DESIGN AND MARKETING 6 Packaging South Asia 6 / June 2013 z Designing ‘fun packs’ for modern kids can be seriously good business Taking on the Brat Packs* Stone Age Moms certainly didn’t have them. Victorian era Moms probably didn’t suffer too many of them either. Picture the pampered kids pulling their Moms around stores in Malls and screaming for their favourite products — and you have the modern day Brat. Of course it is not fair or accurate, to label all privileged, modern day kids between 4-14 years as brats, but it cannot be denied that the demographic is powerful enough for brands to aim their packaging directly at it. Deepak Manchanda “Y es, the ‘pester power’ of modern day kids has influ- enced buying decisions in a dramatic way,” observes Shweta Mohare, Creative Group Head, DY Works — the design group that works on Kellogs Chocos and Cadburys packs among others. “Especially, with the growing modern trade shopping expe- rience, the kids can touch and feel the product and just toss it in the cart. More- over, today’s kids have easier access to things. They are aware of what’s hap- pening around them and across the world. They are constantly in search of new things. It is thus important to con- stantly churn out innovative and engag- ing ideas that will keep this generation hooked on at all times,” she continues. (www.dyworks.com) Around the world, brands have real- ized that investment in ‘child-centric’ pack design pays off. Children have emerged as a significant consumer group that cannot be overlooked. It is acknowledged that while parents may be doing the spending, it is their off- spring who dictate where the money goes. In Western Europe children be- tween the age of 5 and 14 are said to represent between 9 to 12% of the popu- lation and they have specific demands Note:*Brat Pack: With apologies to the original group of young Hollywood actors to whom this term is usually ascribed. Top corner: Eyeballs to grab eyeballs Below: Luring kids towards a brand remains an aesthetic challenge for companies
Shweta Mohare;Creative Group Head, DY Works, shares her insights on how designing ‘fun packs’ for modern kids can be seriously good business
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1. DESIGN AND MARKETING 6 Packaging South Asia 6 / June 2013
zDesigning fun packs for modern kids can be seriously good business
Taking on the Brat Packs* Stone Age Moms certainly didnt have them.
Victorian era Moms probably didnt suffer too many of them either.
Picture the pampered kids pulling their Moms around stores in Malls
and screaming for their favourite products and you have the modern
day Brat. Of course it is not fair or accurate, to label all
privileged, modern day kids between 4-14 years as brats, but it
cannot be denied that the demographic is powerful enough for brands
to aim their packaging directly at it. Deepak Manchanda Yes, the
pester power of modern day kids has influ- enced buying decisions
in a dramatic way, observes Shweta Mohare, Creative Group Head, DY
Works the design group that works on Kellogs Chocos and Cadburys
packs among others. Especially, with the growing modern trade
shopping expe- rience, the kids can touch and feel the product and
just toss it in the cart. More- over, todays kids have easier
access to things. They are aware of whats hap- pening around them
and across the world. They are constantly in search of new things.
It is thus important to con- stantly churn out innovative and
engag- ing ideas that will keep this generation hooked on at all
times, she continues. (www.dyworks.com) Around the world, brands
have real- ized that investment in child-centric pack design pays
off. Children have emerged as a significant consumer group that
cannot be overlooked. It is acknowledged that while parents may be
doing the spending, it is their off- spring who dictate where the
money goes. In Western Europe children be- tween the age of 5 and
14 are said to representbetween9to12%ofthepopu- lation and they
have specific demands Note:*Brat Pack: With apologies to the
original group of young Hollywood actors to whom this term is
usually ascribed. Top corner: Eyeballs to grab eyeballs Below:
Luring kids towards a brand remains an aesthetic challenge for
companies
2. DESIGN AND MARKETING 8 Packaging South Asia 6 / June 2013
when it comes to food and drink, requiring a unique approach to
marketing and product development. (www.packagingtoday.co.uk) Sudip
Mondal, Head of Packaging Development at Perfetti Van Miele India,
agrees. Branding for children is big business, he says. Children
offer a captive audienceandwieldenormouspurchasingpower
directlyandindirectly.Theyare
seenasafutureaswellascurrentmarket.Brandloyaltydevelopedatayoungstage
helps in the quest for continued sales, later. However, in India as
yet Shweta Mohare observes, There are very few children- oriented
packs in the Indian market today.Mostly, all packs follow the
convention- al structure, barring a few like the Junior Horlicks or
Cadbury Wowiess. We hardly see any innovation in terms of the
structures, printing techniques or substrates, as most emphasis is
paid on graphics only. Whilst, international markets display im-
mense emphasis on child-centric packs starting from Lego to Crayola
which have built in the sensorial experience of using crayons. The
recent launch of Perfettis Alpenliebe Mangofillz confectionery
pouch shaped like a funny mango shaped face perhaps is just the
kind of holistic ap- proach to which Shweta Mohare is referring. As
Sudip Mondal says, the unique Mangofillz pouch was conceptualized
to be shelf and self appealing to kids. It was designed to catch
the attention of kids with shiny big bright holographic eyes and
unusual shape while being displayed on the shelf promote
interactive explo- ration and imagination, with its leaves which
also work as an easy-open notch while being held in hand. Shweta
Mohare appears to agree with the above approach. While creating a
pack
forchildren,shesaysthevisualpowerandexperienceplaysakeyroleinwooingthe
audience. An element of unexpectedness or a sense of surprise makes
it that much
easiertoconnectwithkids.Playfulbeingtheoperatingword,thecoloursandgraphics
needtobebrightsoastocatchtheeyeimmediatelyandmoreso,thechildsattention.
While all this may seem easy and fun at a marketing level, the
technology chal- lenges in such a process can be daunting. Steve
Osborne of Osborne Pike aptly terms it the serious business of
designing for fun. (www.mediapost.com/publica- tions/article/).
Sudip Mondal refers to the challenges of minimizing material waste
arising out of a non-geometric mango shape pouch; making
profile-cut pouch seal- ing and cutting dies as well as having to
lay down standard manufacturing quality Keeping a kid happy ensures
sustained market dominance for companies Product design can help
ensure steady attraction for kids
3. DESIGN AND MARKETING 10 Packaging South Asia 6 / June 2013
parametersforanon-regularpouchshape.Inadditionthereisadireneedtoensure
the use of safe, non-toxic inks and lacquers. Shweta Mohare refers
to the necessity of adhering to easy product nomenclature, category
codes as well as Nutrition Ta- bles which almost all mothers would
like to see even if they are not necessarily the final consumers of
the product. zNot Just Funny Faces Steve Osborne while defining his
understanding of what works best for contempo- rary childrens
packaging suggests that due to the media influence of Pixar and
Dreamworks, packaging for kids has gone well beyond just funny
faces. His pre- scription for developing a successful brat-pack
suggests one or a combination of three following strategies: Draw a
face on it Hire a back-story Use best of both above Kids can
anthropomorphize practically anything from animals to apples,
strawberries and every other recognizable ingredient known to man,
observes Steve Osborne. This is why draw a face on it seems to work
well as an entry-level strategy for kids packs but it still needs
more to get serious credibility from the Mom. Hiring the rights of
using a popular TV or film character on the pack (see ex- ample,
Angry Birds on Lipton Ice Tea promo pack) is the next level of
engaging with
thekidsimagination.Howeverthisapproachendsinbuildingupthefeaturedchar-
acters brand more than the product brand itself. In this context,
while Steve Osborne suggests a best of both approach, Shweta
Mohareisperhapsclosertothewinningstrategywhenshesays,Itryandmakethe
packinteractiveandkeepinmindtheafter-useofthepack.Forexampleacerealbox
turning into a toy or an activity which is engaging and fun for
kids.
Amongthemainreasonscitedforthesuccessofakidpackiswhatcouldeasilybe
termed as the First Law of Pack Design: Sensation Transference. It
stipulates that all packaging has to transfer consumer perception
of its design, quality to the prod- uct inside. When this law
combines with an ingredient of story-telling by which the
childcanenterafantasyworldofadventure,brandloyaltycanbeassured.Muchre-
search with children has also been cited to suggested that kids by
nature are neo- phobic (afraid of the new) and this is what makes
the brat-pack market so risky. It is also believed that a key stage
of neurological development among children takes place between the
ages of 7 to 8 years. It is at this age that kids test out rebel-
lion behaviour to find their place in the world. As they develop a
keen interest in fan- tasy worlds and are deeply influenced by TV,
video as also what their peer group thinks is cool. In simple pack
design terms this can translate into choices of pack- aging that
looks different or opens and closes funny.
Moderndayparents,tooareinfluencedstronglyinthepackagingchoicesfortheir
childrenbytheirinnerneedtoassuageafeelingofguiltfornothavingenoughtime,
from their busy working lives, to spend with them. Combined with
the trends of smaller families with higher disposable incomes this
assures that kids packaging becomes a strong niche for brands to
explore. No wonder then that markets in Europe and US are already
teeming with the likes of lunch-box and dairy snacks and beverages
like: Rippa Dippa, Dairy Maniacs, Moo, Munchcup, Ben10, Chewits,
Coco Pops, Frosties, Cheesetrings, Yosicle, Yoplait, Yazoo, Boobee
and hundreds more. Isnt it time for the likes of our Appy Fizz and
Grappo Fizz for example, to get a makeover? z To eMail this article
to yourself or friends SMS IPP1455 to 56677 Deepak Manchanda,
Consultant Packaging Design & Technology, www.firstouch.in,
Over 35 years experience in the packaging industry; From the
Central Design Services of Metal Box, to Packaging Development in
Ranbaxy, Dabur and Oriflame India. Currently, with Firstouch
Solutions, a division of Autumn Design, he offers packaging design
solutions to a wide range of clients in varied industry sectors.
[email protected]; [email protected]
Converting kids obsession into brand and packaging success