Packaging to the Senses

Research has shown that consumers make purchase decisions quickly, often giving products just seconds of their time when browsing a store shelf. Giving consumers an extra nudge at the moment of truth can help put your product—rather than your competitor’s—in their shopping cart. And it often comes down to having superior packaging.

According to Simon Preece, Director of Effectiveness Stuff at Elmwood, a brand design consultancy, there are five essential elements to effective packaging. Writing in Forbes magazine, he noted that these elements set off consumers’ “biomotive triggers,” the subconscious decision making impulses that spring into action based on sensory cues.

The first key is standing out. Preece says this does not mean going over the top in packaging design, but by creating “cusps,” or shapes that draw a consumer’s attention and create a focus point.

“Cusps are sharp, pointy shapes that trigger feelings of fear, danger and caution,” Preece writes. “You couldn’t miss the ads for Maleficent before the Disney premiere, because everything from the typeface to Angelina Jolie’s clothing, headdress and eye makeup formed cusp shapes that demanded your attention.”

Next up is simplicity. Preece writes that a simple design can often garner better results because consumers react well to a sense of calm that stands out in a typically congested setting. He points to Buster, a drain cleaning product sold in the U.K., that saw success by going in the opposite direction of the packaging cues used by its competitors.

“An Elmwood client, Buster also recognized the emotional agitation of consumers who need to unclog a drain, and answered it with a calm, clean, simple package that contrasted with the visual noise at the shelf,” Preece notes.

Then there’s what Preece calls the “five-year-old” test. To pass, someone should be able describe a brand to a five-year-old and have that child go into a store and pick out the correct product. “The key to this stickiness is a distinctive brand mark,” Preece relates. “For example, you could tell a five-year-old, to get the salt pack with the girl in a yellow coat with an umbrella on it; she will come back with Morton Salt.”

The fourth element of strong product packaging is the ability to stir an emotion. Preece writes that people feel a variety of emotions when eye contact is established. Creating packaging where that shows through, can become a strong advantage when it comes to shelf space. For instance, next time you’re in the supermarket, look for packages with photos of people, and notice how many don’t make direct eye contact. as opposed to those that do. Which do you find more engaging?

Finally, developing and using icons advantageously is important when designing packaging. He cites Coca-Cola as an example with its specific red color, iconic bottle shape, and font of its logo. But there’s another layer. Preece notes that while the Coca-Cola logo itself is iconic, it’s not necessarily the flowing, wavy details of the letters that make it stand out. “Look closer, and you’ll see three cusps—two under the “C” and the “a” of Coca and one in the center of the “C” in Cola—that focus your eyes on the center of the words.”

By implementing such biomotive triggers, Preece contends, brand owners can influence consumers’ decision making in those fractions of time leading up to the moment of truth. When done correctly, he says adding some science to the creative platform of packaging can result in higher sales.