Louise Marsland’s (@Louise_Marsland) pick of new product, packaging and design launches.

New packaging from Simonsberg cheeses; labels you can scratch, sniff and feel, add an experiential element to packaging from Pyrotec; a Samsung product promo that rewards; and BP wants your old billboards!

Sniff and scratch

Pyrotec PackMedia has launched multi-sensory labels for products to boost products at point-of-sale. GM Timothy Beattie says that research conducted in Europe recently revealed that when it comes to consumers’ purchasing decisions, sight is not the only sense that has a say. For instance, if the smell of a product (or its packaging) is appealing, it can increase sales by up to 45%. The study also cited sound (41%), taste (31%) and touch (25%) as strong factors that can also influence sales.

The Pyrotec ElastiTag range are elasticised hang tags that can be used for labelling, branding and marketing a wide variety of products, from produce to cosmetics. Brands are able to add a ‘Rub’ n Smell’ scent; a tactile varnish to create unique visual impact and texture; the ‘Scratch-Off’ ElastiTag which consists of a scratch-off tape placed over variable codes on the hang tag; the ‘UV Flexo’ which uses high-definition UV inks for a brighter, sharper graphic effect; and the ‘Special Effects’ ElastiTag incorporates a new coating process that creates tiny prisms which reflect light, adding shimmer for special occasions.

“Multi-sensory features use touch, taste, smell, sight and sound to make brands appealing and to influence buying decisions,” Beattie emphasises.

Who branded my cheese?

Simonsberg cheeses has refreshed the brand with new packaging across its cheese range, to reiterate the brand’s position as ‘masters of fine cheese’.

The brief to Fountainhead Design was to create higher on-shelf impact while clearly differentiating from competitors; create one brand look and feel across all product lines and market segments, while retaining the traditional ‘Simonsberg’ look and feel ,ensuring the design complied with latest food pack regulations.

Fountainhead conducted an audit of all brand packaging, as well as a synopsis on each of the cheese ranges. An “evolutionary approach” was chosen, with a design that complemented the existing brand with a more modern look and feel of the product on-shelf.

Fountainhead made use of bold typographic architecture to accentuate product variants. This was supported with the use of bold colour differentiation in multi-variant ranges. To maintain brand uniformity on-shelf, the team modified the dark ribbon which would be carried across the various ranges, creating a consistency within the design architecture. The agency also used subtle detailing such as pin-stripes and clean gradients to retain the essence of the Simonsberg brand.

“With the implementation of our new packaging design, Fountainhead was able to successfully retain the heritage of brand while at the same time updating the design to be more modern and contemporary. The new packaging design is still clearly recognisable as Simonsberg, allowing the brand to retain the loyalty of existing consumers while at the same time increasing the appeal of the brand to new consumers,” said Tara Swanson-Pauw, senior brand manager of Simonsberg.

Cashing in

 

To ensure the Samsung promotion of its Galaxy Pocket entry level smartphone stood out, Matchworld conceptualised the “It’s raining money” interactive dome activation in partnership with Primedia Unlimited’s Mall Active business.

Mall Active’s Travis Brown explains that Samsung wanted to focus on middle market users of cellphones who were looking for an entry level smartphone with all the technology features, but without a high price point.

“To achieve this we developed the Samsung Dome concept: consumers could win their share of R500 000 by simply purchasing a Samsung Pocket from any retailer in the mall on the weekend that the promotion ran in a particular mall. The purchase of the phone then qualified the customer to physically enter the dome to win instant cash prizes.”

The inflatable dome structure was set up at key malls and featured a money machine that blew money into the air when shoppers entered the dome.The more ‘Samsung bucks’ that they caught, the more prize money they won. The Samsung bucks were subsequently converted into Rands and the amount won was then transferred to all the winners’ bank accounts.

An MC and DJ created hype and various other activities drew consumers to the promotion.

Campaign with a cause

BP is calling on corporate SA to donate their old billboards for a campaign to benefit disadvantaged schools and create jobs.

The durable billboard vinyl is being transformed into much needed school products, like backpacks, chairbags and pencil cases for primary school children across South Africa.

The Ads to Bags campaign transforms the old billboards and BP has offered to meet the costs of recycling as well as donating its own old billboards. But they need more.

Chevrolet SA, Primall Media and communications company Black Brain have already stepped up and donated to the cause.
Renny Letswalo, head of BP Retail, says the campaign has had a positive impact on both job creation and the environment: “Not only are the kids getting colourful new equipment but we are benefitting the environment by recycling while also creating jobs.

“We would like to reach an even greater number of children throughout the year but we only have a limited number of old billboards available for recycling. This is why we’re asking companies to get involved by donating their old billboards to Ads for Bags and we’ll do the rest”.

– Shelf Life by Louise Marsland is a weekly column on MarkLives. Tweet new product, packaging and design launches to @louise_marsland or email her at louise.marsland at gmail.com.

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Louise Marsland has written about the FMCG, media, marketing and advertising industry for 18 years of her 25 year media career as a former Editor of magazines AdVantage, Marketing Mix and Progressive Retailing; as well as websites Bizcommunity.com and FMCGFiles. She currently edits the weekly Wednesday Media & Marketing Page for The New Age newspaper; and is the co-founder and Publishing Editor of SA’s newly launched industry trendwatching portal, TREND. at www.trendlives.info, in partnership with MarkLives.com.

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