When you hear the word “data,” it probably doesn’t make you think of storytelling. At Designalytics, we’ve evaluated thousands of package designs across hundreds of consumer-packaged-goods categories, and we’re here to tell you:
Data can tell an important story, if you’re willing to listen.
A story of little changes that make a big difference. A story of what works, and what doesn’t. A story about something many have long suspected but hadn’t been able to quantify: strong design can have an immense impact on brand performance.
Some of those stories are more vivid than others, and our new Redesign of the Month Series is designed to showcase some of the memorable ones we’ve uncovered through our Redesign Response Reports. These value-add tools are created automatically for our clients who subscribe to syndicated category data; we constantly scour each category we cover, and create a report anytime a new design hits the shelves. Our intent is to provide insightful case studies in order to help brands understand market reactions to design changes.
The first recipient of the Redesign of the Month is… Corona Premier.
This is a 90-calorie, low-carb extension of the brand’s flagship, Corona Extra. The seasonal redesign (introduced in the summer of 2020 and reintroduced this summer) featured several familiar elements from its standard counterpart, including the brand’s recognizable crown, but added a tropical setting (dock, ocean, and palm trees in the background), as well as the iconic complement for which these beers are known: a lime wedge. This successful seasonal design offers helpful takeaways as brands consider the value of specialty packaging.
So in this battle of before and after, what does the data tell us?
The seasonal redesign underperformed compared to its predecessor in a few performance areas. For example, consumers could find both designs with high accuracy, but it took them slightly longer to find the new design than the old one: 4.1 seconds vs. 3.2 seconds, respectively. There is an inherent risk/reward associated with seasonal redesign—fresh looks can invigorate interest but, in a competitive environment, a change can also make you less recognizable and harder to find. So this isn’t shocking, but certainly not a win out of the gate for the redesigned package.
A deeper dive makes a convincing counterargument, in part because some factors can be more important than others in determining a design’s success.
In our exhaustive research and analysis, we’ve found that effective communications on key drivers—getting the right messages across and doing it well—is essential in a successful redesign, including for a limited-time, seasonal redesign like this one.
Using a series of product attributes most important to consumers, determined objectively through independent consumer research, we asked respondents which design (old vs. new) communicated these qualities most effectively. In the case of Corona Premier, the new design beat the old one on every single one of the 12 attributes—often by massive margins.
For the top three attributes in the decision-driving rankings, it wasn’t even close. The vast majority of consumers reported that the new design communicates "refreshing" more effectively than the old design (76% vs. 19%, respectively—perhaps owing to images of the glass of beer, the lime, and the ocean, which are certainly suggestive of refreshment). In addition,“quality ingredients” performed well (56 % vs. 38%) and the redesign also dominated in the number-one attribute “tastes great” (67% vs. 27%).
In a head-to-head matchup on preference, the summer redesign continued to shine. When forced to choose between the two, consumers overwhelmingly chose it over its predecessor: 70% to 30%. That's just the start of the eye-popping insights here, though.
Committed preference—one way we measure purchase preference—is a measure of consumers' willingness to purchase the product over the brand they buy most often. Using the vast collection of design data we’ve compiled, we’re able to compare the results we’ve received in design analyses like these against actual sales data. In other words, we can empirically validate whether a particular metric correlates to the one most prized by brands: an increase in sales.
When it comes to committed preference, we’ve found that a net increase of four points can be a tipping point; eclipsing that number suggests a high probability of increased sales. In the case of Corona Premier, the new design recorded a net shift of a whopping 15 points.
The story this data tells is this: Corona Premier’s new design could be dynamite for the bottom line.
For Corona Premier, consumers were pointed to specific design elements and asked what appealed to them and what did not. The product imagery received overwhelmingly positive reviews, specifically about the lime that featured prominently.
There weren’t a lot of negative responses but, among those that were, the majority were about not wanting a lime with their beer. Another discovery? Several responses—both positive and negative—mistook the lime for a lemon. The results aren’t overwhelming, but they are intriguing… and can reveal potential pitfalls, opportunities, and questions to ask moving forward.
Congratulations to the folks at Constellation Brands on being a Redesign of the Month winner! Keep an eye on this space for other impressive and effective redesigns.