One way to stand out the grocery shelf: Food packaging updates and innovation!
Tailgate-Time!
To a lot of people, that means football…and beer. Big beer brands no doubt love this kind of thinking and make sure there are plenty of tailgate promotions and case friendly beer (& food packaging) in place to capitalize on bulk purchases.
The generally accepted rule of thumb, known as the Pareto Principle, is that roughly 80% of the beer sold to 20% of the consumers.
Knowing that, one would think beer brands shouldn’t have to work that hard to sell most of their product.
But work hard they do because they know a large percentage (40% and up) of the market is not 100% brand loyal. Add that to wanting to grow the brand, and it is pretty clear that beer manufacturers are incentivized to get—and keep—the market’s attention. And since beer brand loyalty is mostly based on taste, the bigger brands such as Miller Lite, Heineken, Bud Light, Coors Light and others don’t really want to touch that (New Coke anyone?). What they do work hard at is packaging.
Packaging innovation drives trial.
Who doesn’t want to see the mountains turn blue on a chilled can of Coors?
It is in this way that beer and food packaging innovation can look like a marketing campaign…an interactive marketing campaign that drives trial and, if done right, is built around the brand (cold blue mountains, anyone?) and helps distinguish the product in the marketplace. The core product does not change, but the messaging around it and the way the consumer interacts with it does in new (and sometimes fun) ways.
Even though the Coors Light commercial that starts at the 1:00 mark is meant to be a humourous look at the seriousness beer manufacturers have for packaging development, I think it hits the nail on the head. It does a great job of showing just how important packaging is to beer brands.
Let’s count the packaging technology featured in this ad:
Frost brew liner
Two-stage cold activation (the mountains turn blue when chilled)
New double vented wide mouth
The “can scientist” then proclaims, “I can’t think of any possible way to improve this can.” Maybe he should spend some quality time on the couch looking for competitive beer commercials.
Here is a short list of can “improvements” that other beer brands are rolling out:
The Punch Top can (Miller Lite). These were called “cannon balls” back in the day. Nothing like using the mass market stage to sell the ability to drink beer faster as innovation.
Bowtie shaped can (Budweiser). I don’t think Miller or Coors are worried about this one.
Grip can (Miller Lite). Now extra bumpy for a better grip on your beverage!
The Write-On Label (Bud Light). According to the ad it was the latest innovation in social networking.
The Vortex Bottle (Miller Lite). I wonder how this pitch sounded? Yes, spinning beer right down gullets is the next big thing! Ain’t technology neat?
“Ignite” Bottle (Heineken). I bet how the tech guys behind the Vortex bottle are rethinking what constitutes packaging “tech.”
Playable “Edison” Beer Bottle (Becks). The first playable beer. Can I make a request? How about 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall
Removable-Lid Can (Sly Fox). Now we are getting to small brands—Who needs a Punch Top can? Pretty smart for a small brand. Open the can and have a glass of beer!
CO2 Ball (Guinness). In my opinion, the best innovation in food packaging of value in this list. Seriously…it provides a CO2-like tap product from a can.
In the same way that beer and food packaging innovation acts like a marketing campaign to sell the same beer in a new way, a campaign works to wrap the same products and/or services in a new message. A message tied to the core brand to distinguish the product in the marketplace. If done correctly, this will invite trial of the brand’s product or service, re-engage old customers and if it is really on-the-mark, excite the core loyal customer base.
At NewPoint, we pay close attention to what is going on in the world of marketing and bring back the best to help grow NewPoint client’s businesses. Does this mean we’re going to recommend a vortex campaign for an NewPoint client? Probably not, unless of course, it fits the brand.
To identify and isolate areas for improvement in shopper marketing program strategies and tactics to further your CPG brand growth against set KPIs:
Maximize the economic performance of your CPG brand shopper marketing investment
Increase velocity at retail and consumer brand affinity
This shopper marketing audit will detail and contrast your CPG brand shopper marketing and messaging versus that of industry standard competitive practices and will include, but not limited to:
Target market reach, integrated retail marketing support, promotional continuity & awareness, offers and incentives, and tactical execution timing
Go-to-market launch strategies, timing, and tactical execution
Deliverables
Marketing Communication Audit Report
The deliverable will be a white paper with NewPoint Marketing findings and recommendations related to marketing activities in one retail partnership or DMA/market as defined by the client.
Brant brings 20+ years of experience to NewPoint as chief brand communicator and marketing-plan contributor.
Brant’s specialty is bringing an outside, investigative perspective that can feel alternately “rigorous” or “exasperating” depending on your point of view. Yet, he never fails to uncover a business’s unique selling proposition—one which can serve as a brand foundation for marketing that is compelling, creative and “sticky.”
Throughout his career, Brant’s applied his skill set to a broad range of business applications along the food supply-and-service chain. His services have provided vital clarity for all types of operations, from the more conventional food and food equipment manufacturers to the adjacent enterprises that partner with them, such as the Purdue University College of Agriculture.
Stephanie Bossung
Food industry marketing expertise—from retail to food-service and food-service equipment— is a natural outcome of having deep knowledge in every facet of a business’ operation. With 10 years in branding and business development, preceded by 15 years in mass media and promotions, Stephanie is an FMI Emerge mentor, holds an executive-level expertise in sales, marketing, media, and production management.
This exceptionally diverse skill set adds value for NewPoint clients by providing a full complement of perspectives on food-industry brand management endeavors.
Wired for a hawkish attention to detail while also maintaining a high-resolution view of the big picture, Stephanie is uniquely able to provide astute branding direction and simultaneously apply the business principles necessary to squeeze more bang out of every marketing buck.
Patrick Nycz
A member of the Forbes Agency Council and quoted in the New York Times, USA Today and Adweek, Patrick Nycz is the author of Moving Your Brand Up the Food Chain: Marketing Strategies to Grow Local and Regional Food Brands. He is an FMI Emerge mentor, an American Advertising Federation’s Silver Medal Award winner, and the Founding President of NewPoint Marketing, a full-service food industry marketing firm focused on food industry brands On a mission to grow.
Patrick’s vision for NewPoint emerged from his team’s success using this proven model for food industry clients and is fueled by NewPoint-funded food buyers and food manufacturers research around tracking consumer, industry, and ongoing food trends.
Kristy Blair
Since starting her 20-year career in commercial graphic design at one of the foremost catalog retailers in the world, Kristy’s visual branding skills have organically narrowed into the food-industry niche.
In that time, she’s directed graphic identities for snack food and restaurant startups, print materials for multiple agricultural seed companies, display graphics and merchandiser signage for major food-equipment manufacturers and everything in between.
Today, as one of the key brand architects for NewPoint clients, she continues to lead our visual research & development team, always working to find the innovative median between the best practices worth honoring and the accepted rules worth breaking.