Six packaging tricks that big firms use to sell YOU beauty products
From baffling jargon and gender specific products to lookalikes, manufactures are very, very clever
EVEN the most savvy of shoppers get sucked in by packaging ploys.
Manufacturers of shampoo, face cream and deodorant use marketing tricks to get you to buy their products.
It takes us just a tenth of a second to judge whether we want to buy something or not, according to Which?.
The consumer group asked four marketing and psychological experts to examine six everyday essentials - John Frieda Hair Straightening Spray, Nivea deodorants, and Garnier Miracle Cream - to highlight the top tricks to watch out for.
If a celeb is selling it, we’ll buy it
Celeb endorsements. These shouldn’t work, but they do. Brands have been using a-listers in advertising for years.
More recently, celebs and experts have been launching their own ranges of products, for example, Charles Worthington’s hair care range.
But why? According to the Which? Experts, “We’re more likely to trust people than claims, especially people who are well-liked and respected.”
Repetition of words makes messages stick
We decide what to buy very quickly and many brands use this to their advantage – keeping packaging simple and repeating key words to make their message stick.
For example, Dove’s Intensive Repair Shampoo mentions ‘repair’ five times – just in case we forget.
Extra packaging makes items seem more expensive
Don’t understand why some toiletries come in boxes? The Which? experts said: “A boxed product seems more expensive, makes us think it is ‘medicinal’ and ‘serious’, and therefore makes you trust the product more.”
For example, a medicinal-sounding brand name like ‘Lab Series’ is another common tactic.
Fashion capitals give the impression that a product is reliable
Name dropping London, Paris and New York summons to mind thoughts of fashion and luxury.
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It’s common for marketers to look to capitalise on that by putting references to them on their products.
For example, John Frieda’s Hair Straightening Spray has “London Paris New York” written on the bottle and several tanning products are named after spots in the sunny south of France.
Products which are targeted at a specific gender
Brands try to make it easier for men and women to select products for them by branding them according to gender.
For example, Head & Shoulders Shampoo For Men has an image of a man cycling on the bottle.
Which? also found some products were sold in gender-specific coloured packaging to help make the buying decision quicker and easier.
Cheaper products often imitate more expensive ones
Have you ever seen a cheap product that looks just like a really expensive one? That is not a happy accident.
For example, Aldi’s Abbott & Broome handwash packaging uses similar fonts, colours and bottle shape to Baylis & Harding handwash.
Both are also very similar to Molton Brown’s products, which have much heftier price tags.
The Which? Experts say we’re more likely to buy a lookalike product because we might feel we’re getting similar quality to the original.
If you don’t understand jargon it’s because we’re not meant to
Technical-sounding terms can be particularly persuasive – they give an air of competence.
Sometimes they can make us believe a product is credible even when we don’t know what they mean.
For example, the words ‘rapid-diffusion’ and ‘micro-peptides’ feature heavily on the packaging of Garnier’s Miracle Cream, but what do these words really mean?
The Which? Experts say that brands use scientific buzzwords to enhance the product’s credibility, which could encourage us to justify spending more money on it.
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