We are spoilt by choice. The truth is, we probably don’t need seven different coffee brands to pick from, especially when they have at least three different products each. However, if we think we have it tough, think about the coffee companies.
They have to fight it out for our attention, and this fight can get desperate. Did you know that companies actually pay supermarkets higher rates to be placed closer to eye level? No business wants you to get on your knees to see how much their products cost. That’s why they need to employ every trick in the book to make sure that when your eyes scan over their product, you’re hooked.
In fact, studies even show that the effect of product packaging is so strong, it can trigger us to buy something that we had no intention to before seeing it.
To do that, companies use mind tricks that leave you thinking “these are the droids/coffee beans/forks I’m looking for”. Here, Marshall Packaging takes a look at a few of these techniques that you can start using for your business.
The shaping of the product
Apparently, you can scrap that gym membership and bin those Sons of Anarchy box sets. According to brands the true sign of a man is straight edges.
That’s why deodorants for men are often a straight cylinder with no grooves, but the same products for women have curves that match their own figure. This means a round base, getting tighter in the middle and then widening nearer the top. Brands can use this to target different genders on everything from sprays to washing up liquid.
Make it rhyme and you’ll be fine
There’s a reason why so many slogans rhyme, and once you’ve thought about it you’ll start finding rhyming patterns on everything you buy.
In 2013, Klempe and Filkuková held a study titled ‘Rhyme as reason in commercial and social advertising’. They wanted to investigate the effect of rhymes and what emotions it would spur in the person reading it. The pair discovered the following: “…we found a strong preference for rhyming slogans as opposed to their non-rhyming counterparts. Rhymes were rated as more likeable, more original, easier to remember, more suitable for campaigns, more persuasive and more trustworthy.”
While this technique is more prevalent in audio-focused advertising, like television or radio adverts, they are still effective when read. That’s because, even now, you’re reading this sentence but it’s almost like you’re hearing it in your head. So, when you read “Make it rhyme and you’ll be fine” before, you could tell it rhymed without even hearing it.
Additionally, a rhyme can help in building your brand and making your business more memorable.
Colours create emotions
Different colours can set off different emotions in us. Everything from feelings of trust to excitement can be triggered with just a few tweaks of colour.
Want a shopper to feel like your product is exciting and youthful? Cover it in red. Just look at a company like Nintendo. They target young markets with exciting merchandise, and their logo is bright red. Even their mascot, Mario, is covered in red.
Aspirational marketing
Athletes and rock stars can be paid in the six figures just for letting a company use their likeness on a bottle or trainer. This is rooted in aspirational marketing.
We want the shoes endorsed by Michael Jordan or Paul Pogba because we think it might make us play more like them. If it didn’t work, would Nike be paying Cristiano Ronaldo $32 million?
Hopefully, these tips can help anyone struggling with similar issues in their business. Other articles like ‘How to connect better with your customers’ can also help with appealing to customers, an important factor when it comes to B2C selling.
More on product packaging and evoking emotions in customers.
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