Technically speaking, a media pack for a Grand Prix weekend and a mailer for a regular online order, are both boxes, right? While for both, the date it arrives is important, perhaps in the first case it might be a tiny bit more so, especially if it’s a large cutout of, say, Lewis Hamilton’s head. And, of course, in the first case, there is likely a sea of fans who are ready to pay witness to it.
Each year, Melbourne teems with classic sporting events: the F1, the Australian Open, the Grand Final, the Melbourne Cup. Between each one of these events are weeks and weeks of frenetic activity. Each is a chance for a brand to hand out a flyer, paste over a billboard, take over an entire shopfront, or give someone a moment they can treasure.
When the packaging is part of the PR, though, things get a little different. You’re not just trying to get a box from A to B. It needs to look good, arrive on time and make the right impression as someone pops it open.
What the brief needs to nail
Start with the event date, then work backwards from there. Your real deadline isn't the event itself. It's the date the boxes need to be packed or dispatched, which is usually well beforehand.
Next, say what the packaging is for. Is it going to influencers, being handed to media, given away at the event, or delivered to VIPs? Does it need to survive Australia Post or a courier, or is how snazzy the presentation looks the only real priority?
This is the detail first-time clients overlook most often. The long and short of it is that a presentation box handed to someone at an event has very different structural requirements from one travelling through a courier network.
So, once you’ve answered the questions above, it’s all about getting those practical details to your supplier. And, sure, these might be the duller things, such as quantities, product dimensions and weight, branding, budget, but it can also be something more special, like the kind of unboxing moment you want to create.
If you can, bring the product itself. We can’t stress this enough. Physical samples beat dimensions on paper, because putting the real product in front of a designer removes a lot of guesswork. Plus, seeing it in real life might just release that spark of inspiration needed to make a top-notch final product.
For PR work especially, the inside matters as much as the outside. Inserts, internal print and the way the products are presented when the lid opens can completely change the experience.
Put simply, in the brief you provide, give as much thought to the interior as you did for the exterior.
Why this kind of packaging is not your standard retail run
Three things set event and PR packaging apart:
- the deadline
- the quantity, and
- the creative freedom.
The deadline does not move. A retail run that suffers a delay of a few days is not the end of the world, for the most part. But when it comes to an event, there’s very little leeway.
‘An event date doesn't move. If you're producing packaging for an activation, Grand Final, product launch or media event, being a week late means the packaging can effectively become useless.’
The quantities are much smaller. Instead of thousands of consumers, you might be packaging for just 20, 50 or 100 media recipients.
We manufacture locally at Boxes To Go, and there's no minimum order quantity. That means if you only need 20 or 50 boxes for an activation, you can order 20 or 50 boxes. You don't have to produce hundreds or thousands that you don't need.
And there’s not just a cost-benefit to think about here; there are certainly other pros like having more creative freedom.
After all, the packaging is part of the campaign, so jobs like these tend to push the creative juices to their limits: the reveal, the internal messaging, the inserts, unusual shapes and premium print finishes are all considered.
What a head start looks like
Take a recent fashion brand project. They came to us with the product dimensions, quantities, branding and delivery date already sorted. We had just a little over three weeks to create custom packaging for a whole range of products for a pop-up PR event.
The difference on this project was time. We had time to think, to test. We could sample the packaging, physically test the product inside it, adjust it and explore print and finishing options, without the event date dictating every decision.
Three weeks isn't much time to produce a whole new range of packaging. But because we had a clear brief from the start, we could get straight on with designing, sampling and refining the packaging.
Where the money goes
Just because it’s a small run, it doesn’t mean you can’t think big. It’s all about choosing carefully, making the right choices.
A few things will affect the price, so it helps to think about where you want to spend the budget:
- How many boxes you need. Larger quantities generally bring the unit price down, while very small runs can cost more per box.
- The size of the box. Bigger boxes use more material and can take more work to produce, so size matters.
- How much you want printed. You don't necessarily have to print every surface. Full-colour printing inside and out will cost more than keeping some areas unprinted.
- Special finishes. Embossing, raised varnish, and other premium finishes can add to the cost. They can look great, but you don't need to throw everything at the box to make it feel special.
You do not have to use every lever to get a great reveal. Something as simple as printed tissue or a well-designed insert can create a memorable unboxing experience without dramatically increasing the cost.
A useful move is to have the budget conversation early, so the box is designed around what you actually want to spend and the money goes into the elements with the most impact, rather than designing your dream box and then having to strip it back when the quote arrives.
What to budget, timeline-wise
For an event, start the conversation at least six to eight weeks out, and earlier if the concept is complicated. For an activation around the Australian Open in January, for example, you should be getting the details together around November at the latest.
Rather than thinking ‘we need these for the Australian Open’, work backwards from the event date. What needs to happen immediately before the event? Then what needs to happen before that? And so on:
- The event date
- Packing and distribution
- Completed packaging
- Production
- Final approval
- Printed sample
- Artwork
- Structural design
- The initial brief
The more ambitious the packaging, the more time you want to allow for the stages towards the end of the list. Those early planning stages are often the ones brands underestimate most. Production comes much later on, and at that point most of the pieces should be in position.
We can handle rush jobs and short-turnaround event packaging. Being a local manufacturer helps here: if something comes up at short notice, we’re not waiting for packaging to make its way over from overseas.
That said, it’s always better to have some breathing room. The more time we have, the more options there are when it comes to working out the perfect design, getting the samples ready and getting everything spot-on. If you’ve got a firm event date, talk to us early, and we can plan with you.
Just look at how our client Mecca stays on brand in our recent article.
In short
- Work backwards from the event date, so you can clearly see the steps required.
- Say who the packaging is for and whether it has to survive freight or be handed over to someone in person.
- Expect smaller quantities and more room for a memorable reveal than a standard retail run allows.
- Brief the inside of the box as carefully as the outside.
- Start six to eight weeks out, and even earlier for anything super ambitious.
- Finally, don’t be scared to bring ideas to the table.
The best results come when the packaging is thought about as part of the campaign from the very start, rather than something that’s tagged on at the end.
Got an event on the calendar that deserves packaging as good as the moment itself? We make it in Melbourne, work in short runs with no minimum order, and can assist you from blank page through to full production. Get a quote or talk to our team.