The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

Design Intelligence …

I’ve written tons of posts about how important I regard packaging design interms of enhancing and building a brand ‘persona’ in the eyes of the consumer.

Loads of companies do it really well and far too many do it fucking terribly … and yet in a World where people are becoming increasingly cynical as regards the ‘promises’ they are told via marketing communication, packaging can act as a very powerful and tangible ‘truth point’ which can help build some real trust with customers.

Apple are one of the best at this.

They appreciate the importance of ‘ceremony of purchase’ … so even when you are buying the cheapest of cheap iPOD’s … you still get a packaging component that makes it feel special, valuable, important. 

It’s these little touches that helps people ‘feel’ they’ve made the right choice … it’s something high-end fashion brands do exceptionally well and yet the practice can [and should] be incorporated into brands / products that are much more accessible to the general public.

[It’s off the point, but I do want to bring your attention to this post I wrote about ‘TRANSFORMER Packaging’]

Anyway just recently I came across a bottled water that I thought showed some real design ingenuity.

Can you see what I was excited about?

OK, you’re probably not as sad as me … however what I liked was that they’d designed the top of the bottle to look like condensation was running down the sides – giving the impression it was cold and inviting when in reality it was warmer than a urine sample given in a Doctors office on a summers day with the air conditioning turned off.

Hmmmmn, that’s probably not the best analogy is it.

Anyway, while some people will bang on about the fact that this could lead to a disappointing consumer experience – the fact is, you can tell a designer not only understood the human psyche, but found a way to incorporate it into their overall solution which is far better than about 80% of ad campaigns currently running around the World.

I honestly believe that at present, the best consumer planning is coming more from packaging and R&D companies than ad agencies.

This is sad for a number of reasons … but the main one is that yet again it demonstrates how adland is losing touch with society which inturn, undermines our ability to demonstrate our worth to industry.

I cannot tell you how much it pisses me off when I meet some guy with the job title ‘ad planner’ who then can only talk interms of observation without any ability to explain WHY people are acting a particular way or WHAT a brand could do to exploit/maximise the opportunity.

Planning is about intelligence, imagination, bravery, collaboration, ingenuity, creativity … if it was just about fucking observation, adland could save itself a truckload of money and just hire people with Handicams to walk around the streets all day.

If you are one of those ‘advertising planners’ who fails to realise the job requires real human interaction, then …

[1] please go and see what Charles is doing

[2] if you’re not inspired by it, resign immediately … or …

[3] go and throw yourself under the next speeding car

Ahem.

OK, so I know that in the case of the bottle above, that little design touch won’t make it into a highly desirable or successful brand [especially as it is an International Hotel’s ‘own label’] however interms of demonstrating the influence design can have in people’s decision making habits, it’s pretty good.

I believe planning thrives when there is breadth and depth of opinion … that means getting out from your desk and going into the big, bad World … because at the end of the day, planning should be as much an outdoor pursuit as an indoor one. 

Go and meet with packaging designers [and no, ‘advertising art directors’ don’t count!] … go and find out how they think … because one day, the knowledge you pick up could be the difference between being employed or just another candidate.

[I’m lucky, my wife does this sort of this so I am continually subjected to her banging on about how important design is, ha!]

Finally, for those people who are tempted to write in and say that having a bottle that appears ‘chilled’ is potentially minimising it’s appeal in Asia [because depending on things like culture, environment and weather, people actively choose their water to be drunk hot, warm or cold] I say to them …

 [1] the bottle is an International Hotel’s own label so it’s a high proportion of the people consuming will come from countries where ‘cold’ is the de facto for consumption.

… and …

[2] you’re an anal [and clever] little sod!

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