More than just a box and some bubble wrap, packaging is part of the product. Packaging can be a multi-purpose tool for your brand; it provides protection, tells your brand story, communicates with customers. With the right combination of these elements, delivering an unforgettable unboxing experience is well within reach.
Last month at the White Label Expo in Las Vegas, Zenpack Creative Director Leo Chao presented the six most important elements in the branding process. Chao understands how easy it is to skip branding, especially when you’re trying to get a product to market quickly. It’s a common problem. In his talk, Chao uses past Zenpack projects to show how putting in the branding work from the start can yield long-term success.
Check out Chao’s full presentation at the White Label Expo.
Before you begin a packaging project, run down this list to ensure your brand is ready to create a premium unboxing experience.
Brand Voice
Your brand should have a distinctive voice. When customers read your message or hear your words, they expect a personality. Every image, word, material, and object from a brand is built on its mission and values. What kind of brand do you want to be, and who do you want to appeal to? One way to express your brand’s mission and values is working with our team to design eco-friendly branded packaging solutions.
Image Style
Your brand voice communicates through the image style. Defining the mood, contrast, composition, and colors ensures that customers will recognize your brand across mediums. Imagery constantly bombards us; brands stand out when they stick to a dynamic yet consistent image style.
Branding Guide
You’d be surprised by how many major companies do business without a robust branding guide. Often overlooked, branding guides do exactly what the name suggests: guide employees, partners, and clients on the dos and don’ts of the brand. Without a guide, businesses waste time and the brand suffers.
Protection
All that branding work goes to waste when your product shows up damaged. But layers of bubble wrap devalue your product, and do nothing for the unboxing experience. The key is finding the balance between protection and presentation. When you invest in design and sustainable packaging materials, your brand colors, logos, and messaging are seamlessly integrated with perfectly engineered package.
Material
Packaging materials speak on an unconscious level. Customers remember the feeling of a soft-touch paper, UV-printed logo, and organic cotton textile. Every choice matters, and when the branding is consistent across materials, your customers will take notice.
Product + Audience
When you’re trying to create a premium unboxing experience, let your product and audience be your guides. Take a deep dive into your product to find out how the packaging can elevate the customer experience. It could be something simple like a QR code for online instructions or an engineered feature that extends the life of the package.
Download our free infographic on Better Branding for the Unboxing Experience. It’s a handy checklist every brand can use to review their project before getting started.
If you want to know more about Zenpack’s services
Let our packaging consultants help you turn your idea into reality.
