the first sale to the consumer. But for repeat sales, the product must be at least as good as that of competition.
Better still, is having a product that is superior to that of competition. A superior product means superior in the eyes of consumers. It does not necessarily mean superior in terms of objective values or according to laboratory standards. The following examples show that actual value or cost and consumers’ concepts of value are not always the same.
In a test with consumers of four kinds of candy, we found that the most costly candy did not have great consumer acceptance.
Four types of imported silk yard goods were tested with consumers. The finest silk had low preference, about as low as the poorest quality. The second best, or the second highest in cost, had the highest consumer preference, regardless of price.
Neckties ranging from $1.00 to $10.00 in value were offered as prizes. Each person was free to take any tie he wanted. The $5.00 ties had the greatest acceptance, the $7.50 ties were second highest in preference and the $2.50 ties were a close third. The $10.00 ties and the $1.00 ties were taken by very few.
Six makes of suits were offered as prizes to men who participated in a test. The values of the suits were $45, $75, $95, $125, $175 and $225. The greatest number of choices were for the $125 suit. The $175 suit was a close second and the $95 one was third. The $75 suit and the $225 one had few takers. The $45 suit had no takers.
These are a few of many examples illustrating that actual quality is not the same as consumer acceptance or the consumer’s idea of quality. This is true in all fields and with all products.
Because objective standards are not always the same as consumers’ standards, a new product should be tested with consumers before it is put on the market. It should be made up in various experimental forms and reliable research people should be employed to test its acceptance with consumers.
After you have ascertained that you have a product that meets consumers’ concepts of quality, you have to investigate the second side of the marketing structure, the package.
The Package
For the present-day market, a product has to be packaged or styled or both. A food, a drug or a cosmetic needs a container. A machine has to be endowed with pleasing form and attractive color.
Generally, people know little about the actual product. They habitually judge a book by its cover, a grocery product by its label, a drugstore product by its bottle and an automobile by the styling.
Packaging is the second most important side or wall of a marketing structure. The package is second in importance only to the product itself. It represents the product. The package is a visual image of the product. It is the symbol. The consumer does not judge the product, he judges the package. The package tells the shopper whether the product is of high or low quality, whether it is the kind of a product he wants or does not want.
A quarter of a century ago, the package was merely a physical container. It was a measuring and handling device. It was designed to protect the product. Under present marketing conditions, the package is a psychological factor. It is a marketing tool. It is a silent salesman.
The package is no longer merely physical in character. It is no longer simple. In fact, the common, typical, present-day package is very complex. It has a brand-identifying image. It has a brand name. It has form and pattern or design. It has color. It has components such as instructions or recipes, premium offers and product illustrations, usually in the final, usable form. Any package that has these elements, not of the best, is not an effective marketing tool.
The brand name can be the key to success or failure of a marketing program. A half a century ago, a car with the unpronounceable (at that time) name, Chevrolet, could become a success because any carriage that could move without a horse pulling it was automatically a success.
Nowadays, there are many cars of equal quality in performance, fighting for the consumer’s dollar. A brand name, therefore, is of great importance. A name is a symbol. It may symbolize high quality or low quality. It may be a symbol of reliability or lack of it. It may be favorably associated with the product or unfavorably. It may motivate people to buy the product or a competitive product of equal quality or performance.
Compare Thunderbird with Edsel. Both cars are made by Ford. The Thunderbird suggests action. It has appropriate symbolism. What does Edsel symbolize? It is the name of a gentleman. It is the name of the man who was the head of the company that manufactures the car. What kind of an image does it bring to your mind? What symbolism does it have? What association does it have with the character of the particular car? What does it mean? The name is no doubt one of the major reasons why the new 1958 Edsel was not a marketing success.
Research shows that the brand-identifying image is a vital part of every effective package. It is the focal point. It is a brand-identifying device. It has symbolic meaning. It has quality or lack of quality connotations.
A package without a brand-identifying image that is appealing to consumers and easily remembered is very rarely an effective marketing tool. Excellent examples of brands with effective brand-identifying images are the following: Standard Oil of Indiana, Good Luck margarine, Dove, Parliament cigarettes and Cheer detergent.
The logotype is also important. It, too, is vital in building a favorable brand image. Type faces or letters have symbolic meaning. Some lettering styles symbolize strength, some weakness; some say delicate, some denote roughness. Some are static and other styles suggest motion.
Easy readability is important. A brand name that is difficult to read is a deterrent in marketing. It has to symbolize the character of the product or the company. It has to be interesting and has to communicate literally and symbolically.
Still another factor in effective packaging is color. The color can also mean either marketing success or failure.
The right color combination is one that attracts attention and at the same time has appeal.
Because high preference colors have poor retention in the memory and those that have strong retention in the memory rate low in preference, colors frequently have to be used in pairs, usually in complementary pairs. One of the colors is to attract the eye and the other is to provide the appeal. In choosing a color, we must make sure that it does not have negative associations with the particular product. If possible, it is advisable to use a color that has favorable associations with the product.
In my books, Color for Profit and Color Guide for Marketing Media, I discuss the problems of color in detail.
The quality of the printing, particularly if appetite appeal is involved, is also of great importance in marketing. A poorly printed package is a poor marketing tool.
The present-day package is indeed complex. That is why the best designers have to be employed to develop packages that can be effective marketing tools.
However, the best designers cannot tell whether a package design will be an effective marketing tool. Packages are complex, and human beings still more complex. Designers are by nature, conditioning and training, the most complex individuals.
Certainly, designers are not typical consumers. Their tastes, preferences and ideas are not in keeping with those of the masses of consumers. They cannot be, because of the kind of personality, background and experience a designer must have in order to be able to create.
Therefore, research must be used to determine whether the design is an effective marketing tool. There is no one test that can provide this information because
