Back in the early years of the last century, the soft drinks giant pinned its market-dominating ambitions on a bottle so distinctive that it would be easily identifiable when felt in the dark; its shape recognisable even when broken. So much so that pop artist Andy Warhol hailed the bottle as the "design icon of the decade", and this may explain its collectible status today.
But brand loyalty is not what it used to be. Consumers today are confronted with vast product and service choices. Which makes packaging one of the key battlegrounds in the lobby to get consumers to part with their cash over and over again.
A brand that makes clever use of packaging - whether it's a curvaceous shape or sensual graphics - is likely to stand head and shoulders over rivals in the fleeting opportunity brands have to grab consumers' attention.
To this end, packaging is becoming an increasingly indispensable tool for marketers to create brand loyalty.
But if marketers are secretive about their advertising, they're practically mute when it comes to spilling the beans on packaging. Competitive pressures are of course the main reason why marketers are tight-lipped. While it can take six months for a product to go from conceptualisation to the shelf, the launch time for a rival to do the same has now dropped to a matter of weeks. Deborah Chatwin, managing director, Enterprise IG, says: "Packaging will take on greater importance as we move into the China market and multinational brands find the need to update their packaging to accommodate the China market and its legal requirements. Brands in China will also have to consider marketing themselves to the rest of the world."
In some ways, Asia's economic slowdown is giving the packaging and design business a new burst of life. Anecdotal evidence suggests that marketers are moving some of their advertising dollars into redoing their packaging.
In essence, packaging has become the product; it has the ability to impact a consumer's perception of a brand's performance, and it communicates the product's personality through weight, texture, colour, graphics and overall structure.
These characteristics, say Joanna Mobley, brand director, non-carbonated beverages at Coca-Cola China, are transmitted to the consumer at different stages, from point-of-purchase, to storage, when opening the product, consuming the product, during re-closing and finally at disposal. At each of these stages, the product can satisfy or disappoint; each phase represents a unique opportunity to communicate the product's personality.
Communicating that personality is an evolving process. It begins with knowing or anticipating the needs of the customer, and requires a certain understanding for their lifestyle and experience. Coca-Cola's Qoo brand, which launched in Hong Kong last year, was the first in the market to evolve a character for a beverage product. "We wanted to show the personality and faces of Qoo so that it was not a static image or character, like say Mr Juicy, for example, says Mobley.
The company created 26 faces for Qoo, which are featured on the drink's packs and its closures. "There is standard packaging, but we believe that there is so much novelty in packaging that you can generate through exploring a character. So, we've also developed festive packs, including one for this summer, showing the different activities Qoo might get involved in, and this is really taking packaging to the next level.
"Packaging has, when you have a strong property, a huge opportunity to drive collectibility on packs, which can be used tactically to drive significant volume behind a brand. We're doing the same with the new Disney drinks out this summer, she adds.
Coca-Cola will launch a range of drinks this summer, including Nestea Light. "When developing new packaging, we put together the creative iconography. This is the logo of the brand, the flavour name, colours, graphics and text that communicate it. The packaging format also needs to fit with the consumption occasion and so we look at the age group and having understood creatively how to appeal to that age group, we look at the biggest drinking opportunity for the beverage. Thirdly, it's the concept, which has to target the customer's values."
Developments in technology have helped generate more innovative packaging forms. Coca-Cola researched some 20 packaging formats before deciding on Tetra Pack's Prisma for Nestea. "It was a highly-novel design, especially the finish, which is metallic and not seen on other packs in this market.
The new Yeung Gwong tea pack features photo stickers, which are very popular with teens. From this, we found purchase intent to be 90 per cent, adds Mobley.
Mobility has also become an issue. Consumers are living their life on the go, and this is impacting packaging at several levels. For marketers, it means keeping in mind that mobility affects how people shop and eat.
It also means consumers want packaging designed to assist rapid consumption, packages that are portable and products which can be consumed without the need to store.
Hong Kong company Watsons recently launched its Water for Sport, with packaging by SOS Design. Instead of plastic bottles, a two-layer packaging technique was adopted. According to Chris Atkins, general manager at Watsons Water, the inner layer was made of durable plastic, while the outer layer was made of foil. "It can be consumed very easily and the foil is best for printing. There is also clear packaging on the side where you can see through. It's simple, functional and user friendly. It's high quality packaging which was primarily used for fashion products but is also suited for this market."
But as technological progress allows for more complex packaging elements, the trend runs counter to consumers search for simplicity. Which means less waste and less over-spending. It also means an increased interest in pure flavours and ingredients, easy assembly and designs. This return to basics has resulted in a desire for products that are low in hype, natural, organic and communicate high integrity.
Vincenzo Perri, creative director at Landor, adds that the trend towards simplicity is also reflected in experiential marketing. "There is a great revival of the minimalist phenomena in modernist form. There is a general trend to feature more glass and you can see this in luxury goods stores and in consumer banking."
Indeed, the consumer banking sector in Asia has evolved to a point where branches are now referred to as 'financial spas'. FutureBrand's managing director, Po Cheung, says: "Standard Chartered opened two financial spas in Hong Kong as prototypes. They are for the general customer and you have different zones of service. We used big sofas in the waiting zones, and high partitions for privacy in the personal financial consulting area. The lifestyle concept is still a relatively new idea in Asia."
But retail, says Fawzy Ahmad, retail and promotions director at Leo Burnett, is a fast-paced sector, where "a great idea today is a white elephant tomorrow". He says concepts for lighting, location, neighbouring shops and traffic flow must be taken into equal consideration when designing a shop. "There are supermarkets which will try to get customers through as quickly as possible, then there are theme stores where a lot of imagination is used in the layout. The objective is to turn browsers into shoppers through a compelling environment."
Indeed, the retail environment has evolved over the last decade to give customers greater opportunity to engage with the product. Sydney-based Dr Alan Treadgold, director of retail research and consulting at Leo Burnett Asia-Pacific, explains: "About 10 years ago, there was a barrier between the product and the customer, and this space was filled by the sales assistant. Take the case of CD stores where there was the thinking in the past that if you let the customer listen to the CD in the shop they won't buy it. Now every CD shop has listening posts."
Companies, such as Barnes & Nobles, have taken that concept further.
The bookstore has lounge chairs to encourage leisurely browsing. Sports brand Nike in particular has given consumers the opportunity to 'experience' its products at Nike Town shops.
Treadgold says companies such as fashion brand Old Navy and cosmetics brand Sephora have been particularly influential in retail design. "Unlike traditional cosmetics stores, which go for a mostly white, antiseptic feel, Sephora has been very fashionable. It has used more reds and blacks in very brightly-lit environments.
"Old Navy has been hugely influential in Asia, especially in Hong Kong, for fashion stores at the lower price end, which have imitated the Old Navy approach of a warehouse-style environment with exposed pipes and beams. In grocery retailing, the UK supermarket groups Tesco and Sainsbury have been very influential, showing that food stores don't have to be functional. They can be attractive with an emphasis on quality."
While retail shop design has evolved into a science in the US and Europe, cost concerns have hindered its take-off in Asia.
Retailers in Asia are especially consicentious of squeezing maximum value from a shop's design. Treadgold explains: "Generally, there has been a reduction in spending. About five to seven years ago, a lot of the retailers were not particularly concerned on the cost of the design. Those days are gone now. Old Navy has developed its design to appeal to the youth market, but its design is also less costly than more elaborate concepts."
Bob Neville, head of creative services and trade marketing, Asia-Pacific at Adidas, admits the brand had not prioritised its retail environment in the past. But increased competition is driving the company to place greater emphasis on shop design. "We want to bring the shops up to speed with our products and advertising. You can shoot an expensive TVC and if it's not hitting the mark, you can pull it.
"But with retail, it will be there for two to six years, and there will be wear and tear, says Neville, adding that some four million people pass through its prime Hong Kong outlet each year.
Adidas also takes Asia's cultural differences into account.While shops boast a number of similarities across markets, there is a need to identify cultural sensitivities. Brands operating in markets with a strong Chinese culture must take into account various superstitions, such as colour.
Even the Chinese word 'hi', which means 'shoe', is generally avoided in advertising for sports brands as it also translates to 'low spirit'.
In many Asian markets, where space is a prime commodity, Neville says Adidas places greater importance on the capacity of fixtures. "Our perspective is that we have a lot of products and space is premium in Asia. We use fixtures with high capacity for greater flexibility to show the product.
That, Treadgold says, is often a necessary evil in Asia, particularly in Hong Kong. "Retailers want to run a lot of promotions at the same time and as a result, there is a lot of clutter in stores. It's something designers tend not to like, preferring purity of design. Over-promoting can have a negative result and it can be overwhelming. The reality is that when there are lot of messages at the same time, the result is that the consumer doesn't absorb them."
However, Landor's Perri adds that innovations in design are likely to be pushed further as brands face increased competition. "There are constantly new innovations due to competition. But I think we will see it advance more. As technology is implemented in design, we will see cash registers disappear as sales assistants use PDAs. We're also likely to see more interactive kiosks in shops."
