What a Packaging Makeover Can Do For Your Company

"There are several questions that have to be asked," he adds. "Is the packaging telling the story we need it to tell? Is it telling the right story for the particular category it falls into? Are we using the right language for that category? How can we expect to differentiate our product but also stay true to our brand? How can we differentiate between different products within our own brand? There are various levels of communication, multiple analyses of the kind of messages we want to deliver and the point at which we want to deliver them. These are derived from research, ethnography, qualitative studies, and industry experts."

Recently, a slew of prominent brands have attempted a rebrand largely, though not always solely, through a focus on repackaging their products. A few names in particular were recognized by the ReBrand 100, which gives global awards in recognition of the world’s most effective rebrands, or recommended by branding experts.

Millicare

Honored by the Rebrand 100 Global Awards in 2006, Millicare, a green friendly corporate carpet and textile maintenance franchise, was rebranded by design firm The Moderns.

The company's main challenge was apathy in the carpet cleaning market and a lack of brand recognition stemming from the fact that Millicare mostly operated in office facilities during off-hours. The Moderns' approach: "Because Millicare had a limited budget, we advised them to look at their vehicles and product packaging as billboard applications and marketing tools. If someone sees a Millicare van or comes across a product that has been left behind, we want them to clearly know that it belongs to Millicare," explains Kevin Szell, Design Director and Partner at The Moderns.

The aim was to develop a clear identity and visual presence for Millicare through a comprehensive rebranding, of which packaging was a prominent component. Szell explains that originally, the bottles were clear and revealed the liquids inside, some of which were not particularly attractive colors. The Moderns recommended that all packaging be made consistent and opaque. It also developed a labeling system of color-coded numbers that took into account the fact that many Millicare employees are not native English speakers.

Dove

Laurent Hainaut, the founder of Raison Pure, identifies two primary areas that Dove needed to address through a repackaging: image and inconsistency. "Dove was a soap/cleansing brand rather than a beauty brand. The packaging reflected this -- it was more convenient than cosmetic and sleek," states Hainaut. Raison Pure worked to evolve the company's packaging to follow the evolution of its brand message from cleansing to beauty.

The brand was also disorganized internationally: "Products in different countries showed the Dove logo flying in different directions. A major reason to redesign was to achieve consistency," he explains. The challenge was to create an image that was relevant across geographic and cultural boundaries to appeal to all women.

Additionally, a further challenge was ensuring consistency across Dove's different product categories in a manner that would still allow for consumer differentiation. Raison Pure's intent was to achieve this consistency and also find a brand identity for Dove that respected the languages and codes of every category.

Rembrandt

After Johnson & Johnson bought the Rembrandt brand about 18 months ago, its aim was to radically rebrand the oral healthcare line. Spearheaded by Chris Hacker, J&J developed a repackaging plan reflecting its belief that the category was ready for a more sophisticated approach -- one that went beyond hygiene and transitioned Rembrandt into the beauty arena in a manner that was similar to the space occupied by skincare products.

"Repackaging was really at the heart of the relaunch," emphasizes Carmen Nestares, Product Director for the Rembrandt. "The feeling was that there was a good opportunity in the oral healthcare category to have a brand that was a mix of emotion/aesthetics and functionality. Women tend to have a special connection with their cosmetics and we wanted them to feel that with their toothpaste too. The aim is to make people feel pampered and special, like they just bought a product that is found at a boutique instead of a department store."

With that in mind, the packaging was revamped: while the old box was silver, shiny and overrun by copy and pictures of people's smiling faces, the new boxes are simple, uncluttered and white in color, with more contemporary font and a big logo. In stark contrast to the white exterior, the new boxes are vibrantly colored inside. They also open at the top instead of on the side like other toothpaste boxes: "We want people to feel like they are opening a gift, like they are treating themselves to something when they open the box," explains Nestares.