The Silent Salesman
Packaging has great power over the consumer’s buying decision. It is considered one of the strongest and most important marketing tools for selling the product, when there are only few seconds to pick a product off the shelf. When there is no opportunity to sample or taste, the first thing a consumer will notice and base their decision on is the package that ‘spoke to them’ and their needs. The package must do the selling, right there on the spot.

Let’s Get Emotional
How the brand makes the consumer feel is generally reflected on the package. It carries a lot of the emotional messaging. The buying experience, the story and the strategy of the brand are all reflected within this one single point of contact.

A brand can be identified by its package whether it’s in the colors, graphics or even the typeface. The iconic Tiffany & Co. blue box with the white ribbon is more recognised than the jewelry itself. The sleek, minimalist approach used by Apple reflects the savvy, user-friendly experience of the brand.

“Packaging is our most visible and valuable asset,” states Marcos de Quinto, Chief Marketing Officer at Coca-Cola. “The Coca-Cola Red Disc has become a signature element of the brand, synonymous with great taste, uplift and refreshment.”

Always remember, when it comes to designing packaging, first impressions count.

Suha Hamid
Art Director

Why?

Well there is your answer. It demands attention, it courts a response, it leads to enlightenment.

Children use it all the time in their formative years as they begin to engage with their surroundings and their incessant inquisitiveness is the foundation of their hunger for knowledge.
Why is the sky blue?
Why do I have to go to bed now?
Why do I have to smile in photos?
Why can’t I stick a fork in a plug socket?
Questions, questions, questions…

In the branding and advertising business, this innate curiousness is something that we need to tap into. Too often, we hear clients’ requests/statements/ideologies that need deeper analysis. They should be challenged, as without this we simply become vessels for channelling someone else’s unquestioned (and possibly questionable) requirements.

Why is your customer service so much better than everyone else?
Why do you think launching this product in summer is the right time?
Why do you want to reposition your brand?
Why do you want to stick a fork in a plug socket?

Asking questions leads to a better understanding, obviously. You’d be surprised that some prospective clients I’ve encountered at the pitch level have taken umbrage with being asked questions. It generally leads to a conversation that follows the lines of: a) No other agency is asking questions (b) I don’t have the time to answer these (c) Can’t you just answer my ‘brief’?

It’s often these people who didn’t really question themselves hard enough about the fork, and no good will come from working with them.

And asking ‘Why?’ shouldn’t just be for clients it’s an internal tool too.
Why should the creative team be enthused by this brief?
Why will people want to look at this communication?
Why would the target audience be inspired to take action after seeing this creative?
Why does that fork look like it belongs in a plug socket?

Why should you try to unearth more information and develop greater insights in everything you do?

Why not?

David Wright
Managing Director

My first pick is the tagline from the Under Armour ‘Rule Yourself’ brand campaign, a moving television commercial that pays tribute to the ‘Poseidon’ of our times Michael Phelps, in honour of the last season of his career. Being a proponent of truth, especially in the field of marketing, I believe the future belongs to the brands that contribute towards the improvement of the human condition, and this line does just that, it reminds us of a timeliness and universal truth: “It’s what you do in the dark, that puts you in the light.”

The headlines in the compendium below edge on the satirical, with Dos Equis’ most interesting man in the world, a modern age prophet that has amassed a cult-like following so massive, a vaccine was created to cure the Internet from his charm.

• When it is raining, it is because he is thinking about something sad.
• The police often question him, just because they find him interesting.
• He once had an awkward moment, just to see how it feels.
• His reputation is expanding, faster than the universe.
• His personality is so magnetic, he is unable to carry credit cards.
• Even his enemies list him as their emergency contact number.
• He could disarm you with his looks or his hands, either way.
• He’s a lover not a fighter. But he’s also a fighter, so don’t get any ideas.
• People hang on his every word, even the prepositions.
• He can speak French, in Russian.
• Every time he goes for a swim, dolphins appear.
• If he were to give you directions, you’d never get lost, and you’d arrive at least 5 minutes early.

In closing, I would like to end with one last advertising headline that reminds us all that true luxury is understated.
“You never actually own a Patec Philippe, you merely hold on to it until the next generation.”

And of course, “Stay thirsty, my friends”!

Philippe A.
Client Services Director