In order to help packaging designers better understand their target audience, brands regularly conduct research studies. The theory of these studies is great, the reality is sometimes less impressive. These studies are often fielded by entities that are not experts in the nuances of package design. The findings lack the direction necessary to drive a successful packaging execution to market. Here we’ll go over
three packaging research pitfalls.
1) Research offers obvious insights
Brands often pay a lot of money for studies that only deliver obvious consumer insights. To be truly successful research should reveal actionable insights that
unlock design potential to produce a compelling and cost-effective solution. To achieve this researchers should work arm-in-arm with designers and engineers.
2) Packaging research exclusively done online
Packaging, in essence, is a tangible affair. The size, feel and functionality can best be assessed through touch. Today, however, we see a lot of online packaging research where respondents are asked to react based solely on what they see. When designing packaging it’s crucial to enable consumer interaction with
3D prototypes.
3) Focus on shelf performance
Packaging studies often focus on how a particular packaging design performs on the shelf. But there is a lot more to packaging than how much presence it gets on the shelf; packaging has a lifecycle that precedes and goes beyond its time in stores. Researcher should conduct research across
various package moments within the consumer experience. For instance how the package performs during use.
In today’s fast-paced world, brands often rush their products through the development process taking little or no time to explore the possibilities of packaging. Indeed, brands that take their products seriously should find the
time and resources to conduct proper packaging research that leads to actionable insights which will boost both sales and customer satisfaction.
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