A Risky Leap Based On Perception For Packaging Machinery

Perception

As Einstein once said, “Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought.” This is where perception comes into play. Perception, the root of great design, is not only interpreting the things we encounter, it’s where all our imagination and creativity begin.

Experience, however, can alter our perceptions: Where the new and novel fire up our synapses, the commonplace can make our eyes glaze over (hence, we go on autopilot in the grocery store). How then do we make the familiar fresh again so it stands out from the mundane and gets consumers to take notice?

Oscar Mayer’s Butcher Thick Cut Bacon is a prime example of how great packaging can flip perception on its head. The brand’s high-quality, expertly cleaved meat stood up to its premium price, but its packaging did not. Not only did it lack shelf distinction when consumers did stumble on it, they couldn’t tell what made it special. Knowing they needed to alter strategy smartly and swiftly, the brand team members focused on how to challenge the consumer perception that mass-produced pork, in fact, can be just as artisanal as a handcrafted butcher’s cut.

The creative team was also challenged to see beyond category constraints: It couldn’t change the packaging shape or colors and had to show the meat like every other bacon on the shelf—a porker of a challenge when the goal is differentiation.

With a shift in perspective, inspiration hit. By flipping the bacon over and using the stark white back panel as the front, the label space tripled and instantly made the packaging pop out from its red-, black-, and yellow-hued competitors. Bringing in a bygone era of craftsmanship, hand-lettered typography and butcher-style paper completed an eye-popping look so traditional it felt new again.