Every company has a story. In fact, every company has many stories. There’s the history of the brand as a whole as well as all the smaller, more specific stories along the way. On top of these personal anecdotes, there are the stories worth sharing that have nothing to do with your brand’s development. Instead, the story’s purpose is to connect with your customers on a deeper level.
So, what kind of stories are we talking about?
There’s story of why the customer is using your product, there’s folklore, and pop culture references that represent your company’s branding. Or, even the story customers make up for your brand when they look at your label. Haptic labeling techniques play a role in bringing this immersive story to life. More on that later…
Even by controlling the story your packaging tells, you don’t control how your customers will interpret it. Instead, you communicate your core principles. You develop an overall impression of the company’s capabilities, focus, and what drives it forward. It connects your brand to your customers on a deeper level right there in the grocery store aisle. Instant impact.
Tell a Story On Your Packaging With or Without Words
Uncle Ray’s potato chips are the perfect example of a brand using packaging space to write a story. Each flavor offers a different piece of the puzzle, enticing customers to buy another bag. Better still, each short story provides a clear picture of Ray and his core values as a business owner. You get to know the person while you get to know the brand.
Stories don’t have to be told with words, however. Take a look at the above R&D label designed by Great Lakes Label. This design features a local photographer’s beautiful image of a lighthouse on one of Michigan’s Great Lakes. Imagine being a Michigan-based customer looking at this label in-store. The picture communicates that the brand supports local artists, is a proud Michigan business, hopes that you, the buyer, will feel relaxed and carefree when drinking. It’s as though you’re at this beach just by using the product.
These three pieces of story-oriented information are communicated with single a glance. That is the power of using impactful imagery. In this case, it’s only effective for Michiganders, but never the less, the principles still apply for a national or international product release.
Add A Linked Story With Technology
QR codes are a free and simple method for linking your customers to content on your website. Instead of telling stories with words, or pictures, tell yours with video. A simple behind the scenes look at how the product their holding was made provides the customer with valuable insight and builds the brand’s relationship with them.
Other innovative labeling technologies such as NFC (Near Field Communication) and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) are used to provide customers with a more seamless experience. When NFC is turned on on a customer’s phone, they are automatically linked to the page of your choosing. This happens the second their phone comes in contact with the product’s label. Instead of downloading a QR code reader, the process is streamlined.
How Craft Beer Brands Excel At Storytelling in Their Label Designs
Craft breweries are masters at incorporating storytelling into label design. Take a look at the three Perrin labels above. Do they give you a sense of the company’s brand? Their fun, playful, rebellious style with brewing? Each label is vastly different. Different colors, graphics, art styles. Yet, there’s a connecting thread. The story they’re telling. With clear direction, customers will see the message too. Even on a subconscious level, customers will be drawn to the stories they relate to.
This also means that a broad story isn’t a strong story. Pinpoint what your brand’s principles are and show them off. This may connect to a broad group of people, and each person will interpret it differently, but the message is at least connecting with shoppers. Broad stories lack direction and will attract fewer people.
Use Innovative Labeling Techniques to Enhance Your Story
As the luxury market increases, the use of innovative labeling techniques also increases in popularity. The use of foiling, embossing, or any other technique shows customers that an immense amount of care is put into creating the product. This is why labeling techniques are becoming more popular for handcrafted items as well. Since it’s hard to visualize the impact of various techniques, we’ve created a blog to show you what a difference it makes.
Okay, so what do the below labels tell you? Does this tequila feel expensive? Handcrafted? Unique? Perhaps you’re envisioning a special occasion it would be perfect for. Or, maybe you see a specific person in mind. Someone who would love to open a bottle up as a gift. It’s all about igniting their imagination. Make it so that shoppers can’t resist picking up your product and examining the label.
The techniques support the stories customers see when they look at your product. This is because it elevates your brand and fully encapsulates the appeal to the product. When the labels are effective, so is the ability to connect with your customers with a single glance. It also helps that techniques like MotionCoat and Cast & Cure shimmer in the light.
What story are you telling?
Learn more about the labeling solutions Great Lakes Label offers. Now that you’ve learned the design basics, take your vision to the next level. Download our e-book, Complete Labeling Solutions.
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