Perfect Packaging For Profit (Part One)
11-14-08
Okay. You have a product and a catchy name for it, protected by a registered Trademark and Copyright.
You should already be working on the packaging for your product, media, or whatever it is you want to produce.
For physical ancillary products (posters, books, toys, product merchandise). Make sure the Title is in a large enough font style that it can be seen in a store from twenty feet away or even if it is high on a shelf. Walk the aisles of retail outlets (I do miles every year) and notice how many packages catch your eye and how you skip those that don’t. Big titles are good and the lettering and coloring should make it stand out.
Titles must have ‘punch’ which can be achieved by highlighting letters with a complementary color border trim on an enhancing background. Check out Robert Ludlum’s Game Of Counter-Espionage and you will see what I mean. I co-designed this book sized board game with Robert Ludlum directly (The Borne Identity series, Icarus Agenda). It was made to look like one of his hard cover books to attract his readers. This saved us time and money since we imitated layouts that Bantam-DoubleDay-Dell had already completed focus group tests to design and allocated funds to come up with. If it isn’t broke…
Look at most novel covers and you will see what I mean. Keep it simple and show images/pictures that evoke emotion and cause curiosity from all viewers, no matter which country they live in.
The same goes for entertainment products (movies, video games, compact disks, digigital). A film and video game need the characters to click with a large audience (not just the target audience). This form of media needs to open big and have legs to see sequels made, which helps sell the ancillary licensed products. Focus the title as part of the emotional images, yet keep it simple to read (more Baby Boomer’s eyes need larger print sizes).
Movies (ninety minute commercials) can translate into major market share and sales of merchandise globally with the help of packaging. Choosing good looking talent, qualified producers and crews, great images used in commercials/trailers and posters that can be licensed onto products supporting the brand, can produce more revenues than just the box office and DVD sales bring in. Everything is more interrelated than ever before.
Even music CD’s and posters, photographs and music videos should utilize the above recommendations. Brand the image and emotion to the band and its members, not just the songs. A perfect package is required to break a band’s sound.
Make your title and package enforce the emotion and theme of the entertainment product. Gain the media’s attention with angles that enhance the flavor of the press reporter’s message. Perfect packaging can only help!
=================================================
Orders for the FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – ebook will be available in 2009. Preorder now by contacting Info@Playdigm.com and for further information. (c) Tuey All Rights Reserved.
Tags: brand, cd, Coca Cola, dvd, e-book, film, Licensing, Mind Share, music, packaging, Robert Ludlum, Robert Ludlum's Game of Counter-Espionage, sales, Sandford Tuey