Craftsmanship for the '90s
Of the many tasks do-it-yourselfers take on, stripping old paint or varnish from wood surfaces has long been one of the most difficult and time consuming. Using scrapers and sandpaper to remove a surface in minutes that was meant to last for years takes patience and stamina. The advent of liquid strippers has made the job a bit easier, albeit more dangerous, thanks to the powerful chemicals that now do most of the removing or you. Not only can these concoctions burn skin on contact, they also emit harmful vapors, so gloves and proper ventilation (preferably in the form of gale force winds) are a must when using a liquid stripper.
That is, they used to be, until about two years ago when St. Paul-based 3M introduced an innovative line of 24 wood care products designed to make doing it yourself simpler and less hazardous to your health. The centerpiece of the line - which includes a variety of sandpaper and refinishing products -is a product called Safest Stripper, a liquid paint and varnish remover that can be used without gloves and without fear of harmful fumes.
To incorporate its innovation and the more time-honored aspects of woodworking, 3M envisioned positioning the line as "craftsmanship for the 90s," says Owen Coleman, president of Coleman, Lipuma, Segal & Morrill, Inc. (CLS&M), the Manhattan-based package design firm that created the packaging for the 3M wood care line.
"3M realized that working with wood is a traditional thing with an old fashioned kind of feel to it. But at the same time, they didn't want the products to look old fashioned like those of competitors. They wanted something for the 1990s, something high-tech and more contemporary."
To make sure that the packaging would communicate these ideas and the product line's benefits to both novice and experienced woodworkers, a number of designs were tested with do-it-yourselfers (DIYers) of all levels of ability.
The designs, created on computer, experimented with different names for the products (such as Safe Strip, Strip Safer) and informational taglines below the product name to explain the product benefits ("No ventilation required," "Penetrates for superior protection").
"The packaging had to carry tremendous amounts of information because (the stores that cater to the DIYer) don't have a lot of help in terms of personnel, so the package has to communicate and educate and tell you everything about the product. We needed to know the consumer's order of priority for that information. The idea was to find out which design best communicated to someone who knew a lot about DIY and someone who knew very little," Coleman says.
The research found that DIYers not only vary in experience, they also vary in demographic make-up. Along with the older men who work with wood as a hobby, older women and young couples also participate. "There are a lot of women out there who do this and know a lot about it. In the research, it came out that women initiate the purchase decision and then the men actually execute it. A lot of the purchase decisions are made by the woman though the man may use the product," Coleman says.
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Eye-tracking
The main research methods used were eye-tracking and one-on-one interviews. Eye-tracking, in which a beam of light tracks a respondent's eye movements, was used to determine which packaging elements did and didn't get each respondent's attention.
Using the eye-tracking, designs were tested with respondents in mock shopping situations. Consumers viewed simulated store shelf planograms that showed the 3M products next to those of competitors.
"A beam of light focuses onto the person's pupil looking at the planogram and as the eye moves the beam registers what points the eye is looking at on the image you're showing the person. That is then plotted so you have a computer printout of what elements were seen first or more frequently held the person's attention," Coleman says.
"In the simulated shopping experience, the customer is told, 'You're going to go into a simulated store to buy a stripper product, how quickly can you find it amid the clutter of the shelf setting with the competitors' products. What gets your eye first? The name? Color? Picture?"
Responses probed
In one-on-one interviews after viewing the planograms and sample designs, responses to the packaging were probed through questions on purchase intent, pricing, attitudes, etc.
"We wanted to make sure that there was enough shelf impact and impression, so when we created these designs we put them into a computerized planogram next to competition. With the eye-tracking procedure you're able to see if the packaging stands out and if the key words and brand names read well," says John Chrzanowski, vice president of Coleman, Lipuma, Segal & Morrill.
Elliot Young, president of Perception Research Services, the Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey-based firm that performed the eye-tracking research, says that eye-tracking allows marketers and designers to address the question of shelf visibility.
"We can watch how people shop displays and see which things get their attention, and which things they ignore. What you see is the power of the graphics and the colors of the packaging to pop off the shelf. It gives us the first dimension of shelf impact. Then we move into the label design and the eye-tracking shows if the consumer is willing to read and if you've laid out the key elements on the package in a manner that will get people's attention.
"The package does a lot of things that ultimately lead to purchase-or rejection. What you do from a research point of view is look at every key area that can either stimulate or hinder sales. A person may be turned on or turned off by any number of things. If they're in the store and they're shopping quickly and the product doesn't get attention on the shelf, you're in trouble. If they do zero in on the labeling you want to make sure they understand what's inside the container. And if you get that far you want to make absolutely sure they realize it's a quality product."
Plastic instead of steel
Because its chemical formula allows Safest Stripper to be packaged in a plastic container-instead of the steel containers used by competitors-respondents were asked if they felt the black plastic packaging meant that the product was less effective than its competitors.
Consumers said that they liked the designer's choice of the color black and that the container's sleek, high-tech look was in keeping with 3M's image as a technological innovator and communicated that the product was different than the other chemical strippers. They indicated that if the stripping product came in a more traditional container, they would perceive it as similar to other products on the market.
Another point of difference between Safest Stripper and its competitors is the fact that gloves aren't required while using the product. So package designs were tested showing a bare hand applying the product. To novice users, this might not mean anything, but experienced DIYers might be confused because they know stripping products usually contain powerful chemicals. The research showed that the hand conveyed the right information without confusing people.
3M name important
The research found that though the process of purchasing a stripping product is task-driven, not brand name-driven, the 3M name was an important element, Coleman says.
"That is why the product line has the product name as the single biggest element. If I'm going to strip something I need to find a stripper, I don't need to find 3M. That's why the (3M logo) was below the product name and one of the big reasons why the product name is Safest Stripper, because indeed it is safe. In the range of names of all these products, that was the name that played through as communicating safety and what the product does.
"The power of the 3M name was almost like an insurance policy. It wasn't the main thing that people wanted to see on the package, but it had to be there, sort of as a seal of approval. Consumers said, 'The 3M name wouldn't make me buy the product on its own, but it's important as an assurance of quality.'"
Choosing the correct name was also an issue with the product designed to finish and protect the wood. The water-based product uses Scotchgard to form a protective bond with the wood rather than sitting on top of the wood surface in a protective layer like a varnish. Various names were tested, such as Wood Shield, but in the end, consumers said that because Scotchgard is already a well-known fabric and carpet protectant, simply calling the product Scotchgard For Wood was the best way to communicate the product's protective properties.
Find products quickly
Consumers indicated that when they were planning are finishing project, they wanted to be able to go into the store and quickly find the products they need. The packaging had to tell them what the product does, how it is applied, and any other important information regarding application and use.
To facilitate ease of selection the product labels were designed so that each of the 24 products would be color coded depending on which of the three steps in the refinishing process it was intended for: blue (for stripping), yellow (for surface preparation), red (for finishing). This enabled the creation of a separate point of sale display that assembled the three product groups into a one-stop refinishing center.
"Most manufacturers of refinishing products don't make the consumer's job easier by telling them what they need to complete the task and that's the reason for the center, to help guide the consumer through the process of refinishing," Coleman says.
Tremendous flexibility
Working with the various packaging options on computer gave the designers at CLS&M tremendous flexibility during the design and research processes, Coleman says. It allowed them to work easily with several design choices, to quickly incorporate research findings into design modifications, to create realistic prototypes of the individual packages and put the packages in computerized planograms to see how they compare to the competition.
"Computers help make the designs more relevant by allowing us to place them in situations next to the competition. It's not just a design on a gray background, it's in a store setting."
200 percent
For 3M's line of wood care products, listening to consumers has paid off- sales are 200 percent ahead of projections. More and more manufacturers are starting to acknowledge the value of testing new packaging or changes to existing designs before they hit the market, says Perception Research's Elliot Young.
"How can you go out and make a multi-million dollar decision with no input from the person or persons who will ultimately decide success? Companies are realizing that the packaging is crucial, for one fundamental reason: because no matter how much you spend on promotion, somebody will outspend you. The assumption used to be, if I have enough advertising dollars, I can do whatever I want, I can move whatever product I want. Now everyone is realizing that clutter is such an enormous problem that the packaging has to be one of your primary sales vehicles. And if your packaging is inferior to your competition, you are in deep, deep trouble."
But, Young says, a packaging change isn't something that can be undertaken lightly. "You have to realize that when you get into a packaging change, it's a multi-year investment and in many instances, such as products like 3M's wood care line, they're not reliant on advertising. The packaging is your primary sales and communication vehicle so it has to be right. You can't change it every year the way you can change an ad campaign. You have to be in it for the long haul."