Many of the UK's top brand marketeers feel packaging now has a greater influence on consumer buying choices than either above or below-the-line advertising, while a significant number believe the public is now more concerned than ever about the environmental impact of both the products and packaging they buy.
More surprisingly perhaps, given the importance they attach to environmental considerations, a large proportion appear extremely ill-informed on “green” issues.
These are among the key findings of a survey commissioned by the Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association, which saw 100 top UK marketing personnel from companies with a marketing budget of over £100,000 questioned by an independent market research consultancy. The survey not only identified key trends in packaging decision-making but also, the MPMA claims, “revealed some disturbing misconceptions” among those questioned about the environmental credentials of different packaging materials.
Twenty-seven per cent claimed an association with positive environmental or recycling issues would be the single greatest sales boosting change they could make to their product's packaging. And, when asked which issues they expected to become more important to the “average consumer” in the next year, in joint third place, with fair trade elements of a product's ingredients, (after, in second, the organic or environmental quality of the ingredients in the product - 40%, and, third, price - 33%) was the packaging's recyclability, registering 16% of the vote.
Even with such a focus on “green” matters, the survey suggests many marketing personnel are “woefully ill-informed” on the environmental credentials of the most common packaging materials. For instance metal, which the MPMA says it the second easiest material to recycle after board, was given the lowest score by respondents when asked which material they considered “best” for being easy and efficient to recycle. Forty-five per cent cited board as “best”, 35%glass, 15% cent plastic and just 5% metal.
“Drinks and food cartons made from a mixture of materials are arguably the most difficult packaging materials to recycle and, at present, there is not a single carton recycling plant in the UK,” says MPMA director Tony Woods. “Metal and glass, however, are the only two infinitely recyclable materials. It is clear that, as green issues become increasingly predominant, there is work to be done in getting the facts about environmental credentials of different packaging materials straight.”
Asked to consider changes to packaging that would most increase sales, 42% of marketing managers cited changing the shape, followed by “being associated with positive environment or recycling issues” (27%), changing the opening or closing mechanism (14%), changing the type of packaging material used (11%), and improving tamper-proof qualities (3%).
Exploring marketeers' personal views on packaging revealed eight in 10 believe goods are overpackaged, with the food and pharma sectors considered the worst offenders. Eight-five per cent of respondents believed food packaging was “excessive”, with 70% feeling the same way about pharmaceutical packs.
