Enhance Your Brand Image Through Package Design

Trying to establish a strong brand image in a crowded space filled with more established competitors can definitely be a challenge. But before you spend all your money on marketing to bridge the gap, you may want to consider using packaging as well. 

With the right approach, you can use packaging design to enhance your brand image. 

What Is Brand Image?

Your brand image represents the customer’s perception of your brand based on what they know about it and their previous interactions with it. 

Brand image can be difficult to measure but is important to understand as it determines what your target audience thinks of your brand and what traits they associate with it. 

Why Does Brand Image Matter?

Brand image matters as it helps you develop relationships with your potential customers instead of just selling them a product. For starters, a consistent brand image helps create brand recognition. 

People are unlikely to buy from brands that they know nothing about. But if they are familiar with your brand’s personality before and heard good things about it, they’re more likely to remember it and feel confident making a purchase. 

Your brand image also helps you establish your brand as a major player within your industry. After all, your competitors likely have established brand images wherein customers can instantly identify their logos and products. In order to compete, you need to achieve the same level of recognition thanks to your brand image. 

Finally, your brand image helps you build brand loyalty and credibility. Through your brand image, you’re promising certain things to your customers. When you’re able to consistently deliver on these promises, you’re able to build brand credibility. 

Over time, customers are going to recognize your credibility and trust your brand enough to make repeat purchases and become loyal customers. 

How to Build A Positive Brand Image?

Clearly, brand image is essential for any growing brand looking for new customers (see Coca-Cola). But how can you be intentional when building your brand image? 

Here are five different factors to consider when building your brand image:

1. Your Audience

First, you need to consider your audience. If you don’t yet know who your audience is, this is the perfect time to figure it out. 

Think about who is already buying your products. Then think about who else could benefit from your products. What do they care about? What are they looking for? How can you cater to them and drive customer loyalty?

2. Your Business Goals

Second, you need to consider your business goals when building your brand image. Are you looking to become a major player in your industry through a lot of time and effort? Or are you looking to simply disrupt the market and remain a minor player? 

Your goals will determine how you communicate with your audience about your brand. 

3. Your Brand Persona

Third, you need to consider your overall brand persona when building your brand image. And while brand image and brand persona may seem like the same thing, brand persona refers to the attitudes, emotions, and characteristics associated with your brand. 

This is something that you have more control over compared to brand image that’s almost entirely determined by your audience. 

4. Your Brand Messaging

Fourth, you need to consider your brand messaging when building your brand image. Your brand messaging needs to align with your brand persona and brand image. 

For instance, if you’re struggling to achieve a more trustworthy brand image, you may need to promote messaging that focuses on your track record and credibility. Try using social media as an outlet to change or enhance perspectives.

On the other hand, if you’re struggling to establish a noteworthy brand image, you may need to promote messaging that compares you with your competitors to show that you’re just as good if not better. 

5. Your Brand Packaging

Finally, you need to consider your brand messaging when creating brand awareness. This may be a surprising factor, but it makes sense when you think about it. 

This is because brand packaging can be used to communicate things about your brand to your audience. 

What’s the Relationship Between Package Design and Brand Image?

Package design can be used to establish your brand image. This is because package design can effectively communicate information about your brand to your audience in a more discrete way compared to traditional marketing measures. 

So instead of being annoying and invasive with paid advertising campaigns, you can tell your audience everything they need to know about your brand with packaging. 

For instance, you can communicate information about the quality of your product with the quality of your packaging. High-quality packaging signifies a high-quality product whereas low-quality packaging signifies a low-quality product. 

You can also communicate information about your brand values with your packaging. For example, if you want to establish an image of a brand that cares about the environment, you can use environmentally friendly packaging to show that. 

Finally, you can communicate information about the product itself through packaging. You can pre-empt consumer questions about your products and answer them directly on the packaging. 

This can help you establish an image of a brand that’s helpful and cares about its customers. 

How to Enhance Your Brand Image Through Package Design

So how can you enhance your brand image through your package design? Pay attention to each of these details:

Packaging Type

You can enhance your brand image with the type of packaging you use. Using high-quality corrugated cardboard material can help you establish a high-quality and trustworthy brand image. Specifically, rigid boxes are used by reputable brands to sell expensive products. 

Or if you want to compete in the subscription space, using customized mailer boxes can help you establish a presence in this area. As mentioned earlier, you can use environmentally friendly and recyclable packaging materials to establish an environmentally responsible brand image that consumers are likely to respond to. 

Packaging Extras

You can enhance your brand image with the packaging extras you use. These days, consumers are looking for more engagement with their “unboxing experience” that can be enhanced with the use of packaging extras. 

For instance, you can use customized inserts, fillers, tissue paper, etc. to show customers that you care about their overall experience and establish a brand image of a company that goes above and beyond for its customers. 

Packaging Design

You can enhance your brand image with your actual packaging design — including colors, fonts, and graphics. If you want to be more than a nameless and faceless brand, then you need to invest in packaging that’s customized to match your brand aesthetic by including your brand colors, fonts, and logos. 

The best way to do this is to work with a custom packaging provider. With companies like Box Genie, you can choose to design your custom packaging on your own from scratch by uploading your designs. 

Alternatively, you can choose to start with one of our pre-made templates to make the design process quick and easy. 

Final Thoughts on Brand Image and Package Design

With the right approach and assistance from packaging providers like Box Genie, you can effectively use packaging design to establish and enhance your brand image and your new products. 

If you run into any problems during you mission or have any questions, reach out to our packaging experts where our customer service will provide you personalized guidance. 

Sources:

1. Brand Image Definition | Entrepreneur
2. Why Brand Image Matters More Than You Think | Forbes
3. Maximizing Brand Image Through Package Design | Flexible Packaging