Editor’s note: Gene Leichter is president of Leichter Research, Northvale, N.J.

Your product has a name. Advertising gives it a voice. Packaging is its face. All three work together to create an identity.

Advertising, name and packaging should work together to promote your brand. The package should clearly communicate the name and convey the image of your brand. Advertising prominently featuring the package and frequently mentioning the name will help educate consumers, making it easier for them to recognize your product in the store.

We recently copy tested two nearly identical print ad executions. One version included the package, while the other version excluded it entirely. It was no surprise that recall scores, brand image and product ratings were all higher for the ad that included the package. Viewers of the ad that included the package should also have an easier time locating the package in the store.

New products need effective advertising to create an identity. Unwilling to spend for adequate advertising, a client was planning to rely entirely on a new product’s package to promote the brand in a recent launch. We conducted consumer research to evaluate the visibility, readability, communication and overall impact of the package.

The new product’s package was highly visible on the shelf, obtaining quick attention from consumers. Eye-tracking data showed that the brand was usually the first one noticed on the shelf and was studied more intently, dominating consumer attention. However, cognitive measures such as brand recall and recognition from tachistoscope tests were low. There was a disconnect between visibility and cognition. Consumers’ visual attention was drawn to the package, but brand name recognition was non-existent.

Communications questioning about the brand revealed that consumers were not sure how to pronounce the name. Although consumers saw the brand, they were reluctant to say the name. The package had strong shelf impact, but it needed the benefit of radio or television advertising to familiarize consumers with the name.

In the last example the marketers had more than half the battle won. The true challenge is to develop packaging that has shelf impact and is easy for consumers to find. The store shelf is a critical battlefield for your brand. Over one third of all packages are not noticed by consumers viewing a shelf and over two thirds of all purchase decisions are made in the store. These facts underscore the importance of strong shelf impact.

Companies that routinely test advertising before it is shown will make major modifications to the package or label without the benefit of consumer input. As I recently told a client who had asked about the need for package testing, "What good are high brand recall scores and purchase intent ratings if they can’t find your package on the shelf?"

Package testing is often used to determine if current users can find new packaging or to measure the visibility and shelf impact of a new package. To determine which new package designs should be tested, marketers need to understand how consumers will view and react to the new package designs. They should always take the time to see it in the way consumers will experience it, on the shelf next to the competition.

A leading OTC brand that dominated its category and occupied most of the shelf space allotted was considering a new package design. The objective of the design change was to create a unified packaging system for the brand using one color. It was hoped that the new design would heighten visibility, while achieving a cleaner, more modern look. All of the current packages in the category, including theirs, were very dark. The decision was made to make the new design white, to heighten contrast with the competition.

One look at the test shelf and it was obvious that the new design would not have the desired impact. The new white package design created a "billboard" highlighting the dark packages of the competition. By changing to a white design, they would be relegating their brand to the background, focusing attention on the competition.

Your product has a name. Advertising gives it a voice and packaging is its face. Your job is to make sure it doesn’t get lost in the crowd!