Avoid product package design flops - screen out the worst designs
Are you a package designer, or do you have a product package design that requires a refresh, or are you commissioning a new package design? If yes, then you will find at some point that you need to decide between alternative package designs. Avoid the mistake most managers make, don’t choose it based on your own opinion or even the opinions of colleagues and family; because in all likelihood you’ll get the wrong feedback. Not only are they unlikely to be representative of the broader market, they also have a relationship with you which influences feedback, and this might be entirely unconscious. It is far better to get feedback from a larger group of consumers who have no connection to you or your business.
Getting a package design wrong can be costly, both in terms of design costs and in terms of brand positioning and sales.
Acentric provides an easy, low cost solution in the form of the Package Screener Survey module. Up to seven alternatives (including your existing item for comparison) can be included in the survey.
The survey is templated and ready to go. Your survey is sent to survey participants who then rate your package alternatives. Survey participants are recruited from a survey panel within the country you specify. They are shown in random order to eliminate order bias.
The report you’ll receive ranks the packages, from best to worst, on purchase intent. Analysis and report production is mostly automated to speed-up turnaround.
In addition, survey participants provide three key diagnostic ratings: uniqueness, liking and brand fit.
Uniqueness is important as it relates to standout on shelf, which is especially important if the brand does not advertise and realize solely on shelf presence to generate awareness.
Liking is important as consumers are more likely to buy a product in appealing packaging.
Brand fit is important as it influences recognition on shelf. The disastrous redesign of Tropicana’s packaging is a notorious example of what can go wrong if brand fit is ignored. The design was so different consumers didn’t recognise the product on shelf and sales plummeted 20%.
The diagnostic scores for each new alternative are compared to the existing alternative on each diagnostic.
Testing your own package designs is easy. Simply click on modules, find the logo screener survey module, click on details to read more, then click on create now to provide a few details, select the country you want your survey participants to reside in and attach your alternative menu items as image files (ensuring the first one is the existing or benchmark design).