Niklasdorf/Bremen, November 2008
The importance of bottle labels to customers has apparently been underestimated to date. In a media world where everything has to be "increasingly large" and "increasingly loud", the advertising message that reaches the customer directly at the point of sale and at the point of use is demonstrably gaining weight. The label is becoming a brand’s emotional calling card. On the basis of 100 in-depth psychological interviews, the Bremen-based market research company nextpractice has proven that bottle labels are exceptionally important to the buying decisions of customers. Based on the study’s results, it becomes clear that the label design and material are not a minor issue but a central tool in strategic brand management.
With the enormous rise in global integration, the complexity and speed of change for all protagonists in the market have increased dramatically. Fierce competitive pressure has forced producers to optimise their processes continually and to utilise all conceivable economies of scale. In the fight for the cheapest prices, the distributive trade has expanded its position decisively, with the share of brands steadily increasing. From the customer’s perspective, this trend has resulted in a proliferating range of goods which is increasingly diminishing the scope for differentiation. Given an overload of information which is increasingly difficult to process, people are longing for differences which make a real difference. In their overtaxing everyday lives customers seek guidance at the point of sale and the point of use. The contribution from conventional advertising seems exhausted in a world whose media whizz has long since left behind people’s processing capacity. Buying decisions are becoming increasingly spontaneous and emotional. As brain research strikingly shows, the processing of unconscious impressions has a much greater bearing on actions than our own experiences would suggest. The more unclear the world becomes, the greater the importance of intuitive decision-making criteria. From the perspective of branding, the moment at which the customer grabs the product moves to the centre of attention. On behalf of Brigl & Bergmeister, a leading manufacturer of label and packaging paper, the Bremen-based market research company nextpractice has scrutinised the psychological effect of bottle labels.
"The results surprised us in terms of their clarity,"
noted Professor Peter Kruse, brain researcher and scientific director of the study, summing up its findings: "In the study we used an interview technique which makes it possible also to identify a person’s unconscious attitudes. This showed that the emotional impact of bottle labels is exceptionally high. Compared with other consumer areas, customers react to the design and material of bottle labels extremely sensitively and with a broad range of feelings. We had not expected that to be the case." In the study a large number of bottles currently on the market were made available to the consumers surveyed. The materials and the beverage brands were balanced out in such a way that the reactions measured could be clearly related to the differences in label design and material.
It was shown that the consumers preferred paper labels to plastic labels irrespective of the bottle material. In a direct comparison the paper labels were virtually always preferred. Paper is perceived as being of higher quality and more reputable. The customers associated quality, festiveness and reward with the paper label. Beer, water and fruit juices are very strongly associated with paper labels. The aspect of the relatively better ecological balance of paper compared with plastic plays a not insignificant and evidently increasingly important role in this regard. The use of natural materials is of high importance to people, especially as far as packaging for foods, beverages and tobacco is concerned. Notwithstanding the preference for paper and natural products, the consumer does not however forgive a label design which is below standard. Regardless of paper or plastic, a supplier which fails to use the bottle label as a calling card for their brand runs the risk of collecting significant penalty points. If the paper label is reduced to the conventional square form or the plastic label simply covers the bottle like a second skin, a great opportunity to raise the brand’s profile has been squandered. An especially important enthusiasm factor with the design of a label, alongside harmonious colouring and clear lines, is evidently the shape. All the consumers who took part in the study intuitively stressed the multi-section and unusual design of labels as an especially positive distinguishing criterion.
"It is clear that paper arouses emotions,"
notes Friedrich Tschoggl, Marketing Director of Brigl & Bergmeister, with satisfaction. "Label design is a great opportunity but also a great challenge. The consumers have demonstrated a very fine feel for differences. This places us under an obligation. We have received a lot of specific hints which will inform the further development of our ranges."
On the study
In the summer of 2008, nextpractice surveyed 100 final consumers in in-depth interviews lasting several hours on their perception and assessment of bottle labels in the context of buying behaviour and consumer habits. The study focused on the emotional effect of paper labels compared with plastic labels. An IT-assisted psychological interview technique known as nextexpertizer was used, making it possible to detect and compare people’s unconscious preferences.
On nextpractice and Professor Peter Kruse
The Bremen-based consultancy and methodology company nextpractice was founded in 2001 by the brain researcher Professor Peter Kruse. Alongside market research and trend analysis, nextpractice is engaged in management consulting. Peter Kruse is Honorary Professor of General and Organisational Psychology at the University of Bremen and a sought-after expert in corporate culture and emotional branding both nationally and internationally. Together with the nextpractice company, he has received several awards for the development of innovative analysis methods and management tools.
