Lulu's Imagination

Credibility

Nowadays, internet marketing can help you that but only if you use it in conjunction with other tactical tools. In addition, some of the customers are cautious about placing an order or buying expensive items from an unknown online vendor. Therefore, it is a reason to have a brochure or other forms of printed sales literature to hand out to potential customers.

 Versatility

Brochures are among the most versatile tools you can use to inform customers of your products of services. Local markets, retail stores, and offices that experience a lot of customer traffic often have brochures with product information at the front of the store or in the waiting room. You can take brochures to local fair market to hand out to potential customers, display brochures beside your products in the local stores, and direct mail to potential or existing customers.

It also saves time to customers who want to read brochures or printed materials home at their leisure. Yes, you can direct them to your website but a brochure adds a personal touch.

Costs

Compared with other marketing options, like postcards or letters, brochures are the relatively low cost of producing for small businesses. A single brochure may cost as little as $1 to $3 to produce, depending on the design, color content and finish quality. The more brochures you order, the less expensive each one is.

Creating a great brochure for your business that delivers a big return on investment is challenging but not impossible. After all, if brochures weren't as successful as they are they wouldn't be one of the most popular marketing materials in the world.  

You can find stock packaging at www.nashvillewraps.com or www.gleruperevere.com. Labels and/or cards at www.uprinting.com and cards at www.overnightprints.com. Simple google searches will also bring up other stock packaging providers that specialize in a small order for bottles, boxes, and bags.

Visit packaging design inspiration websites like www.thedieline.com or www.lovelypackage.com for ideas. You might also find art and design inspiration blog, Share Some Candy, to be a good resource (founded by my husband, Reuben Miller and I).

How Do I Know if I Need a Professional Designer? If the stakes are higher and you need to compete in the general marketplace (like retail stores or even online), it will be necessary to have a professional branding and packaging designer do it for you. Rest assured, it doesn’t have to be expensive! I find comparing price (and quality) of 2-3 designers is a good starting point. Try to find someone who has produced consistently good work and has some experience in your product genre and not just going for price. This is an important investment in your brand foundation.

Here are two of our brilliant customers who’ve extended their brand into these sticky little creations. We hope they’ll inspire you as much as they did us.

Go read more...  Links...

3rd March 2017 by moocrew

Plenty of savvy startups are mastering the unboxing experience as well. Pad & Quill, a company that sells artisan iPhone and iPad cases, wraps its products in brown paper with friendly messages printed on the inside and a Roman seal for a distinctly hand-wrapped feel.

Great packaging is especially significant for growing startups because it can have a direct impact on sales and a company's overall appeal. Take Trunk Club, for example. This company hand-selects clothing for men and sends its stylist-curated outfits in cardboard "trunks" that fit the convenience and style of its service. After five years in business, Trunk Club garnered Nordstrom's attention, and the high-end department store bought the startup for $350 million.

Packaging can continue to influence a company's sales as it grows larger, too. MillerCoors' sales slumped last year, but the Miller Lite retro can bumped sales by nearly 5 percent. MillerCoors didn't change its beer; it just changed the can it came in.

Poor packaging can have an even more dramatic effect. Australia recently instituted a plain packaging law for cigarettes. The government's removal of packaging branding rights aimed to discourage young people from smoking. Not only can Marlboro not use its logo, but it also can't use its typeface. The packages, covered with health warnings and graphic images that deter smoking, resulted in the biggest smoking decline Australia has seen in 20 years.

How to Design Packaging That Makes an Impact

All startups want to achieve the instantly recognizable status of Apple and Tiffany & Co., and that type of brand power starts with a product's packaging. How can you make your packaging stand out from the competition?

Know your demographic. Stark white and robin's-egg blue won't work for every brand. Consider Lowe's Home Improvement and Home Depot. Their rugged brands speak for themselves with distinctive, masculine colors. Don't be afraid to go bold.

Make cheap packaging look chic and personalized. The good packaging doesn't have to be expensive. Stephanieverafter, an online hair accessory boutique, packages its bows on simple cards in muted colors with stylish typography. It's an inexpensive solution that gives each item a high-end feel.

Make the package part of the experience. Part of the reason it's so fun to unbox a new Apple product is that its packaging reflects the sleek, user-friendly experience of the product inside. One startup that's mastered this is Back to the Roots, which produces kits to get kids and parents interested in growing their own food. It's mushroom kit's kid-friendly packaging is designed to jump off the shelf and convey the fun, hands-on experience the brand provides.

Consider eco-friendly options. Packaging that's recyclable or reusable is always a reason for a consumer to choose your brand over your competitor's. In fact, 52 percent of people around the world make purchase decisions partially due to packaging that shows a brand making a positive social and environmental impact.Puma has made great strides with its eco-friendly packaging that doubles as a reusable walking billboard for its brand. There are plenty of creative ways to go easy on the earth and differentiate your brand in the process.

Remember, your product's packaging is meant to communicate a purpose: what your brand stands for and what it means for your customer. Don't miss this opportunity to create a lasting impression on the shelf and in the minds of your customers.

1. Understand your mission

Developing a strong mission statement that explains the purpose of your company can be the springboard to a consistent design that reinforces that purpose. The mission statement should also reflect your company's personality.

"Are you the friend next door, the expert, fun, serious, or an inspirational brand (an inspirational brand is one that inspires action, like Nike's "Just Do It.")?" says Melissa Hall, who operates the site The Emerging Designer and teaches marketing at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).

"All communication should speak in this voice." An IT consulting company whose founders are fun and energetic can leverage that spirit in their funny (but still professional) logo, creating a distinct impression in the marketplace because it represents what they are like to work with.

2. Step back before you fix things

One reason for a mission statement is to avoid focusing on marketing materials in a piecemeal fashion.

"A small business will come to me and say their brochure doesn't look like their website, and they want the website changed," says Tom Nixon, a Detroit brand consultant who works with small businesses.

"That's because the website was built six years ago, and the company has outgrown it. You have to step back and consider the overall brand before leaping in to fix stuff."

3. Remember that brand is in everything

Small business owners sometimes forget that brand isn't just demonstrated by their website or business cards-it radiates through everything they do. For instance, the signage on your truck should have the same look and feel as your business cards. When it comes to creating and strengthening a brand, there are no "little" details.

4. Put your brand in your name

A starting place for your brand is your company name. The most effective business names communicate the unique selling proposition or unusual aspect of the company. For example, a company called "Last Minute Catering” quickly communicates what they do and what sets them apart from the competition.

5. Type(face) yourself correctly

A business should develop a style guide of colors, fonts, and logo parameters that will remain consistent online and in marketing materials or promotional efforts. For example, the typefaces you choose tell a story about your brand.

"For example, if you use Times New Roman, you may be deemed traditional; whereas using Comic Sans may say that your brand is playful," Hall says. "If this first point of branding does not translate online, then you may give off the perception that you don't understand the personality of your brand, which could trickle down to your service offerings."

6. Own your color

Colors are so powerful that Perich always shows a client the logo in black-and-white first-and then in different colors to gauge the varied emotional impact. Think broadly of how you can use the color you select to represent your business.

For example, a local bank owned the color lime green. That vibrant color is on its television ads, billboards, annual report, and business cards. But the company goes beyond that to consider every touch point.

"In their office, they have a basket of Granny Smith apples," Perich says. "When they sponsor a luncheon, they give the food away in green bags. When the chairman shows up to speak to employees, he wears green tennis shoes or a green tie." By linking a strong, specific, and appropriate color to your company, you can get instant impact in a market anytime you show a splash of it.

7. Let yourself get bored

One of the biggest challenges in creating a consistent brand is that you will get bored with the look much sooner than your customers will.

"Your friends will tell you that your ads all look the same and that you should change them," Perich says. "But they're looking at every single ad, whereas you're lucky if the average person on the street notices one out of every five of your ads. They take five times as long to get bored."

So resist the impulse to change for the sake of change. Your brand reflects the way you do business, the quality of your products and services, and the way you are perceived.

It Differentiates Your Brand From Others

There are thousands of products on the market vying for your customers’ attention. According to The Paper Worker, one-third of a consumer’s decision-making is based solely on product packaging. To succeed, your brand packaging has to stand out and look different from your competitors. For example, one of Captain Morgan’s most recent products, Cannon Blast, comes in a not-so-standard container. The bottle is actually shaped like a cannon ball. Not only is the design relevant to the name of the product, it’s also eye-catching and highly different from what many of its competitors offer.

Packaging Color Sways Consumer Purchase Habits

The colors used in your product packaging play a key role in consumer buying decisions. Your brain reacts to colors in different ways, so choose your packaging colors accordingly. For example, products with white packaging convey simplicity, safety and purity. Color experts cite that the more color added to a product’s package, the less sophisticated the product is. Other colors, like blue, convey many different meanings. A light sky blue color is considered more playful, while a dark navy is considered much more professional. Worldwide, blue is the most liked color, but that doesn’t mean you should automatically choose the likable color. It’s important to study your target demographic before deciding on a color scheme for your product packaging.

Product Packaging Is a Marketing Tool

Your product’s packaging can be a helpful marketing tool through in-store advertising. Branded products are easily recognized, so designing packaging with your logo front and center helps consumers remember your product next time they are shopping. Consider what your packaging is saying about your product and your brand. Is it good? Can it be better? It’s also wise to think about what messages your product’s packaging is conveying to shoppers and consumers.

Packaging Creates Brand Recognition

Take a moment to think about some of your favorite brands. They all have one thing in common: they are memorable. Over the decades, brands like Coke have made minor changes to their packaging and stayed true to their original look. Keep in mind that recognizable brands should not change a thing because many successful brands that changed their logo, colors or packaging have seen a sort of backlash from shoppers after making a big change.