5 tactics closures can construct your logo

Despite the increasingly crowded retail shelves, and
the need for unique packaging that helps brands stand out from the competition,
consumers often find themselves looking at similar products with similar
features. While some packages may have a unique shape or color intended to
seize consumer attention, these opportunities are not always maximized.

One packaging component that brand owners often
overlook can actually be a valuable asset: the closure. As the doorway to a
product, metal closures offer innovative ways to engage consumers and convey a
product’s value. The closure provides some of
the biggest opportunities for brands to connect with consumers and build
loyalty. Let’s take a look at five of the unique ways that closures can be used
to help build a brand.

Opportunity
#1: Openability

Packaging needs to be
convenient. If a consumer cannot even easily open the package, they are
unlikely to enjoy the product and may instead turn to another brand out of
frustration. Closures present an important opportunity to enhance the
convenience of food and beverage brands.

Improving openability,
primarily by reducing opening torques, has been a goal for the closures
industry for a long time. With twist off closures, consumers often have to
apply significant grip and torque to overcome the frictional resistance of the
lining compound to slide it against the rim of the glass and break the seal. To
overcome this challenge, Crown has launched its Orbit™ Closure, featuring a
unique two-part design: a central, floating panel that is vacuum sealed to the
jar and an outer ring that provides further product protection and acts as the opening
and re-closing device. As a result, the Orbit™ Closure is significantly easier
to open when compared to a standard twist-off closure.

There are also options
for brands seeking an old-world appearance. For example, Crown has specially
formulated a new gasket composition that makes the package easier to open while
maintaining the classic look of a 70mm plastisol lined deep skirt closure. This
gasket reduces the rotational force required to open the package by 36%
compared to the standard gasket.

Opportunities
#2 – 3: Brand Differentiation and Engagement

Most products showcase
images and messaging on the body of the package, but closures offer prime real
estate that is often not utilized to communicate brand or nutritional information
and to engage consumers.

Brand owners can
leverage a number of unique decorative opportunities, such as embossing or
de-bossing, to distinguish themselves on the store shelf. Special inks and
varnishes, such as matt, color-shifting or sparkling finishes, are also available
and can be used to capture consumer attention and turn the closure into an
impactful branding platform. The central panel of the closure is perfect for
brand logos and they can be printed around the skirt of the closure. Crown’s
Ideal Closure®, available in 40mm and 63mm, was designed with a plastisol-lined
metal disk and a plastic band. These two components of the closure create
opportunities for brand owners to print logos, messaging and nutritional value
information on the metal disc while using different colored plastic bands to
communicate the flavor.

Specialty inks are even
available for safe printing on the inside of closures, which have been
successfully used by brands to execute “under the cap” campaigns and other
messages to enhance the interaction between the package and the consumer. High-quality,
realistic imagery can be printed on closures as can QR codes which is another
way to strengthen a brand and direct consumers to a website or campaign for additional
messaging. Having the closure be involved in a campaign engages consumer’s
interest through the package.

Opportunity
#4: Protect Product Quality

Packaging’s primary
goal remains product protection, and closures play an important role in
preserving the contents and are often used to reseal a container once it has
been opened. Metal closures serve as a barrier against oxygen, ensuring that
the freshness, flavor and nutritional value of the food or drink are
maintained.

The airtight vacuum
seal also releases a distinctive “pop” during the initial opening. This sound
is a unique way for packaging to connect with consumers and has come to convey
a message of security. The “pop” is a reassurance that the merchandise has not
been tampered with and assures consumers that they are going to enjoy a fresh
and flavorful product.
Opportunity
#5: Sustainability

A 2012 survey conducted
by Perception Research Services found environmentally-friendly packaging
positively impacts purchase behavior among consumers. In fact, 59% of
respondents indicated they would buy a brand’s product if it was more
sustainable than competitors’. The survey also found that products that are
recyclable or that are made from recycled material have the most influence on consumers
in the retail market. Brands that leverage a package’s sustainable features
will most likely see a boost in sales.  

Brand owners can
connect with green consumers through closures. Metal closures boast the same
sustainable attributes of all metal packaging. Metal is 100% recyclable and
infinitely recyclable with no degradation in performance and quality. Consumers
can recycle metal caps just as they do the rest of the package. The recycling
image can be easily placed on the closure to encourage consumers to place the
closure in a recycle bin.

The
Big Possibility

It has been said before
that it’s the little things in life that make a big difference. Looking at the
closure of a package as an important way to communicate value may be the best
way for a package to stand out on the competitive shelf landscape. After all,
it is the barrier between the consumer and the product. It only makes sense for
it to be as inviting as possible.

Crown Holdings, Inc.,
through its subsidiaries, is a leading supplier of packaging products to
consumer marketing companies around the world. For more information, visit 
www.crowncork.com.