As such, companies are no longer the brand owners, customers are. Co-creation is a burgeoning trend that is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.
A great example of brand co-creation is what IKEA did back in 2018. The Swedish furniture and home goods manufacturer launched ‘Co-create IKEA’, a digital platform that encouraged customers to develop new products for the brand. This was an especially great opportunity for designers to gain exposure through the world’s largest furniture manufacturer.
Through co-creation, brands are encouraged to create opportunities to collaborate with customers to co-create their products and packaging designs and become the hero of their own stories. By asking audiences online for recommendations on colour and design, for example, you are not only involving them in the design but increasing your social media engagement metrics as well. Two birds with one stone!
With the gap between online and offline products shrinking more and more, customers are now able to be involved in the manufacturing process of their products and packaging, from design to print. Developments such as on-demand printing have facilitated this even further.
The personalised gifting industry is expected to grow up to $11.9 billion at a rate of 7.48% during 2021-2025.
One of the factors that is driving this surge is the convenience and speed with which customers are able to order personalised gifts through online retail channels. The technological advancements of variable data printing has also contributed to the rise of this trend.
One South African brand that does this well is Netflorist. From their online platform, you can order a wide range of products ranging from t-shirts with personalised messages to snack packs with personalised packaging.
Image source: Netflorist
Adding a personal touch to a gift creates a special element to an item and shows the receiver that the giver put a bit more time and thought into it than just giving them a standard off-the-shelf item. This goes for corporate gifts as well - when it’s presented in personalised packaging with the receiver’s name, it can leave a lasting impression that the company has really gone the extra mile.
Personalised packaging, like what Coca-cola did, enables brands to make an emotional connection with customers, which can lead to brand loyalty and increased brand awareness. Being given an item with your name printed on it creates a memorable, visceral experience.
As previously mentioned, social media has completely changed the way that customers and brands communicate. In addition to customers having more say in what they expect from brands, they are also able to interact with their favourite brands in new and unique ways, which offers countless opportunities for personalisation.
By using social media in conjunction with packaging, brands are able to create great cross-channel marketing campaigns. For instance, the Smile With Lay’s campaign gave customers the tools to upload an image of themselves on a Lay’s packet, using AR technology. By scanning the QR code on the back of the bag, they could take a selfie and share it directly to social media. Their smile would appear on the bag with the rest of their face above it.
Image source: Lays
It’s a great example of using personalisation to create a great omnichannel marketing campaign. Additionally, it can boost sales as customers eagerly wish to ‘take part’ in the campaign.
Sending out personalised and beautifully designed thank-you cards is a great way for brands to interact with customers and build a connection. This might not be possible for bigger brands with a large customer base but for smaller businesses or start-ups, this is a novel way to add a personal touch and differentiate yourself from the competition.
With the proliferation of ecommerce and the constant bombardment of ads, consumers have more choice in which products they choose to spend their money on. Which is why it can leave a lasting impact when you show appreciation when they choose to support your business.
Yuppiechef is a South African brand that sends out handwritten thank-you cards with every online order. Although the premier home and kitchen store has amassed a very large customer base over the years, they still take time to sit down and say thanks to each and every one of their customers. That small personal touch goes a long way in generating and maintaining customer loyalty.
Image source: Yuppiechef
As with every great campaign, your personalised packaging strategy should be tailored to the brand’s audience. This is especially important for international brands trying to break into local markets and make an impact.
There is no one-size-fits-all strategy when it comes to product packaging in different markets. To draw on the Share a Coke campaign again, one of the reason’s the campaign was such a success is because Coca-Cola tailored it to each country. Traditional names from each country and region were printed on cans and bottles intended for that place. In South Africa, the brand went even further by adding the phonetics under each name, effectively teaching South Africans, who speak different languages and come from different cultural backgrounds, how to greet each other properly.
Image source: llbonline.com
Of course, when designing packaging for a different market, it’s important not to change your brand corporate identity (CI) so much that it becomes unrecognisable. Fonts and colours should remain the same but the specific campaign should be tweaked so that it is applicable to a certain market.
Packaging has become more than just a vessel to contain and transport your product. If done correctly, product packaging offers brands a unique opportunity to include customers in the brand story.
In addition, social media has helped brands and customers achieve more real-time interaction and, in turn, insight into what customers expect from the brands they love. Brands can use this to their advantage.
By providing customers with the tools to participate in campaigns through personalisation and social media sharing, customers can do most of the marketing for you. But don’t forget to make sure the campaign appeals to local markets!
If you need help coming up with a unique, easy-to-personalise product packaging concept from strategy to execution, get in touch with us.