Packaging Cannabis

With more states that just passed the vote to legalize the production, sale, and use of both medical and recreational marijuana, Marketers and designers have been given a great opportunity to jump into the new market and make a killing. Marketing agencies are starting to pop up around the country to get in on the game, and world famous designers have started to creatively package cannabis products.

Packaging is one of the most important elements to selling your brand. Packaging is used to transport, protect, inform, and grab the attention of consumers. This is one of the key elements that needs to be utilized in order to ensure the success of cannabis products. Designing packaging can be one of the most difficult, but also most fun and creative mediums and projects that you can work on as a designer or marketer.

Kiva Confections is one of the most influential and famous companies that is using creative packaging to better differentiate themselves from the competition. Kiva Confections is a non-profit, collective that provides the best possible medical marijuana to patients in need in California. Below are some examples of their packaging and other companies that are pushing the boring packaging fold.

Putting your own beliefs about the use of marijuana aside, what do you think of these examples? Do you think that they help to communicate with the customer and create more sales?

Use of contextual product placing in Netflix's Stranger Things

As we learned not to long ago, product placement is a huge tool that marketers use to subtly connect to customers. Product placement is an advertising tool that subtly promotes their products through inserting their products into film, television, or other media. The company will typically pay a few to get their product seen, used or significantly featured in a movie or show. The use of product placement doesn't just financially benefit the company, but more importantly it builds brand recognition and brand association. If you see a can of mountain dew in the new snowboarding movie, you associate that product with the people, attitudes, and message of the film.

In the making of Netflix's new series, Stranger Things, they sought to use product placement in a contextual and correct way. Since the show is based in the 80s, the inserting of a 90s or 2000s product or company would take away from the show and the story. With this said, they played out rules to ensure that the products inserted were correct and most importantly, was a key 80s product.

Below are some of the products that and their placement within the show. Can you spot them?

The Pringle's can was actually the 1968 version, due to an issue with the original provided can.

These are just a few of the placed product inside of Stranger Things. The important part, or benefit, for these company's putting their products into the series is that they show the longstanding nature of the product or company, and try to make a emotional connection with the customers that used these products in the 80s, and try to feed off their memories to build or remind of the brand and sell to those customers.

Do you think the use of these products adds to the story/scene? More importantly, do you think that it help the company's?

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Importance of Self-Branding

Just like a company needs a brand to create the image and better represent the company, you too need to brand yourself. Personal branding is defined as the establishing of crafted image or impression in the mind of others about yourself and the skill, experience, and knowledge that you have to offer. A lot of people think that the only people that need a personal brand are designers and artist. This is not true. A personal brand is a key element in your success in getting a job and is important to better differentiate yourself from the competition. This is why it is so important for everyone, especially college students, to develop their own brand. 

Your brand will incorporate everything that makes you who you are. You will need to craft your image, not only the designed elements, but also what you want your professional image to represent. What do you want to tell or show people, and what do you want people to remember you for. Other elements that you will have to create will be your mission, the values important to you, and your vision for the future. Most of this will be included into your cover letter and resume, or your personal website. A personal website, especially for creative based majors, is important to showcase your portfolio or work.

Because most of you are interested in working in the marketing field, which tends to be a more creative sector of business, you are able to develop a more creative brand and branding goods then other business majors. Below are some examples of personal brand and brand identity materials that were created by individuals in the creative sector for their personal brand. 

What do you guys think of personal branding? Do you think that it would help you get the job that you are interested in after college?