How to make your brand more attrahent

Tag : Fresh Royal Jelly

Choosing a good brand is one of the most important steps for asuccessful products. When Ziggurat Brands created caricatures for the redesignedJonathan Crisp packaging it didn’t expect to attract theattention of Buckingham Palace. The original packaging was tryingto convey crisps with their skins, or jackets, on.

However, the result was busy and unsophisticated, with theexplanation of the jackets and ties on the packs tucked in acorner.

The brand was launched in 1993 and was struggling to get beyonddistribution in the food service category. Ziggurat Brands had tocreate an identity that would enable the crisps to get listings inmajor multiples, without any promotional investment.

The aim was to create a range of ‘crisps for snobs’,which was engaging and would encourage customers to stop andinvestigate the packs.

Eight gentrified cartoon characters were created to portray each ofthe different flavours. The on-pack copy is tailored to each snob;for example, the vicar’s pack reads: We may be preaching tothe converted, but we believe these crisps are simply divine.

Paul Baker, one of the designers of the Spitting Image TV series,was chosen to illustrate the characters. This created an unexpectedhiccup, when his first-draft caricatures resembled variouspolitical and royal figures and so had to be redrawn.

When the new packs were unveiled, with what the company believed tobe suitably anonymous characters, Buckingham Palace requested thatthe horseradish and sour cream variety be withdrawn due to thecharacter’s resemblance to the Princess Royal. This createdwidespread media coverage for the new packs.

Sales doubled in the first five months after the relaunch, inNovember 2004.
Rejuvenating lotions: Vaseline
Vaseline was in a mess, visually. The brand’s identity hadbeen lost as it expanded, with very little consistency across theranges. Its medical heritage was not being communicated tocustomers and products looked functional and unengaging. But thanksto a refresh from Blue Marlin, it is now the fastest growingpersonal care brand in the Unilever portfolio.

The blue logo from the original petroleum jelly had been diluted,with different products carrying different shapes, colours andtypefaces. Blue Marlin reinstated the masterbrand to create aninstantly recognisable icon. Blue Marlin executive creativedirector Martin Grimer explains that a great deal of work went intoensuring that the branding colour used on the transparentself-adhesive labels matched the colour of the plastic used for thebottle caps. The logo was given a metallic finish as a premium cue.Designs and typography were standardised across all ofVaseline’s lotions, globally, creating a more coherent lookwhen the ranges appear on shelves and making products easier torecognise.

Vaseline global brand manager Gustavo Lara says: The new designsbuild on the trust inherent in the brand.

Blue Marlin also designed the packaging for a new range of VaselineIntensive Rescue lotions. The team created an icon based on theinternational rescue symbol, which works as a metaphor for theaction of the creams and can be understood across the variousmarkets that Vaseline is sold in. The range comes in matt whitebottles to suggest purity.

The new designs hit shelves in August 2007. By the end of 2007, theVaseline brand had increased its market share in the UK by 14.2%.
Alluring language: Waitrose Speciality Cheeses
It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it. WaitroseSpeciality Cheeses were covered in unappetising productdescriptions. The Reblochon read: The yellow pink rind conceals apaste that softens after four to five weeks, giving a nutty, fruityflavour. Lewis Moberly replaced this with the more evocative:Autumnal aromas, velvet rind, tones of walnut and fruit, all buriedin a creamy, ivory paste.

The range had been selling well for a number of years, so the newdesigns had to retain existing customers and attract new ones.After the redesign, in October 2005, sales were up 37% by the endof the year. Sales increased by a further 22% in the subsequent sixmonths.

The cheeses have to compete with the in-store deli counter, soLewis Moberly sourced a waxed kraft paper that looks likeparchment, which is used to hand-wrap the cheeses, to give theimpression of an artisan product. A clear self-adhesive label waschosen with a matt varnish to match the wrap, giving the appearanceof no label.

The new designs put the country maps centre-stage, to ensure eachcheese’s provenance is clear. The packaging was designed tospeak to customers who are well travelled and educated about food,and who select cheese in a similar way to wine – consideringregion, style and qualities.

The success of the redesign enabled Waitrose to expand the rangeand there has been minimal impact on sales of other top-end cheesesin the store.
Tourist takeaway: Cairnsmhor Biscuits
While the dark tartan-covered packaging was working in the LochNess Nessie gift shop, Cairnsmhor was less successful outside ofthe tourist market. The new packaging enabled the firm to gain itsfirst listings south of the Scottish border. Sales doubled in the12 months since the new packaging started hitting shelves. ArtroomDesign & Print wanted to create a range of biscuits that peoplewould buy for themselves as well as for gifts. Using the tagline‘an everyday indulgence’, Artroom decided the firstthing to change was the product photography. Director Gillian Parkexplains: The old photography wasn’t very appealing - some ofthe biscuits looked like flying saucers. We needed a luxuriousfeel.

The same packaging was previously used across the range, with nodifferentiation between the different flavours.

Cairnsmhor managing director Ernie Parkinson acknowledges that hewas less than keen when Artroom suggested using colour-coding todenote the varieties: We had to be dragged kicking and screamingdown the colour route, but it has worked. The colour-coding made iteasier for repeat customers to identify flavours and mademerchandising the biscuits in-store easier.

Since the redesign, Cairnsmhor has moved out of the tourist marketand into the speciality food arena; the biscuits are now stocked bya number of delicatessens, farm shops and hamper companies.

The redesign also had a dramatic impact for Artroom, which now doesall of Cairnsmhor’s packaging. Packaging was a very smallpart of our business – we did mainly customer publishing. Butsince Cairnsmhor, other companies have come to us to do theirpackaging and it is now half of our business, says Park.
Power player: Coca-Cola
When you are asked to redesign the packaging for one of the bestknown brands in the world, it is essential to tread lightly. It isthe ultimate ‘be careful how you handle it’ project,says Turner Duckworth’s co-founders Bruce Duckworth and DavidTurner. Before the redesign, Coca-Cola cans and bottles werecovered in drips and bubbles – designed to emulate the fizzyrefreshment inside. This is completely generic, every other softdrink can do the same. By taking this off you reveal the bit thatonly Coke can have – the lettering and the ribbon design,adds Turner.

As well as being an iconic brand, Turner explains Coca-Cola isparticularly hesitant about looking new. In the 1980s, the drinkitself was reformulated to be sweeter. The result was disastrous.Sales plummeted and the ‘new Coke’ was removed andreplaced with the old formulation. Cans and bottles are stilllabelled Coca-Cola Classic to reassure customers it is the originalproduct they are buying.

We had to make the redesign feel more like Coke than ever,it’s about amplifying the truth of the brand and thencleaning everything else off, adds Turner. The new design, unveiledin January, leaves the instantly recognisable logo uncluttered.
Coke has become cultural wallpaper. The trick is to jolt peopleback into noticing it. Turner Duckworth has also designed analuminium bottle for the brand, which features nothing but thelogo. It is being tested in the US, although Turner says the highproduction cost is likely to prevent it being used outside specialpromotions.

The refreshed identity has won a clutch of awards, including, inJune, the first ever grand prix at the Cannes Lions advertisingawards.