by Alexandra Charbonné and Arnaud Caplier
In skincare, engagement generated by visual content is strongly influenced by packaging. Great packaging is the first key step to implementing a visual strategy. If a brand’s packaging is not particularly appealing, what are the solutions at the company’s disposal to visually engage their audience?
In beauty, the design of product packaging is the first key and decisive step for the brand's creative strategy. Shapes, colors, materials and finish will condition, whether positively or negatively, the opportunities for marketing and creative teams to engage their audience visually.
The truth is, not all brands are created equal when it comes to the creative appeal of their packaging. Of course, the packaging design is constrained by skincare products’ formulation and chemical properties, and limits the creative options that can be explored.
This said, because beauty actors need to keep and develop the momentum and attractiveness of their brand in online and offline communication channels, beauty brands should integrate the visual appeal of their packaging from the very first day of container design.
In order to succeed in creating quality content, and to ensure a high level of engagement by the audience, skincare brands should know how to visually exploit the strengths and weaknesses of their packaging.
Even a moderately appealing packaging can be improved if well-combined and if displayed with the proper associations of shapes, colors, photographic techniques, light or accessories. The visual appeal of a beauty product container can always be enhanced.
By analyzing millions of visual contents from more than 1,000 beauty brands all around the world, TheContillery’s computer vision technology learns those engaging visual codes. This systematic approach allows us to identify the most vs. least engaging image categories and attributes:
by container type (dropper, pot, bottle, pump, tube, spray, etc.) and characteristics (colors, materials, shapes)
by theme (lifestyle, application, incarnation, comparison, routine, starification, etc.)
by visual cues (colors, shapes, backgrounds, product display, colors arrangements, light effects, etc.)
Not all container types are equal when it comes to engagement
As an illustration, if we look at the influence of the container on engagement rates for lip moisturizer, data shows that sticks have a greater visual impact than a tube with 30% more engagement than the industry average.
Available strategies to magnify the product’s container
Depending on the type and visual appeal of their product containers, brands might apply varied strategies to visually engage their audience. Brands have three main creative options at their disposal to display their products:
The visual content is focused on the product and explores all the creative assets of the packaging
By considering an image built around the product, image science reveals that an effective way to enhance a pot is in open view, to spotlight a creamy texture.
The image has a balanced use of product and scene to achieve visual harmony, through colors or geometric arrangement and creative visual codes
As illustrated, images built around geometry are highly engaging since they create a pleasant experience for the audience’s eyes, and can be achieved by using a mix of products or a repetition of a single one.
Product is integrated in the background of an immersive content and the visual is built mainly around the scene
A mix of packaging (tube, pump, spray, dropper, pot) in a beauty bag is often a successful way to enhance all types of product and ensure good performance among various targeted audiences.
Appealing packaging is the very first step of an effective visual engagement strategy. Skincare brands have multiple options at their disposal to exploit the strengths and weaknesses of their packaging. The power of packaging in visuals should not be underestimated.
To explore the secrets of packaging in a world of highly engaging visual content, download TheContillery research summarized in our latest white paper.