Cosmetic/Personal Care Packaging.

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Sampling for Success

Arcade Marketing's Mary Weiser, vice president, sales, presented Procter & Gamble with a plan that demonstrated the economy of sampling, which is important for a company that likes to reach 15 to 20 million consumers at a time. "She helped the company understand that our BeautiSeal technology is more cost-effective than a packette and thus can be made to reach three times the consumers," says Powderly. "We also did a test run for them at cost. Ultimately the product did resoundingly well, and we go a first order for 15 million pieces."

The BeautiSeal sample selected by Procter & Gamble is a thin pouch that, when pulled apart, reveals a sample of the moisturizer. "We used the BeautiSeals primarily to accent our print advertising in beauty-focused magazines like Glamour, Self, and Allure," says Procter & Gamble's Bob Stallman, assistant brand manager for Olay Skin Care. "The BeautiSeal allows consumers to experience the product's scent and texture while reading the print advertisement." The sample packaging contributed to a total experience that helped drive the product's trial and consumer awareness, Stallman says.

Creating sample packaging for a moisturizer is one thing, but how does a company go about packaging samples of moisturizing antiperspirant/deodorant? That was the challenge facing Unilever's personal care division when it approached Baltimore-based Color Prelude to create a sampling program for the launch of its Dove Anti-Perspirant/Deodorant with moisturizing cream.

The challenge with traditional trial-sized deodorant sampling, according to Rudy Krupka, Color Prelude's vice president of sales and marketing, is to create an interactive, cost-effective sampling opportunity without giving away a large amount of product."It was important that consumers be able to roll the product between their fingers to get a feel for the moisturizing benefits of the formula," says Unilever's James Russo, merchandising manager for the company's home and personal care division.

Unilever chose Color Prelude's Shade Seal technology. "We were able to develop a four-color sample integrated into Dove's primary packaging and handout graphics," says Krupka. "Integrating the Shade Seal sample onto the top of the Dove Anti-Perspirant/Deodorant helped to reinforce Dove's brand image and replicate their primary packaging." Reinforcing the brand image and the packaging is key, Krupka says, in converting customers from sampling to purchase.

Samples to See Through

When a company wants to pair dispensing stability with a clear window that showcases product color, thermoformed blister samples are an ideal choice.

Hair-care company John Frieda (Wilton, CT) made just such a selection when it came to packaging samples of its brilliant-gold-colored Sheer Blonde Spun Gold shaping and highlighting balm. "The sample was to be part of a promotional pack filled with sample products, styling-tip brochures, and coupons intended to bring the consumer back into the store for the full-sized product," says Bruno Telesca, packaging engineer for John Frieda.

The company enlisted the thermoforming and turnkey capabilities of Flexpaq Corp. (South Plainfield, NJ). "We produced the blister and performed a turnkey operation on the card," says Debra Clarke, Flexpaq's global business manager for thermoforming. "We sourced the whole piece and then shipped it to John Frieda as a complete package."

The sample blister card consisted of a PVC450/PE100 blister with a peelable PT/aluminum/PE lidding and a 2-g fill. The sample package was filled by heating the product and pouring it into the thermoformed piece. Roughly 250,000 samples were produced.

Telesca sees value in the usability of blister packaging. "When you open a packette, you typically get one use out of it, and you can't leave it on the counter because the product could spill out," he says. "A blister, while it won't reseal, is stable, and the user doesn't have to worry about its contents spilling. It's functional as well as aesthetically pleasing because the color of the product is visible through the blister."

Sampling in Style

Designer Skin (Tempe, AZ), a marketer of indoor-tanningpreparations, considers bronzed skin complexions akin to fashion accessories. "We approach the marketing of our products from a fashion angle," says creative director Michael Shawl. "Our packaging has an upscale look that [links] tanning to fashion, because it's fashionable to be tan."

The company required a unique sample package to convey its stylish ideal. Thus, vibrantly colored animal-print packaging was designed to house Designer Skin tanning products, which contain such skin-healthy ingredients as hemp seed oil and CoQ-10.Four different products were filled into 30-ml, eco-friendly sample packages with hang holes from XelaPack (Saline, MI). XelaPack's sample pack is made of 10% postconsumer recycled paper that is coextruded with foil and LDPE to preserve product integrity.

"The printing was the more difficult part of the job, because Designer Skin's artwork included some animal prints and a bright, burning sun logo," says Anthony Gentile, advertising manager at XelaPack. "The packets needed to be printed with a letterpress using a difficult screening process to achieve the animal prints and the complicated vignettes."

Packaging is important in the tanning industry, says Shawl. "Product differentiation is necessary," he says. "Colorful designs, like snakeskin and tiger-stripe prints, are useful in attracting the customer's eye."

Samples with Graphics

Even the simplest-looking sample packages can pose manufacturing challenges, as Glenroy Inc. (Menomee Falls, WI) learned when it took on a project for Matrix (Solon, OH). Matrix enlisted Glenroy's printing and converting skills to produce a perforated duopack sample for a shampoo and conditioner. "Dual samples are a great way for us to communicate our system of products (shampoo and conditioner), because they drive home the system approach," says Gail Cohen, assistant vice president of marketing for the hair-care group at Matrix. The firm had recently re-vamped the packaging and tag line for its Vital Nutrient hair-care line, and it wanted to promote the new look in salons by using product samples.

But there were obstacles to be overcome-production challenges that arose during the conversion of the preexisting sample graphics from rotogravure to flexography.

"Because many (of our) customers don't understand the converting process, they request things that may not be attainable," says Joe Kluck, account manager for Glenroy. "But Matrix entered into the process with an understanding of our process and allowed us to make the adjustments needed to print this job flexographically." Such modifications, says Kluck, included adding trap lines. Glenroy also adjusted registration for printability. The graphics were printed on reverse-printed polyester that was extrusion laminated for a five-layer construction. Roll samples were then sent to Matrix, where the filling was performed on a Prodo-Pak vertical form-fill-seal machine.

"We ran 16 across-four tandem fronts and four tandem backs, which were stepped three around on the print cylinder, amounting to 48 image impressions," says Kluck. "It's a difficult process to ensure that your first image prints are as clean and accurate as your last, but a lot of work was done up front to make sure the job would run smoothly."

Samples for Cross-Marketing

In addition to providing unit-dose trials, sample packages can also increase product sales when they are cross-marketed with other related products.

"One of our customers is established in the foot- and hand-care lotion segment, ays Howard Thau, president of Sonic Packaging Industries (Westwood, NJ). "The company sells treatment lotions and creams, as well as treatment mitts and socks and other bath products. They had never done any sampling before and were looking for an innovative way to cross-merchandise. We worked with them to design and develop a foil packet with a large header so that they could affix other samples of their product to their treatment socks and mitts." This, says Thau, enabled his client's customers to experience the benefit of using multiple products together.

Such dual merchandising can mean big dividends. Says Thau, "Sales of [our client's] full-sized products have gone up dramatically since they've begun cross-promoting. They are absorbing the entire marketing cost of the product-the foil and the labor-and their payback has been great."

Conclusion

Sample packages range from the simple to the elaborate. Whether they are part of an in-store giveaway or bound into a beauty magazine, product samples are marketing instruments with the proven potential to entice would-be consumers. Packaging that allows customers to try before they buy can effectively boost a company's bottom line.

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