Posts Tagged “packaging”

As a marketing guy, I believe the smartest thing I can do to stay sharp is to spend a part of each day keeping up with what others are doing – and saying – in the world of marketing. In particular, I like to look at TV ads (go figure), listen to commercial radio, flip through magazines, and read the trades. I also enjoy reading marketing blogs, especially those written by people whose opinions I respect and value. Exhibit A: Ries’ Pieces, a marketing blog penned by Laura Ries. Laura is a crack marketer in her own right (you’ve likely seen her on one of the cable news channels) and author, and is the daughter of Al Ries, for my money, one of the living ‘gods of marketing.’ The senior Ries, along with his then-partner, Jack Trout, wrote a couple of the most influential books on marketing ever, including Positioning, the bible for how to view your brand within your marketspace.

I was reading Laura’s blog the other day, and noted her comments on the re-packaging/re-branding of Tropicana orange juice. I hadn’t noticed that Tropicana had changed their packaging prior to this, so I made it a point to visit the refrigerated section of my local grocery emporium, just to see what all the hubbub was about.What I found was…interesting. My conclusion was that, while Ms. Ries makes some incredibly valid and insightful points, there were a couple of things she missed. To wit… Read the rest of this entry »

This is probably going to sound like a “no, DUH!” rant, but have you ever stopped to think about how you market to your market?

In my job as a wanna-be Design Police Commissioner, I see a lot of bad design, good design, and everything in between. Same for marketing. I’ve seen some pitches that would melt hearts, and some that wouldn’t sell a starving man a steak. But the good pitches and designs all have one thing in common – they all target their market with a look and feel – and message – that is appropriate for the people they are trying to reach.

Think about that for a second.

That is actually huge. It is actually possible to miss your target because you didn’t market to them appropriately. Case in point: packaging. Read the rest of this entry »