In a recent study by the CMO Council, 94 percent of senior marketing decision makers identified presenting a connected and personalized omnichannel experience as important—if not critical—to achieving their organizations’ business goals through an engaging customer experience.
Additionally, 60 percent of respondents identified product packaging as a critical touchpoint in their engagement strategy. In fact, the study suggests physical touchpoints like product packaging and in-store displays are seen as more important to the success of the overall customer experience than channels like email, direct mail and mobile apps.
At the same time, consumers expect brands to be responsive to trends, suggestions, complaints and more, including rapid adjustments to labels and packaging. This can lead to unrealistic pressure on expected timeframes for supplier delivery on the current infrastructure. The report states, “The speed of digital has established unreasonable expectations for instant gratification… [and] speed is key, as 52 percent of end consumers said the most important attribute of a brand experience is fast response times to issues, needs, requests and suggestions. If brands fail to meet these expectations or persist in delivering frustrating experiences, consumers will walk away, even from brands they love. In fact, 47 percent say they will stop doing business with the brand.”
This presents a challenge for marketers, with only 6 percent reporting they have achieved integration and alignment between key touchpoints of their customers’ journeys. The report states, “Most often, it is the physical points of engagement that are being left in the cold as nearly half (49 percent) of marketers admit alignment across touchpoints is selective—at best—and really only across digital channels.” Fifty-three percent of marketers believe they should be able to implement the necessary changes to labels and packaging in 14 days or less in order to meet these consumer expectations, but 78 percent report being unable to do so.
Color Efficiency Is Critical
In flexography generally and labels specifically there has been significant focus on improving efficiency, from the use of virtual design tools by brands and designers to minimize the time-consuming and expensive development of rounds of physical samples, to overall equipment efficiency (OEE) improvements in the flexo pressroom.
Data courtesy of CMO Council
But one thing often overlooked is putting in place a modernized color management process despite increasingly complex global supply chains. When packaging color does not meet a standard, it causes waste, rework and longer cycle times; most importantly, it can damage the brand at the shelf.
Considering the resources brands and design teams invest into creating the right face for a product, the stakes have never been higher for production accuracy. Brand managers and designers want their intent to be realized in the final product, every time and everywhere the design appears—in stores, online, in advertising, across regions and countries. And color is a key component in achieving that goal.
Consumers often seek their favorite brands by looking for the color on the shelf—think “Tide orange” or “Coke red.” If the color doesn’t look right, consumers will reach right past that product to one that looks “fresher” or worse yet, turn to a competitor. Studies indicate this “First Moment of Truth” happens within two to seven seconds after a shopper first encounters a product on the shelf.
Color Connects
The importance of color in packaging cannot be overstated. At the most fundamental level, color connects with consumers’ emotions. Creating strong emotional connections with the target audience builds greater brand equity in a marketplace where competition for share of mind, heart and pocketbook has sharply increased.
In an even more practical way, color creates a connection throughout a product line. It allows for line extension while building on the equity of the core brand identity.
Data courtesy of CMO Council
Getting to Great Color—Consistently
Packaging converters deal with some of the most complex and time-consuming requirements in the industry. Beginning with files and proofs provided by customers, they must establish and match color standards for the production environment on packaging materials that can be challenging to match to commercial stocks. Then those production standards must be maintained, communicated and used effectively at every point of the color workflow to ensure optimal results.
While many packaging converters have developed their own methods to accomplish this, there are new tools, industry standards and best practices that have been developed to save time and money. These will help you keep up with the surge in packaging demands and stay one step ahead of clients and the competition.
The Color Maturity Model
To select the right color tools and best practices, it is important to understand how your operation currently communicates, measures and evaluates color. Converting operations need to assess their current levels of color maturity and identify gaps that need to be addressed.
Color technology maturity levels, at their most basic, begin with a visual assessment and progress by incorporating the measurement of density and ultimately incorporate spectral measurement. The model, as defined by X-Rite, takes into consideration other production aspects, like how digital references are captured, communicated and used in ink formulation, pressroom quality and verification.
Where does your organization fall on the color maturity continuum? Here are key questions we recommend you explore to find out:
- How do you currently develop, manage and utilize color standards across your workflow, from prepress and the inkroom, to the pressroom and quality control?
- What software applications do you use?
- Which measurement instruments do you use, and where in the workflow are they used?
- What are your typical print applications and substrates? Which cause you the most difficulty?
- How integrated are the tools you are using throughout your production line? Are there opportunities to automate color monitoring, management and reporting?
Assess where on the color technology model you fall, to better understand where opportunities for improvement in your operations lie. In an ever-changing landscape of consumer packaging, it is important to construct an agile workflow process that allows you to respond to shifting demand.
About the Author: Cindy Cooperman is X-Rite Pantone’s global director of sales for packaging and brand. In this role, she is responsible for leading a global sales team focused on delivering value and solutions to the packaging supply chain to include brand owners, designers, premedia partners, packaging converters and ink companies. She brings together companies, people and ideas to guide the relevant players in the packaging industry in adopting new technologies in practical and profitable ways.
You must be logged in to post a comment.