Written by Alethea Price, Marketing and PR Manager at Burgopak
Packaging was not a career path I ever envisioned for myself. As a Psychology trained young professional, I started my career in academia. An inviting and cushioned bubble or knowledge and teaching where most would be grateful to be in their early 20s. I was primed for a long and successful future in that world, safely hidden away with the hope that my research would someday slowly make its way out into the wider world where it might, somewhere, have some small impact or contribute to some small change. But in the back of my mind was a voice, niggling away at me that there was more out there and that my contribution to business, to industry and to consumers need not be in ten years’ time but maybe it could be today, tomorrow, this year. Somewhere was the opportunity to work alongside passionate people, and creative minds with a thirst to contribute to changing the consumer experience as we know it today.
Of course, I didn’t quite know what that was at the time, but I was driven to find out, and so I left what I’d built for the past 8 years and started again. Moving to the big smoke, I began afresh in London with limited experience in business but big drive, and hopefully some knowledge of the human psyche that would be an asset as I venture to new pastures.
My fledgling role in business was as an events assistant with the knowledge that I was going to be starting from scratch to work my way up. Working for a tech membership body I found my niche in the payments and cards sector. An interesting and rapidly growing industry it was an exciting first insight into business and as it turned out, was something I was pretty interested in too. After a few years, I graduated out of events into marketing, and rumour reached me that an interesting packaging company around the corner were doing something pretty exciting in the cards sector and it might just be the start of something big.
In my innocence I had previously not thought much of packaging, it was just a box, wasn’t it? But when I first heard of Burgopak and did my research, my eyes were opened to this completely unknown and exciting world. It was commerce, it was a business influencer, but it was also an inspiring injection of creativity like nothing I’d thought of before. This was packaging that enraptured attention and enriched the consumer experience with clever movable engineering. Could this be the spark I’d been searching for?
Coincidentally Burgopak has just weeks earlier launched the very first fintech packaging design for the (at the time) little known startup Revolut, and there was excitement in the air that packaging design in the card sector was about to take a 180. It was an opportunity I couldn’t miss.
In the years to come, the payments sector was truly rocked, and the status quo was no more. Today, we see huge crossover in all areas of payments and incentives. Whether it’s pre-paid cards, gift cards, loyalty, membership or even in the food and hospitality sector there is an exciting intersection between speedy digital advancement and that tangible physical experience that as consumers we simply can’t let go of.
Having produced packaging designs for over 100 card providers or all natures since then, I can see now that packaging is so much more than a box. Packaging provides consumers with that first hello, that indescribable anticipation for what awaits, that first meaningful engagement between brand and consumer that says, “we made this for you because you mean something to us.”
When people ask the time old question “what’s my return on investment?”, packaging is so much more than a delivery vessel, it’s an inseparable part of your product that injects creativity and personality into your brand. It speaks volumes for how you value your consumer, and in turn, it plays an invaluable service in engaging your consumer and them engaging with you. Whether they showcase to a friend or take to social media to shout your praise, the physical is a key component to your word-of-mouth marketing. And with loyal customers comes repeat business, gift card top-ups and repurchases, and of course new customers from their family, friends, and online networks.
After-thought packaging is a tragic waste of opportunity, but by incorporating packaging into your product design and delivery plan, you incapsulate brand incentive and a rare and invaluable physical interaction between you and your most important audience – your consumer. Packaging has opened my eyes to a whole new world of creativity, excitement and change that we can make today to radically revisualize the consumer experience.
Author: Alethea Price is the Marketing and PR Manager at Burgopak Packaging Design studio
With a background in Psychology and Human Behaviour, she combines her fascination for human understanding and creativity to help brands express intention and purpose in everything they do.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alethea-price/
About Burgopak
Burgopak is a world leader in the design and manufacture of innovative packaging for products of all shapes and sizes. With a highly creative and experienced collaborative team, we design to brief and bake sustainability into the process, offering guidance on the best materials, finishes and processes for your brand. We focus on ‘wow factor’, providing an engaging opening experience, creating a higher perceived value of your product with clever cardboard engineering, and making your life easier by managing the process right from conception to completion.
