The Box is your best Salesman

What’s the value of a box? Last week, attendees of the Flexographic Technical Association’s (FTA) 2005 Annual Forum in Orlando, Fla., came away with new answers to that question. They heard about the innovative marketing approaches being adopted by leaders in the print and packaging worlds.

Steve Rote, technical marketing manager for M-real alliance, told them good graphic packaging is key to a consumer’s allegiance to a brand.

“Our customers are spending more money on the box for their product,” says Rote. “They know the consumer has an emotional attachment to a brand, so when they see a display in a store for their product they know they want it to say ‘buy me.’ The graphics on the package must have a billboard effect on the consumer. With media so scattered, we use packaging as a way to measure sales.”

David Nunez, a sales executive with Great Lakes Packaging, echoes Rote, saying retailers want the point of purchase displays to boost customer awareness and sales.

“Retailers want a silent salesperson,” he says. “The package must inform and sell. If it interests the customer, you can convert them to your brand. Better than 50 percent of the time when a consumer picks up a package they will purchase the product.”

On the paperboard side, Tony Petrelli, vice president of marketing and business development for Caraustar, discussed how paperboard is an attractive packaging medium that continues to be innovative.

“We are seeing growth in the industry for the first time in three years,” he states. “While we won’t experience double-digit growth, we are ‘steady eddy’ and strong and stable. No industry is better than web flexo in giving you what it can with one process.”

Petrelli explained how paperboard packaging has helped retailers create and target an opportunity for product identity and branding.

“We saw that we were losing market share with ‘tweens,’ young children and teens,” he continues. “We needed to come up with packaging that made the product exciting to this demographic. By changing the shape of the package to feel more like the product, sales of the product soared.”

Petrelli, who is also co-chair of the Board of Advisors for the Paperboard Alliance, added that on top of all that, paperboard is environmentally friendly.

“Paperboard is recyclable and it can be replenished,” he says. “In fact, more trees have been planted than cut down since 1940. That has significant environmental benefits.”

Steak behind sizzle—Effective marketing must be backed by a strong organization, and management issues were a major part of the FTA Forum. Marketing was presented as a top-down business process by Jeff Dumbach of Allpack Container. Whether that process involves a product or procedure, it comes down to recognizing the people who will embrace the project and take responsibility for its success or failure.

“Starting a process and not understanding all the variables that go into it can be very expensive,” says Dumbach, “You need to begin with the end in mind. If you set the highest standards and accept nothing less, you can meet your customers’ expectations.

“Someone in your company must own the process. “When you send operators or assistants to off-site training, look for those who come back from those sessions with ideas.”

Cordes Porcher, technical specialist for Bobst, discussed the foundational elements to include on enhanced graphic jobs and the tools to include press side for the successful reproduction of enhanced graphics on corrugated.

“Just look at the boxes in a grocery store and see all the targets,” he says. “We aren’t doing this in corrugated. Utilize the space available on something like a punch-out on a point of purchase display. You have a better chance of getting it right and having your expectations met with your finished product.”

He stressed getting as much information as you can before taking action.

“Look what’s on a printed sheet and ascertain what the problem is,” he adds. “Use proofs from a job to reject the job from the press. Most important, know your variables.”