Box Clever: Get Savvy with Brand Marketing

Box Clever: Get Savvy with Brand Marketing

Demand for cardboard boxes is on the up. A sturdy packaging staple, they have proven their worth as a cost effective and robust means of transporting goods. There’s no need for radical change, but is it time to see cardboard boxes in a new light?

Plain corrugated cardboard boxes are far from inspiring, but we all know that with a little imagination, they can transform. To a child with crayons or paints, a large cardboard box can soon become a space rocket, pirate ship or racing car.

The growing demand for cardboard boxes is largely driven by ecommerce packaging for online retailers. Printing this packaging offers the opportunity for brands to stand out from the crowd. With a splash of colour, your standard ecommerce packaging can come to life. By adding print to your packaging, your brand can:

• Add excitement at the point of receiving a delivery
• Encourage social interaction
• Build brand awareness
• Initiate customer loyalty
• Provide valuable information
• Promote packaging reuse

Thinking Inside the Box

When companies opt for printed packaging, the focus is typically on the external surfaces. The four sides are most likely to be embellished with text and company logos. This is a good start, but it leaves two thirds of the potential surface untouched.

Printing inside the box adds an element of surprise for the moment when the package is opened. Internal printing is a hidden delight that could include fun messages, competitions or simply a vibrant splash of colour.

Cardboard inserts improve the protection of goods in transit, as well as presentation in the box. They are gaining popularity as a sustainable replacement for bubble wrap and other plastic fillers. Cardboard inserts can also be printed with your brand colours, a tear off voucher or a simple cut out template to inspire a little creativity.

In a recent luxury packaging blog we mentioned a retail marketing experiment, where boxes with internal printing were shown to improve the perception of the brand. Buyers anticipated that the cost of the products displayed in an internally printed box would be higher than the same product in a plain box. This shows that internal printing shouldn’t be overlooked.

What’s the Cost of Printed Cardboard Boxes?

Cost is a prohibiting factor in many packaging decisions, but this is no reason to avoid printed cardboard boxes. Flexographic print is ideally suited to printing on uneven surfaces such as corrugated cardboard, producing a good quality finish and a wide variety of colour options.

The quick drying ink can be applied as an integral part of the box manufacturing process, which helps to keep the costs and time associated with printing to a minimum. Once the initial setup fees are covered, the same design can be printed time and again at no additional charge. This makes flexographic print particularly viable for high volume box production.

Print Options

As a box manufacturer, Aylesbury Box Company can easily apply colour, imagery and text during production. In addition to flexographic print, we offer an extensive range of other print finishes and coatings. If you would rather keep your boxes plain, but add embossing, printed wraps or stickers, we can deliver to your requirements.

In short, get in touch, share your ideas and we’ll recommend the most viable options to suit your brief and budget. Call us today on 01296 436888.