Cut Copy and Paste!

Very often Marketers are tempted to just copy the innovation developed by a competitor and add value to their own packaging. There are various views on this approach and one definitely needs to understand the implications of such a decision.

The Brand Group may want a quick success and may propose the 'Cut Copy Paste' as a solution to packaging upgrade and counter competitive packaging onslaught. The Legal team may oppose on account of the Copyrights and Patent issues, but may ultimately find some loophole and may agree to go forward. The Engineering team will be delighted as for them this is the easy way out, copying is easier and faster whereas finding solutions to a totally new concept has immense challenges. The Printers and suppliers have least of the worries as replication is far easier and there are no complexities to be overcome. The Packaging developers lose an opportunity for innovation but perhaps may agree as given the time pressures this may be the best alternative.

We need to take perhaps a more holistic and a broader view to such a strategy. Ultimately such an approach makes the Organization lose its appetite for Innovation, it makes the system blunt and lose its sharpness to come out with features which are the very first. It takes way the challenges that one can offer to the Talented people and makes them think of alternative roles and jobs. It makes competition laugh at you and take further pride in their own selves and achievement orientation . Infact even if the Competition may feel that they may not be able to justify their patent, they may still slap a legal case on you just to deflect and de-focus your attention.

And lastly what does it speak of your Brand to the Consumer- ' Me too '. We need to ask all those who support this strategy of quick and painless success , would you want your Brand to be 'Me too ', would you want the Consumer to think that your Brand is perhaps no different. If such a scenario emerges , does it justify the 'Cut Copy Paste ' packaging strategy. Does it justify the salaries that you pay to your Talented people, does it justify the ethics of Business and above all, does it justify the money that your consumer pays for your Brand.

Those who subscribe to such quick successes are perhaps having a very myopic view and lack a long term perspective, further they are believers in saying job done rather than taking pride in their own work and lastly they are not looking for investment in the brand or the consumer but in their own quick growth and meeting of objectives.

If you sincerely believe in Packaging Innovation and build up the Organization and your Brands on the strong foundation of Creativity then ask yourselves a hundred times what is better RE Create or Create, Re create now, or Create a little later, success immediate or success at the right time. The answer lies in creating an Organization and creating an environment that is futuristic and Innovations happen logically and in a planned manner, which not only delights your consumer but also leave Competition gasping for air.