Blog

An average supermarket shopper can be exposed to around 20,000 products in a single supermarket visit that may not last for 30 minutes. With this race against time and the ever-increasing number of products at a store, each trip for the shopper is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

With all this competition, brands need to make sure their product stand out from the crowd and attract customers. They need something to explore all the touchpoints and interact with the customers inside the store.

This is where the point of purchase marketing comes into play.

POP marketing gives the brands access to a customer’s mind while they are inside a store and looking to fulfil his shopping needs. It provides a brand with the power to highlight its product and compel the customer to go ahead and make a purchase decision favouring the said brand.

However, point of purchase is often confused with POP displays and POP marketing. Although they sound similar, each of these terms has a different meaning and plays a different role in the marketing regime.

So, dive right in to know more about the point of purchase and the terms related to it. 

What is Point of Purchase?

A point of purchase (POP) is the location of in-store brand-customer interaction where a potential customer makes a purchasing decision.

The definition of POP can be broken down into the following keywords:

• In-store interaction:  As opposed to common opinion, POP is not limited to the billing counter. It includes each touchpoint inside the store where a customer can interact with the offering or the brand.
• Potential customer: At this point, the customer only desires to buy some product, but they haven’t taken any action yet. Thus this is the point that precedes the customer’s actual decision.
• Purchasing decision: It’s a location where a brand can persuade or induce customers to buy its product. POP is the last marketing and promotional channel a brand uses before the customer makes their final decision.

In other words, POP denotes the touchpoint or the location where a customer interacts with the products inside a store.

For example, upon entering a store, a customer can access everything from a dangler to an aisle to a shelf to the billing counter, etc. These touchpoints are seen as the buyer’s interaction with the brand or offering, and can be categorised as the points of purchase.

What is POP Marketing?

Point of purchase marketing, also referred to as POP marketing or POP advertising, is a form of retail marketing used by various brands to induce customers to buy their products once they are in the store and ready to make a purchasing decision.

Brands use POP marketing techniques to make their products stand out from the clutter and catch the customer’s eye to induce impulsive purchase decisions favouring the displayed brand.

What Is A POP Display?

The elements which marketers use to market the product and attract buyers at the point of purchase are called POP displays.

POP displays are a great marketing tool to

• Promote the product and showcase special deals, offers, and other sales promotion strategies, and
• Educate the customer about the offering and brand details.

Along with POP displays, marketers also use packaging strategies, sales promotion, and personalised marketing to try and influence customer buying decisions in a retail store.

Types Of POP Displays

POP displays can be divided into various types based on their life span and their positions inside a store. Different types of POP displays have different usage and can be utilised by brands according to their needs.

Types Of POP Displays Based On Lifespan

According to the life span, POP displays can be categorised into the following three subcategories:

• Temporary: Temporary POP displays are designed to last for a short period of time. They usually feature seasonal promotions or discounts and can be easily replaced after a certain amount of time. They are mostly made up of inexpensive material and are comparatively cheaper. As such displays are more affordable, brands can easily swap them for fresh displays and maintain creativity without much investment. Shelf talkers or simple signage are two examples of temporary displays.
• Semi-permanent: Also known as secondary displays or off-shelf displays, semi-permanent displays are designed to last longer than temporary displays. They usually last from 6 months to a year. They are made up of materials like glass or heavy-duty cardboard and thus have a higher up-front cost.  Examples of such displays could be end caps or freestanding displays.
• Permanent: Permanent displays are built to last at least 1 to 3 years. These are usually designed to resemble a store within the store. They are made up of durable materials and require a higher investment.

Types Of POP Displays Based On Positions

According to their positions, POP displays can be categorised into the following subcategories:

1. Danglers: Danglers are one of the most common POP displays used by brands to attract customers. They are hanging signages dangled from the ceiling of a store, often used to educate customers about the qualities of the brand and any discounts, sales, or other promotions.
   
2. End caps: End caps are POP displays placed at the end of an aisle. They provide extra visibility and a prime location to the product as the customers can see them without even going down the aisle. Creative end caps help in attracting customers and further building up a brand’s image.
   
3. Freestanding displays: Freestanding displays are attractive displays that allow companies to place their product anywhere in the store. Brands can get creative and try their hand at designing innovative freestanding displays like a giant version of their product. For example, it will be almost impossible for the customers to miss this giant bowl of Maggi noodles in the middle of the store. This 360-degree display can be seen from all directions and will effectively attract customers while accurately projecting the brand’s organic image.
   
4. Shelf talkers: Shelf talkers are hanging tags or signs placed near a product on an aisle shelf. These tags make the product stand out within the aisle and educate the customer about the qualities of the product and the value it provides. Shelf talkers should be colourful, eye-catching, and highlight the product’s qualities in a line or two. Some shelf talkers also include promotions, discounts, and coupons which further induce the customers to buy the product.
   
5. Interactive displays: Brands can use technology to further enhance the in-store shopping experience for the customer and induce them to buy their product. Such displays work better than the usual POP displays. They encourage the customer to engage and interact with the brand rather than just inform them about certain product qualities. One such example is Campaign Outdoors’ jacket kiosk. The brand placed a 6-feet tall jacket kiosk in the middle of its store, allowing the customer to design a jacket themselves. The kiosk first allowed the customer to try on a jacket and then head on to the monitor where they could make various changes to the colour, size, and design of the product.
   
6. Dump bins: Dump bins are standalone POP displays used for small-packaging products like candy bars or chocolates. As dump bins are freestanding, they come in handy in attracting the customer while shopping through the store. They can also be strategically placed so that they can be seen or interacted with from all angles.
   
7. Floor graphics: Using floor graphics is yet another way brands try to draw attention to their products. A unique and creative floor graphic placed in front of the product could help brands distinguish their product from other similar items on the aisle. For example, these displays from Nesquik, Mortin, and Fox’s are great examples of floor displays as they are creative and strategically placed right in front of the brands’ products to entice and induce the customer to make a purchase.
   

Why Is POP Marketing Important?

POP marketing is a crucial tool for marketers and brands especially with an upsurge in impulse buying behaviour. It is a proven way to effectively optimise the product’s location inside the store and increase sales. Furthermore, POP marketing is important because it allows the brands to:

• Target a specific audience: As POP displays are a part of location-based advertising, they make it easier for the brand to reach targeted customers. Marketers often use in-store POP advertising strategies to target customers based on their demographics, location, and buying behaviour.
• Influence buying behaviour: Brands can effectively use POP marketing to influence the customer’s purchasing decision in their favour. With the help of attractive and creative POP displays, it becomes easy to highlight a certain product and persuade the customer to buy it.
• Promote brand’s offerings: POP displays act as a surrogate salesperson for brands. They highlight the brand’s various offerings, educate customers on the qualities of various products, and advertise any discounts or schemes on the said product.

What is the Objective of POP Marketing?

POP marketing aims to attract customers and influence their buying decisions while simultaneously enhancing the brand’s image. While ad campaigns, brand activation events, influencer marketing, social media marketing, and other marketing techniques can help get the customer to a store or building up a brand’s image, POP marketing helps the brand in engaging with the customer once they are inside the store and ready to make a purchase decision.

The main objectives which brands keep in mind while designing a POP marketing campaign are:

• Enhancing customer’s shopping experience: Customers often prefer to keep their shopping trips quick and efficient. According to a European study, 39% of 23 billion shopping trips lasted for just about 15 minutes. But, this works against the brands because the longer a customer is inside a store, the more likely it is for him to make purchasing decisions favouring the brand. Thus, brands use POP marketing to provide useful information efficiently and quickly, make shopping entertaining for the buyer, and induce them to buy their product.
• Increasing brand awareness: POP marketing is also used to increase brand awareness and further build up a brand’s image. When a customer looks at a huge POP display, they are reminded of previous marketing campaigns from the said brand. Even if the interaction doesn’t lead to purchase immediately, the customer will remember seeing the display from the said brand, which ultimately enhances the brand’s image.  
• Incrementing sales: As the competition among different brands has been growing exponentially in almost every industry, POP marketing comes in handy when a particular brand wants to highlight its product in a cluster of similar products. Creative freestanding displays, end caps, or dump bins can effectively attract and influence potential buyers and increase sales.

POP Marketing Examples

Many brands have successfully unleashed the power of POP marketing and, in the process, increased their sales while effectively influencing customer’s in-store buying decisions. Some examples of such brands include:

Kitkat

Kitkat, a chocolate brand from the UK, has been known to use different POP marketing strategies to enhance the display of its product. The brand uses various POP displays such as end caps, freestanding displays, and dump bins to entice and attract customers.

Jameson 

Jameson, the famous whiskey brand, is also known for its hard-to-miss POP displays. The brand specialises in designing bigger versions of the unique Jameson bottle, thus attracting customers from far away.

POP vs POS

While POP and POS are terms often used interchangeably, they differ from each other. The main difference between point of purchase and point of sale is their location. While the point of purchase refers to the entire area where a buyer makes a purchasing decision, the point of sale refers to the specific area where the final transaction occurs.

For example, the point of purchase for a chocolate bar is the entire store, including shelves, the aisle, and even the floor of the store because the customers can interact with this product through POP displays placed anywhere inside the store but the point of sale includes only the billing counter or the checkout aisle because that is the place where the actual transaction takes place.

Brands usually use POS displays to provoke impulse buys by the shopper. The location of POS displays ensures that the potential buyer will at least once encounter the product because every customer will end up at the checkout counter for sure. This is why the products displayed at the point of sale are such that they would trigger impulse buying decisions at the customer’s end.

For example, stores usually display chocolate bars, soft drinks, or cosmetic products at the billing counter. The potential buyer usually does not plan to buy such products, but they may likely pick them up if they encounter them while waiting at the billing counter. That is why the point of sale acts as a great touchpoint for brands who want to attract customers and prompt impulse buys.

Go On, Tell Us What You Think!

Did we miss something?  Come on! Tell us what you think of this article on point of purchase (POP) in the comments section.

What comes immediately to your mind when you picture Times Square?

All the big neon lights, signposts, and advertisements, right?

Tens of thousands of individuals must probably see those ads every day. Even if it’s only for a second, all of those people think of those advertised brands when they see those ads. These impressions lead to brand awareness and even sales of those companies’ offerings.

This exposure is known as billboard advertising: the traditional marketing strategy that’s as important as it’s ever been. When used appropriately, it can act as a  powerful tool for reaching a diverse range of audiences, increasing revenue and brand exposure.

In fact, billboards have the highest reach of all OOH advertising forms in the United States, as around 80% of Americans remembered seeing a billboard ad.

So, now that billboard advertising has your attention, you may be wondering: What are its pros and cons? Are billboards effective? What is the cost of billboard advertising?

Let’s find out.

What Is A Billboard?

A billboard (also known as hoarding in the UK) is a big outdoor advertising structure, similar to an oversized poster used to promote a brand, offering, or a campaign by displaying advertisements.

It is generally located in high-traffic areas such as along highways or near shopping malls to pique the attention of the highest number of drivers and pedestrians.

What Is Billboard Advertising?

Billboard advertising is a process of using large scale print and digital advertising boards called billboards or hoardings to promote a brand, offering, or a campaign.

It’s an efficient marketing strategy for getting the most number of views and long-term brand impressions. Furthermore, it establishes strong branding through huge text sizes, images of celebrities with clearly stated features and benefits of the products, and other pertinent information such as price.

For instance, Times Square in NYC is a billboard advertising mecca since it is one of the world’s busiest tourist attractions.

Types Of Billboards

Billboards come in many different shapes and sizes. Some of the various types of billboards are:

• Digital billboards: A digital billboard displays varying images and text generated by computer systems and software. It can be set up to show running text, or you can change it up depending on the time of day. The ever-changing texts offer maximum impact and reach for specific audiences. For instance, a restaurant might promote lunch specials throughout the morning and early afternoon and dinner specials beginning at 3 p.m.
  
• Mobile billboards: A mobile billboard is one that appears on buses, cars, and other moving vehicles. The advantage of a mobile billboard is that it is more likely to be noticed by your target audience. This is because the vehicle moves around the area you’ve chosen as a key location for promoting your company.
  
• Painted billboards: These billboards are not graphically created. Rather they are painted either on the site or in studios and then placed on the site. In recent years, these billboards have been replaced by graphically created billboards. However, they are still used in some regions where only a single board is necessary. Like in Los Angeles, hand-painted billboards can still be found on the Sunset Strip, which mainly advertises new films or records.
  
• Static Billboards: Static billboards are made of large printed vinyl and stretched across the billboard’s face. Here, a particular element in the billboard cannot be changed in a matter of seconds or minutes but must be re-erected and fastened to the structure.
  
• Three-dimensional billboards: These are modern style billboards that capture viewers’ attention and curiosity by providing three-dimensional dramatic visuals and pop-up book style graphics. They can even transform a static image into a moving object that can display various messages at different times.
  

What Are The Advantages Of Billboard Advertising?

Often,  you might have turned on the radio just to turn it off as soon as an advertisement comes on. The same may be true for television commercials. But, unlike other forms of mass advertising, billboards can never be ignored, hidden, turned off, or thrown away.

In fact, 70% of billboards are glanced at by passers-by, and 63% of these billboards are read in their entirety. Hence, there is no other medium of advertising that can match this level of viewership and retention.

Other compelling reasons why billboards are a great advertising strategy are:

• Billboards are huge and eye-catching: Billboards occupy a significant space and can be catchy if designed by skilled marketers. A good billboard may make a prospect stop and view it intentionally or unintentionally.
• It helps reach the target audience: Billboard advertisements make it simple to target a specific local audience. With today’s technology, you can develop a demographic breakdown to demonstrate where the bulk of your target audience visits and then place your billboards where this specific group will see them.
• It provides an incentive for impulse purchases: One of the reasons why billboards are still in use is that they have the ability to influence and inspire customers to make immediate purchases. Your key viewers are your decision-makers. So, if you can connect into their minds through your billboard, they will swarm to your shop and make a purchase. For instance, when you’re on a road trip with your friends and if you see a billboard with enticing pizza, it will make you want to stop and eat. It wasn’t intentional, yet you can’t help but stop and eat because of a billboard cleverly placed near a cafeteria.
• It ensures brand exposure and brand recall: Billboards are extremely effective at generating and increasing brand awareness. It is because the ad is always visible – no other medium allows your message to be seen 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Take a look at some of the billboard advertisements you see on your everyday commute. You’ve probably memorised some of them because you’re exposed to them daily. So, if your company uses visuals or slogans that are catchy, clever, or memorable, potential customers might learn a lot about your company by looking at it. They’ll remember your billboard ad later when they need your product or service.
• Billboards appeal to all ages: Unlike other forms of advertising, billboards can be used to target all ages alike – be it children or adults.
• It has a high ROI: According to statistics, for every dollar spent on billboard advertising, marketers earn six dollars. This is a great ROI when compared to other advertising mediums like radio and print.

What Are the Disadvantages of Billboard Advertising?

Billboards advertising comes with its own set of disadvantages that you might have to weigh along with its pros before including it into your promotion mix. These are:

• It can be expensive: One of the major drawbacks of billboard advertising is the amount of money required from the time the billboard is placed to the time it is dismantled. Plus, there are additional costs of maintenance and repairs. And it will not be cheap if natural calamities such as hurricanes demolish the structure. Also, in the case of property damage or injury resulting from a damaged billboard, the owner may face legal concerns and additional expenses. Thus, there is no certainty that advertising costs will yield the desired revenue.
• It provides limited information: Billboard provides people with a limited amount of information. Such a short message may not be enough to entice information-hungry customers to buy your products. On the other hand, like certain automobile billboards that highlight a single adjective, it could be enough to plant a seed or make an impact.
• It has a short exposure period: Billboards allow for a very brief, if not fleeting, exposure period to absorb the information. So, even though your ad is memorable, the viewer cannot note your contact details.
• It’s a stationary mode of advertising: No matter how big it be, billboards are a stationary mode of advertising that only works when the place has visitors.
• The focus is on mass marketing: Unlike digital ads, billboards ads can’t be personalised and can only show mass-marketing messages that have a lesser impact than personalised messages.

Clearly, billboard advertising isn’t a remedy for all marketing problems, but it can achieve results that no other medium can achieve when done correctly.

How To Use Billboard Advertising Correctly?

You see around 4,000-10,000 advertisements per day and can’t remember a majority of them. So, if you don’t want your ad to be among those not-remembered ads, then your billboard must tell a story about your brand using thought-provoking graphics and very little text. It should be created in a way that has an immediate impact on your target audience.

Thus, if you’re going to spend money on an advertisement that could be seen by millions of people, you should do it right. Here are a few billboard design tips to help you make your billboard more effective and appealing.

Keep It Simple, Silly

Drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians read billboards rapidly and don’t have time to read a long, drawn-out message about your company. The general rule of thumb suggests a billboard should have not more than six words in order to communicate effectively with the target demographic. Use bold contrasting colours and large, legible fonts that are easy to read from a distance.

Take a look at this billboard by IBM that is both short and imaginative.

Make Use Of The Surrounding Area

Billboards that are well-designed take into account their physical location. Local context, comedy, and neighbourhood pride are all great methods to incorporate brand identification into the surrounding community and demonstrate awareness. Try to use the trees, skyscrapers, and cars in your surroundings as part of your story-plot. This can make the billboard (and brand) much more impressionable to those who see it and can make your business go viral.

For instance, in this Coca-Cola billboard, the company didn’t just put an image of their bottle. Instead, they positioned their advertisement in an old building and gave the impression that numerous straws were coming from different windows. Everyone appeared to be drinking from the same bottle. Thus, making the perfect use of the surroundings.

Be More Visual

Images attract attention and are easier to concentrate on while driving. Use an attractive and captivating photo relevant to your brand with a few words to accommodate them while making the most of your ad space. Always remember to include your logo along with your company’s phone number as well as a link to your website in the space. Lastly, use an image with a minimum resolution of 300 pixels per inch.

For instance, this billboard ad by Berger paints has the illusion of a live painter painting the same blue colour of the sky onto the billboard. This exaggeration without words is both interesting and entertaining.

Make It Memorable (But Design Responsively)

Find a unique way to make your billboard ad memorable with a strong message and a clever call-to-action that leaves people thinking. To make your billboard design memorable, employ emotional marketing techniques, that is, allow your message to spark customers’ interest. Billboards with a unique design are the winners. But, keep in mind that there’s a thin line between getting your billboard noticed and causing major traffic distractions. Thus, depending on your business, keep your image choices G-rated and your content clean.

For example, this restaurant uses the centre of its billboard to remind potential hungry drivers of this business’s services.

Use The Location Wisely

The success of a billboard advertising strategy depends on two factors – billboard design and location. Make sure to research well about your audience’s demographics and buying behaviour before choosing the location for your billboard.

How Much Does it Cost to Advertise on a Billboard?

Just like the cost of other forms of advertising, the cost of a billboard advertisement also varies. It is determined after considering aspects like the format and placement of your billboard, the total traffic in the region, and the expected number of people who will see your ad, and more.

The cost of using billboards as a means of advertisement can range from $750 on a rural roadway to $14,000 and up in larger markets. Most billboard agencies charge in cost per thousand impressions, commonly known as cost per mille (CPM), which is dependent on four important factors: demographics, impressions, and circulation.

• Demographics: Demographics are developed by observing the people who pass by the billboard regularly. It takes into account their age, gender, and even income level. For example, if you’re advertising on a billboard in a posh area, then you’ll probably be paying more.
• Impressions: Impressions refer to the estimated number of people who see the ad. It is based on the size and location of the billboard, its visibility, and the speed limit in the region.
• Circulation: Circulation refers to the total volume of people that passes by the area where your billboard is located. It is usually based on information derived by transportation authorities. However, it does not account for whether or not passers-by see your advertisement.
• Positioning: The likelihood that the ad will be seen is considered before deciding the billboard advertising costs. The more likely the audience is likely to see the ad, the higher is the cost of the billboard.

However, the cost of renting a billboard isn’t the only expense associated with billboard advertising. Design costs, installation costs as well as material costs are also important to consider. The cost of designing an ad varies from business to business and can be as much as $1,000. Depending on the size of the advertisement and whether it’s static or digital, some billboards cost around $800 to $3,600. Meanwhile, depending on their location, digital billboards can cost $10,000 or more per month.

How to Measure Effectiveness of Billboard Advertising?

Billboard advertising effectiveness has never been in question. That is one of the main reasons why, after all these years, we still see billboards.

One of the metrics used to assess the effectiveness of billboards is Daily Effective Circulation, or DEC, which refers to the daily number of vehicles and pedestrians who pass by your billboard.

Some of the other metrics are:

• Sales: Sales are the true measure of advertising success. Have you noticed an increase in sales after your billboard was installed? If yes, then you’re using billboard advertisement correctly. Hence, it’s vital to record sales or profit benchmarks in reports to assess whether a new billboard ad is bringing in more customers or not.
• Return on Investment (ROI): How much did the billboard cost, including design, printing, and assembly? How much money does it generate? Well, according to studies, the return on investment for every dollar spent on billboard advertising is nearly six dollars. Thus, when it comes to return on investment, billboards have a track record of being worth your time and investment. But do your homework and make sure it meets your company’s needs.
• Location: The evaluation of possible billboard placement is always the first step in determining billboard effectiveness. Based on data analytics, you can establish the ideal demographics and optimum placement for your brand’s billboard using government statistics, census content, and an analysis of the area’s traffic levels. You can even estimate which demographic is most likely to react to your billboard.
• Impressions: The average number of times a person sees an advertisement is measured in impressions. This includes data on traffic, which can be used to estimate the number of vehicles driven past an ad. Travel surveys, data modelling, and census data may all be included in Impressions.
• Hashtags and Handles: Thanks to the explosion of social media platforms, hashtags are a simple way to advertise and connect your firm to a digital area with unique phrases or sayings that may be used to analyse statistics. In addition, brands may quickly establish an Instagram handle to increase their following. Your company can gain new followers as a result of the ad space.

Hence, consider billboard marketing in your arsenal and budget if you can answer these questions in the affirmative:

Will it be possible to read and comprehend your advertising message in less than 8 seconds? Do you want to raise your company’s profile or attract customers to come straight to your store after seeing a billboard?

If someone needs more than a few seconds to comprehend your company’s message, then billboards are probably not worth your time.

Go On, Tell Us What You Think!

Did we miss something?  Come on! Tell us what you think of this article on billboard advertising in the comments section.

One cannot transport eggs from a poultry farm to the retailer without packing them in an egg tray as they might crack even before reaching the final consumer. Similarly, a white shirt might get stains if transported and sold without packaging, and a retailer might not be able to sell perishable milk products after a day if there were no Tetra Pak.

The paper, corrugated boxes, plastic films, polybags, and rollbags, etc., that enclose a product have a lot more value than a customer can imagine.

But what is packaging, why is it important, what are its types and functions?  

What Is Packaging?

Packaging is the act of enclosing or protecting the product using a container to aid its distribution, identification, storage, promotion, and usage.

According to Kotler –

Packing constitutes all the activities of designing and producing the container for a product.

In simple terms, packaging refers to designing and developing the wrapping material or container around a product that helps to

• Identify and differentiate the product in the market,
• Transport and distribute the product,
• Store the product,
• Promote the product,
• Use the product properly.

Importance Of Packaging

Often considered as an essential marketing subset, packaging forms the core distribution, storage, and sales tool that can be a part of the product itself or an external container made of varied materials.

Packaging is an essential element both for the seller and the customer. While the seller use it as a tool to distribute, store, and promote; the customer uses it as an important identification and usage tool.

Importance Of Packaging For The Seller

• Distribution: Good packaging makes it possible for the seller to transport the product from the manufacturing unit to the final selling point and then to the customer. The seller uses different packaging for the same – transport packaging to transport the products and consumer packaging to aid the consumer in consuming the product.
• Storage: Warehousing comes with its own risks of product spoilage, spillage, and mishandling. Proper packaging helps the seller store and assort the products better.
• Promotion: Packaging forms a vital marketing element that the brand uses to differentiate the product using attractive, colourful, and visually appealing packages and inform the buyer about the product’s performance, features, and benefits.
• Safety: Good packaging aids in product safety before it reaches the final consumer. For example, a Tetra Pak prevents the milk from getting spoilt before its expiry date.

Importance Of Packaging For The Buyer

• Identification: Packaging and labelling help the customers identify the product and differentiate it from other products in the market.
• Usage: Often, packaging, like that of a toothpaste, that forms a part of the product aids in its usage and consumption.
• Safety: It also protects the consumer from the dangers that the product comes with. For example, an acid bottle protects the user from getting acid burns.

Functions Of Packaging

Packaging plays a crucial role from the time a product is developed to the time a product is fully consumed. These functions of packaging include:

1. Contains the product: Most products need to be contained either during transportation, storage, or consumption. Packaging makes sure the product is contained as and when required.
2. Protects the product: Packaging protects the product and its quality, features, utility, etc. from being damaged or contaminated during transportation, storage, and consumption.
3. Aids product handling and usage: Proper packaging aids product handling and makes it easy to transport, ship, and even use the product.
4. Differentiates the product and makes it stand out: Packaging makes it easier for the customer to identify and differentiate it from other products. Moreover, attractive packages have a property to stand out and attract customers towards it.
5. Forms a part of product marketing strategy: An attractive and/or informative package makes the product stand out and have a promotional appeal. Packaging also acts as the final touchpoint that helps in product promotion and sale.
6. Provides customer convenience: Packaging is also a convenience tool that makes it convenient for the customer to carry, transport, and use the product.
7. Acts as a communication medium: Packaging along with labelling helps communicate the brand identity, brand message, and product and company information to the customer.
8. Adds to the aesthetic value: Packaging can make a simple product look attractive or a unique product look ordinary. It’s an important aesthetic touchpoint that can make or break a sale.

Types Of Packaging

Usually, packaging can be categorised into three types depending upon its usage and purpose. These types are:

Primary Packaging

Primary packaging, also referred to as consumer packaging, is in direct contact with the product and is intended for the customer to identify, gain product knowledge, and to aid product consumption.

It’s the base packaging that emphasises both utility and appearance.

It is the primary layer like the plastic pouch, cardboard box, etc. containing the finished product, that protects and preserves the finished product from contamination and tampering, while including aesthetic elements that make the product stand out.

Besides aiding identification, differentiation, and consumption, primary packaging also acts as a promotional tool to attract more customers at the point of sale by making the product look more appealing.

Some examples of primary packaging are:

• Laminated pouches for dry fruits
• Plastic containers for fruits
• Tin cans for soft drinks
• Laminated tubes for beauty products
• Composite cans for chips

Often, removing the primary packaging of a product affects the product’s quality or attribute.

Secondary Packaging

Secondary packaging forms the second packaging layer that the customers don’t usually see. Its main use is to group and hold together individual units of the product to deliver large quantities of that product to the point of sale.

It collates smaller product units into a single pack and aids in inventory management (grouping and identification) before the product is showcased to the customer.

Some examples of secondary packaging are:

• Plastic ring that holds soda cans together, and
• Cardboard box containing multiple individual boxes of cereal, etc.

Removing secondary packaging doesn’t affect the product’s quality or attributes.

Tertiary Packaging

Tertiary packaging, also referred to as bulk or transit packaging, is used to group a large quantity of a particular product to transport it from point A to B.

The main objective of this packaging is to make it easier to transport heavy loads or large quantities of a product easily and securely, while facilitating easy storage and handling.

 Some examples of tertiary packaging are:

• Wooden pallets used in freight shipping
• A stretch-wrapped pallet containing a large quantity of secondary packaged goods.

Difference Between Packing And Packaging

While considered as same, packing and packaging are not something that one can use interchangeably. Packing is a subset of packaging that refers to wrapping up the product and containing it in a case or wrapper to protect it and aid in handling.

On the other hand, packaging is the process of designing and developing the container of the offering that protects it and helps customers identify and differentiate in the market.

In simple terms, packing just involves wrapping the product, while packaging also consists of the branding aspect.

Packaging Advantages

Packaging comes with its own set of advantages. These are:

• It protects the product from any physical harm and damage.
• It helps increasing sales as it adds to the aesthetic value of the product.
• It keeps the product hygiene by preventing adulteration and hampering.
• Some specialised packaging also prevents the products from going bad.

Packaging Disadvantages

While packaging forms an important element of a product, it comes with its own disadvantages. These are:

• Packaging can be deceptive and may trick the customer into getting a wrong perception of the product.
• It adds to the cost. Packaging can add to the cost of the product, which the customer eventually bears.
• It adds to the waste that can turn hazardous, especially if it is plastic.

Go On, Tell Us What You Think!

Did we miss something?  Come on! Tell us what you think about our article on packaging definition in the comments section.

An average human is exposed to around 5000 ads every day. When every brand boasts about how perfect it is, it becomes hard for customers to compare them and choose the best. It is the reason why marketers use comparative advertising to make the customers’ jobs easier.

The brand compares their offering with competitors’ and tries to convince why they are better than others.

While this marketing strategy helps the brand get a better position in the market, this strategy proves to be a great help to the customers as well.

What Is Comparative Advertising?

Comparative advertising is an advertising strategy brands use to advertise their offerings, comparing them with the competitors’, and making theirs look better.

It may involve a direct or indirect comparison of products of two or more parties which can be both negative and positive. That is, this advertising strategy can either make the brand’s offering look superior, or the competitor’s offering look inferior. For example, a restaurant chain can advertise its offering by comparing it with its competitor using either these messages –

• “Now eat without guilt. Our burger has 80% less calories than McDonald’s.” This message showcases the brand’s offering to be superior.
• “Still eating junk? McDonald’s burger has 80% more calories than our burger. Try us, have a guilt-free diet.” This message highlights the brand’s offering by making McDonald’s offering inferior.

In simple terms, a comparative ad:

• Advertises: The ad presents the company’s product or service to the market.
• Compares: It compares the offerings based on features and attributes. At least one feature is mentioned which claims the offering to be superior to others.
• Justifies: Test results and statistics are used to justify the competitive advantage and back up claims

Other than increasing sales, the goal of a comparative ad is to communicate the value of the offering to the customers.

Moreover, for a comparative advertising strategy to work, the other party should be a strong competitor or the market leader in the industry.

DHL, one of the most popular courier and package delivery services, has two main competitors – FedEx and UPS. FedEx almost entirely depends on their iconic white trucks and uses them for experiments with their ads. To which DHL responded by transforming its banner into an attempt to mock its competitors. They want everyone to know that they are the best in the market.

Comparative ads can be digital, print, videos, images, or in any other form. With the increased popularity of social media platforms, businesses see it as an opportunity to reach huge masses and gain exposure. They circulate ads online using Facebook Ads, Google Ads, posts on Twitter, Instagram and capitalise on likes, follows, shares, comments, and tweets.

Purpose Of Comparative Advertising

Comparative advertising serves three core purposes. These are:

• It significantly increases perceived brand leader-challenger similarity. That is, it makes the customer think that the challenger brand is a close substitute of the leading brand, which is usually compared with.
• It provides the customers with a point of reference to compare the value of the compared brands.
• It establishes the unique selling proposition of the brand using perception-related dependent variables.

Now, comparative advertising is often confused with competitive advertising. They are similar but not the same.

Comparative Vs Competitive Advertising

In comparative advertising, a specific product is presented to be superior to others. The brand may or may not explicitly mention the rival party. Either way, the customer can easily identify the other brand based on the product features mentioned. It compares brands using attributes like quality, finesse, price, or target audience.

On the other hand, competitive advertising focuses on brand building. Instead of comparing the offering with others, it emphasises how the brand, as a whole, is better than all other players in the market. Comparative advertisement, when used as a tool along with reminders and reinforcement, becomes competitive advertising.

Chick-fil-A and Popeyes are among the largest fast-food restaurant chains in the USA that specialise in fast food.

While Chick-fil-A uses competitive advertising to boast about its chicken sandwiches, Popeyes choose the comparative advertising strategy to get the spotlight.

Chick-fil-A chooses to keep the outlets closed on a Sunday while Popeyes takes advantage of the situation and keeps the outlet open throughout the week. The brand advertises this to remind the public that they are open on Sundays by directly comparing themselves with Chick-fil-A.

Examples Of Comparative Advertising

A customer has several options to choose from before buying a product. But they choose the one which appears to be the best and appeals to them the most. Some brands light-heartedly mock others through ads and create a lasting impression, while others start a big brand war. Here are some examples of both types of comparative advertising.

Samsung vs Apple

It is one of the leading smartphone brands globally, with Apple being its major rival in the market. Samsung often mocks Apple through its ads and posts intending to sway the buyers into buying their products.

When Galaxy II was launched, Samsung released an ad where people anxiously await a new iPhone to be launched. But they are stopped in their tracks as they witness the Samsung device with 4G network and marvelous screen size. The other brand was not explicitly stated to be Apple, but it was easily inferred.

The other time, when Apple removed the charging adapter with the iPhone12, Samsung went on to emphasise the fact that it included a charger with the Galaxy phones.

Pepsi vs Coca Cola

The two brands constantly compete for market dominance in the soft drinks industry and have managed to launch powerful campaigns.

In 2013, during the Halloween season, Pepsi released an ad to mock Coca-cola and attract attention towards it. It had a Pepsi can draped in a red cape of Coca-cola. The ad implied that buyers might buy a Coke but what they really want is a Pepsi. This ad went viral on social media in only a week.

Pepsi explicitly mentions the rivals in its ads which sometimes leads to banning the ads completely from telecasting. One ad showed a kid trying to reach a Pepsi can by standing on two Coca-cola cans. As this undermines the image of Coca-Cola, the ad was ordered to be taken down from all platforms.

Wendy’s vs McDonald’s

These two are some of the biggest fast-food chains across the USA. Wendy’s has a reputation for calling out its competitors on Twitter.

Wendy’s is known to use fresh beef for making burgers, unlike McDonald’s, which uses frozen beef. It led to Wendy’s leaving no chance to make fun of its rival. It took out a meme to mock the Big Mac openly with reference to the movie – Avengers: Infinity war.

Pros Of Comparative Advertising

Comparative advertising is more effective in the case of new entrants in the market. They might have a strong competitor who owns a significant market share. Using comparative ads will help generate awareness of the presence of a new brand in the market.

• Increases awareness: If a new entrant in the market compares its offerings with that of a bigger brand, it attracts the attention of a larger audience. It helps in gaining exposure by standing up to a rival.
• Educates customers: Most customers don’t bother to research before buying and stick to the usual brand, and many products get overlooked. Comparative ads demonstrate specific features of products that outperform others, so customers consider all factors before buying a product.
• Focuses on specific products: Brands emphasise their particular products by throwing light on their features, making them better than competitors. Customers assess products through a direct point of comparison and make their decision rationally.
• Attracts new customers: When a large audience sees a brand standing up to its competitor, it is bound to attract people. Brands generally issue ads during the time of the Super Bowl which has a large viewership number.

Cons Of Comparative Advertising

Since comparative advertising involves a direct or indirect comparison between brands, they need to make sure that they can back up their claims and prove their superiority. These ads should not focus merely on criticizing other players.

• Legal action: Usually, there are laws present to regulate comparative ads like those laid down by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). If a brand fails to abide by them, it might be served with lawsuits and legal requirements which can significantly damage its image.
• Loss of reputation: If one brand compares itself with a smaller one, it will be regarded as a bully. Often, pitting brands against each other just to disparage the others is frowned upon by the audience. Mocking should be light-hearted, but if it goes too far, it may negatively affect the target audience.
• Lose customers: As mentioned above, if the brand becomes untrustworthy or engages in undermining the competitors, they hurt their brand image and lose customers.
• Confusion on brand name: If the ad names several brands for comparison, the customers might get confused as to which one offers their preferred features and is the best alternative for their needs.

Best Practices for Comparative Advertising

The ads can’t be forced to go viral and sway customers in choosing the mentioned product. But companies adopt certain practices which help in designing the ad and avoiding any negative impacts.

• Should not undermine other brands: As this strategy involves a direct comparison between products of different brands, one should not mislead the buyers by undermining the rivals. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) keeps a check and allows the companies to advertise within limits. It does not permit companies to gain an edge over their competitors by disparaging them or using any deceptive means to influence customers to choose their product.
• Light-hearted: Comparative ads are often shown in a negative light by mocking the other brands. But, the company needs to ensure that they are light-hearted and fun. Humor appeals more to the audience and leaves a long-lasting impression. Samsung has been known to mock Apple through its ads for years. They highlight that their devices, if not superior, are just as good as iPhones.
• Back-up the claims: Ads are more effective if they provide evidence to back their claims. This may include blind taste or touch results, scientific studies, and results or lists of components. Dove ads show customers to use their product along with one other blindfolded and assess the results on their own.
• Avoid smaller brands: Small brands can compare themselves with the larger ones, but it is not advisable vice versa. The bigger company will be regarded as a bully, and the smaller one has an easy way into the market. However, if a small company pokes a large one, it will be presented as standing up to its rivals. A fast-food joint may challenge the biggest competitors like McDonald’s, but it won’t happen the other way.

Go On, Tell Us What You Think!

Did we miss something?  Come on! Tell us what you think about our article on comparative advertising in the comments section.