Any new design initiative must be preceded by some form of market investigation, because without an understanding of the context within which a package or brand must communicate, any such initiative would be undertaken with a virtual blindfold on!
The aim of this article is to give some guidance and methodology, in order to make your future store-checks both effective and useful to understanding the market context and aiding the design and marketing process.

Have the Four Ps of Marketing Become Blurred? Over at our LinkedIN Discussion Board, a lively discussion is taking place on Four Ps of Marketing. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the Four Ps are Product, Price, Promotion, and Place. These 4Ps were originally proposed by E. Jerome McCarthy in the

University of Cincinnati Showcases Pioneer Designer The legacy of design pioneer Donald Deskey will be on display starting Jan. 6 in the Reed Gallery of the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning. Paired with the exhibit

Brands Can Bust Through with Forward Facing Trends Let’s start with the good news. As a result of the economic downturn, we’re now working with consumers who are ready to work—on their homes that is. While massive remodeling projects are pretty much out the window, consumers are more engaged in smaller, more

It is often said that in a time of crisis that private labels increase their share of the market, and whilst this is indeed true, in fact, as we look back over the last 40 years, we see that private labels have continued to capture a growing market share, year after year, crisis or no crisis!

As all the forward-thinking players of the CPG market ramp up their efforts in reducing carbon footprint through packaging innovation, creating packaging that is fully recyclable, lighter and more locally distributed, the wine category in particular has seen some

Tell Your Brand’s Stories Isn’t it funny how many marketers flock to use the terms ‘antioxidant,’ ‘fat free’, and other, similar ubiquitous terms?  Or how so many companies rush to enlist in the latest ‘green’ organization just to put a certified logo on its products’ labels (since over 55% of

Three New Trends in Tech Savvy Packaging We’ve all seen ‘em. Those attention-getting, conversation-starting trends. As an avid trend spotter, I’ve learned that simply citing trends does not equal the long view necessary for true brand stewardship. After all, trends have short-term memories whereas

K-C’s Christine Mau is a Woman to Watch! Be sure to read about Kimberly-Clark Brand Design Director Christine Mau and other women to watch in this week’s issue of Advertising Age. Among many other accomplishments, Christine is the design thinker behind the Kleenex oval box and new

Spring is in the Air “Best spring fragrance store window I have seen, you want to plunge in that smell” – Marc Gobé CPG Branding and Marketing Forum member Marc Gobé, President of Emotional Branding, just posted this image to his Twitter feed (mgobe) and I felt compelled to share it. Not only does this [...]