Luxury packaging solutions business Delta Global has worked with some of the world's best known brands, from Tom Ford and Coach, to Estee Lauder. With many luxury brands often given as gifts, Robert Lockyer, Delta Global CEO and founder, shares his reasons why he believes packaging can play the biggest part in the gift-giving process.
In May, market intelligence agency Mintel identified Reinventing the Box as one of the top trends in packaging as online shopping sets to gain further popularity, meaning brands must fully establish an e-commerce packaging strategy.
Unboxing videos shared across social media can show how powerful packaging can be as a marketing tool, with companies increasingly aware they need win customers not only with a product, but also with the way it is wrapped.
Lockyer suggests there are four key reasons as to why the packaging of goods can be the most important part of a buying or receiving gifts.
Beautiful packaging creates an element of theatre
“It is the ‘something special’ moment that good packaging creates,” says Lockyer.
“An element of ‘theatre’ needs to be created because it builds an anticipation that is often more exhilarating to experience than the product inside. If you’re not yet convinced, ask yourself this: Would you be genuinely excited to open something that is wrapped in a plain black bag as oppose to something presented to you luxuriously?”
An emotional connection with the consumer
Lockyer says similarly to that feeling of theatre, packaging is one of the few ways in which brands can build emotions with their consumers.
“No brand has the resources to hand-wrap and personally deliver its products to customers, which means this personal experience needs to be replaced in other ways,” he said.
“For luxury clothing company Ted Baker, it’s as simple as a small rectangular branded card included in all purchases signed ‘With love, Ted x’. It’s a small touch which makes an otherwise giant business feel like a local one.”
Re-usability
“Sustainability is something we at Delta Global consider in every single one of our packaging designs, which means we always think beyond the presentation of the gift,” says Lockyer.
Plastic-free initiatives were another key trend in packaging identified by Mintel, with appropriate end-of-life pack solutions gaining increasing consideration.
Lockyer says, “If brands do it right, then it’s not uncommon for those receiving the product to hold on to the packaging and display it as proudly as they would the gift inside.”
Marketing
"Don’t just assume that because someone has bought from you once that they will again – you need to use your packaging as a way of building your brand,” says Lockyer.
“It’s about ensuring zero brand dilution and guarding your brand values through everything you do, right through to how it’s packaged. Think post-sale how can you produce even less waste? By ensuring your product looks gift-worthy from the off – that way customers will not want to wrap it further.
“Try to create something memorable that, if put into a line-up of other brands, is picked out every time without fail.”
