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The Role of Packaging in Emotional Branding

Building a brand must necessarily also include all those strategies that, in the medium and long term, will help the brand to find its definitive positioning within a certain market segment, also strengthening its reputation and consideration among consumers. In a historical era characterised by a great push towards digitalisation, towards virtual universes, a brand can be built from scratch even starting from social media, provided that one already has an original basic idea to be declined in various forms within the new online communication channels. When the public and stakeholders notice well-managed social profiles, characterised by a visual and content coherence that accords with the brand’s values and objectives, they will automatically create a positive association that will strengthen their consideration for the brand, even prompting them to take concrete actions within the company’s online spaces (such as purchasing a product or subscribing to the newsletter). However, by devoting much of their attention to the virtual aspects of communication, such as creating and planning content for social networks, they risk distracting companies’ attention from the practical and tangible aspects of their work, such as the functionality of products or the appearance of the packaging in which they are presented to the general public. 

New brand strategies 

It should come as no surprise that some brands have voluntarily renounced the creation and management of corporate social profiles: this is certainly a controversial and counter-cultural choice, but in most cases, the reasons behind it are well motivated and linked to extremely practical aspects, such as the desire to focus more on the tangible and concrete qualities of the product. In some cases, the communicative strategies of a brand can be built starting from the product itself, from the exploitation of its unique and singular characteristic, capable of distinguishing it from all competitor productions. One of these is undoubtedly the packaging, which in certain cases can guide consumers’ choices solely on the basis of aesthetic, and visual criteria, without the intrinsic quality of the product being taken into the slightest consideration. 

The mechanism that governs packaging strategies is extremely simple: Whether it’s food or electronics packaging solutions, by proposing attractive packaging with certain chromatic and aesthetic characteristics, the brand voluntarily decides to conquer its consumers through the power of emotion, which in most cases can also be triggered by visually pleasing packaging animated by bright colors (or even sober and essential, depending on peoples’ tastes). The emotional charge can drive people to make a so-called impulse purchase, which in most cases is linked to a strong emotion that the consumer experiences in a matter of moments. Sometimes all it takes is a simple glance: if a certain product, with specific packaging, enters the field of vision of a particularly sensitive consumer, he or she is likely to buy it immediately within a minute or two, without hardly thinking about it. In order to achieve such an effect, companies have an infinite number of possibilities at their disposal: single-colored, essential packaging, small packages animated by geometric lines that make them particularly attractive, or even an explosion of lines and colors in a structurally rigid package, and many others. 

Internet and social media 

The real challenge, at this historical juncture, is also to be able to replicate these effects online, transferring the chromatic and visual power of packaging into multi-channel communication, including social media. If the brand succeeds in arousing the same emotions online as well, in a virtual and non-tangible context, it will undoubtedly have taken a decisive step forward in the development of its business performance, winning over its online and offline audience in exactly the same way. By presenting the product in a certain way online as well, with high-level copy and attractive photographs, any company can achieve truly prodigious results, especially in terms of sales. Some brands specializing in online gambling have already successfully employed these principles, achieving incredible results. As can also be read in the Jackpotcity review, this historic portal has managed to transfer the dazzling charm of land-based casinos to an online platform, while keeping it unchanged. The exceptional graphic layout, common to all games offered by the site, is a real joy to behold and clearly recalls the bright and glittering atmosphere of land-based casinos. The vast assortment of games made available by the site, moreover, is capable of satisfying even the most complex needs, satisfying even the most experienced players. 

The impulsive purchase, the one that is completed in twenty or thirty seconds, is induced mainly by the beauty and aura of pleasantness that envelops the products and their packaging.