Event programme to address packaging issues

Easyfairs has announced that its Packaging Innovations event, set for 11-12 February 2009 at the NEC in Birmingham, UK, will address key issues and debates during its seminar programme.

Appealing to consumers' emotional side through packaging, modern pack designs that compromise openability, and brand tactics to survive the slowdown are some of the issues that will be debated.

The two-day show features around 80 free-to-attend presentations from new packaging design experts, plus academic research findings and opinion from brand managers.

There will also be a Brand Summit, featuring practical seminars designed specifically for brand managers and marketers.

Among the Brand Summit speakers is Jonathan Sands, chairman of Elmwood Design.

Sands, who advises brand bosses in Japan, the US, India and Australia, discusses the tactics being used worldwide to boost consumer confidence during the economic slowdown.

He said: 'The big global trend is anxiety, be it over the credit crunch, the environment, food scares or terrorism.

'As a result, I'm seeing brands striving to develop antidotes to anxiety.

'One example of this is the growth of retro branding that oozes nostalgia and throws consumers back to halcyon days when they weren't as fearful and were and less worried about spending money.

Sand's talk draws on other examples of 'anxiety antidote' marketing tactics.

Research carried out by show organiser, Easyfairs, revealed that almost a third of brand managers thought it was difficult to assess the return on investment (ROI) delivered by innovative packaging.

However, Jonathan Ford, creative partner at Pearlfisher, and the man credited with the 'chocolate revolution' at Green and Black's, disagrees and in his Summit seminar provides independent proof of pack design ROI.

He will provide case study evidence of how Green and Black's identity and packaging redesign created overnight success and sustained long-term growth.

Nick Verebelyi, director of 3D branding and packaging at Design Bridge, makes a case for 'instinctive packaging', adding that insights into how the consumer's instinctive responses to pack design are vital if brands are to successfully communicate their proposition.

Verebelyi said: 'Packaging should connect with the instincts of consumers, which are shaped by economic, political and cultural influences as well as rational considerations.

'For example, minimalist 'Method' homecare products appeal to sophisticated western sensibilities, while for Russian smokers, ostentatious designs appeal because of a culture rich in decorative influences and liberation after decades of repression.

Elsewhere, Dr Alaster Yoxall, a principal research fellow from Sheffield Hallam University and an expert on packaging 'openability', reveals how some brands are letting down elderly consumers.

He said: 'Packaging openability issues are getting pushed further up brand agendas.

'However, there is still a lot of work to be done.

'For example, ring pull cans were designed to aid easy opening, but I've seen videos of elderly people trying to open them that would truly sadden viewers.

'One of the main problems facing the elderly is that innovative packaging design is unfamiliar to them.

'As we get older our eyesight, and possible cognitive facility, begins to degenerate so these new pack concepts can be baffling.

Yoxall will explain what packaging technologists can do to help the elderly overcome openability problems.

Another speaker illustrating the importance of appealing to consumer emotions is Sean O'Connor, director at New York-based Smart Design, a consultancy that has developed an 'emotional mapping' system to evaluate people's reactions to product packaging.

O'Conner will explain how, using examples from clients including Microsoft and Coca Cola, brands can appeal to consumers on an emotional level and tailor designs to elicit positive experiences.

John Noble, director at the British Brands Group, will discuss how public policy is having a greater influence on what can and cannot feature on packaging and the implications for consumers, brand owners and the packaging industry.

Sustainable packaging developments will be debated in the co-located Easyfairs Ecopack show.

The seminar itinerary includes a robust defence of bio-polymer use by the National Non-Food Crop Centre (NNFCC), which argues that developing such renewable plastics for packaging would not result in food shortages.

Envirowise and Wrap jointly offer a seminar programme looking at eco-sensitive packaging issues.

In particular, Wrap will present findings from the Food We Waste report - which found that a third of all food purchased in the UK is thrown away - and reveal its plans to develop an online resource for brands searching sustainable packaging products from suppliers around the world.

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