The Many P's of Marketing: Packaging

Marketing has gotten more and more nuanced, as new technologies and strategies have opened up many options for marketers.  It is my contention that today, the marketing mix contains much more than the traditional four or five P's that are taught in school.  In this series I am exploring the Many P's of Marketing.

Packaging:  Packaging performs many duties for a product.  It helps to make delivery of the product safe and cost efficient, as in the case of an egg carton.  It can help promote the product and its benefits, as does packaging for laptops and corn flakes.  Packaging can impart value, such as cases of beer that have 30 cans vs. 24, or packaging can imply value, such as the elaborate and fancy packaging that accompanies many bottles of 15 year-old scotch.

Traditionally, packaging was considered part of the product in the marketing mix.  Marketers have recognized, however, that creative packaging can, in fact, can help create new products.  Take, for instance, the Dean's Milk Chug.  Dean's took a product that is essentially a commodity, milk, and through clever packaging, created a very popular, profitable and unique product.  The easy to use, single serving Milk Chugs has created a whole new way for people to use milk.  It helps to make milk competitive with other single serve beverages and snacks.  It has also helped Dean's stand out in comparison to other dairies.

Similarly, "packaging" of a service into something that is available 24/7 or online (or both) helps package a service into a new product option.  The Post Office has done this by allowing companies like Stamps.com sell official US Postal Service approved postage through their service.  It creates a new, convenient option for the ultimate consumer, new or more frequent customers for the US Postal Service, and a possible profit opportunity for the company repackaging official postage.

Packaging is no longer just a way to deliver a product or service to consumers.  Packaging can have a significant role in the value that a product or service imparts to the customer.  Packaging is one of the many P's of marketing.