- Luxury
- Packaging
- PR
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With retail shops once again opening their doors, and after months of essential-only spending, the recent and widely publicised snaking queues outside several mainstream shops proved that many consumers were eager to indulge in a spot of long anticipated retail therapy.
The ability to buy non-essential, luxury items once again is good news, both for the eager shopper and for the economy. However, when you’re looking to purchase a luxury item, have you ever stopped to wonder what it is that attracts you to a particular product or brand?
Packaging plays a vital role in establishing brand image and identity across all markets, but it is especially vital in the premium sector. The design and creation of stunning, luxury packaging is crucial in attracting new consumers and repeat purchasers, with eye-catching on-shelf appeal really helping to set a brand apart from its rivals in highly competitive markets.
As a public relations agency specialising in the B2B sphere, we have a reputation for expertise in the packaging sector. And, unless you have worked in this area before, you may well be forgiven for taking product packaging wholly for granted.
Why is Packaging Important?
Packaging exists to serve a number of purposes though product protection is primary. After all, the packaging needs to protect the item you’re buying to ensure it’s still in one piece when you open it!
In the food industry, packaging plays a crucial role in keeping food fresh and safe for consumption, complying with stringent hygiene and safety standards, and designed to maximise shelf life. Tamper-proof packaging additionally offers peace of mind to the buyer.
In the retail market, as businesses seek to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, competition will no doubt be tougher than ever, and it is here that packaging plays a key role in presentation and representing the brand.
In particular, luxury packaging often provides consumers with their first point of contact with a product, helping to establish brand image and loyalty. A pack’s appearance, functionality and structure are vital elements in creating that all-important premium image and, in competitive markets, it also has to deliver stand-out shelf appeal. This is not done on looks alone!
Appealing to the Senses
Designing a visually attractive luxury pack that also provides a tactile experience and appeals to more than one of the senses, increases the likelihood of purchase.
Clever use of special materials that combine contrasting textures and smooth finishes, such as soft touch laminate, deliberately invites you to touch, feel and engage with the packaging.
Having constantly told our young children not to pick things up or touch anything in a shop, we often find ourselves compelled to do the exact opposite when faced with anything silky, shiny or textured.
The Power of Packaging
Once the packaging is in your hand, the quality feel of the materials used, combined with a sturdy pack design to provide the required protection, serves to further enhance the notion of a premium product that oozes luxury, and with this engagement and interaction, the temptation to purchase is high.
Advanced decoration techniques, artwork, print finishes and special effects such as spot UV varnish, hot foil stamping, embossing, and lamination, all vital factors in a pack’s design, can now be fully inspected and appreciated, helping to seduce the senses even further and increase the temptation.
So, the next time you find yourself drawn to a luxury item, ask yourself – are you being drawn to the product or are you being enticed by its packaging?
With the amount of expertise, knowledge and skill involved in creating luxury packaging, the beauty surely lies firmly in the eye of the packaging…
Photo credit courtesy of our client, Pollard Boxes who design, manufacture and supply luxury packaging solutions for the beauty, drinks, gift, entertainment, and corporate markets.