What a Packaging Makeover Can Do For Your Company

Wellington Cordage

Wellington Cordage brought on design firm Proteus to differentiate the company from its competitors, whose ropes and cordage were all packaged similarly.

Charlie Conn, VP of Branding, and Tom Feehley, VP of Marketing Strategy at Proteus, told Fast Company that the design firm's role went well beyond repackaging to an entire revamping of Wellington's messages, tag lines, logo and overall identity. Recalls Charlie: "Wellington had been in existence for about 150 years. At one point the leadership of the company decided to go global, so they used a globe with the name of the company as a logo. It kind of looked like a financial services company. We told Wellington that they had a far bigger issue than packaging and merchandising. There was a brand problem -- they weren't expressing who they were and what they stood for. They weren't differentiating themselves from the crowd. We recommended a whole new positioning for the brand."

He adds: "Their packaging was very focused on the technical side of things and most consumers are pretty untechnical. Most of the industry was stuck in the very low-end rope and cordage because there was no difference in the packaging -- people would just go and grab the first thing off the shelf."

Feehley explained that Proteus's repackaging suggestions were based on its discovery that while conventionally, rope had been packaged to communicate either the material it was made from or the application for which it would be used, in fact consumers were most interested in how strong the product was -- this was found to be a far greater consideration than price. Additionally, consumers wanted to feel the product they were buying.

Based on these insights, Feehley and Conn explain: "We created a whole merchandising system and packaging based on light, medium, heavy. We also decided to do away with the plastic bag and go with a branded storage strap to hold the rope together instead. This had long-lasting implications because when the rest of the packaging was thrown away, this continued to identify the rope as a Wellington product."

Kleenex

The Kleenex repackaging story is somewhat different from the others, because the original signature rectangular Kleenex box continues to exist. Kimberly Clark did, however, decide to also package its tissues in an oval box, the aim being to "bring the tissue box out of the bedroom and bathroom, and into the living room," according to Joey Mooring, Manager of Corporate Communications for Kimberly Clark.

"The oval packaging was based on the realization that consumers have begun paying far more attention to design and style. It has become almost a minimum expectation that elements of style and design are incorporated into everyday products," explains Steve Erb, Senior Brand Manager for Kleenex. "The aim was also to attract younger consumers by offering different designs. Historically Kimberly Clark has chosen designs that are well-established, but in this case we consciously went a bit more trend forward- selecting designs that were more on the cutting edge of design and fashion," he adds.

The company reports that the new design did so well that the boxes, which were first released as holiday editions, were the top sellers of all facial tissues in the weeks prior to the holidays.

Additionally, recognizing an increasing consumer trend towards customization, Kleenex has taken things a step further, with a service that allows customers to design their own tissue boxes. States Erb, "We recognize that the package is almost as important as the tissue inside because essentially, it’s the package that's displayed around the home."