London, UK 2012
Red, white and blue dominate the retail environment at the
moment. With a busy year for Great Britain including the Queen’s Diamond
Jubilee, a Brit in the Wimbledon Finals and the Olympics being hosted here,
there is surely every reason to drape the Union Jack around the shoulders of
your brand and join in the patriotic spirit….and of course hope for a lift in
sales during these otherwise quite dreary times of austerity and rain!
But is all this really adding brand value, or simply hopping
onto the bandwagon of nationalistic pride in the hope of some short lived
commercial gain?
Take for example Twinings. Awarded the Royal Warrant in 1837
and now offering over 100 varieties, the launch of a limited edition range in
celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is wholly in keeping with the
brand’s core values, as is the stunning detail of the packaging. No flags here
– just a gold carriage and commemorative ‘royal’ detailing beautifully embossed
around the oval caddies (loose tea) and rectangular caddies (tea bags) –
something to suit every street party. And each format is available in 3
colourways, making the set not only collectable but the packaging reusable too.
At the other end of the spectrum I see M&Ms – a wholly
American brand which, with a little help from UK band Little Mix, has chosen to
launch a limited edition pack of red, white and blue sweets (or should that be
candies) with the Union Jack proudly splashed across their packaging. With no
apparent link back to the brand at all, beyond the limited edition packaging
there really is not much for the consumer to engage with. Shame on you MARS!
That’s not to say that only British brands should benefit in
2012. P&G, another US multinational (and Worldwide Partner of the 2012
Games), has joined forces with Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, to launch
limited edition packaging to support the P&G Capital Clean up campaign, a
series of clean up events designed to bring an army of 1,700 community
champions together to spruce up more neglected areas of the city ahead of the
Olympics. This links the household cleaning brands of P&G perfectly with
the trend of growing local community spirit and pride, and of course with the
Olympics.
So, the launch of limited edition packaging can be hugely
beneficial to brands - it can refresh awareness, deliver shelf standout and
drive consumer interest. But it will only add real value to the consumer if it
responds to a true insight and reinforces their own present associations with
the brand, and demonstrates a genuine reason to purchase beyond price alone.
