'Try Me' Tool Packaging Lifts Sales 30%

First Impressions Do MatterPackaging for hard goods -- products such as lawn and garden tools, sporting goods, office supplies and flashlights -- has to quickly communicate what the product does and why it is better than any other option available.For its Power Spin drain-cleaning tool, the Ridge Tool Co. accomplished this with an increasingly popular approach -- a "try-me" package. The try-me trend is growing because a lot of packagers and retailers believe that, done right, try-me packages deliver a "touch" connection, shelf appeal and brand identity.The tool is a 25-foot-long drain-cleaning cable. It fits into a drum-like magazine connected to a handle. The handle allows consumers to direct the cable into a clogged drain without touching the cable.The package in which the tool is merchandised is a small-flute corrugated paperboard carton. It features a die-cut opening (top and front) that enables a potential buyer to reach inside and handle the tool. Through a second opening on the carton's side, a shopper can make certain he has the correct drill by fitting the chuck of a 3/8-inch drill to the Power Spin. The package's format also creates a "billboard" that explains what the tool is and how it works. The graphics highlight the black-to-red color vignette the company uses in its brand identity approach. Photo-like icons complement the copy by illustrating the use of the product.Team DesignRidge uses the insights of its marketing, engineering, operations and sales departments in order to find the best packaging solutions. The company's process illustrates how an integrated team effort can deliver innovation. In this case, the try-me package's central concept came from the engineer who developed the tool. That's a job function not usually found in a packaging development scenario. However, this engineer saw two strong selling points for the tool -- the handle, and the tool's easy fit for a standard 3/8-inch drill. Those selling points led to the incorporation of the die-cut windows.The original tool package, by the way, was a triangularly shaped carton with die cuts to reveal the tool. It used more packaging material and didn't ship well. The current design offers greater economies and fits Ridge Tool's branding strategy.The new cartons are stacked onto a quarter-pallet floor display, which fits The Home Depot's 2-foot by 2-foot by 4-foot specification. The package works, says Dawn Burcham, a senior packaging engineer at Ridge Tool. She notes a 30%-plus sales increase since the package was redesigned.Trade-OffsRidge Tool's use of an all-paperboard package underscores a key issue with try-me packaging -- decreased durability. The Power Spin tool is held to the paperboard platform with a single plastic tie that permits enough product movement so consumers can grab the handle; they can also test if a drill fits with the tool. However, in a worst-case scenario, a consumer -- or a store employee who wants to demonstrate the tool -- pulls it from the package and tears the paperboard platform. A torn package has reduced sales potential, so the tool may need to be repackaged.Package development always involves trade-offs. In this case, a thermoformed plastic base might provide greater durability, yet it would add cost and complicate package development by requiring a second supplier -- one to produce the plastic base. Furthermore, while an all-paperboard carton is recyclable in one piece, a plastic insert complicates the issue because consumers have to separate the components.The neat-freak side of me says go to a plastic base, but I'm not looking at the bottom line that's all-too-apparent to the packaging and marketing people at Ridge Tool. Jim Peters is a writer and consultant with 25 years in the packaging field. He is president of J. Peters Associates Inc. Click here for his contact information.

'Try Me' Tool Packaging Lifts Sales 30%

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