Branding and packaging

The basic function of packaging has always been to protect and contain a product. In a competitive market, branding and packaging are important and have become an integral part of the product. We instantly recognise products by the size, shape and colour of packaging.

The marketing department give a product a unique look and decide on the package design. This will incorporate the brand name [Brand name: Name of a product or service. ] and will differentiate the product from competitors.This is known as a unique selling point [Unique selling point: The unique thing about the product that makes consumers buy it. This can be branding, packaging or a feature of the product. ].

Package design

The shape, size and colour are important factors when packaging a product. The marketing department will want to make the packaging attractive and distinctive. Coke's packaging is dominated by red. This helps consumers to recognise a product instantly, when they are in a shop. The same applies to the shape of the packaging. Deodorants and shampoos, for example, come in all shapes and sizes. Remember that the actual product is inside the container, so the packaging and advertising are all that will attract us to try a product in the first place.

Brand name and logo

Large manufacturers understand the importance of their brand name. Kellogg's, Adidas and Microsoft are all household names which we associate with quality. As a result, we are likely to buy one of their products when we go shopping rather than an untried or unknown one even if it is say, a supermarket's own brand [Own brand: A company, say a supermarket, produces its own brand of a well known product eg Cola. ]. This is why it is important for their brand name or a striking logologo: a basic computer programming language used to program the direction of a turtle (small robot) to be prominent on packaging.

Product differentiation

The main aim of product differentiation [Product differentiation: Giving the product a unique selling point. ] is to give a product a distinctive image which will differentiate it from similar products. An expensive perfume or aftershave might be sold in an elegantly designed bottle. This sort of packaging suggests quality and would be targeted at a person with taste. Even if the product itself was not very good, the packaging alone could give the impression that it was.