The marketers of strong brands inevitably turn their attention to licensing. It's a natural progression of things. Usually, their focus is on building even more brand awareness, sales and profits. It might sound counterintuitive, but that shouldn't be their primary goal. Their thought processes should be on … Read More
Have you ever noticed that kids often love the packaging that a toy comes in more than the toy itself? They usually find creative ways to integrate colorful packaging into their play. Even basic cardboard boxes are turned into dollhouses, spacecraft, robots, puppet stages or anything else … Read More
How can we reach new generations of consumers? That's what many marketers of mature consumer product companies are asking themselves as younger customers in every age group are actively seeking brands that offer personalities and experiences with which they can align. Read: brands which are relevant to … Read More
As powerful as visual communication is in modern culture; as engaging as visual brand representations can be, consumers are hungry for something deeper. Marketers who are taking their brands to a whole new level are tapping into that "something deeper." Compelling design: imagery, fonts, icons, color and … Read More
Those of us who are veterans of the licensing business remember the days when every successful brand's style guide was a cleverly-conceived, highly-immersive printed masterpiece that stopped us in our tracks and commanded our attention. Envy-evoking and impossible to ignore, the purpose of these epic treasures was … Read More
Many elements of visual brand design are presented on a large canvas, but packaging is an exception. Especially in the toy and licensed consumer product categories. Working within space constraints and still being able to design effective packaging is the challenge for marketers and package designers. But … Read More
So you got your toy packaging right. It's engaging kids and their parents. It begins the process of building relationships between them and your brand. It's memorable, relevant and personal. In short, it's sticky. Congratulations. It's terrific when brand managers maximize the effectiveness of their packaging. They understand … Read More
This month's issue of BOLT! is the last in a 3-part series in which I'm sharing insights from my Packaging That Sells conference session, 'The Secret to Successful Licensed Product Packaging.' In Part 1, I made the distinction between traditional consumer product packaging and licensed product packaging, … Read More
Last month's issue of BOLT! was the first in a 3-part series in which I'm sharing insights from my Packaging That Sells conference session, 'The Secret to Successful Licensed Product Packaging.' So far, I've made the distinction between traditional consumer product packaging and licensed product packaging, and … Read More
Over the last 28 years, I've attended quite a few packaging-related conferences where I've seen plenty of case study presentations given by package design agencies citing the wonderful work they had done to refresh the retail packaging for their clients brands. These are always great to see. … Read More
If you want to engage the Design Force team and put more than three decades of expertise to work for your brand...