Globalisation: Overseas sales with local nous

When Tropicana redesigned its US packaging in February it couldn’t have anticipated the furore it would create. The new design removed the instantly recognisable orange with a straw device and replaced it with a large glass of juice. The new design was panned across America, with consumers unable to find the new packs in stores, and Tropicana was forced to reinstate the old design.

At a PepsiCo press conference, Peter Arnell, whose company Arnell Group worked on the design, defended the packs, saying: It’s fascinating that it has never shown the product – the juice.

Ian Webb, partner at design agency Webb Scarlett deVlam, argues that the new design was simply too European for the US market. In an era of multinational brands, global travel and the internet, are the differences in pack design around the world really that pronounced? Is it possible that a design that works well in one country could fail in another?

Packaging design in the US is characterised by its bold branding and large logos. Traditionally, it’s been less about subtlety and more about ‘shelf shout’, says Dragon Rouge creative director Chris Barber. Webb believes that the more aggressive stance of US design can be partially attributed to the fragmented media. In a country with very few national newspapers and a plethora of TV channels it is much harder for brands to reach consumers through advertising. As a result, the packs have to do more of the work on-shelf. You need a big brand marque, a very simple mnemonic, that is instantly recognisable, explains Webb.

A world apart
Holmes & Marchant chairman Andrew Doyle argues that at least some of the difference between UK and US design can be attributed to the American history of wagons coming to town to sell their, sometimes dubious, wares. He suggests US customers require their packaging to do more convincing. In the US they want facts, facts, facts on their packs. A lot of space is given over to data and promises. We are more emotionally driven. He says designs such as Gü’s evocative pudding packs sell on the basis of their emotional appeal rather than on-pack claims.

Barber adds that British brands will often use wit and humour on-pack, which can be difficult to translate when brands try to expand beyond these shores. It’s hard not to get stereotypical, but German packaging design tends to have a precise, simple and symmetrical approach; French more layered and sensual, he argues.

The style of on-pack photography varies from region to region. Webb says: There’s been a fashion in the UK for food photography to be slightly out of focus; it makes it moody and emotional. We like being sold the big picture – the sizzle. In other countries you need to be more specific about the contents. He says that on-pack photography in much of Europe tends to be more clinical and designed to let you know exactly what you’re getting.

Different colours can also mean different things in different countries. In China, red and gold are really positive and powerful so it would almost be daft not to use them if you’re designing for that market. The downside is that everyone uses red and gold, so you have to find new ways to stand out, says Doyle.

Webb agrees that colours can throw up unexpected connotations. The agency worked on a project for nappy wrappers, which had to work worldwide. Lilac colours are very popular for baby products in the UK, partly because it’s blue with a bit of red in, so it’s gender neutral, he adds. Webb Scarlett deVlam’s lilac design was popular everywhere except Japan. I don’t know why, but lilac wouldn’t work in Japan so we had to do a yellow version.

Brands will also have different competitors is different countries, meaning that a colour that breaks away from the category norm in the UK might be what everyone is doing elsewhere. The way a brand is perceived can vary from place to place. Schweppes is an adult, premium brand in the UK. But in Australia it is the equivalent of 7UP, says Blue Marlin chief operating officer John Mathers.

Doyle insists that the key to making a design work across cultures is to tap into fundamental human traits that will be universally true. Everyone needs a hero, everyone wants a fairy godmother. If you listen to people telling stories around the world, there will always be a Cinderella type and a Red Riding Hood type, he says. When Holmes & Marchant redesigned the graphics for Domestos cleaning products, the agency wanted the packs to look like a superhero. Everywhere in the world there will be a story about a superhero, a warrior, he says.

Barber agrees that trying to throw in too many national conventions and cues can be a common pitfall when designing for several markets. Look at the brands that work on a global basis… Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s Cornflakes, Heinz, Evian. They are all confident and simple, he adds.

Although these brands have achieved phenomenal global reach, Mathers suggests that in Asia local brands are rising to the challenge. Western brands still have cachet, especially in luxury goods, but we are seeing a resurgence in local brands that are catching up, he says. Mathers argues that this is due to a combination of established design consultancies being brought in to work on local Asian brands, and UK talent moving abroad and setting up agencies in Asia.

We set up in Australia over 10 years ago and it’s noticeable that a real influx of UK talent has changed design there, adds Mathers. Blue Marlin has offices in the UK, US, Thailand and Australia, and will involve all of these in multinational projects. I think you should have a presence in the regions you are working in. You can’t design in isolation or you will get it wrong, insists Mathers.

However, he believes the UK is still considered a hub for design. Doyle suggests this could be due to education. The UK has more design schools than almost anywhere else. He adds that the style of mainstream education is very different. Doyle’s children go to school in Belgium and he says their education is more rule-based with fewer opportunities for creativity. They grow up learning to obey rules, rather than expressing themselves. You need to be more bloody-minded to be a designer.

While multinational corporations may mean you can buy the same products all over the world, the message when it comes to packaging design seems to be: think global, act local.

A TRIP TO THE LOCALE
A 10-day trip around the bars and restaurants of Colombia may not sound like work. But when The Brand Union was asked to redesign the packaging for Club Colombia beer, that’s exactly what its team did. Colombia presented an unknown market to the team, so they organised a trip, visiting the bars, restaurants, shops and museums of the region to understand the culture.

UK chairman Dave Brown explains that the idea for the new design came when visiting the Gold Museum in Bogota. The indigenous Muisca tribe made objects called ‘tunjos’ out of gold, which were offerings for the gods. The Brand Union used a prominent image of a tunjo on the label to build on the beer’s Colombian equities. “There was a really lovely metaphor of the craft that had gone into producing the beer reflected in the craft in the tunjos,” says Brown.

“We wanted to make it a local beer that people could be proud of, to compete with international premium beers,” he adds. The Brand Union had to design two versions of the bottle. One, with straight sides, that was returnable. The other, a non-returnable waisted design. After the redesign, sales rose by 65% in the first quarter.

LOST IN TRANSLATION?
Holmes & Marchant’s Andrew Doyle stresses that you can’t always assume images and symbols will mean the same things everywhere in the world.

Guinness is a quintessentially Irish drink, yet one of its biggest markets is in Nigeria. Doyle says this is for totally different reasons to its popularity here. “In Nigeria, Guinness is associated with virility,” he says. “There was an advert, years ago, showing a man carrying a girder and in Nigeria that was interpreted as a sign of virility. That’s a very different story to the way Guinness is marketed here as the intelligent man’s drink.”

Webb Scarlett deVlam’s Ian Webb says the consultancy was once called in to redesign the packaging for a sparkling wine brand being targeted at Eastern Europe. The brand had previously been working with a different design agency. “Russian influences were very big in the UK at the time and the previous agency put a red star on the packs. The wine was intended for countries in Eastern Europe that had been part of the Soviet bloc. For those countries, it was like putting
a Swastika on something,” he explains.

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