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ABSTRACT
The study examines Packaging and the Marketing of Consumers’ Products in Coca-cola BottlingCompany, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. In the course of carrying out the study, the primary and secondary data sourcing methods were obtained. The primary has to do with structured and unstructured questionnaire, personal interview and observation, existing textbooks, journals, library materials, cooperate magazines and internet materials. The population of the study is made up of 135 staff drawn from the company in Port Harcourt under investigation out of which a sample size of 101 respondents was drawn via stratified random sampling technique. The frequency distribution tables and including statistical tools such as pearson product correlation (r) were used for data analysis of the study. However our findings revealed that packaging of products dimensions such as branding, labels, colour, etc affects the marketing of products in the manufacturing industry. Based on these, it is recommended that marketers should look beyond the physical attractiveness which packaging communicates when designing a package for a product; emphasis should be drawn to the products functional value (i.e. what is does). Secondly,consumers should identify the pattern of packaging that suits or satisfies their taste for a particular product and stick to it.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE…………………………………………………………………………………..i
DECLARATION ii
CERTIFICATION iii
DEDICATION iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v
ABSTRACT vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS vii
CHAPTER ONE 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 1
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 5
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 7
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 7
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES 8
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 8
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 9
1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 9
1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS 10
CHAPTER TWO 11
LITERATURE REVIEW 11
2.1 INTRODUCTION 11
2.2 THE CONCEPT OF PACKAGING 12
2.3 DIMENSION OF PACKAGING 14
2.4 PRODUCT APPEARANCE AND PRODUCT VALUE 17
2.4.1 Product Appearance and Aesthetic Product Value 17
2.4.2 Product Appearance and Symbolic Product Value 18
2.4.3 Product Appearance and Functional Product Value 18
2.4.4 Product Appearance and Economic Product Value 20
2.4.5 Attention Drawing Ability of the Product Appearance 21
2.4.6 Product Appearance and Categorization 22
2.5 PACKAGING VALUE 23
2.5.1 Packaging for Promotion 24
2.6 THE MARKETING ROLE OF PACKAGING 25
2.6.1 Customer Satisfaction and Brand Loyalty 26
2.6.2 Buyer Behaviour 27
2.7 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 28
2.8 SUMMARY OF LITERATURE 32
CHAPTER THREE 34
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 34
3.1 INTRODUCTION 34
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN 34
3.3 POPULATION OF THE STUDY 35
3.4 SAMPLING TECHNIQUES 36
3.5 SAMPLE SIZE 37
3.6 SOURCES OF DATA 38
3.7 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT FOR DATA COLLECTION 39
3.8 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF INSTRUMENT 39
3.9 TECHNIQUE FOR DATA ANALYSIS 40
CHAPTER FOUR 43
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS 43
4.1 INTRODUCTION 43
4.2 DATA PRESENTATION 43
4.3 DATA ANALYSIS 45
4.4 TESTING OF HYPOTHESES 49
4.5 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 54
CHAPTER FIVE 58
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 58
5.1 INTRODUCTION 58
5.2 SUMMARY 58
5.3 CONCLUSION 59
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS 60
REFERENCES 62
APPENDIX I 64
APPENDIX II 65
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Packaging is the process of conceptualizing, planning, and designing a packet orwrapper to contain, protect and merchandise a product (Kotler 2003). In modern time marketing, if packaging does not sell a product, it is as good as worthless. Highlighting the role of packaging in marketing or communicating a distinguished advertising practitioner, Chris Doghudje, observed that “packaging sells even more than advertising” (Nwokoye, 1987). That is because most goods like cosmetics and others have little or no advertising support. But they must be packaged. The vital function of packaging comes out clearly in the environment of self-service stores, where sales have to be dependent on the strength of packaging. This is achieved by designing a package to attract consumer’s attention at the point of purchase, to furnish consumers with needed information about the product, so as to provide the on-the-spot persuasion and incentive that is often vital to make sales or required to propel consumers into buying.
According to Rita Kuvykaite(2009) packaging attracts consumer’sattention to particular brand, enhances its image, and influences consumer’s perceptions about a product. Also package imparts unique value to products (Underwood, Klein & Burke, 2001; Silayoi&Speece, 2004) ,works a s a tool for differentiation, i.e. helps consumers to choose the product from wide range of similar products, stimulates customers buying behavior (Wells, Farley &Armstrong, 2007). Thus package performs an important role in marketing communications and could be treated as one of the most important factor influencing consumer’s purchase of package.
Defining packaging as the vehicle that conveys the brand of a product to consumer(Amarchand et al( 1979) opines that the big test of packaging is how well it succeeds in registering relevant marketing messages to the target – audience. To scale the big test, packaging has to be supported by the twin-pillars of planning and innovation. Scheme and Smith(1980) views packaging as a crucial activity in product planning. Since packaging fulfills an important promotional function in modern marketing (Osuagwu, 1985), it has to be “aesthetically pleasing and be distinctive enough to stand when placed side by side with competing brands on the retail shelf (Nwokoye, 1987).
The pack, according to Unilever International, has become an integral part of theproduct; without it, there would be no brand and no freedom of choice. On display, the pack becomes a silent assistant in the choice process. This is why products are packaged not just for easy identification but to compel buying actions. The key factor for success (KFS) in packaging is the application of the marketing approach in product packaged to contain, protect, and merchandise a given product (Nwokoye, 1987). The marketing approach to product packaging takes cognizance of the fact that every product communicates a message, and in view of this, a product must be packaged to communicate the desired message to the target market. To effect a proper packaging, your image or personality of the product must be totally different from that of any other product. The ultimate challenge is to make your package distinct and unique so that it is instantly recognized whether alone or when placed side by side with other packages.
Packaging is of great importance to both the seller and buyers of products. It canprevent spoilage, breakage, tampering, or theft; enhance convenience in use or storage; and make products easier to identify. A significant improvement in packaging can even create a new product by expanding the ways in which it can be used, and thus its potential markets. For example, a soup that is packaged in a microbe bowl might suddenly increase its sales to working people.
Prior to World War II, packaging was used primarily to surround and protectproducts during storage, transportation and distribution (Onah, 1972). Some packaging was designed with aesthetic appeal for easy identification by the end consumer, but package design was typically left to technicians. After the World War II, however, companies became more interested in marketing and promotion as a means of enticing customers to purchase their products. As a result, more manufacturers began to view packaging as an integral element of overall business marketing strategies to their buyers. Thus, packaging became a vital means of differentiating items and inferring inundated consumers.
The importance of consumer packaging was elevated in the United States duringthe late 1970s and 1980s. Rapid post war economic expansion and market growth waned during that period, forcing companies to increase and entice consumers to their product or brand at the expense of the competition. The product mix or component is not complete without packaging. Packaging in developing countries would sound to be out of place when we still see market women and traders rap their wares with banana leaves, old newspapers and green leaves. These traditional methods of packaging, notwithstanding, the need for packaging is growing fast.
According to (Onah and Thomas 2004) “packaging is the use of container, components, plus decoration or labels to protect, contain, identify and facilitate the use of products. It is containment and packaging prior to sales with the primary purpose of facilitating the use of products. The container or wrappers is called package. The package include up to three levels of materials: (a) The primary which is the immediate container, (b) The secondary is referred to packaging necessary to protect the primary package. (c) The third is shipping packaging which referred to packaging necessary for storage.
Thousands of new products are introduced every year, more than 20,000 to beexact, (Onah& Thomas, 2004). How can products compete, not only with established brand but with the plethora of new products that are being introduced? The answer is ‘The packaging’. The right packaging with the right message will rise above the competitive landscape. But how many companies understand the value behind packaging as a market tool?
Understanding the complexities of how a package reaches out a consumer is oneof the most important things to bear in mind. Evaluating or developing product packaging with the consumer in mind is the first step in creating a package that markets all products attributes to ultimate decision makers, and the consumers.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
It is time that companies realized that they live in a marketplace and thus the need topackage their products and services to captivate the affection of their potential consumers. Consumers tend to appreciate goods thathave good packaging. The size, colour, design, label, price of products affects a consumer’s behaviour and tilt to his choice of products. Consumers in a market with a large number of competitors and high discount to products and services, high advertisement spending and a product brand must be packaged such that the consumer will admire and be comfortable with the product, thus, leading to success and profitability of the product firm.
The consumer buying behaviour is affected if those elements of packaging are lacking.The absence of these elements depreciates the consumer’s decision over the purchase of a product. In other words the value of a product is rated in its packaging. “A well packaged product sells itself.”(lyoyd 2003). According to Brassing and Pettit (2003) packaging is a method of communicating products information, both product and brand character to the consumer.
To what extent do packaging elements influence consumer choice of a product? A phenomena which has largely placed firms in situations which are sometimes difficult to deal with based on the consumers behaviour towards the packaging strategy used in the market competition.
Consumers always have factors that affect their purchase of a particular product in the market. In the world of complex product lines and service offering, value is lost because sellers cannot accurately determine what consumers are willing to pay for in a product features and attributes.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main objective of the study is to determine how packaging help in the marketing of consumer products. The specific objectives are:
- To investigate the relationship between packaging and consumers choice ofproducts.
- To determine how the patterns of packaging of product influence choice of products.
- To ascertain what is responsible for some consumers’ patronage of a brandproduct over other brands.
- To find out whether good packaging can contribute to higher sales.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
To provide a framework for eliciting solution to the research problems, it isnecessary that some research questions be formulated. A number of research questions are given below:
- What is the relationship between packaging and consumer choice of product?
- How does the patterns of packaging of product influence choice of products?
- In what way is packaging responsible for consumer’s patronage of one product over another?
- What is responsible for higher sales of products?
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
Based on the research questions, the following null hypotheses are formulated:
H01: There is no significant relationship between packaging and consumer choice of product.
H02: There is no significant relationship between patterns of packaging of product and choice of product.
H03: There is no significant relationship between consumer’s patronage of one product over another and packaging of product.
H04: There is no significant relationship between packaging and higher sales of products.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This research work is significant in many ways. Academically, the findings in thisresearch will contribute to the existing body of knowledge as a referral material and will help illuminate on the role of packaging and how it influences behaviour pattern of consumers. Scholars and future researchers will find this work beneficial because it is bound to contribute information, and enlighten them on the usefulness of packaging.
To professional and/or marketing promoters, this research work will stimulate competitions among them and enhance market standardization of goods or products.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of this study is on packaging and the marketing of consumer products. The content scope of this study includes packaging (which include product appearance, attention drawing ability, packaging value, etc) and marketing of consumer products (which include buyer behaviour, consumer satisfaction and brand loyalty, etc). This study will be carried out among the middle and top staff of Coca-cola Bottling Company in Port Harcourt.
1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
In carrying out this research, the researcher encountered the following constraints, which are
Time: The time given to the researcher is not sufficient enough to carry out a thorough research.The researcher had limited time to complete the research. Combining lectures hours with the research work is indeed time demanding.
Finance: Fund is very necessary and paramount for a successful research, but the researcher did not have all the necessary funds to move from one place to another to source for data and research materials.
Attitude of Respondents: The researcher faced difficulties in collecting information from the respondents. Some refused to give out the right information while some bluntly refused to respond to any question asked.
1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Packaging: The container or wrapper that holds a product or group of products.
Marketing:The activity of presenting, advertising and selling a company’s products in the best possible way.
Consumer: The buyer of goods and services.
Products: Anything tangible or intangible that can be offered to the market for attention, acquisition and consumption.
Branding: This process involves creating a unique name and image for a product in a consumer’s mind.
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