Sesame Street Refreshes its Packaging

New York — Sesame Workshop implemented a packaging refresh for all of its licensed Sesame Street consumer products earlier this year. All packages across every product category now feature up-close images of the Muppets characters’ faces, while educational and developmental information has been moved to the back of the packaging.Working with New York-based agency Parham Santana, Sesame Workshop used existing research and conducted “Coffee Conversations” with moms to gain more insight into what they really want and need for their children. The agency also met with several of Sesame Workshop’s partners to understand category-specific concerns and challenges, including the need to bring forth the educational component that lives within the brand.Based on its learnings, Sesame Workshop now uses the tagline “Let’s Grow!” on the back of most packaging. “That is a setup to talk about the developmental, enrichment benefits of a particular product,” says John Parham, president/director of branding, Parham Santana. “We put it on the back because moms told us we didn’t need to sledgehammer it on the front. They already know this.”Moving the educational information to the back of the packaging allowed for more white space on the front. “We brought forward evidence that said white in other categories is consumer code for ‘good for you’ and ‘wholesome,’” says Parham. “Sesame Street has some of the most iconic assets on the planet. We believed that if we removed excess copy, the characters would shine. And research shows that consumers want cleaner, simpler packaging. We wanted to present the characters when they are at their furry, heartfelt best.”Sesame Workshop’s Maura Regan, senior vice president and general manager, global consumer products, says it had been nearly five years since the company had refreshed its retail experience. “Every season on ‘Sesame Street’ [the TV program] is all new, so we feel that the experience our consumers have with our brand off-air needs to be as refreshed, up-to-date and as topical as possible.” She says the new packaging can help the target market of parents of preschool-aged kids, tweens and teens, as well as grandparents, navigate the aisles more quickly and easily.Toys from Hasbro featuring the new packaging were first to hit shelves last spring, followed by the rest of Sesame Street’s licensed products. “While we say packaging, it’s the full retail experience – on-shelf and off-shelf,” Regan says. “Everything going forward will be developed using the iconography of the refresh.”Regan is quick to point out that shoppers won’t notice a drastic change in-aisle. “Because of the nature of retail, we developed the program so two looks could live side by side, complementing each other as this rolls out so the packaging doesn’t look disconnected,” she says. “We wanted to make sure our retail narrative was constant and not broken by a sharp redesign.”Comprehensive packaging guidelines are now in place for all Sesame Street products, unifying and streamlining packaging and merchandising design for hundreds of product types and partners – accommodating all markets and languages.Parham Santana handled all aspects of the global assignment, including the packaging, point-of-sale and merchandising for all licensed products in a variety of different categories, from toys and food products to health and beauty aids, apparel and DVDs. “The emotional connection that consumers have with the characters is very strong,” Parham says. “Their faces are like beacons on the shelf.”

Sesame Street Refreshes its Packaging

P2PI MEMBERS

JOIN P2PI

Related Images

Business Topic

Market Segment

P2PI MEMBERS

JOIN P2PI

Related Images

Related Articles

Business Topic

Market Segment