Brand like a friend – Brands should be like a consumers best friend

You probably know the following situation: you find yourself on a street full of people who are all rushing past you. All of a sudden, you feel a little overwhelmed and lost. Then – out of the blue – you see a face you know very well: an old childhood friend and he is waving to you and smiling at you. You immediately feel joy enter and the tension leave your body and you strut towards him with anticipation.

This is exactly the same situation that we encounter in supermarkets. The “hectic people” represent the different products or their brands on the shelves. Due to the abundance of products, one can easily feel overburdened. Most of the time, however, customers choose the brand they already know well and which evokes certain (positive) emotions in them – generally speaking, you usually always trust your friend more than a stranger.

Just as you choose your friends, you also choose the brands you use. Above all, trust plays an important role here and creates the basis for a continuous relationship. But how do you best achieve this? Through integration and the constant consideration of continuity and authenticity. Ultimately, there should be absolutely no discrepancies between the design and the brand. The goal is to remain clearly recognizable as a brand at all times. Special characteristics, which the customer has always associated with the brand, should remain recognizable despite the “new” design. For example, if a brand is known to be high-quality, handcrafted, or progressive, this would be the equivalent of the qualities of the childhood friend who has always been generous, helpful, and cheerful since he or she was known. If this friend would suddenly behave completely differently from one day to the next and would instead act introverted, serious and distant, you would lose confidence very fast.

If the brand is considered a person with certain characteristics whose qualities need to be emphasized, then this mental leap can simplify the design process and make the purchase decision easier for the customer by allowing him or her opt for the brand on an emotional level. By focusing on the language used by your customers, you create a positive relationship between them and your brand. Finally, an effective synergy of shape, color(s) and material(s) makes up the character of the packaging and conveys the above-mentioned characteristics of the persona. Compare this to the appearance of the childhood friend: he is recognized by his overall appearence which is defined by smaller factors such as behavior, gestures and facial expressions.

The goal of every brand should be to convey the “right” characteristics and attributes by means of successfully designed packaging, which as a visually communicating vehicle drives in the direction of the customer in order to ensure recognizability – only in this way can trust be continuously maintained. After successful positioning of your brand, you can work together with professional design experts in an interdisciplinary way and shine with an optimal, possibly innovative packaging on the shelf that primarily matches your brand.
So: Brand like a friend, and watch the trust grow.

You can read what makes good packaging here.