Where oh where did my product go?

Do you know what a side by side is? Or maybe a roll-out tray? Or how about a filler pull out? No? They aren’t sleeper cars on trains or the newest nanotechnology; they are places where consumers keep their purchases (aka the kitchen). As marketers, we get so focused on moving product off the store shelves (and rightfully so) that we often forget about moving product off the consumers’ shelves.

Keep in mind that consumers, cooks, cleaners and food-eaters don’t want to work too hard or look too hard. If your product is hidden, it may very well be forgotten.

Here’s a quick fly-through a typical kitchen or two. It aptly demonstrates the challenges darn kitchens have created for brands–and makes it clear that there’s a need for next generation thinking about package structure and package graphics.

Here’s a “roll out tray.” Packaging on the lid makes more sense now, doesn’t it?

“Oh Hon, can you grab the…never mind.”

While no one likes cleaning, this is ridiculous!

And here’s the dreaded fridge/freezer side-by-side. Are you sure your product isn’t hidden in there?

Wow, the pull out freeze doesn’t fare much better

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Well, you get the point. The next time you take a fresh look at your product, consider its other home–the consumer’s home–from whence all usage stems. It might spark some fantastic new ways of thinking about storage!