When in 1898 advertising advocate E. St. Elmo Lewis, the president and co-founder of the Association of National Advertisers, pioneered the AIDA model on consumer studies, not many knew that the process of his model would be accepted as the essential guide to successful selling of products and services through branding. AIDA stands for attracting the Attention of the punter, raising customer Interest, persuading the consumer that they Desire to purchase and lastly for the Action taken by customers when purchasing the product or service.

Advertisers branding a product try to attract potential buyers through the use of clever, unusual and appealing packaging. With the help of a talented designer they will raise customers’ interest by creating a logo that draws in as it simultaneously connects the product with the logo and gives an idea of what it stands for. The creation of a slogan or a catchphrase which sticks in people’s minds makes the consumer feel a close association to the product and induces the desire to purchase. These seem to be the tricks of the branding trade which mostly work but at times fail desolately in grasping consumers’ attention.

The idea of giving brands an identity and making them stand out was initially formulated in an attempt to comfort consumers who were worried about goods that were factory produced. It was the addition of the human facet through the happy face of Uncle Ben which moved the trust from the familiar storekeeper to the individual brands. Two centuries later and the story is a different one, mainly because the roles have reversed, with brands having become a casualty of their own triumph. Simply put, image is the be all and end all as punters buy products based on the brand perception as opposed to the real product.

Perceptions are delicate and can be easily blemished through controversy, scandals, rumour or simply by changing the taste of a popular drink like Coca-Cola. It was an eye opener to Coca-Cola however to observe that their consumers did not care about the new improved flavour, they just wanted their old Coke back. Perception to them was everything.

Nowadays if a product fails companies will not fault the product but the brand. It is not the actual article sitting on the shop shelf but rather what it symbolises; what it invokes in the consumer’s mind. If a brand can become more valued than the material asset of a product itself it would not be far-fetched to suggest that this value could vanish in the time it takes to drink a can of ‘new taste’ Coca Cola.

Apples and tins… Just do it
Bottles, boxes and packaging are vital in the land of branding as they are the first impression a consumer gets and therefore can make or break a sale. The objective is rather straightforward in that the design of the exterior will draw consumers to the product on the shelves through a striking, eye-catching packaging. The tricky part is for the designer to simultaneously communicate to the buyer what image the product portrays.

However, it gets slightly more intricate as the designer of the packaging attempts to achieve powerful consumer communication. With the product exterior being paramount to advertising, one of the prime endeavours is the ability to evoke an emotional evaluation through packaging, which should leave the consumer feeling drawn to it in a sentiment inducing manner. A really good packaging will leave punters with a positive reaction that triggers emotions such as happiness and assurance. At the same time it should engender a sense of anticipation, which then manifests itself as a longing to try the product, rather than just see it sitting on the shelf.

There are several considerations to be taken into account when designing the product packaging in a manner which will make it truly effective at convincing a consumer to want to use it. Is the product likable and distinctive within its category, and more importantly does it communicate the brand as well as the scent, flavour or concept of it? There are products that have been developed in exactly such manner and they seem to deliver on this guarantee while simultaneously evoking the feeling in consumers that they need to embrace the product.

A stroke of genius hit the creators of Absolute Vodka when they turned its bottle into a bridge, a golf course and a conspiracy. The company plainly made its product standout by redrawing and changing the appearance of its bottle in its adverts, which in turn was perceived a trendier, more modern way to enjoy vodka. The company’s branding decision led to success as it saw sales rise from a mere 2.5 percent market share in the early 80s to over 50 percent today.

When walking into the cosmetics section of a department store consumers are surrounded by scents filling the air, vibrant colours on the counters and a vast array of perfume bottles to choose from. A success story here is Jean Paul Gaultier with his classic fragrance designs for men and women, which are bottles shaped in the form of a male and female torso. Classique, the female scent, wears a corset which was inspired by a Gaultier fashion creation for Madonna. Both bottles are then sold in a large round tin rather than a traditional box with the name of the designer used as a logo appearing larger than the fragrance name. The design of his bottle became so legendary that in 2009 Evian asked Gaultier to produce a limited edition design for its water bottle.

A more recent example of stunning packaging is the minimalist approach used by Apple products. It seems only the fundamentals are included. Simplicity is what makes the unpacking of a Mac such a powerful experience. It is impossible to ignore the hard work that goes into the detail of Apple packaging which easily succeeds in making the consumer feel like the sophistication and brilliance of the design extends beyond its products to its packaging. The Apple logo and name of the company, which has been one of its key branding tools and crucial to its development and products, is continually deliberated by those trying to find its origin.

Nobody will dispute that Apple is now one of the most widely recognised logos worldwide but similarly the logos of Google, Coca-Cola, Nike and McDonalds have achieved what many have failed to accomplish: they are imprinted in our minds forever.

However, logos can also turn out disastrous when they cost around £400,000 to produce and then create international outrage because nations feel them to be racist. One such logo is the one for the 2012 Olympic Games, which Iran claims spells the word Zion and undermines Olympic values.

Carlsberg doesn’t do slogans…
There is no question about the importance of quality and usability of a product itself, however nothing beats a good, successful slogan to market the product. Captivating slogans will help a company draw attention to a product from budding customers and a carefully thought through slogan has also the power to evoke emotions and memories in its target audience. If particularly catchy it could even make prospective consumers feel good and generate a want for what becomes an instantly recognisable service or product. A slogan has the ability to boost the image of a brand within the market place and can aid in the recollection and recognition of the product. A well-developed slogan will slowly assists in forming brand differentiation in the mind of the punter.