Packaging Design Consultants:
Strategies for Going Global
Understanding the implications of global package design.
As the effect of a flat world (see the book “The World is Flat”) has reduced the relative expanse of international markets, and as consumer attitudes toward design have continued to unify, it has become possible for marketers to construct single product packaging design solutions which can be implemented worldwide. In many markets, a product package can undergo little more than simple textual translation and be prepared for international distribution.
The benefits of so-called “global” product package design procedures seem pretty obvious. Global packaging for an internationally-marketed product line allows a company to reduce its expenditures in the design and manufacturing of packaging materials. As well, creating a stable and consistent packaging design throughout the global marketplace assists in reinforcing the brand.
The process of global product package design is not insulated from all issues related to different cultures, however. Consumer tastes, while in some ways universal, do vary internationally. If marketers choose to pursue a strategy of global package design, but fail to do so in a carefully considered and intelligent fashion, they risk making costly mistakes.
Continued research has not offered definitive empirical answers about whether global packaging is “worth it” for most companies. But, research has assisted in uncovering a number of important factors which should be kept in mind when evaluating the prospect of global packaging design.
• Communicate visually. Eye-tracking research proves that, across markets, consumers are visual shoppers. Consumers spend more than half of their time engaging with the visuals of a product. Incorporating “lifestyle” visuals, however, is typically a risky strategy. In the majority of cases, consumers take them literally, and generally identify themselves as dissimilar to pictured models. Efforts to include multicultural and multiethnic lifestyle visuals are dismissed as overused.
• Color choices are important. Research indicates that consumers associate bright colors with home and leisure products, and deep colors with business and professional products.
• A clear benefit statement. Good packaging design provides clear and concise messaging about the product’s key benefit.
• Product visuals (images of the product, or of people using the product) are crucial to good product package design. Product visuals assure the consumer that they “know what they are getting”.
• Simplicity wins. Research indicates that consumers tend to spend less time looking at packages which are overly “busy” or contain excessive amounts of text. There are exceptions to the simplicity rule, however. Consumers in Asian nations, for example, are attracted to more complicated and “flashy” product package design. Simple designs which signal accessibility and sophistication in other regions fail to capture the attention of many shoppers in Asia.
Local Customization Matters
Marketers that choose to pursue an overall global package design architecture should allow for some local and regional customization. At the very least, this will entail careful translational work.
There are reasons to allow for more fine-tuned customization as well. A global startegy does not assume that translation is all that needs to happen. As an example, a certain feature that differentiates a product in one marketplace, may not differentiate in another.
"The best global packaging systems are often those that present a consistent global look, but also allow for some flexibility by market." says Scott Young, President of Perception Reseach.
Intelligent local customization in packaging design allows a product to be marketed successfully to regions with disparate interests, without compromising the effort to promote a unifying brand.
Researching a Global Consumer
When the time comes to create and select a global design for a product package, marketers need to engage in local market research. Not all research is created equal, and it is important that companies conduct research strategically. (see our article on advanced market research methods, and why focus groups for package design don't work)
Research should focus primarily on isolating how a particular product design stands in relation to competing products and companies in a particular region.
Internal Friction
For many marketers, choosing a global packaging strategy will be met with internal friction. In large organizations with distinct international branches, some regional marketing leaders resist the suggestion that they rely on a product package design constructed in the company’s “home” nation (where consumer interests, for example, are different).
Some regional marketers are also wary of global packaging because they fear that a global strategy will lead to a process of merely amalgamating disparate international designs. This can lead to a design choice which is merely satisfactory (rather than excellent) in all markets.
*Wharton School Research
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©Copyright 2010 Big City Graphics, Inc.
About the Author: Tim Robertson RGD represents several of Canada's most distinguished design firms. With over 20 years experience in branding and packaging design, he has been featured in Direct Magazine, the Design Management Review, and the Summit Awards.
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