Zen and the art of packaging

Remember the Superstar Rajini title card?

I bet if you close your eyes now, you can recall the Bond-inspired music and the blue stars and the yellow letters too!

You walk into a packed, bustling cinema hall for a Superstar Rajinikanth flick. And the film begins without “Super Star Rajni” being animated with that fanfare around you.

Would you feel the same about that “Thalaivar Padam”? Would it even be one?

Let’s switch scenes now.

It’s a slushy, rainy day, and your throat feels sore. You open your medicine box hunting for a cough drop.

Were you looking for a green triangular logo?

There is a good chance that you were.

Now, imagine if Vicks came in a square container with a black logo.

Would you even recognise that as a cough drop in your box of meds?

Why not?

To be able to answer that, let’s answer this first.

How many brands out there do you actually recall with your eyes closed? And what is the first thing you remember about that brand? Hold on to that answer!

Every time we see a product on the shelf or the rack, we aren’t just seeing it; we are creating a particular association with the product.

The more familiar we are with a product, the stronger the association, and these associations are more often than most based on a product’s colour, shape, size, and mode of packaging.

Additionally, the brain tends to group familiar things as good things. According to psychologist Robert Zajonc, this is referred to as the Mere Exposure Effect.

Similarly, this “familiarity of good things” leads us to group these associations to reliability and often, nostalgia. They’re our subconscious “Rajini title cards” to memorable, positive experiences.

There are a host of brands that haven’t changed elements of their now-iconic packaging for several decades and are now stories of phenomenal success.

This is why we see endless knock-offs like Abibas, KFC (Kozhi Fried Chicken, and yes, this does exist!), or even Sunbucks Coffee. All to piggyback on the kind of associations one resonates with the originals like Adidas Originals! Hey, we also wrote about how lettering works with Adidas Originals and a few other brands too. Check them out here.

So what is it about the colours, shapes and packages that make us connect as deeply with a brand as we do? Where did they begin?

Tune in as we dive in!

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