If you sell your product through retail distribution channels, the appearance of that product on the shelf is critical to its sales success. A great package helps you sell your product to retailers and customers alike; conversely, a poor package can keep your product from reaching its full sales potential. To help you create a package that works its hardest to sell the product inside, here are nine tried-and-true steps that I've put to good use in companies such as Brøderbund and Procter and Gamble. These steps are based on my marketing experience of over 20 years in both software and the consumer packaged goods industry.

Step 1: Select a Name That Helps You Sell

First things first. While your product is in development, give it a nondescriptive code name--one that couldn't possibly become the final name for the product. This is important for a number of reasons.

In the early stages of development, a meaningless name lessens the possibility that a competitor will understand the essence of your product concept if it is overheard while your staff is discussing it at lunch, on an airplane, in the lobby of a retailer, or at a trade show. It also keeps your team from "locking in" a name too early, before the marketing group really understands the key differentiators of the product from the target customer's point of view. These differentiators should guide the naming and positioning of the product to maximize its effectiveness. Development groups get very attached to names, even nonsensical ones; don't compromise your marketing effectiveness by giving your product anything but the name that best communicates your key message to your target customers.

Also, make sure that your product's code name won't embarrass the company or get it into legal trouble if it appears in print. Names based on neutral themes (animals, rock types, and so on) work well. Strive for whimsy and charm rather than grotesque or just plain gross names.

As a prelude to selecting a final product name, develop a strategic objective statement. This is a short, half-page document that summarizes a product definition (in one or two sentences), a target customer, and a "why-to-buy" customer message (ideally expressed in four to seven words).

In this document, set high-level priorities for the new product name. Typically, great product names are

• short
• related to the product's functional purpose
• easy to pronounce and understand
• easy to spell
• memorable
• localizable

Some excellent Macintosh product names that I've run across include Datawatch's Virex (for preventing and exterminating computer viruses), Iomega's Zip drives (fast, convenient data storage), and Intuit's QuickBooks (quick business accounting). Also, I admire Berkeley Systems' tongue-in-cheek CD game show title, You Don't Know Jack, for its humor and audience appeal (though it's not particularly short).

Some why-to-buy statements that I find particularly compelling include "Organizes Finances Painlessly" for Intuit's Quicken, and "The Paint Program Just for Kids" for Brøderbund's Kid Pix.

Your strategic objective statement should be finalized and approved by all interested parties at least eight months before the product is scheduled to release. This lengthy time frame allows for the inevitable dead ends and roadblocks that occur in the naming and package design process, without burning people out.

There are several approaches you can take to develop an effective product name, once you have a strategic objective statement that everyone agrees upon. The two I'll discuss here are brainstorming and hiring an outside agency.

In-House Brainstorming

If you're organizing the session, here are a few tips for achieving the best possible set of potential names:

• Give the participants a copy of the approved strategic objective statement in advance, and ask them to think about possible names before the meeting.

• Bring dictionaries and thesauruses to the meeting.

• Appoint a leader for the brainstorming session, and have that person set the ground rules in the beginning. Emphasize that the objective is to generate lots of names, and that none of the names will be evaluated or judged until later. Write down all names (even names like RoadKill and Spam-Master are fair game!) on a large pad of paper.

• Tape all the filled sheets of names on the walls of the room. Try to come up with at least 100 names.

• At the end of the session, strive to get consensus on five to ten of the best names.

• Type up the entire list of names and high-light the favorites.

• Repeat as necessary until a handful of preferred names emerges.

• Obtain trademark clearance on the top five names. (By the way, a quick name search on the Alta Vista or Yahoo Internet search engines can save you time and legal fees.) This is probably the most frustrating step, as many great names are already taken.

Hiring an Outside Naming Agency

Step 2: Design for Key Channel Partners

Computer superstores (such as CompUSA, Computer City, and MicroCenter), office supply superstores (such as Office Depot and Staples), consumer electronics stores (such as Best Buy and Lechmere), warehouse clubs (such as Price Costco), mass merchants (such as Target and Sears), and others have all joined computer specialty stores (such as Egghead and Electronics Boutique) as sources of computer hardware, peripherals, software, and related supplies. Each of these account categories attracts a different type of customer and needs to be analyzed specifically for its packaging needs. However, in general, they all share one characteristic: They require more of a self-service, "grocery-store mentality" in packaging design.

Impact of Distribution Trends

Here are some distribution trends and resulting implications for your manufacturing teams:

• More inventory is required due to the greater number of stocking locations, so it will save you warehousing and shipping costs if you can minimize packaging weight and volume without compromising the package's competitiveness on the retail shelf.

• As the number of copies of your product in the channel increases, you should expect more returns. You'll want to make sure that your software packages and shipping containers are strong enough to survive additional shipping, and that the increased cost is taken into account in your budget.

• You must ship directly to stores--at multiple locations--rather than to just a few centralized warehouses. This may mean you'll need to include fewer units per shipping container than you did in the past, or even offer multiple case packs, as the packaged goods industry does. Again, you will have to take into consideration the incremental costs associated with this reality.

• Pilferage, shrinkage, or slippage (in other words, theft) is much more of an issue; packaging needs to be specifically designed to foil thieves, or at least slow them down. Many software publishers distributing their programs on CD-ROM have created cardboard inserts that hold the jewel case more securely in the outer package for this reason.

The following are some of the trends affecting the marketing and merchandising of software:

• The retail store's staff is less knowledgeable, so there is more reliance on packaging and merchandising to sell the product. You'll need to compensate for this with better box copy, graphics, and point-of-purchase materials.

• The self-service environment increases the need for high-impact packaging and merchandising, especially amid the clutter of competing products.

Step 3: Evaluate the Competition

Also, don't make the common mistake of assuming that your product has no competition. Even if it doesn't have a head-to-head competitor, it will sit on the shelf next to other related products. It's in your best interest to anticipate the product section that it will be placed in, then design your package to stand out. This is much better than leaving this critical decision to your channel partners.

Step 4: Set Strategic Packaging Objectives

• the product name

• the target customer

• the "why-to-buy" target customer message--again, ideally expressed in four to seven words

• a concise description of the product (one or two sentences at most)

• any information that absolutely must go on the package, such as a platform designation, system requirements, and so on

• the tone, or the emotions the package must evoke in the target customer; for example, corporate and business-like, warm and inviting, or whimsical and fun

• any other information that would be helpful to the creative team

Step 5: Select Creative and Collaborative Designers

Here's one way to manage the process of selecting an outside agency:

• Solicit recommendations. Identify packages that you think are effective in the retail environment, then find out who did the graphic design. Sometimes the designer is even listed on the package (in small print on the back or bottom panel). Otherwise, if the software publisher isn't a direct competitor, they may be willing to tell you who did the design. Initially, identify three to six prospective design firms.

• Meet with each potential design firm. Ask each design firm to present their portfolios. See if they mention design objectives of past clients and ask them if they have data that proves that their designs resulted in increased sales. Discuss how they like to work, and make sure they're willing to work to a strategic objective statement, within a competitive framework. Ask them how they've resolved creative differences with clients in the past, and make sure they'll present you with a number of design alternatives. Be wary of agencies with a particular "look" unless you're sure you want that look for your product. Having designers with some software package design experience is ideal, but not absolutely necessary.

• Select the most creative and collaborative design firm. If forced to choose between creative and collaborative skills, go with the latter. You'll be more satisfied with the results!

Although most graphic design firms work project by project, rather than on a ongoing retainer, it's preferable that you work with a single firm for all of your package design work. There's a learning curve for every new agency that comes on board. Once you've found a group that understands your products and company, repeatedly using this group will result in a smoother design process and better results.

Step 6: Aim for Maximum Shelf Impact

Here are some design elements that contribute to high shelf impact:

• Bold, clear colors. Avoid black, because it turns into a "black hole" on the shelf, especially when shrink-wrapped. Two well-known software products that have successfully "owned" the bold colors used on their packages are Lotus 1-2-3's goldenrod and Kid Pix's bright green.

• Simple graphics that relate to the product. Don't use "insider" visual jokes, photographs of founders, and so on. Norton Utilities, which once featured a picture of Peter Norton on the box front, is an exception to this rule because of Peter's fame among computer users.

• Large, readable fonts. Avoid "reverse-out" type (in other words, white or light-colored type on a dark background), because it's harder to read than dark type on a light background. The fact that Claris, Microsoft, and Apple (companies that, by the way, spend a lot on customer research) stay with the black-copy-on-a-white-background approach, is a testimony to the effectiveness of this rule.

• Limited copy. You only have a few seconds to sell your product, so make sure your box copy is short and compelling. A good example of just the right amount of copy can be found on the products from Living Books (for example, Just Grandma and Me).

A word about flaps--those extra pieces of cardboard that open out like a greeting card on the front panel of some software packages. Don't use them--they can compromise your shelf impact by yawning open and obscuring the front panel you've worked so hard on. Further, they usually allow the product copy to run on far too long. If you must use a flap, put it on the back panel, where it won't affect your shelf impact (because it can't yawn open), and make sure that it is inviting to look at and read--use lots of graphics and a minimal amount of copy.

Step 7: Manage the Design Process

Before you conduct the first creative team meeting, you should select a packaging structure. Choose a packaging structure based on your product's competition as well as the shelving and shipping requirements of your key channel partners. Their input may influence whether you choose a folding carton, candy box, or slipcase box format, or whether you need to limit your package dimensions, material, or weight. In addition, make sure that your proposed structure is sturdy enough to withstand the rigors of worldwide shipping, and that it communicates appropriate value to your target customer when it's picked up.

I learned a lot about perceived value when I worked for Ashlar, a company that sells an award-winning $995 CAD software product called Vellum. For this type of product, a $1 plastic CD jewel case wouldn't be appropriate. To look like a $995 product, the box needed to have some physical heft (a good use for reference manuals and tutorials), as well as larger dimensions.

Choose a box size that will fit on your key channel partners' shelves and is comparable to other products of similar functionality and price. And finally, by working with packaging materials vendors, make sure to build and shrink-wrap a prototype package that is packed with the actual media and manuals (or a manual mock-up that includes the same page count, binding, and paper type). Test it for balance on the retail shelf, making sure it won't tip over.

First Creative Meeting

• Present the strategic objective statement, bringing new creative team members up to speed.

• Show competitive product packages, both in the meeting and ideally in an actual store setting, such as a computer superstore. This is the environment in which your product must stand out to achieve shelf impact.

• Review the proposed packaging structure.

Second Creative Meeting

Third Creative Meeting

At this point, all panels should be detailed. Make sure the product name and why-to-buy message appear on every panel--the front, back, both spines, top, and bottom. If you're using folding cartons, order a "tuckable" bottom-flap configuration rather than a center-cut bottom, because this will give you a larger printable surface area.

Step 8: View Proposed Designs in Stores

Step 9: Allocate the Time and Money to Do It Right

As the retail software channel becomes more self-service, mass-market oriented, having effective software packaging is key. Your software box must increasingly stand out on crowded retail shelves, and your box copy must sell your product, without the help of sales people. The best packaging designs come from a well-managed process that incorporates feedback from target customers, retailers, channel partners, company employees, and packaging design firms. And, of course, the time and money to do it right.

Valorie Cook Carpenter is a recognized industry expert in creating effective retail packaging. Currently head of her own consulting practice, she most recently was vice president of Marketing at Brøderbund Software. She co-leads Seymour Merrin's acclaimed "Selling Off the Shelf" seminar, is a frequent speaker at Software Publishers Association and other industry conferences, and has served as a judge for the Soft¥letter Marketing Summit Awards in the areas of packaging, point-of-purchase materials, and marketing strategy. She can be reached at Market Savvy Consulting Group, P.O. Box 205, Los Altos, CA 94023-0205; phone: 650-941-0487; e-mail: vcarpenter@aol.com; website: http://www.MarketSavvyConsulting.com.

The Making of the Myst Box

When my marketing group at Brøderbund began working on the Myst package, we hired an outside design agency. Based on our strategic objective statement, the agency generated a number of striking front panel concepts--none of which the senior marketing manager for the product felt accurately represented the product. After numerous, increasingly frustrating rounds of creative work, the program's outside developers finally submitted a front panel design based on the central computer graphic of the game--Myst Island. With some minor modifications, this became the final design, despite the fact that it was a very recessive package on the shelf--it used murky, grayed-out colors, a computer graphic rather than a more traditional illustration, the product title in a less-than-optimal position, and the why-to-buy statement in reverse-out type. In fact, we had created a similar design with much more shelf impact, due to a pink-orange sunrise in the background behind Myst Island. But we didn't go with it because the marketing staff convinced me that the package they preferred was truer to the game. Over 2,000,000 copies later, I have to say they were right!

So what did I learn from the process?

• The steps I've detailed here are guidelines that need to be applied intelligently in each specific situation. Sometimes other considerations outweigh the goal of maximizing shelf impact.

• If you're going to "break the rules," do so deliberately, carefully weighing what you are giving up and risking versus what you hope to achieve.