Packaging: Positioning Tool of the 1980s

While packaging constituted merely a purchasing function in most companies 10 years ago, it now plays a magnified role in marketing products and services. Packaging is the single most important factor in purchasing decisions made at the point of sale. Design firms handle 90% of all design work on packaged goods products. Design firms, most of which are members of the Package Design Council, conduct first-hand research on the category and the competition. As a design strategy is being formulated, they make recommendations to clients about what message or messages should be delivered. Roy Parcels, a partner in Dixon and Parcels Associates, stresses the need for articulated goals in advance and frequent approvals in the design process. Packaging positioning can be based on any of 4 motives: 1. standing out, 2. widening appeal, 3. narrowing appeal, or 4. creating an image. Packaging also has been used to increase profits, distribution, the product line, and impact.