During the food shopping I will spend more time reviewing the packaging than actually putting goods in my trolley, it's an obsession I can't help it.
My names.... and I'm a packaging-aholic.
Readers of this blog know that I have an issue with the new Morrisons M Saver range.
I wanted to give the range a possible reprieve and review it in it's entirety now it is prominent in store.
Most of the previous yellow and green packaging is now gone and we are left with M Savers in all it's glory.
I have mentioned a couple of times, Asda and Pavillion Garden, that a truly great design would not have changing executions dependent on the variant. It was therefore shocking to see the variation on shelf to what we had seen on Dieline.
Look at the four products below, each different.
Lasagne has Photography.
Orange Juice has an illustration of the product.
Baby Wipes has a fun illustration to capture the nature of the category.
Thick Sausages has neither photography nor illustration.
I can hear you saying thats fine because they have applied different rules dependent on the over-arching category, substrate, environment and so on - but unfortunately that isn't the case.
Lets look at some scenarios;
1) Sausages do not have imagery because it is a clear substrate so you can see the product, so why would you put an illustration on the packaging? The same is true of apples but the label clearly has illustrations of apples.
2) Sausages are in the chilled section so we applied a more natural approach. The same is true of cooked ham but this has an illustration based on a ham sandwich.
3) Lasagne is in the frozen fridges so needs extra standout using photography. The same is true of Fish Fingers but these have illustrations of the product not photography.
4) The baby wipes are targeting mums and children so need extra fun and engagement. I get this but why then have fromage frais with illustration of a pot and spoon.
Here are some questions to consider, particularly as I put my hat in the ring that it wouldn't sell as well as the old design;
Are sales up because anything is better than the yellow and green of old?
Are sales up because of advertising and in store promotions?
Are sales up because Morrisons on comparison has the lowest percentage of OL sales vs overall sales and this can only go in one direction?
Are sales actually down? previous range accounted for 300 products, M Savers now has 400, this should be natural growth of 33% not 25%.
Just to put into context my viewpoint, the wife, who does most of the shopping, prefers this new design unequivocally, and she is the primary target market.
You have a very rigid and somewhat traditional view of what supermarket value range should be, and this seems largely based on what has gone before? But I question who sets the rules? Why must every pack look the same? Who said it must be rigidly consistent? Why should a value range be the corporate identity in mimiature on pack? Why should it simply be a signpost with no emotional engagement? Surely it is the responsibility of designers and the design industry to constantly question the status quo. How on earth do we move brands forward without searching for new and potentially better ways to do things? In terms of Morrisons Savers, I would say that a 25% rise in sales is a huge move forward and evidence that familiar and expected notions should indeed be challenged. The science and sales and intellectual argument aside, I think you only have to really open your eyes to see that the new packaging is just lovely. Congratulations to all involved.....and keep challenging.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the response, I wrote the below as part of a previous article and is probably quite relevant to post in response to your point about value ranges representing the corporate identity. Particularly as on he way in I saw a bus stop sign promoting the M Savers range.
"With 1000's of products covering 3 price points - premium, mid-range and value and a multitude of categories how can we engage with the individual brands? We can't, it's impossible! The retailers have sub branded so much that you can actually buy 6 different types of Tesco Lasagne including Finest, Light Choices and Value.
The retailers know this when they advertise which is why the brand is represented as the service. Advertising campaigns are always about promoting the service brand.
In these advertising campaigns supermarkets very rarely show their own brand but by talking price I believe they subconsciously drive consumers towards their value ranges. It is no surprise therefore to see value ranges closely matching the Master brand colours. Value is blue and red, Basics is orange, Smart Price is green and white. The key purpose to associate low prices with the Master brand. It is in part this reason that left me confused by the M Savers rebrand that doesn't link back to Morrisons.
Morrisons and Coley Porter Bell have tried to create a brand with the M Savers range but why and for what reason. If retailers put all their marketing spend behind the Master brand / Service brand where will the spend come to highlight the functions and benefits of the M Savers range now that the M Savers brand is separate from the Morrisons Master brand. Whilst Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's continue to enforce their own overarching Master brands this marketing spend will always dwarf that of the M Savers range. Morrisons will either therefore have a new range that gets very little marketing spend or a marketing spend that is divided between the Master brand and that of the disparate sub brands of M Savers and M Kitchen etc. The brand will of course sell because brand awareness is present simply by the fact that it will be on shelf at every Morrisons store, it would have sold better however if it had been designed in green and yellow and introduced the word Morrisons instead of the 'M' roundel."
"Are sales up because anything is better than the yellow and green of old?"
ReplyDelete"it would have sold better however if it had been designed in green and yellow and introduced the word Morrisons instead of the 'M' roundel."
What side of the fence are you on with that Mr Blogger, if "anything is better than the yellow and green of old" why then would you feel sales would increase if they had done the design in yellow in green.
Perhaps Morrissons have felt that the yellow and green is dated and they want to move away, if you look at the other end, referring to the "M Kitchen" found here [ http://popsop.com/50655 ] there is no yellow and green here either. From what I personally feel when looking at them both is that maybe you should forget about yellow and green because it may become a thing of the past.
I almost feel like that you are reading into the design too much in order to find something to criticise. Coley Porter Bell add a personality to these products, lets be honest here they are very cheap and in the world we live in it feels right that savers products should be like that. Whilst i don't doubt Elmwood and their immense talent and portfolio at all, and even the good job they have done, in a comparison contest as a whole this takes the 19p biscuit.
No opinion is right or wrong, thats half the point of design, but if I am looking on a shelf i would be more inclined to buy a cheap pack of chocolate, for eg, that has a a colourful illustration on that feels dynamic and friendly. I, again this is my personal taste, wouldn't pick a white pack with static green type on over the M Savers.
I think the fact we are having this discussion is testament to what a great job Coley have done as well, they are making us question the cheap and cheerful area of the supermarket that has become so important in this economy.
Well done to Coley, keep up the good work!!
Hi Anonymous
DeleteThank you, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your views. It is a shame that you needed to open with a nonsensical comment however. Disliking the old design but yet still expecting a refresh to retain brand colours can not really relate to 'sitting on the fence'.
Part of this blog is to review packaging design in all its minutia. Remember Coley Porter Bell posted this work onto Dieline to generate free advertising, peer praise and positivity towards their work. All I have done is say 'Hang on, i'm in the industry and I don't like it, come and have a discussion'
What is evident with my blog is that people are really pleased that they can have a forum to be honest, open and critical where appropriate. I do hope you will continue to help fuel these debates.
regards
PWASO