Who is 106? Kellogg company! They have recently announced that their 106-year-old Kellogg’s brand will undergo a complete refresh. It all started with the redesigned website. This will be the most significant change in the company’ s history–so you know its big!

What else? With all of the changes one key element is a new tagline that reads as ‘Let’s Make Today Great’ making breakfast the key point in the brand’s image. With such products under its umbrella as Mini-Wheats, Rice Krispies, Special K, Frosted Flakes, and more, this strategy seems like a no brainer.

Second, visual graphics and images have also changed to become brighter, dropping the previous white outline stroke. The classic Kellogg’s script logo was refreshed to have more of a contemporary look.

With Kellogg’s being ranked No. 34 and being the highest consumer packaged goods food brand on the list on Interbrand‘s annual ‘Best Global Brands’ 2011 report, they hope that with the update, that their rank may jump.

When you think of a food being hot, where does your mind go? Red for spicy? or flames for heat? How about both?

Just Born Inc. has just refreshed one of their most successful candies (and my personal favorite) Hot Tamales and  they did a little of both. The cinnamon flavored candy has heat to it as their new box clearly conveys! The fierce redesign retains the traditional Hot Tamales fireball, making them easily identifiable to consumers in retail, but now with bold new flames to highlight the heat within. The carton itself features a more sultry background in a darker red, which puts more emphasis on the new flames in a bright red. Overall there is more of an eye-catching appearance and the “hot” message is clearly identified wouldn’t you say? Last but not least, to finish off the new packaging the word “Fierce” has been added as a descriptor for cinnamon. The progression of colors used within the word fierce convey how the candy’s spicy flavor rises upon consumption.

What do you think?

And in with the new. Yet another big brand has re-vamped its look to keep up with the ever changing ways of pop culture.

Seagram’s, best known for their ginger ale, is a subsidiary to Coca-Cola. Like we have said before and shown, Coca Cola is always keeping with the current events and constantly staying fresh–as should other members of their family.

Here’s a look at the old Seagrams.

So with any brand, the challenge is how to update such a well know brands without losing some of outs most valuable assets. Take a look at this can. You will notice that the brand has two main iconic elements. The Seagram’s crest and the word mark.

So in the new cans, (right) you will notice that the crest was modernized, in other words it was simplified and reduced to one line weight.  The crest is now more of a friendly element than a crown jewel, with visual treatments such as placing type over it and wrapping it around the corners of cases. It now resembles more of a water mark than a bold crest. At the same time this has allowed the crest to have more of a visual presence and impact that it did not have had before. Notice that in the entire line up–each of the line extension cans have their own crisp, clean metallic versions of the colors consumers associate with the flavors category.

When it comes to moms and buying items for their children, they want nothing but the best. They want something that they trust, and a quality that they can rely on. Most of the time a mom is accompanied by her children and shopping may not be so easy. Therefore, having a product that is easily recognizable and a repeat purchase would be an ideal scenario.

But in the interest of this blog, lets look at the new package design.

OLD:

NEW:

First, color–a re-vamped teal. This new brand mark communicates pure and mild and is appropriate for display in the baby’s nursery. In addition to the “Gentle Naturals” brand identifier, the words “Baby Therapeutics” were added to the name. Finally, several leaves were incorporated around the “Gentle Naturals” logo to support name recognition.

Something that is becoming more popular because it seems to effective–color coating. In this instance, along with the product descriptor particular colors that speak to each product attribute were worked into the design – Tummy Soother is soft green, Eczema Relief Wash is pink and Eczema Relief Cream is orange. A soft blush was added to all, echoing the color block that gently fades toward the brand mark.

But wait, where did the baby go? Well apparently these packages looked so similar that consumers wound up buying the wrong product! Solution: remove the baby and play up the color coating!

The new design proves clean and with the addition of the “baby bracelet” gives the appeal for parents to set this item out on display as a decorative item–which according to the design team was a key design goal in order to create word of mouth visitors.

One of the key issues in packaging today is of course sustainability. Companies are trying hard to put their best feet forward in trying to reduce the amount of waste and be more conscious of what they are putting out there. The material for each package goes a long way from start to finish whether it be plastic, glass, paper, etc. From how its made, to its transportation, to its brand elements, shipping to retail and so on.

When it comes to Planters, sustainability plays a large role in their business today. In order to reduce their impact on the environment, the brand decided that in conjunction with their “Naturally Remarkable” campaign, they too would look into a new package material as well.

The goal for the company was to reduce the overall weight of its 16 and 20 oz. peanut jars. The challenge of course was to develop a package that was lighter but also would not compromise Planter’s targets for quality, capacity, clarity and shelf life. The agency that Planters used, Sonoco, delivered a durable lightweight plastic option that was actually weighed 84% less than their original glass jars! The significant reduction in packaging materials led to several benefits, including a 25% reduction in the number of trucks required to transport Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts. The best part, Planters new plastic packaging is 100% recyclable and BPA-free!

When I read about this, I almost couldn’t believe it. A brand like Barq’s Root Beer, easily recognizable and well known, had not had a brand refresh in over 20 years? Yikes! I guess they fall under the old saying, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it?”

From far away, it does not seem like much has changed, but up close is really where you see the difference. The signature
silver can has been re-surfaced with a new diamond pattern. It was news to me that this new diamond pattern is reminiscent of Barq’s original packaging. The re-design celebrates the brand’s 114 year history and keeps with its simple slogan, “It’s Good. Since 1898.”

Of course we know with any package evolution, we have to keep with the brand’s heritage and not take away from its equity. Notice that the green is not totally gone, just reduced. The fonts used are much more clear. The reddish Root Beer barrels got a slight re-design. BUT, do you notice what is missing?

“Famous Old Tyme Root Beer”

The new design will be featured on all of Barq’s packaging and is currently rolling-out nationwide. The drink’s original 1898 12-oz. glass bottle packaging will remain available in the Gulf Coast area.

What do you think?