Product Packaging and
Competitive Advantage
Dr. Suraj Kushe Shekhar1*, Dr. Raveendran
P.T.2
1Assistant Professor
(Sr. Grade), Department of Technology Management, School of Mechanical
Engineering, VIT University,Vellore-632014,Tamilnadu
2Professor, Department of Management Studies, Kannur
University, Kannur, Kerala
*Corresponding Author E-mail: surajk.shekhar@vit.ac.in,
ravindranpt@gmail.com
ABSTRACT:
Packaging is the art,
science and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution,
storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of design,
evaluation, and production of packages. Although advertising is a major sales
promotion tool, packaging is even more critical. This is because, for other
promotional tools, there is always the need for communication to persuade and
attract the consumer. However, when packaging is properly done, the products
can sell by themselves. Consumer intention to purchase depends on the degree to
which consumers expectthat the product can satisfy their expectations about its
use (Kupiec and Revell, 2001). But when they have not even thought about the
product much before entering the store, this intention to purchase is
determined by what is communicated at the point of purchase. Thus the package
becomes a critical factor in the consumer decision making process because it
communicates to consumers at the time they are actually deciding in store. Thus
product package still adds charm to Pilditch’s (1961) statement “The silent
salesman”. This paper discusses the relative importance of ‘Package’ to be
rightly considered as the fifth ‘P’ of marketing mix.
KEY
WORDS: Consumer, Package, Product, Purcahse.
INTRODUCTION:
Packaging can be described as a coordinated
system of preparing goods for transport, warehousing, logistics, sale, and end
use. Packaging contains, protects, preserves, transports, informs, and sells (Soroka, 2002). Packaging is any container or
wrapper in which the product is offered for sale and can consist of variety of materials such as glass, paper, metal or
plastic, depending upon what is to be contained
(Brassington and Petit, 2002).
Packaging is defined as an extrinsic element of the product (Olson and Jacoby, 1972) - an attribute that is
related to the product but does not form part of the physical product itself.
Packaging is a structure prepared to contain a commercial food product, i.e.
enabling it easier and safer to transport, protecting the product against
contamination or loss, degradation or damage and maintaining a convenient way
to dispose of the product (Sacharow and Griffin,
1980).
As per Hine (1995), in a modern retail environment, a
package is not just a container but a tool for delivering goods in a best
condition for use.
Keller
(1993) identified
packages as non-product-related but brand-related elements. But according to
Richardson et al. (1994) packages are product-related but with extrinsic
attributes. Similar to the statement by Richardson et al. (1994), Underwood
(2003) explained packages as product-related attributes, but different
from the previous two explanations. Underwood (2003) stated packages as
intrinsic or extrinsic attributes based on their features. He suggested that
they are intrinsic when they are physical part of the content (e.g. toothpaste tube),
and they are extrinsic when the information on the package (e.g. logo, picture)
is taken into account. He further added that packaging is posited to influence
the brand and self identity via mediated (through exposure to
mass-communication culture and mass media products) and lived in experience
(interaction with the brand, typically resulting from purchase and usage). To
summarize, a package can be identified as a designed-product served for use,
which has to meet many requirements to satisfy the demands of the many
stakeholders (e.g., manufacturer, distributor, retailer), and especially those
of consumers/users.
Today product package
is often debated as the fifth ‘P’ of marketing mix. Although advertising is a
major sales promotion tool, packaging is even more critical. This is because,
for other promotional tools, there is always the need for communication to
persuade and attract the consumer. However, when packaging is properly done,
the products can sell by themselves. Proper packaging is an easier, cheaper
means of advertising and hence the huge amount of money spent on advertisement
and promotional techniques can be redirected by ensuring that the right things
are done during the product packaging itself. In order to perform the role
effectively and to reap the right results and benefits to the manufacturer
(increase in profit margins), a product’s packaging must be attractive,
informative, and clearly identify with the product. Packaging must also
continuously communicate its real benefits and create awareness to ensure image
and brand preference.
Stewart (1995)
described the basic function of food packaging as to “preserve product
integrity” by protecting the actual food product against potential damage from
“climate, bacteriological and transit hazards”. However, the first to define
packs as the “silent salesman” was Pilditch
(1961), who argued that the pack must come alive at the point of
purchase, in order to represent the salesman
(Vazquez, BruceandStudd, 2003). About 30 years later, (Lewis, 1991) expanded further on Pilditch’s
views, stating that “good packaging is far more than a salesman; it is a flag
of recognition and a symbol of values”.
Packaging plays an
important role in the marketing of a product. It is an integral part in the process
of communicating the marketing objective of a specific product to the consumer
(Stem, 1981; Meyer and Herbert, 1981). To perform its role, packaging must be
attractive, informative, and clearly identify the product and communicate its
real benefits. Prendergast and Pitt (1996)
discussed pacakging as one of the
most important factors in purchase decisions made at the point of sale where it becomes an essential part of the
selling process (Rettie and Brewer, 2000).Given
that only a small minority of brands are strong enough to justify the
investment that national advertising requires, for the rest, packaging
represented one of the most important vehicles for communicating the brand
message directly to the target consumer (Nancarrow,
Wright and Brace, 1998).
Table: 1. Theoretical
framework showing packaging as marketing tool
|
Functions of
packaging
|
Functions of
marketing
|
|
Packaging
protects
Packaging must be able to withstand robust physical
handling during distribution so that the goods are received by consumers in
the same function they left the factory
|
Physical distribution and storage. Product
quality
|
|
Packaging
preserves
There is a form of packaging that will preserve each
product from deterioration
|
Physical distribution and storage. Product
quality
|
|
Packaging
facilitates distribution
Well-designed packaging and effective packaging
methods are key elements in ensuring that goods reach their destination in
optimum condition
|
Physical distribution and storage. Supply chain
management
|
|
Packaging
promote customer choice
Packaging enables and promotes brand
identification and competition
|
Promotion and selling. Marketing communication
|
|
Packaging sells
Packaging is industry’s silent salesman. It
displays and describes the product it contains; leaving the consumer to
choose which product is best suited his or her taste. This, together with the
visual appeal of the package, is often a decisive feature in the purchasing
situation
|
Promotion and selling. Marketing communication.
Design
|
|
Packaging
informs and instructs packaging
Communicates additional messages to the consumer
|
Marketing communication
|
|
Packaging
provides consumer convenience
Changing lifestyles have created a demand for
packages that offer time-saving features and easy efficient handling
|
Standardisation / differentiation and
distribution. Customisation
|
|
Packaging help
contain prices
Consumer goods would be more expensive if it were
not for cost-effective packaging. The packaging of products in packs of
various sizes allows the consumer to purchase the most convenient quantity
|
Pricing
|
|
Packaging
promotes hygiene and safety
Improvements in standards of hygiene and medical
care in hospitals are in large a measure due to the use of pre-packed medical
products for usage and disposal. The same goes for food products
|
Physical distribution and storage. Promotion
|
|
Packaging is innovative
In many cases, the packaging industry responds to
new demands which arise for specifically packaged foodstuff products
|
Packaging/package development. Customisation.
Package design in relation to relevant market demand/need
|
Source:
Rundh (2005)
Silayoi
and Speece (2007)
argued that when the consumer was undecided, the package becomes a critical
factor in the purchase choice because it communicated to consumers at the
decision making time. Lo¨ fgren (2008)
called this as “the first moment of truth” when the package functioned as a
silent salesman. Silayoi and Speece (2007) further suggested on how consumers
perceived the subjective entity of products as presented through communication
elements in the package, influenced choice and as the key to success for many
marketing strategies. Underwood et al. (2001) demonstrated that visuals on the
package can be a strategic method of differentiation as pictures were much more
effective stimuli compared to words. In addition, consumers processed visual information
faster and easier, particularly in low involvement situation. The right
selection of package colours played a very important role as well. Grossman and Wisenblit (1999) and Madden et al. (2000) suggested that colours
could create potentially strong associations for consumers affecting their
brand preferences. As the retail environment becomes saturated with competitors
vying for consumers attention, packaging has to work harder than ever if the
product is to be noticed through the congestion of competitive products (Milton, 1991). Many marketers have called the
packaging a fifth ‘P’; the other four Ps being Product, Price, Place and
Promotion (Kotler, 2004). Well-designed
packages can create convenience and promotional values (Kotler, 2004). A theoretical
framework showing packaging as marketing tool given by Rundh (2005) is shown in Table:1
Consumer responses to packaging
According to Bloch
(1995), for a product to be successful, its sensory characteristics must strike
positively in target consumers. Thus, a package, according to him, evoked a
certain level of psychological responses in consumers. These responses can be
cognitive, affective or both at the same time (Bitner, 1992). The psychological
responses, in turn, lead to a number of behavioural responses (Fig:2).
According to Hirchman (1980), affective response is how a
consumer felt about the product and what meaning he or she attached to the
product. Bloch (1995) made further distinctions on what these responses could
be. According to him, a package could evoke both positive and negative
affective responses. In some cases, package perceptions could lead to a
moderately positive response, such as simple liking, or they could even evoke
stronger aesthetic responses similar to those of works of art (Bloch, 1995).
These aesthetic responses were the responses that derived from the design and
sensory properties of the product, rather than its performance or functional
attributes (Bloch, 1995), namely the extrinsic product attributes. Bloch (1995)
suggested that it was possible that products could elicit at least a moderate
level of aesthetic responses in consumers, including an engagement of attention
and strong positive emotions (Bloch, 1995). Negative effect, according to Bloch
(1995), included such things as finding the product unattractive, of poor taste
and so forth.
Psychological
responses to product design lead to behavioral responses (Bloch, 1995).
Behavioural responses to product design were described as either approach or
avoidance. Approach behaviours reflected an attraction to a design and included
spending time in a site and exploring it, while avoidance behaviours
represented the opposite of approach responses (Bloch, 1995).
CONCLUSION:
From the above
discussions and from the theoretical framework, it is concluded that packaging,
apart from being a protection tool is also a strong marketing tool and is
rightly debated as the fifth ‘P’ of marketing mix. Companies who cannot afford
(for low involvement and high impulse purchase categories) too much on
advertising budgets, packaging can even be considered as a substitute to advertising.
However it should also be kept in mind that marketing communication works out
if all its components are balanced. If it is true that a product cannot exist
without a package, it can only become true if advertising makes the market
aware of its existence. Packaging can only play its role of silent salesman if
sales promotion gives prominence to the eyes of the consumers. Manufacturers
and retailers alike need to deal with the new era of integrated communications
as market influences are evolving at a rapid rate. Those who do not react to
the changing environment will suffer erosion of the market share as a
consequence.
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