Yesterday's WSJ had a good article on P&G's new packaging for Febreze. It is yet another example of how design can help solve marketing challenges.The Febreze brand managers were facing the same challenge shared by many consumer product companies: how can we sell more products? Many marketers resort to the same solutions -- cut the price, coupon, offer 25% more for the same price, heavy-up advertising.
What I like most about this example is that it seems to have been inspired by a simple insight -- consumers are likely to use more Febreze if it is visible in the home rather than tucked away out of sight under the sink along with myriad other household cleaners.
So in comes the design team armed with that insight, along with competitive references from Method Products (a pioneer in applying brand design to everyday household products) and Kleenex tissue boxes. And out comes a piece of packaging that has the ability to transform the brand more than any repositioning campaign ever could.
Now let's hope the new brand advertising lives up to the packaging.