The Power of Packaging

After seeing Dove's huge move of changing their bottles to look like "real bodies," I felt compelled to revisit the concept of packaging.

Dove's strategic marketing has two facets to it - both the new and iconic. 

First, the new- obviously, "every" bottle is unique like all of us, and as such, the brand is reinforcing their "real beauty" movement. Dove has appealed to real beauty for years now, and it's not only memorable, but it's comfortable. It helps people feel accepted and open with this brand. This is the brand for every person. 

Then, there's the iconic. The color of the packaging, the logo, the construction of the actual design. It's everything you would expect from a Dove bottle. Even Dove Baby, a line extension I'm not entirely sure will survive for long (but that's another story), has this look. 

Dove's packaging just works. 

How can other brands hope to get their packaging to this level? Most brands are focused on product. For Dove, it's the pure white color of the soap and the comfortable curvatures that make you feel it relates to the body. For Hershey's chocolate, it's all about the rich and memorable brown, the block letters, the silver accents. While both different, they both scream product representation. The emphasis is on developing and producing a product demonstrably superior to the competition. 

The products' packaging is often overlooked as a branding element. Sure the package itself is loaded with copy explaining the virtues of the brand. But the actual package, it shape composition, can be an important visual element. Too often package design is delegated to manufacturing experts who scream efficiency, cost, and utility.

Well cost is always a factor to consider, the appeal to customers should be incorporated and design plans. What does the customer want? A product that says it is what it is. That's what Dove, Hershey's and many other brands do but tons of other brands also fail.

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