Interest and focus on packaging design has increased in recent years
and so has the number of packaging research studies. Here are five tips
to give your packaging research the direction required to drive a
successful execution to market.
1. Work arm-in-arm with designers and engineers
Too often packaging research is fielded by research generalists and
not packaging research specialists. A research generalist may lack the
understanding of the subject matter to effectively probe, uncover and
obtain actionable insights for packaging. Obvious insights that are
often elementary and already known in the industry are more likely to be
delivered. It takes interdisciplinary experts in industrial design,
graphic design and package engineering working arm-in-arm with package
research experts from project inception through final design to ensure
the right questions are asked of consumers. Research is planned and
orchestrated knowing the realistic packaging possibilities, with tools
and techniques to best inform package design. When research is done in
this way, more meaningful insights are brought to the table that unlock
package design potential and result in a compelling and cost-effective
package solution.
2. Put the brand in hand
When grappling with a structural package initiative, one must avoid
the enticing convenience of conducting research using only visuals for
the screening of design ideas. It is important to let consumers interact
with physical packaging prototypes so that viable options aren’t
prematurely eliminated based on misperception or strict visual
impression. Packaging is a tangible object and its size, feel and
functionality can be just as important as its visual communication. You
must put the brand in hand by leveraging package design knowledge,
ergonomic expertise and prototyping to create a physical package,
ensuring nothing is lost in translation.
3. Understand purchase through disposal
Packaging is often evaluated solely from an on-the-shelf perspective.
However, packaging has a life cycle that goes beyond the shelf. There
are various moments of packaging truth within the consumer experience.
With this in mind, consider a variety of tools for use across the
various consumer touchpoints, each designed to best obtain consumer
insights. Digital ethnographies enable the team to be a fly on the wall
in order to observe and probe multiple occasions, package uses and
real-life scenarios. In-person contextual interviews can be leveraged
with thought-starter packaging stimuli to test packaging possibilities
in the real environment it would be used. If tested in a lab, packaging
is best understood when consumers are able to experience designs in
true-to-life shopping and package use environments, enabling them to
fully consider and thoughtfully respond to the packaging possibilities.
There isn’t one tool that tells all, so it is important to implement a
multifaceted approach to the research process to uncover the full story.
4. Leverage rapid prototyping
Consumer research of package designs does not typically accommodate
for on-the-spot modification of a design to confirm the consumers’
packaging needs are being met. Because consumers are reactive and not
always creative, they cannot envision and confirm packaging improvements
that emerge until they see them brought to life. By harnessing the
power of real-time iterative prototyping, you can revolutionize the
traditional focus group by rapidly generating new and improved package
designs. This enables on-the-spot decision-making for real-time
refinement so the team gets it right within the same consumer
touchpoint, avoiding the dreaded redundant rounds of research.
5. Bridge the gap between qualitative direction and quantitative validation
In today’s fast-paced world it’s common for overly ambitious research
initiatives to embark on a journey with too few or inappropriate
consumer check-ins. Oftentimes budget and time constraints can cause
packaging researchers to condense the research program to an upfront
quantitative screen and/or qualitative research to select one design
followed by an expensive shelf-and-use validation test. This can result
in misleading design selection. Without posing a substantial threat to
the reality of budget and timing, consider quant-qual research.
Quant-qual effectively bridges the gap between qualitative research –
which should be leveraged for iteration, not selection – and a
shelf-and-use test. This can be costly, so the selected designs should
have proper optimization before commencement. Using this tool enables
consumers to quantitatively indicate preferences to inform selection and
then qualitatively express and more deeply explain the reasons behind
their ratings and rankings, informing optimization. This level of due
diligence ensures you’ll drive a successful package to market.
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