If
you ask a brand manager to name the highest-impact marketing lever she
knows, the odds are that she won't choose package design. In fact, it
may not even make it into her consideration set. Why? It is because
packaging seems analog in an increasingly digital world and the impact
of package design is notoriously difficult to quantify.
However,
over the past few years, Nielsen has taken strides to measure and
demonstrate the power of package design. Our recent research found that
optimized package redesigns generate an average of 5.5% lift in
forecasted sales revenue when compared to current design.
In
2017, we created The Nielsen Design Impact Award in collaboration with
The Dieline as another avenue to demonstrate the considerable impact
that effective package design can have, and to celebrate brands that
are elevating the role of packaging in the marketing mix. Specifically,
the award recognizes seriously successful package redesigns in the
fast-moving consumer-
goods space—ones that have helped to drive significant increases in
brands’
bottom lines.
Based
on our analysis, we selected seven initiatives—five winners and two
honorable mentions—that leveraged package design to truly remarkable
effect. They represent a wide range of business situations: a category
giant in rapid decline, a timeless brand whose packaging had run out of
time, an iconic favorite that embraced the upside, a niche brand that
managed to win over the masses, and more.
While
our winners certainly aren’t the only entries we received that made a
meaningful impact on brands’ bottom lines, they are some of the more
extraordinary cases. Download the report and read on—we think you’ll see what we mean.