Packaging & printing

Obtaining detailed market information

The client, a manufacturer of flexo printing plates, had developed a new ‘round’ flexo printing offering and was looking to use this to exploit the closing of the gap between flexo and gravure printing in flexible packaging applications. Research was needed to profile this market in the US and Europe and identify the segments of most potential (i.e. those with characteristics which might suit conversion to flexo; or where switching from flat to round flexo plates might be advantageous).
The project involved preliminary ‘desk’ research, to provide an overview of the market from published data; followed by several stages of telephone interviewing amongst packaging converters, trade-shops and end-clients in consumer packaged goods sectors.
The results confirmed a trend away from gravure towards flexo; and provided detailed information on the total volumes printed (broken down by sector/type of product and, within these, by printing method). This was invaluable in assessing the scale of opportunity represented by this market and directing the client’s sales and marketing activity.

Investment in digital printing

The client, a manufacture of printing machinery, was looking to expand into narrow web digital printing, in particular offering a digital printing ‘system’ comprising hardware, software, print heads, ink and service. They required a thorough understanding of the decision-making process of printers and packaging converters with regard to investment in digital printing; and an assessment of the technological offer for this sector (i.e. which features customers would ideally want… and at what price?).
The research covered the US and main European markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK), targeting businesses involved in printing labels and/or other narrow web (under 24”/600mm) activities.
Following an exploratory phase of F2F in-depth interviews, 100 respondents were recruited to participate in an online survey incorporating a conjoint ‘trade-off’ exercise (based around a range of printing system attributes and features). Modelling the survey data identified the best configuration of the product offer, i.e. changes which would have most impact in enhancing its appeal in the market; and derived optimum pricing levels and supported the overall viability of the client entering this market sector.

Understanding customer needs & requirements

The client, a manufacturer of flexo printing plates, was looking to validate internal assumptions around customers’ decision-making criteria and its own competitive strengths and weaknesses, in order to guide the future positioning of its offerings in the flexographic printing market. The key objectives of the research were to understand customer expectations and the relative importance of various criteria when choosing flexo plates; examine perceptions of the client’s performance vis-à-vis the competition; and identify trends in the share of flexography over the next 2-3 years.
The survey comprised 130 x 10 minute telephone interviews with flexo printers/converters across several European countries, together with a smaller number of tradeshops/repro-houses.
The results confirmed a strong growth in flexo business but significant consolidation, with fewer plate suppliers operating in the market. They also provided a benchmark of the client’s performance against competitors and, critically, analysis of the ‘customer view’ of the importance of specific product/service attributes suggested that internal perceptions underestimated the significance of factors such as quality/reliability (ahead of price) in driving supplier choice.

Pricing new products competitively

Our client, an internationally-renowned manufacturer of industrial printing solutions, was introducing an new range of Continuous Ink-Jet (CIJ) printers, used commercially for date marking and bar- coding of products and packages; with the flexibility to print onto a variety of substrates and curved surfaces.
Before launching these new printers, the company wished to obtain reference pricing information of similar/competitor products, in order to provide reassurance and an overall ‘sense-check’ of its proposed price levels.
The research involved interviewing CIJ users across four countries (UK, Germany, Brazil and US), targeting the food & beverages, pharmaceuticals and extruded plastics industries.The core objective was to obtain detailed information on the specific makes and models of CIJ printer used and the associated ‘street-prices’ paid.

NPD & Identification of optimum pricing

The client, a leading cement manufacturer, traditionally sold its products in 25kg paper sacks. However, due to the recurring problems of damage, dust and product deterioration associated with this packaging, the client wished to investigate the potential for using dust-free, plastic packaging and, in particular, whether customers would pay a premium price for this packaging.
Trade users of cement products were recruited via builders’ merchants and asked to trial the product in its new plastic packaging. They were then interviewed about their experience of using the product, incorporating a ‘diamond pricing’ questioning technique used to establish what price premium the product could realistically command.
The results clearly highlighted the advantages associated with the new packaging, but indicated that the additional ‘value’ these represented was minimal – only 5p per sack, which was far short of the target of 40p needed to break even on the extra production costs involved.

Getting the detail right on pack multiples

A project on behalf of a manufacturer of decorating products, in including a high quality, gypsum, paper-faced coving product specifically targeting the DIY market.
The product was available in single, 2 metre lengths and also in a ‘6-pack’ multiple. However, based on anecdotal feedback, a concern had arisen that the weight of the 6-pack (around 25kg) could be putting off consumers from purchasing, and so our client was exploring the possibility of introducing a (lighter) ‘4-pack’ instead.
The research aimed to determine whether a new 4-pack size would indeed be more appealing to customers, and involved F2F interviews with DIY-ers (of various levels of experience), recruited on-street and then conducted in several ‘hall tests’ where the respondents could see/handle example packs of both the client’s and competitor products.The results were definitive and allowed our client to provide optimum pack sizes that are best suited the customer audience.

Packaging design

The client, a global chemical and industrial products manufacturer, was looking to update the packaging design for its range of disposable coveralls used in chemical/industrial protection applications.
The research covered France, UK, Germany and Poland and involved qualitative, in-depth interviews in each country (40 in total), to test reactions to various package designs and compare these with the main competitor products available on the market. Respondents were recruited by telephone to identify the right person to speak to and arrange an appointment; and then interviewed F2F, in order that they could see and handle the ‘mock-ups’ of each package whilst being questioned in detail.
The results highlighted the most positive elements of each design, and also those elements which were less favourable (or missing) and showed how these could be improved on. Our analysis also confirmed the overall impressions created by each package design and the degree to which this matched the client’s desired market positioning for each product.

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