Dumb Blonde, Smart Packaging
Bold holographic-like effects and an unconventional product name are far from dumb - they're distinctive and diverting consumer attention from less image-conscious options.
When developing a package for its Dumb Blonde hair reconstructor, part of the Bed Head product line, TIGI Linea and its product development team wanted a dynamic package that would convey the product's streetwise image. Kyara Mascolo, the company's vice president of marketing and product development, undertook designing graphics for the product that were to be as bold as its attention-getting name. Mascolo called on CCL Container Tube Division (Swedesboro, NJ), a supplier of tubes and injection-molded closures, to turn the concept for the Dumb Blonde product into a marketing reality.
CCL Container Tube Division recommended a clear Ceramis laminate tube, which offers optimal barrier and decorating capabilities, says Jay Defenbaugh, sales account manager for CCL Container Tube Division. "Using our five-layer structures, we were able to provide a barrier for the product and protect its [scent], a feature that's critical [to the success of] personal care products like Dumb Blonde," Defenbaugh says.
Decorating the tube with a full rainbow hot-stamp of silver foil, CCL was able to create a holographic-like effect. "We unrolled the tube web stock and decorated it flat," says Defenbaugh. "This enabled us to apply the full-panel rainbow foil hot-stamp, then UV silk-screen the copy on top of it in-line in one pass." Crisp, dramatic graphics that stand out at the point of purchase are the result, eliminating the need for a carton or other such secondary package.
Defenbaugh and CCL understood the importance of design accuracy for presentation of the product, which markets to high-profile salons throughout North, South, and Central America. According to Mascolo, the Dumb Blonde package has generated such positive consumer reaction that TIGI plans to use the overall rainbow foil again. The company introduced the hair reconstructor in August 2000 at the annual Beauty and Barber Show in Las Vegas, where it was well received. "Show attendees were literally unable to keep their hands off the product," says Mascolo.
TIGI Linea, with help from CCL, has delivered smart packaging and a bold concept to the marketplace, and consumers are responding favorably. So don't be fooled by the product name - there's no lack of intelligence in this marketing strategy.