Gift giving is difficult in times of economic turbulence, but it doesn't have to be eliminated from a tight budget. It's always self-rewarding to give gifts to friends and loved ones, even if it involves cutting costs on spending. Brands can capitalize on the demand for low-cost gifts by making packaging more multi-purpose. Fancy tins fit this category of useful packaging that actually gives gift giving more value.
Why Fancy Tins Make Thoughtful, Affordable Gifts
Most packaging by manufacturers is decided upon due to logistics issues such as shipping efficiency. But certain innovative brand visionaries understand how to inject more value into products so that they become multi-purpose for the consumer. Creative packaging can sometimes add extra value to a product, especially in the form of fancy tins, which provide future storage for miscellaneous items.
The reason fancy tins are perceived as special to collectors is that these metal boxes have universal utility for storing small items of value. One of the biggest risks to owning small valuable objects such as rings and bracelets, is that they can get lost or misplaced in a home. Fancy tins are valuable storage containers because their shiny exteriors are easy to spot and remember.
Plenty of people have stories about how they lost a small valuable item at one time or another. It was often because they simply didn't have a container of an appropriate size for storing the item, such as a diamond. Even precious family jewels handed down for generations can get lost in a move because they were placed in bland or unidentified containers mistaken as trash. Fancy tins provide memorable imagery that makes it easy to remember where contents are placed.
It's clear that people who find fancy tins attractive understand the extra utility they provide beyond aesthetic quality. That's why manufacturers of small products should not rule out the possibilities of fancy tins for effective packaging.
Fancy Tins as an Economic Solution
Every profitable manufacturer seeks new ways to cut production costs and waste. To gain the greatest efficiency in packaging, it's necessary for brand managers to explore the psychological connections consumers make between products and packaging. Consumers now pay attention to packaging as part of their own expense when purchasing packaged products.
Many consumers are learning about how to protect the environment by encouraging brands to offer sustainable solutions. The reason fancy tins are a sustainable solution for packaging is they are made of durable metal that can be used and reused for many years. The more useful packaging is, the less of it will end up in landfills immediately after consumption.
Fancy tins are instantly recognizable by many consumers as potential gifts to friends. Gifts are most special when they are not given on a holiday or birthday and amount to a complete surprise. Fancy tins are excellent containers for small items that recipients might want, such as photographs or index cards for writing notes. The most thoughtful level of gift giving when it comes to fancy tins is when the design of the container matches the personality of the recipient.
How Brands Can Gain an Edge with Fancy Tins
Even though fancy tins have a large following, they are rarely promoted in regular media or pop culture. So there isn't much widespread awareness of how powerful fancy tins can be as affordable thoughtful gifts. Manufacturers have the opportunity to outshine competitors if they take the metal approach to packaging. Although not all products can be efficiently packaged with metal, most products that can fit into a bread box should be considered.
Tinplate is still very common as a packaging material for food, cosmetic and pharma products. That's because it's a lightweight metal that can be easily manipulated into any shape. Packaging designers should investigate the possibilities of using tin for items usually packaged in less attractive materials. Cutting packaging costs is important, but it can be diminishing returns if the packaging looks dull or cheap.
What's great about fancy tins is that even though they are low cost to produce, they usually don't look cheap. The metal shine alone gives the container an energetic appearance. Then if the designer creates eye-catching images, the consumer may perceive the product to have extra value. The designer simply needs to be creative with colors and other visual stimuli.
