Brand Packaging Magazine: Interview with Jennifer Acevedo

BRANDPACKAGING magazine has just come out with its first publication (JAN/FEB 08) in its new format and design and the reaction has been highly positive.  As one of the only industry magazines focused on the brand marketing side of packaging and design it's a refreshing addition to the existing group of packaging industry publications.

Sustainable is Good recently had the chance to ask BRANDPACKAGING's Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Acevedo about the magazine's new look and format as well as her thoughts on sustainability and packaging design.

RT: Give us some details behind the redesign of BRANDPACKAGING - what is the concept behind it and what prompted the change?

JA:  BRANDPACKAGING has been constantly evolving since it was first launched a little more than 10 years ago. Then, its pages were packed with information on shopping behavior, building shelf presence and taming global markets. This was a publication ahead of its time—the first magazine devoted to how packaging connects to the larger dialogue about the brand.

Today, we find ourselves in a unique position as an industry. The landscape has changed drastically. Design is a business imperative and marketers have realized that the media environment is fragmented at best. Now more than ever, packaging is critical to delivering the brand message. We decided the time was right for a redesign— everything was on the table, from our logo and tagline to the visual look and feel, and even the informational structure, of the magazine.

Visually, the new look is intended to be bold, provocative and powerful. A new logo, which features a “carat” in place of the letter “A” in BRANDPACKAGING, supports our more clearly articulated mission to “Elevate Packaging in the Marketing Mix”.  We have also moved to a new oversized format to provide a larger billboard and accommodate a new two-column layout.

RT: The magazine offers a nice balance between design and packaging information who is the target audience?  Has it evolved?  Do you see it expanding into new areas?  If so which.

JA:  Our primary audience is composed of brand marketers across a wide range of categories of consumer packaged goods—everything from food and beverage to personal care to consumer electronics and cosmetics. We are also heavily utilized by a secondary group, the creative and innovation teams (both internally and based in agencies) who support and collaborate with marketing.

From the research we conducted at the beginning of the redesign project, we found that both of these groups relied on the magazine to sell the value of packaging “up” in their organizations. This understanding of how the publication is used, and by whom, guides us as we are gathering, filtering and presenting information to our readership.

Sustainability

RT:  We've seen a tremendous increase in the focus on sustainability and green issues in packaging over the last year what do you see as the single most important development in packaging design over the last year related to this topic?

JA:  Not long ago, sustainability was addressed by only the most eco-forward of brands, your Aveda’s and the like. These brands embraced sustainability as a core value. When Wal-Mart announced it would begin holding brand owners accountable for the impact their packaging has on the environment, the game changed.

And even though the scorecard is not the only criteria that Wal-Mart will use when making purchasing decisions, it has gotten the attention of the brand owners and I think the program offers a couple of long-term benefits as the consumer becomes more and more savvy about the issue of sustainability.

First, the scorecard gives brands a relatively clear-cut means to quantify and evaluate their packaging and its impact on the environment. The scorecard generates a number that tells the brand where it stands and how it can improve.

Second, Wal-Mart has heightened awareness of the issue not just with the brand owner, but with the consumer as well. This has always been tricky. Ask a consumer if they are environmentally conscious, ask them if they are taking steps in their own daily lives to lessen their impact on the environment. The answer will almost always be a resounding YES. Next ask them if they value packaging that is environmentally friendly—this can be anything from packaging that is source reduced to have less impact from the get-go to packaging that’s recyclable or made from post-consumer recycled materials. Again, the answer is likely YES.

But, the next step is what makes this difficult for brand owners. Watch that same consumer’s buying behavior—what we have not been able to determine is whether that consumer will pay more for the same product in “sustainable packaging”. By heightening awareness of the issue—making it top of mind—Wal-Mart may well be able to communicate to consumers what the value of sustainable packaging is to the consumer.

RT:  Graphic designers play a key role in the creation of an effective package design - how have their role(s) changed relating to greener more eco-friendly packaging design, what are some of your favorite recent examples of effective graphic design in packaging?

JA:  I think of designers as problem-solvers, so sustainability is no different than any of the other elements that must be taken into account when beginning to think about a project. I think constraints often beget creativity, kind of that whole “necessity is the mother of invention” ideal. In our March issue, we tell the story of Honest Tea, which has always held sustainability as an issue near and dear to its heart. When the brand introduced a line of drinks aimed at kids and packaged in flexible pouches, it learned that a foil liner in the base of the package rendered it un-recyclable. Undeterred, the brand partnered with Terracycle, which makes consumer products out of garbage, to transform empty packages into accessories that will be sold at Target this year.

RT: Moving forward what can we expect to see from Brand Packaging in the year ahead?

JA:  We are thrilled with the results of the redesign, and feedback tells us we’re on the right track. As editors, we are also evangelists, and we will continue to tell the story of packaging’s critical role in the marketing mix.

Jennifer Acevedo is Editor-in-Chief of BRANDPACKAGING magazine and can be reached through the publication's web site.