The 2014 edition of the Pack & Gift trade show, which was held at the beginning of June in Paris, welcomed 3,154 visitors, down by 9 per cent compared to the previous year. Despite this drop in visitorship, which was due, according to the organisers, to the fragmented French calendar in May and June 2014 that counted several bank holidays, the number of advertisers increased by 2 per cent, and “they all had short-and medium-term projects which is evidence of the dynamics of promotional offering market.” The show, which hosted 225 exhibitors, also recorded a rise of European visitors (+14.5 per cent).
The organisers also deem that the success of the conference programme during the show demonstrate the high level of expectations from brands for a better understanding of the promotional offering market and of its key factors of success.
Value in use or brand value
To address this need, the results of a Harris Interactive’s study conducted on behalf of Pack & Gift on "Event packages that enthused the French in 2013-2014", was revealed during the show.
This study added memory scores to issues of differentiation, impact, and the relationship established with consumers and tried to identify design trends among the winning runs. Therefore, we learned that Coca Cola’s offer of bottles personalised with first names did not increase ties with consumers. In the contrary, although Bic lighters, Kleenex tissues, and the limited edition for the tenth anniversary of Givenchy were not remembered by consumers, they did create strong ties. Nutella, Kub Or, Cote d’Or, and Perrier were successful on both fronts.
Beyond this quantitative approach, Harris Interactive conducted a semiotic study to identify "recipes" for effective event packaging and design, colour, and function are cited. It appears that the creative bias of promotional packaging must be immediately visible. However, any discontinuity with the usual packaging must be tangible but not excessive. Brands must choose between either working on the value in use or brand value of packaging but not both!
The next Pack & Gift edition is already programmed June 17 & 18, 2015 at Paris Porte de Versailles, Hall 5.2.
