Functions of Packaging in Marketing a Product

Packaging should do more than simply transport a product—it should also promote it. To do this, you’re going to need more than just a brown box. You’re going to need thoughtfully-designed packaging materials that cater to your brand image and product needs. 

How Does Packaging Help Market a Product?

If you think of packaging as just a plain cardboard box—think again. These days, packaging should be doing a lot more for your products and your brand. This is because packaging can actually be designed to market your product to everyone from the mailman to passersby and everyone in between. 

Packaging can help you both establish and communicate your brand image with consumers. The overall goal of your packaging should be standing out on crowded shelves. Another goal of your packaging should be to communicate with consumers what your brand is all about. 

Take your type of packaging, for example. You can communicate with consumers that you’re an environmentally conscious brand if you’re using recycled and recyclable packaging. This is an area that more and more consumers care about these days and is definitely something to consider if you want to appeal to this group of people. 

You can also say a lot with the color of your packaging. Interestingly enough, certain colors are associated with certain products and flavors. For instance, orange packaging is often associated with orange flavors; red packaging is associated with cherry flavors, purple with grape, and so on. 

But even if you’re not selling flavored food or beverage products, you can still communicate with consumers through color. This is because different colors tend to evoke different emotions in people—known as the psychology of color. Here’s what different colors represent and communicate: 

• Red is associated with movement, excitement, and passion
• Blue is associated with peace, water, and reliability
• Green is associated with health, tranquility, nature, and wealth
• Purple is associated with royalty, wisdom, and respect
• Orange is associated with cheerfulness and confidence
• Yellow is associated with optimism, clarity, and warmth
• Black is associated with authority, power, stability, and strength
• White is associated with purity, cleanliness, and safety
• Gray is associated with practicality, neutrality, and balance

How To Design Packaging for Marketing Purposes

Now that you know how packaging can be used for marketing, you need to make it happen for your products and brand. Thankfully, Box Genie is here to help you come up with the perfect packaging design for your products that is also able to market your brand at the same time. 

The best packaging option for marketing purposes comes in the form of corrugated cardboard boxes. This is because corrugated cardboard is lightweight and easy to store while still being durable and protective. But before you head out to the nearest big-box store and purchase a bunch of plain boxes, you need to take a customized approach to your packaging. 

Your packaging should include your brand colors, font, and logo. But before you start designing, you first need to choose your packaging type. Box Genie offers four different types of packaging: a custom mailer box, a one-piece folder box, a shipping box, and a triangle document mailer. You can check them out in our sample kit.

Here’s what you need to know about each one so that you can make an informed decision:

• Custom mailer box: Great for e-commerce packaging and subscription boxes, custom mailers are designed to be incredibly sturdy thanks to dust flaps that keep contents safe during the shipping process
• One-piece folder box: Great for shipping flat items like books or artwork that need some extra protection during the shipping process 
• Shipping box: Great for shipping just about anything thanks to multiple box dimensions, printing capabilities, and paper options to choose from 
• Triangle document mailer: Great for shipping papers, blueprints, and artwork without having to worry about folds, wrinkles, and other damage along the way
  
  

With Box Genie, you can either send in your own custom packaging design or use our online design tool. Our 3D design tool allows you to easily add colors, images, and text to your package design. 

Speaking of our experts, they are always available to answer any and all questions you may have about designing the perfect promotional packaging for your brand and specific products. 

4 Other Functions of Packaging

In addition to marketing, packaging also has other functions, including containment, protection, identification, and information about its contents. 

1. Containment

Packaging provides containment for its contents by keeping everything in one place during transit. Packaging is also trackable so that both shippers and receivers can stay informed along the way. The right type of packaging that offers containment will vary depending on the product. 

For instance, very heavy products would be hard to contain within lightweight packaging materials like paperboard or chipboard. Instead, a thick corrugated cardboard material would be ideal for containing these products to ensure that they reach their final destination. 

2. Protection

Packaging also provides protection for its contents to prevent damage throughout a rough shipping process. Parcels are often thrown around and go through multiple different sets of hands along the way. As a result, packaging needs to be durable and strong. 

Packaging protects contents from natural deterioration and prevents exposure to the elements. Water can quickly and easily damage many products and packaging types. For this reason, you may want to consider packaging materials that are weatherproof. 

Packaging also protects contents from physical damage that includes shock damage caused by vibration, snagging, friction, and impact. This is especially important if you’re dealing with fragile and delicate products. In this case, you may want to consider protective packaging that’s able to insulate the product and prevent breakage. 

3. Identification

Packaging provides identification for brands and different products. Oftentimes, you can identify what type of product you’re looking at based on the packaging alone. For example, if you see a carton, you can reasonably expect the product to be some type of liquid.

You can also identify the brand based on the packaging. Brands usually place the same colors, fonts, and logos throughout the packaging to make it universally identifiable. These features help products stand out on crowded shelves.

4. Information

Packaging provides information to consumers about the product. Consumers are always looking to learn more about products before purchasing them to make sure that they’re making a good investment. If they aren’t able to obtain the information they need, they are unlikely to complete the purchase. 

Thankfully, packaging can provide a lot of the information that consumers are looking for. For instance, packaging often includes product features, ingredients, manufacturer information, expiration dates, warning messages, and more depending on the product and industry. 

Wrapping Up Functions of Packaging

Make your packaging do more. Make it communicate with customers and promote your products by incorporating customized design elements that include your brand colors, fonts, logos, and more. To get started with promotional packaging, reach out to the experts at Box Genie for tailored advice and guidance. 

Sources:

1. Your Customers Prefer Sustainable Products | Business News Daily
2. The Psychology of Colors in Marketing (Infographic) | Digital Synopsis
3. What Is Packaging? - Meaning, Functions, Cost, Factors, Consumer Problems | Economics Discussion