Oguz, E and Marsden, J (2021) Defending Against Copycat Packaging: The Role of Design from a Consumer’s Perspective. Athens Journal of Business & Economics. ISSN 2241-794X
Abstract
Copycat packaging involves a type of imitation strategy in which the appearance of a market leader’s packaging design is simulated by a low-cost alternative. Previous literature has focused on reactive strategies against copycat packaging, primarily involving litigation and packaging design changes; however, very little attention has been assigned to the role of packaging design as a proactive strategy for mitigating against copycat packaging. To address this issue, this study examined the role of design in mitigating copycat packaging from a consumers’ perspective. We conducted an exploratory study of 37 semi-structured interviews to understand how consumers respond to the design components on visually similar packaging across a range of FMCG products. We found that packaging design cues have the greatest impact on purchasing decisions in cases where consumers have no familiarity with a brand, but less influence when consumers are already familiar with a brand. Consumers rank the importance of packaging design features differently depending on the product category. For high-cost items, consumers rank structural design as the most important feature, whereas colour is considered the most important for low-cost products. We end the paper by discussing the implications for brand managers and outline strategies for minimising the occurrence of copycat packaging.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Keywords: | copycat, packaging design, similarity, packaging strategy, consumer evaluation |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Design (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 14 Dec 2021 10:53 |
Last Modified: | 14 Dec 2021 10:53 |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | ATINER |
Identification Number: | 10.30958/ajbe.X-Y-Z |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:181539 |