Product Label Enthusiast, Bob Schwartz of Blue Ribbon Tag & Label in South Florida provides helpful hints and tips when designing and printing a label or tag for your product. We hope you find this video blog helpful when determining what to consider when designing and printing labels for your product.
Here at Blue Ribbon Tag & Label we are here to help you every step of the way!
Blue Ribbon Tag & Label President, Bob Schwartz talks about the three critical rules to label printing and what you should consider when printing a label for your brand. Watch and enjoy!
I live in a city that doesn’t allow signage of any kind on a business. It makes it difficult to find a store or restaurant if you’re new to the area, and don’t even think about trying to compare gas prices between stations. So I pay particular attention to signs and billboards when I am visiting other towns.
Some billboards may catch your eye, but a couple miles down the road, can you remember the name of the company and their message? Some have put so much detail onto their billboard that it’s nearly impossible to read everything. Others are so obscure that I have no idea who they are or what they want me to take away from their message, much less how to contact them. I am often left to my thoughts of “what in the world was that all about?” while shaking my head, pondering the waste of marketing dollars.
Like a product label sitting on a grocery store shelf, a billboard ad is an extension of your brand. There is such a limited amount of space to communicate the message and many of the same rules apply as to designing a label. Do the graphics and colors attract new buyers? Does the text convey a clear message about the brand? How does the billboard stand out amongst the competition and deliver a memorable call to action?
Some billboards go above and beyond the flat rectangular surface and create a three-dimensional image that literally pops off the billboard. But like the tomato billboard above, it’s catchy, it’s creative, but does it deliver a message? If you haven’t told people what you represent, you’re just wasting money. Is a product with a picture of a tomato on it enough to attract a purchase? Assuming of course it’s a product containing tomatoes.
Billboards reach mass audiences and placed on the right roadway, thousands of people will see your billboard 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Unless your potential customer is stuck in traffic, you only get two to three seconds to capturetheir attention. Whether you have an air conditioning company, a brand of beer or represent a personal injury attorney, think of your billboard as your label. Your one chance to convey your message. What about it is saying, “Look at me! Pick me”.
Wine Labels – Works of Art or Source of Information?
How often do people choose their favorite wine based on the label? If a picture is worth a
thousand words, does the picture make the vino sweeter? Recently wine bottle labels have become such works of art one has to wonder if people buy the wine for its well-crafted varietal or for the mini-Picassos that garnish its container.
There’s no question that wine makers are competing for market share and they are spending more of their energies on making that instant connection with the consumer. Many hire pricy graphic designers and ad agencies to create the perfect brand identity with the intention of capturing the eye of amateur wine enthusiasts who are easily swayed by clever packaging.
Choosing a bottle of wine isn’t just a matter of red and white. There are several things most wine enthusiasts look for. Let’s start with the varietal, geographic origin and the vintage date. These are all things that will factor into the actual quality of the wine. Some additional mandatory information that needs to appear on the label are alcohol content, net volume, name and address of the producer, any declaration of sulfites, estate bottled, and of course a health warning statement and government warning.
Most wine drinkers, however, look for the brand first. I spoke with a representative of Southern Wine and Spirits and he told me that the reason these more graphically appealing bottles sell more often because they are purchased today to drink tonight. In other words, the greater percentage of wine drinkers are buying wine to DRINK them, rather than to collect them for their quality. One can only assume that the designers of these labels are mentally channeling their inner child before a game of dodge ball and want their labels to say, “Pick me! Pick Me!” There is also a trend to remove and save the labels, whether to keep a journal of wine tastings or to frame and display the decorative artwork.
Designs of wine bottle labels range from the traditional old world script font with images of
castles, chateaus or a coat of arms. These are mostly found in wines from France, Italy or South America. Some labels strive to be beautiful and artistic and consumers actually purchase some of these bottles simply to display their creative flair. The latest trend is to invoke humor with sarcastic names or tongue in cheek catchy phases. Then there are “critter labels,” especially from Australian wines, that feature animals in their name or design. I found three alone that had a kangaroo on its label, two with frogs and two with monkeys. Fat Bastard, which is the best-selling French wine in the US proudly depicts a hippo as its mascot. Do they have hippos roaming the French countryside?
My friends are now creating their own wine labels. I realize these make great gifts for the
holidays or wedding favors, but I once received a bottle with my friend’s dog on the label. Am I supposed to drink it or display it? This has me so confused! I think I’ll have a glass of Chase’s Harvest and ponder this some more.
When purchasing the outrageously expensive canned food for my diabetic dog I took a look at its label and thought – boy we could create a much better label! Is it just the prescription dog food labels that are so bad or are all veterinary labels this ugly? Let’s take a look at Hills Prescription Diet and the well-known Purina Alpo brand.
1. Does the label announce what’s inside the package?
At first I thought neither label said dog food on it! But then I found the words “DOG FOOD” in white lettering on a white background down in the corner on the Purina label. Really white on white with a grey outline? Hills also uses white lettering to identify the contents of the can but in the smallest type possible on the bottom front of the can in the green band. You probably cannot even see it in the photo! They do have a picture of a dog on the label. The Purina label has a picture of the food – it almost looks good enough for a human to eat.
It is clear that both companies do not understand that a quality label design should clearly announce what is inside the package. The nod goes to the Purina can for the photo of the food.
2. Does the label attract attention?
The Hills can with its white background and simple lettering does not grab your attention; even their photo of the dog is light and meek. The Purina Alpo can with the bold white lettering on the red ribbon does catch your attention as you scan the shelves. We do not like the purple band on the top as it clashes with the red ribbon. The photo of the dog food with its deep brown beef chunks and gravy served in the white bowl is very appetizing and is a nice compliment to the red. This can defiantly attracts my attention.
So two for Purina Alpo let’s see if Hills can take the next category.
3. Does the label instill confidence?
Purina is one of the oldest and most advertised dog food brands around so just seeing their logo on the front of the can gives a buyer some confidence about the product. The Hills brand has a very official looking clinical nutrition seal on it and says it is veterinary exclusive in three languages! It also clearly states that it is low fat and diabetic which give me the confidence that this is what my dog needs. As Purina just relies on their logo for confidence and Hills tries to instill confidence with some added information I am giving the nod to Hills.
Purina Alpo wins this fight paws down but their designers should really examine the labeling issue and increase the presence of the words “Dog Food”. Hills looks very similar of the house brands we have been looking at but this one is not even a bargain. With a price tag double the Purina one would think they could afford a professionally designed label!
I invite you to participate in the “Good Label, Bad Label” forum. We’ve all seen a bad label or twelve, so please feel free to send us some awesomely bad examples and your submission could be included in our series!
Blue Ribbon Tag & Label offers a wide range of services and products, including food labels, pharmaceutical labels, cosmetic labels, veterinary labels and expanded text labels. If you need a professionally designed label, contact us at 1-800-433-4974. We’ll get the job done.
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Continue reading “Product Branding & Labels | Manufacturing | Jerk Seasoning” »
With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, beer is on our mind, and not beer dyed green but real Irish inspired beer. With all the beers available today we choose an Irish beer brewed by an American company and an Irish beer that originated in Dublin, Ireland. Samuel Adams Irish Red, part of their brew master’s collection and Guinness draught. Both companies brew several versions of beer. Continue reading “Bottle Label Printing Services | Hollywood Florida | Battle of the Beers” »
Product Label Enthusiast, Bob Schwartz of Blue Ribbon Tag & Label in South Florida provides helpful hints and tips when designing and printing a label or tag for your product. We hope you find this video blog helpful when determining … Continue reading
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