The Communicative Power of Product Packaging: Creating Brand Identity via Lived and Mediated Experience

AbstractBuilding on existing frameworks (customer-based brand equity, consumer-brand relationships, product symbolism/self concept), this paper forwards packaging as a product-related attribute critical to the creation and communication of brand identity. Packaging is posited to influence brand and self-identity via a dual resource base (mediated and lived experience); a conceptual positioning variant from the traditional single symbolic resource base (mediated experience) provided by advertising. This conceptual distinction is examined and data from an exploratory qualitative study are provided to illustrate the powerful role of packaging in communicating brand meaning and strengthening the consumer-brand relationship, especially for low involvement consumer nondurable products. Additional informationNotes on contributorsRobert L. UnderwoodDr. Robert L. Underwood (Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), is an assistant professor, University of Alabama-Birmingham, School of Business, Department of Marketing, Management & Industrial Distribution. His research has been published in a number of refereed journals including Annual Advances in Business Cases, Journal of Marketing Communications, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Journal of Product and Brand Management and Social Indicators Research. His current research interests include theoretical and managerial issues related to brand building in consumer products, services, and business-to-business markets.