by Christina Pomoni

Created on: November 11, 2009

Packaging is a key attribute of a firm's marketing strategy and has the ability to influence all other elements of the marketing mix, namely product, place, price and promotion. The original function of packaging was to provide a protection to the product. However, as consumers have become more sophisticated and demanding, packaging has been transformed into a business tool that is used from organizations to attract attention, describe the product and achieve higher sales. Today, numerous brands are identifiable though their packaging and product packaging plays a key role in product promotion.

Packaging is closely related to consumer perceptions about particular brands. A typical example is the declining sales of Tropicana orange juice when the company decided to develop new packaging in 2009. The company's misguided redesign confused consumers, who perceived the Tropicana brand more like a generic product. Although Tropicana launched an exceptionally integrated marketing and advertising campaign to emphasize on the brand and product attributes, sales plummeted 20 percent because consumers had trouble finding the orange juice on the shelf. At the same time, Tropicana's direct competitors doubled their sales, forcing Tropicana to revert to original packaging.

When packaging is related to corporate social responsibility, consumers are more sensitive and even more demanding. They require that eco-friendly products are contained in eco-friendly packaging. And it is a fact that if companies do not listen to their consumers, consumers do not buy their brands. This happens because brand image, in effect, reflects the relationship of consumers with the organization that is differentiated from competitors with a perceived promise and an emotional and physical satisfaction that follows the use of the product. Brand image can motivate loyalty, build trust and enhance brand recognition to consumers. Therefore, if packaging is enough to entice consumers into purchasing the product, then, brand image for socially responsible consumers is particularly important. Corporate social responsibility improves the brand image of an organization, which can expand the base of loyal customers.

There are organizations that develop their own private brands that have extremely similar packaging attributes such as packaging shape, size, color, lettering or even the logo to already established brands. Such practices are not socially responsible and can lead to consumers' misapprehensions

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