Speciality Packaging

INNOVATIVE METAL PACKAGING DRIVES SALES AND BUILDS BRANDS
Groundbreaking Concepts Seen Across a Wide Range of Industries

By: Didier Sourisseau, Vice President, CROWN Speciality Packaging

Marketers and packaging designers are constantly challenged to develop creative ways to generate excitement among today's increasingly discriminating consumers. To accomplish this goal, a growing number of world-renowned brands are using innovative metal packaging as the centerpiece of successful promotions.

There are many ways that metal packaging can convey the value and quality of the product and make a strong statement about the brand. No longer limited to traditional food and beverage packaging, metal provides both the creativity and economy needed for high impact, short run promotions.

Metal packaging suppliers like the CROWN Speciality Packaging, a subsidiary of Crown Holdings, Inc. (Crown), have collaborated with a wide range of customers, including Nestle, TF1, Electrolux, Remy Martin, Royal Canin, and Biscuiterie Menou, to develop highly creative promotional campaigns.

Marketers at Nestle (Vevey, Switzerland) took an "outside the box" approach when they developed a packaging promotion for Kit Kat and Yorkie Chunks chocolates. They conceptualized a campaign targeting the male "beer-drinking" demographic. It was timed to take place during the Father's Day and Christmas holidays and featured the chocolates in a package resembling their favorite beer.

To put this idea into action, Nestlé turned to Crown's Speciality Packaging subsidiary, for whom the project presented an exciting challenge. A traditional beverage container, which is designed to hold liquids like beer, would not be the ideal option for packaging chocolates. Crown needed to come up with a creative solution that would fulfill the design concept while properly meeting high standards for freshness and protection.

To meet these requirements, Nestle and Crown modified a traditional aerosol container. Composed of thick-gauged steel, this container style adequately ensured product integrity, maintained freshness and performed well in distribution.

The aerosol container was produced at the same diameter as a traditional beverage package (65 mm), and a tray-style end replaced the usual conical aerosol end. The end ensured safe, easy access to the chocolates and was embossed to look like a typical ring-pull on beer containers.

In the eyes of consumers, the package had the overall look of a beer container, but its true characteristics protected the quality product inside. The new package became the centerpiece of a successful marketing campaign to gain male consumer attention for two of Nestle's well-known chocolate brands. According to a Nestle representative, the new package exceeded expectations. Nestle sold over one million units of these packs during the Christmas season in the United Kingdom alone, and several major hotel chains have expressed interest in stocking them in hotel mini-bars all year round.

When the popular film, Amelie, starring Audrey Tautou, was released on DVD, the French production company, TF1 (Boulogne-Billancourt, France) saw a unique opportunity for a promotion.

TF1 decided to launch the sale of the movie on DVD with a specially packaged collector's edition. A departure from the usual plastic or cardboard packaging used for DVDs, the collector's edition consisted of a colorful metal box decorated with graphics and images from the movie. The package included the disc as well as scripts, photos, and other items appealing to film buffs and collectors.

Because a "treasure" box played a significant role in the plot of the movie, this promotion was perfect for this product.

According to Pascale LeSauvage, Manager for International Distribution for TF1, "This package allowed TF1 to provide more than just the DVD. We provided the entire experience of the movie, giving fans a little 'treasure box' of their own."

This special promotion also maximized a short window of opportunity to reach a large number of customers. As LeSauvage stated, "The entertainment industry is ever-changing and a movie is only considered 'new' for a limited time. The collector's edition was so successful, the 100,000-unit run completely sold out during the competitive Christmas season."

TF1 has developed similar promotional packaging for the launch of a collector's series for director Etienne Chatiliez, as well as a number of popular children's cartoons (Casper, the Smurfs, Barbapapa). The packages have recently been added to the permanent collection at the prestigious Louvre Museum in a special section dedicated to advertising.

The Electrolux Group (Stockholm, Sweden) developed a metal packaging promotion that successfully reinforced its image as an innovator and enhanced shelf appeal for the "Clario" line of vacuum cleaners.

To implement this promotion, Electrolux collaborated with Crown to develop "Le Pack Clario." Recognized by the prestigious French "Oscars d l'Emballage" award, the container represented a completely new concept for packaging vacuum cleaners.

Composed of a steel conical pail, 360/380 mm in diameter and 540 mm in height with handles and a lever-lid, the solution provides an immediate premium to the customer and was used as an in-store promotional tool. Once at home, consumers could store the vacuum cleaners in the container, or use it for other purposes.

The package was decorated with bright, feminine colors and over 30,000 units were given away with the vacuum cleaners in the weeks prior to the Mother's Day holiday. The results of the promotion were impressive. According to Electrolux, consumers found the originality and high-quality appearance enticing. Consumers developed a positive image of the brand and an upsurge in sales of the vacuum cleaners during this holiday period resulted.

Because packaging promotions are very common in the alcohol and spirits segment, Remy Martin (Cognac, France) needed something truly original to enhance brand appeal for the VS line of cognacs in liquor stores across the world.

From the start, it was clear that the premium nature of metal packaging was ideal for conveying the style and prestige of this product. However, Remy Martin's designers did not want to be restrained by the technical limitations of working with metal.

Upon investigating the newest technologies for steel packaging - from high-tech graphics capabilities, to shaping and other innovations - -designers discovered that the parameters for creativity with metal were wider than they thought, even for a limited run.

For example, a festive metallic polka dot design was chosen to convey the freshness of the brand and helped position VS as the ideal spirit for mixed drinks. Printing the polka dots was made possible because of Crown's ultra-precise color registration capabilities. In addition, the final package design incorporated unique functionality: an easy-open end.

The addition of an easy-open end allows consumers to simply grasp the ring pull and tear the lid from the container. Frequently offered as a gift, the cognac package can be conveniently opened at parties or special events, with no can opener required. Currently, the easy-open end is a well-established convenience solution for soups and processed foods, and is growing in other market segments around the world. The Remy Martin package marks the first use of this solution for a spirits product. The promotion not only proved to be very popular with traditional cognac connoisseurs, but also appealed to a younger generation of consumers.

Royal Canin (Aimargues, France), a leading supplier of specialized pet foods, developed a give-away promotion that drove sales over 50% during a specific time period, while bolstering relationships with its target market customers for the future.

Each year, the company develops a packaging promotion for a product line formulated for a specific breed of animal. This strategy is designed to enrich the company's image and boost sales within the product line's specific niche market.

During the promotion, food is sold in its usual paperboard packaging, and metal containers are provided as a give-away. The metal container is enhanced with beautiful images of the featured breed.

This year, Royal Canin promoted a pet food specifically formulated for Yorkshire Terriers. The company produced a 350,000-unit run of a small sized metal container, (20mm x 230 mm) and a 50,000-unit run of a large size (153 mm x 300 mm.) Consumers can pour the contents of the bag directly in the recloseable container, or place the entire bag inside. The metal container increases the shelf life of the product and creates longer brand exposure.

As Herve Beck of Royal Canin recently explained: "In the past, our pet food promotions were based around price mark-downs. Revolving the promotion around packaging is a better strategy. Rather than discounting the brand, we add value to the product we sell. We have seen that the metal packages drive sales over 50% during each promotional period, and have become an essential part of our marketing mix."

By developing a metal packaging promotion, Biscuiterie Menou (Plougonver, France) was able to carefully position its Breton biscuits, a relatively new player, within the French Breton biscuits market that has been around for over a hundred years. The promotion solidified the company's relationship with longstanding customers. At the same time, it increased the product's appeal to new customers, allowing Menou to capture a greater market share.

The new package was developed from a tall, "spaghetti" tin, customized to create a modern, cutting-edge look and feel. A metal "wire-mesh" design allows consumers to view the product prior to purchase. State-of-the-art steel supports and conveys the total quality of the product.

By collaborating with Crown, customers like Menou can take advantage of the company's wide-ranging expertise. Crown's representatives are able to pull ideas from a variety of markets and packaging styles, providing options that world-class brands ---- nor their competitors - have ever really considered possible.

Crown can deliver these "high-concept" package designs because of the synergy of all of its specialized divisions. With business units dedicated to beverage, food, and aerosol packaging as well as metal and plastic closures, Crown has the widest product range in the marketplace. Along with the best-equipped design studios and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, Crown assists customers in developing high-quality, innovative market-leading packaging products.

Crown's Speciality Packaging subsidiary is committed to design innovation and to working closely with its customers during the entire design and development process. Coordination with advanced design engineers and solutions-based steel manufacturers allow the company to create truly unique and effective packaging.

Crown Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is a leading supplier of packaging products to consumer marketing companies around the world. World headquarters are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Crown Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is a leading supplier of packaging products to consumer marketing companies around the world. World headquarters are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In Europe: Martin Stenson, Marketing & Development Manager, CROWN Speciality Packaging; Tel: +44 1623 676 242; Email: martin.stenson@eur.crowncork.com

For editorial inquiries: Michael F. Dunleavy, Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Public Relations; Tel: (215) 698-5051; Email: mdunleavy@crowncork.com.    

For investors: Timothy J. Donahue, Senior Vice President – Finance; Tel: (215) 698-5088.