Research conducted in the US has demonstrated that a marketing claim made on pack is more powerful than one communicated in print advertising.
In general, consumers perceived packs as closer to the product than ads and this greater proximity was likely to make a claim seem more credible, increasing claim believability and purchase likelihood.
In one of the studies conducted, university students were offered the chance to purchase an edible, extra strength energy spray, a real product with the claim that it “works 10x faster than pills and liquids” and that consumers would “feel results within 30 seconds.” Participants either saw a print ad or package
Participants were five times more likely to buy the product when they saw a pack versus an ad.
Building off this logic, the team found that an ad can become as believable and as effective in generating sales as a pack when a referenced product is presented alongside it.
Therefore, when a bottle of the product was displayed with the pack or ad, participants who saw the ad acted like those who saw the package and bought just as many of the product.
These findings highlight the critical importance of packaging in communicating core claims and in making them work powerfully for the brand.
Reference: ‘Where you say it matters: Why packages are a more believable source of product claims than advertisements’, Tatiana M. Fajardo (Florida State University) and Claudia Townsend (University of Miami), Journal of Consumer Psychology 26.3, July 2016