Isn't It Iconic... don'cha think....

(This post is based off the article Isn't It Iconic by Stacey King Gordon and The Power of The Box from The Cool Hunter)

Packaging is extremely important in the marketing of a product. Stacey King Gorden wrote about a few brands whose packaging made them a huge success (Coke, Heinz, etc.). Although a consumer may not even realize, the packaging is the immediate attention-grabber for a product. A product that influenced my purchase solely based on packaging appearance is 5 gum. I love the black box. I love the shiny wrappers- especially the black ones. They just look rebellious and sleek. My family always buys 5 gum- even though it's not even my favorite. In the hair products aisle at the store, I can't help but notice the Got2B and BedHead brands because there products are so bright and look cool. (Then I remember that I don't need to spike or gel my hair...) Many times alcohol bottles are in special shapes and designs to attract the customer's eye. Many times I've noticed that soap is more appealing in bright colors and they catch your attention when they have a cool bottle. On the opposite side, Jiffy mix boxes are so plain and old-fashioned looking, but not in a good way. I know that they are less expensive... but they look too boring. (I went to school in Chelsea where the Jiffy factory is located.)

They mentioned in the Iconic article about how Cambell's has an iconic package. I think Garnier Fructis has iconic packaging because all of their products are lime green! The McDonald's "M" is very iconic as is their fry boxes and mascot, Ronald McDonald. When you see the M or a red box of fries, you think McDonald's. I played this game on the internet (Sporcle) in which you were given only one letter from a store or restaurant's name and you were to guess which store/restaurant it was. This is based solely on their brand's packaging. I recognized Best Buy's name and Taco Bell's just by seeing one letter.

The best example of usability issues in packaging is the Heinz ketchup bottle. It's famous for being the most annoying glass bottle to try and get ketchup out of! The glass bottle has to be turned over and hit many times before a too-big glob of ketchup falls out. The usability was terrible- but it left the product as an icon. On that note, the usability of a products packaging has to work and the more frustrating it is, the less likely it will be that that customer is going to come back. For instance, how absolutely terrible is it to get pretty much any cheap electronic device out of the welded-shut plastic packaging? Ridiculously hard. Packaging that takes forever doesn't build suspense.... it's turns-off customers.