Tobacco brand design
Tobacco brand design refers to a series of packaging designs for tobacco brand images in accordance with certain purposes and requirements. There are broad and narrow understandings of tobacco brand design. Broadly speaking, tobacco brand design includes tobacco brand strategic design, tobacco brand corporate design and CI design. In a narrow sense, tobacco brand design mainly refers to tobacco product design, tobacco brand emotional appeal design, tobacco brand trademark, packaging and other aspects of design. Here is a brief explanation of the narrow sense.
Why are the signboards of McDonald’s and KFC particularly eye-catching? The reason is that their red and yellow decorative tones give people strong stimulation and are easy to arouse consumers’ associations. This actually achieves the purpose of business design. ultimate goal. Tobacco brands also need design. Because the ultimate goal of a tobacco brand is to promote the completion of the consumption process, and to achieve the completion of the consumption process, it must first arouse consumers' desire to consume, and making consumers have the desire to consume depends to a large extent on excellent tobacco brands design. Therefore, tobacco brand design is crucial to the marketing of tobacco brands. Generally speaking, the main contents of tobacco brand design include: tobacco product design, tobacco brand emotional appeal design, tobacco brand trademark design and packaging design, etc. Regarding the packaging design of tobacco brands, we will specifically elaborate on it in the third section of this chapter.
1. Tobacco product design
Tobacco product design is the main content of tobacco brand design and the main carrier for tobacco brand design. Without products, brand design becomes water without a source and a tree without roots. Philip, a famous American economist, believes that product design should be considered from three levels. The first level is the core product, which mainly answers "what the buyer really wants to purchase." The second level is tangible products, which mainly conquer consumers through product quality level, style, packaging, performance and other characteristics. The third layer is the additional products that companies can provide to consumers. Among these three levels, the second layer of tangible products is the top priority of product design, because consumers focus on the tobacco products themselves, although the additional products that companies can provide can contribute to the success of tobacco products under certain conditions. The completion of the consumer consumption process, but in more cases, consumers regard it as a dispensable thing. For example, consumers are accustomed to consuming a certain brand of tobacco products, and generally will not give away small items due to other brands such as Gifts and other promotional means can easily change their consumption choices.
Tobacco product design mainly includes performance design and quality design of tobacco products. The performance design of tobacco products can meet the emotional pursuits of different consumers. The quality design mainly reflects environmental protection, while the appearance design strives to fully reflect the individual characteristics of tobacco products.
The performance design of tobacco products is based on the different consumption needs of consumers. As perceptual consumption becomes more and more mainstream, consumers are increasingly pursuing personalized tobacco products. They not only pay attention to the practicality of tobacco products, but also pay attention to the performance of tobacco products that can satisfy their different emotional pursuits. At this stage, the diversity of social needs determines the diversity of tobacco brand design. However, for a certain tobacco company, its corporate resources are limited, and it is impossible to produce products that meet all social needs. It can only meet the social needs of a specific consumer group. Therefore, the performance design of most tobacco products is often People-oriented, making full use of corporate resources and always following market changes in performance design.
The quality design of tobacco products is reflected in the quality of cut tobacco and the advanced cigarette technology. The most important point is the increasing emphasis on environmental protection. Scientific and technological workers in the tobacco industry closely follow international advanced tobacco technology and are actively committed to the development of "one high and two low" cigarettes with high aroma, low tar, and low harm. Therefore, tobacco companies often use environmental protection as a breakthrough when playing quality cards, and vigorously promote the environmental protection functions of brand products to attract more consumers' attention.
At the first Tobacco Science and Technology Expo held in Beijing in May 2002, a number of domestically produced low-harm cigarette brands were unveiled, such as Beijing's "Zhongnanhai", Shanghai's "Double Happiness", Guangdong's "Yangcheng", "Wuye Shen", Anhui's "Dan" "Jian" and so on, as well as the brands of cigarette products such as "Good Day" and "Temex" produced by Shenzhen Cigarette Factory, which are well-known in the market and deeply loved by consumers. Its complete set of silk making and rolling package production equipment was imported from abroad. After continuous absorption, digestion and transformation, the production technology has reached the international level. It has a complete set of modern testing and supervision facilities for the design, production and inspection of cigarette products, so that The product technology and various physical and chemical indicators have reached the international advanced level. The biological filters selected for tobacco products are also different from ordinary filters because the biological filters contain a highly efficient biologically active substance hemoglobin, which can effectively absorb nitrosamines, free radicals, and polycyclic aromatic rings in smoke. Hydrocarbons and other harmful ingredients. Shenzhen Cigarette Factory uses biological filters on "Good Day" brand cigarettes. It is the first safe cigarette in China to use biological filters, which can provide smokers with more protection. Because ordinary filters can only absorb part of tar and nicotine, biological filters can also absorb more other harmful components in smoke. The highly efficient bioactive substance hemoglobin in biological filters can significantly filter smoke. free radicals and other harmful substances in the smoke, which provides safer protection not only for smokers, but also for second-hand smokers.
2. Emotional appeal design
The emotional appeal design of tobacco brands is based on the product itself, but goes beyond the design of the product itself to meet the different emotional needs of consumers. , here, the product only exists as a material carrier of emotional appeal design. Because with the improvement of people's living standards, people's purpose of smoking is no longer very single, but to express a variety of emotions through smoking. At this time, if only high quality and low price are used as the positioning design of tobacco products, it will be difficult to meet the different emotional needs of consumers. Therefore, tobacco brand design should not only highlight individuality, but also carry out different marketing according to different market consumer groups. Emotional positioning, while increasing efforts to promote at different consumption levels. While the quality and performance of the product can satisfy consumers, it also touches consumers emotionally. For example, Yizhong Group Qingdao Tobacco Factory has been committed to the renovation of old brands in recent years. "Yizhibi" cigarettes were created in the early 1940s and became popular across the country in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1996, Qingdao Cigarette Factory of Yizhong Group Company launched a new generation of high-end "Yizhi Pen". In 1998, it launched the red "Yizhi Pen"; "Hardman" cigarettes were born in the 1920s. In 1992, Qingdao Tobacco Factory renovated and launched the "Hardman" series of products. At the end of the 20th century, there was a kind of nostalgia among the people. The renovation of the old brand of Qingdao Tobacco Factory just gave people the most vivid expression of nostalgia. Therefore, after the launch of new cigarettes of old brands, they are very popular among consumers. For example, "Hademan" immediately caused a sensation across the country once it was launched, creating a miracle of covering the country and being in short supply for many years.
To a certain extent, emotional appeal design is more important than product design, because what the product brings to consumers is just the shell of tobacco products, while emotional appeal design satisfies what people need in their inner world. This kind of satisfaction cannot be given by ordinary products. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, human needs are divided into different levels. The lowest level physiological needs are easily satisfied. The highest level of self-actualization needs is the most difficult to satisfy. People's emotional needs are more difficult to satisfy than smoking as a physiological need. On the one hand, this shows that the design of emotional appeals must firmly grasp the focus of consumption and create a complete brand image and brand content, which undoubtedly increases the complexity of the design of emotional appeals; on the other hand, it also shows that once the design of emotional appeals is Recognized by consumers, it is easy to form a fixed consumer group. It can be said that the design of emotional appeals captures the consumer psychology and adopts a flanking attack strategy that focuses on the heart.
3. Trademark design
Trademark, as the name suggests, is the mark of goods. Trademarks generally consist of a pattern and a name.
Therefore, the main content of trademark design is the design of brand pattern and name.
Brand name design. "If the name is not correct, the words will not be smooth, and if the words are not smooth, the things will not be accomplished." It is no exaggeration to say that a brand starts with naming. If the brand name is well designed, it will easily leave a deep impression in the minds of consumers and be accepted by consumers, which can greatly enhance the market competitiveness of the tobacco brand; if the brand name is poorly designed, consumers will not only not accept it, but And it may be disgusting, and there will be no desire to buy. In fact, some tobacco companies are often very arbitrary and one-sided when naming their brands, or they deliberately pursue literal meanings, or they pay attention to pleasant sounds, and they do not hesitate to seek strangeness and strangeness. As the basis of brand building, the quality of brand name design will directly affect the success or failure of a series of marketing activities such as brand promotion, extension, and operation in the future. Therefore, the quality of tobacco brand naming is closely related to the development of tobacco brands. It is the basis for a series of activities such as trademark registration, brand promotion, brand extension, and brand management during the development of tobacco brands. A good name can make a big difference in the development of a tobacco brand, but a bad name will limit the influence of each tobacco brand activity. Such names as "king" or "ba" were quite popular in the early 1990s. I remember that when the "Furong King" brand was established in 1994, dozens of other players followed suit. Now it seems that most of them have disappeared. Of course, this is inseparable from the background of the times. At that time, social goods were not very abundant. People liked good quality goods very much, and those good quality goods were in short supply because they were in short supply, so they were high and domineering, and people bought After seeing this kind of product, he seemed very proud. The name design of "King" and "Ba" catered to people's consumption psychology at that time. Today, people's consumer psychology has become very rational, and they no longer like these domineering names. They prefer real things, because such names are further and further away from consumers, and consumers are also choosing products. Pay more and more attention to the cultural connotation reflected in product names. Of course, there are exceptions, such as "King Furong". But this is an individual phenomenon and cannot represent the general situation.
Precisely because the name design of a tobacco brand bears such a heavy responsibility, it is no exaggeration to call name design for a tobacco brand an art.
When designing tobacco brand names, the following aspects are generally considered:
1. Be creative. Tobacco brand names should be unique in concept and avoid being similar. Similarity is a taboo in tobacco brand design. Similarity can easily cause consumers to confuse the difference with competitors, and sometimes it can even be counterproductive.
2. Be concise and clear. A simple and concise brand name can easily create an impact on consumers. Because the greatest effect of a tobacco brand is communication, and concise and clear, catchy brand names are conducive to word-of-mouth spreading among people. For example, "White Sand", "Red River", and "Big Red Eagle" are very catchy to pronounce. If you turn them into four If it has more than one word, it will be quite awkward to pronounce. Therefore, tobacco brand names should be short and clear.
3. Be rich in content. Rich cultural connotations are the basis for people to appreciate tobacco brand names. There is no connotation, just calling "king" and "hegemony" blindly can only arouse people's disgust.
In addition to considering the above factors, you can also adopt different naming strategies to name your brand according to specific circumstances. For example, strategies such as price hints, regional characteristics strategies, social psychological adaptation strategies, and strategies to hint at consumer groups can be adopted.
Such as "Zhongnanhai" brand cigarettes. The name of the brand not only reflects the regional characteristics, but also adapts to the social psychology of consumers. Zhongnanhai is located in Beijing, and it clearly reflects its regional character. Zhongnanhai is the seat of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. People generally have a sense of mystery about Zhongnanhai. The marketing of "Zhongnanhai" brand cigarettes has brought Zhongnanhai closer to ordinary people and made people feel happy and comfortable.
Pattern design.
Packaging is the face of a brand. Therefore, many tobacco companies attach great importance to tobacco packaging design and regard it as a card in market competition. Some tobacco brands blindly pursue high-end products, so that "椟" is more expensive than "zhu", which makes consumers have no desire to consume them. So what principles should tobacco packaging design follow?
As an important part of tobacco industry design, cigarette packaging design must inherit and explore the traditional art of the Chinese nation, introduce new ones, and design existing national styles. , and cigarette packaging with the characteristics of the times.
(1) Principles of highlighting the personality of tobacco brands
Tobacco brand packaging design is one of the important carriers to promote the personality of tobacco brands. Especially when the current mainstream tobacco consumer groups have developed a considerable taste in life and have shifted from the initial "quantitative satisfaction" to the pursuit of "qualitative satisfaction" or even "emotional satisfaction", how to give full play to the advertising role of tobacco packaging? All tobacco companies are sparing no effort. Because in the face of fierce competition, what will follow will be fierce design and brand competition with profound market color. For example, "China" is a typical representative of traditional works and has epoch-making significance. The bright red background looks full, solemn, very attractive, and has a strong festive color. Once "Zhonghua" cigarettes were launched, it can be said that all the stars followed, and other cigarette factories followed suit. "Zhonghua" can be called a generation of high-quality cigarette packaging; and "Hongtashan", with white as the background color, is simple and elegant, clear at a glance, and is a perfect combination of internal and external.
(2) Principles that match the value and quality of tobacco brands
Paying attention to the packaging design of tobacco brands does not mean unlimited packaging. After all, what consumers consume is the tobacco product itself, not the packaging of the tobacco product. Therefore, when it comes to packaging design for tobacco brands, the more upscale and stylish the better. For example, in the rural cigarette market, consumers are a very large group. Most of them only pay attention to price, pay attention to reality, and do not pursue exquisite packaging. In their eyes, the lower the price, the better, or even just smoking. The same price, good quality is definitely the first choice. If tobacco brands want to occupy the vast rural market, they must either lower prices or remove exquisite packaging. Faced with high production costs, even if you lower the price to capture the market, you will definitely gain little. If you remove the exquisite packaging, you can not only reduce production costs, but also win the trust of consumers with excellent quality. Why would the tobacco industry not do it? Some tobacco companies have launched products with very low prices and very exquisite packaging. Cigarette products have not existed in the market for a long time. The reason is that their exquisite packaging gives consumers the impression that the price of a pack of cigarettes is only about three yuan, and even the packaging cost is not enough. Can the raw materials used in their cigarettes be good? ?So it is reasonable for consumers to choose other brands over them.
(3) Principles of highlighting the aesthetic function of tobacco packaging
Tobacco packaging is said to be the lifelong advertisement of tobacco. A very important point is that it has a very strong aesthetic feeling and is appreciated by consumers. It feels enjoyable, thereby stimulating consumption and desire. Internationally, industrial design, including tobacco packaging, is undergoing an evolution from "form and packaging as the purpose" to "aesthetics as the main body"; from "technology as the main body" to "demand as the main body" ; The evolution from "commercial marketing as the main body" to "environmental protection as the main body". This also raises new issues for China's industrial packaging. Tobacco packaging is smart but does not pay attention to appearance, which does not reflect the product innovation awareness and modern awareness of famous brand companies. The ever-changing market has increasingly placed higher and higher demands on the aesthetic functions of cigarette brands. "Xiaolangdi" brand cigarettes can be called the best among similar cigarettes in terms of packaging design. The "Xiaolangdi" brand cigarette trademark and decorative design image pattern are mainly silver-white with a slight yellow background. The pattern is rigorously conceived and full of strong national art flavor. The earth-rock dam is majestic and majestic, like a solid "Great Wall" on the water, cutting off the Yellow River; a lake in the reservoir area with clear blue water heralds the prosperity and vigorous development of Luoyan. The surging Yellow River flowing eastward symbolizes the optimistic spirit of Luoyang Tobacco Factory's forge ahead and courage.
The entire packaging pattern is elegant, concise and bright, with distinctive personality and strong visual impact and aesthetic function.
Another example is the design of the "Golden Mango" cigarette label. Green is the representative color of "Mango" cigarettes, which is consistent with the popular environmental protection of cigarettes. The cursive pinyin of the three characters "Golden Mango" is added below the green color. The color is noble golden yellow. The contemporary lines are organically combined with the traditional green color. The whole picture is lively and full of visual impact. In addition, the "Golden Mango" brand adopts the internationally advanced new thermal ink anti-counterfeiting printing technology in the design of cigarettes, small boxes and boxes. The three green "Golden Mango" colors on the boxes and small boxes are Words, when reaching a certain temperature, the green color becomes colorless, and the green color appears again after cooling. The packaging design of the premium "Golden Mango" is quite original.
Another example is Japan’s famous “Seven Stars” cigarette label design. "Seven Star" brand cigarettes are the "leading masterpiece" of Japan International Tobacco Co., Ltd. In the global tobacco industry, it, together with famous brands such as "555" and "Marlboro", dominate the world with their own unique tastes and enjoy a high reputation among consumers. status and honor. The Arabic numeral "seven" is an auspicious number in the cultural life of the Japanese. People call January 7th every year the seventh day of the first month, and arrange auspicious decorations such as the Seven Gods of Good Luck at home to pray to the gods for blessings. Using "Seven Stars" as the name means that the blessings of the Seven Stars are not only a symbol of peace and happiness in life, but also a symbol of the prosperity of the company and brand.
Using a large area of ??white as part of the main visual language, and combining European and American design with abstract points, lines, surfaces and colors to form a style, the design method not only retains the national aesthetic thought and aesthetic taste and cultural personality without losing the modernity and sense of the times in its design. This is not only the design feature of the "Seven Stars" cigarette label, but also one of the characteristics of Japanese product packaging and decoration design.
The image design of the cigarette label focuses on "seven" and "star". From the composition point of view, the "Seven Stars" cigarette logo is contrary to the classical symmetry of European and American design, using vertical lines and block divisions. 3/4 of the logo is composed of small five-pointed stars in regular light gray color blocks, and the color blocks are composed of transparent The yellow color is cleverly formed into the shape of "7" with five-pointed stars of equal size, just like the stars in the sky twinkling, looming, yet hazy and beautiful. The brand name is marked on the left side of the cigarette label occupying 1/4 of the entire screen, and is arranged vertically, which is a clever idea. The English brand name "Seven Stars" has a delicate and handsome font. What’s more worthy of appreciation is between MILD and SEVEN. The two small rows of vertical foreign characters and vertical names form a contrast between horizontal and vertical, big and small, far and near, powerful and graceful, and are horizontally aligned with the gray bottom on the right. The black foreign language echoes from afar. This is the eye in poetry and the finishing touch in painting. The cigarette box seal is also a part that cannot be ignored. The dark gray is lined with white stars, which not only harmonizes with the whole, but also forms different levels of rhythm with the black name, gray surface and white background, making the color language of the cigarette label Elegance wins. Looking at the entire cigarette label, its design style is fresh, elegant, calm and natural. From it, we can see not only the ideas of modern European and American trademark design, but also the Chinese Confucian and Taoist spirit accumulated in Japanese culture.
Generally speaking, the level of tobacco product packaging in my country is uneven. This situation has been difficult to adapt to the needs of consumers, and it cannot arouse consumers' desire to buy, both visually and conceptually. Therefore, outstanding tobacco packaging can convey a strong product concept, content, style and texture in visual expression, which can "tempt" consumers. It should be pointed out that many foreign brands pay attention to the exquisite packaging of their products. It should also be pointed out that excellent packaging and exquisite packaging do not mean expensive packaging. For example, after positioning "Marlboro" as a manly cigarette, it linked it with the image of the most manly western cowboy. The packaging design is simple and bright. Red represents masculinity, and the white background shows a more powerful masculine temperament. While its products have achieved great success, its tobacco packaging design has also become a classic in the tobacco industry.