Not all consumers are alcohol connoisseurs. Most consumer rely on one or both of two in-store factors to inform their purchase behavior: number of bottles on the shelf (ex. fewer bottles means more popular product) or the label.
Creative teams are often asked to communicate a product’s brand ethos and values through a label, but labels have historically been looked at strictly through the lens of qualitative data with little-to-no quantitative guidance. This has resulted in slow feedback loops and lack actionable specificity, making agile and efficient creative optimization a nearly impossible undertaking. This has left creative teams tasked with a huge responsibility without the tools to operate to their fullest potential.
In the video above, Cole Clark, President of AmygdaLaunch, defines the aspects that make a label successful. A label is judged based on how well it communicates who its intended target consumer is and how well it speaks to their interests, values, lifestyle. Labels must also communicate their intended buying occasion and the role the product plays in a consumer’s basket.
Clark also discusses how AmygdaLaunch breaks labels down to their components to understand their relationships with one-another and how their dynamics shape consumer perception.
What Defines a Successful Label?
Cole Clark (0:13)
I work at an innovation analytics company based in Manhattan, and today I want to talk to you about how brands can prepare for the storm of innovation to come. When it rains, it pours. There is an observed disconnect between a label’s influence on product performance and its prioritization and optimization by creative teams and brands.
Cole Clark (0:34)
In an ever-expanding product universe, consumers have more choices than ever. Not all consumers are alcohol connoisseurs; in fact, that is the minority. When they are in the store making purchase decisions, they depend largely on two factors:
- Shelf Inventory: How many bottles are left on the shelf. Fewer bottles signals to consumers that others have bought it, so it must be a good product.
- The Label: How well the label speaks to their interests, values, and purchasing habits.
Cole Clark (1:07)
Labels are extremely important, but historically they have been viewed as strictly qualitative. Creative teams are tasked with the huge responsibility of communicating a brand’s use case and target consumer in a split second. However, they are not given enough quantitative, specific feedback to guide their creative process. Ultimately, they are not provided with the tools to operate to their fullest potential.
Cole Clark (1:30)
What defines a successful label? It comes down to two key elements:
- How effectively it communicates who the intended target consumer is, speaking directly to their interests, values, and lifestyle.
- How clearly it communicates the intended buying occasion and the role that product plays in the consumer’s basket for their specific use case.
Cole Clark (1:52)
When we talk about quantifying the qualitative, how can we approach label development and optimization from a quantitative perspective? We can analyze concrete design elements across the market segment:
- Colors & Contrast: Color combinations and visual contrast, measuring whether they are convergent or divergent relative to competitors.
- Imagery & Layout: Visual elements, overall framing, and structural positioning.
- Text & Typography: Branding prominence, placement on the label, and key supplementary details like origin, ingredients, product qualities, and tasting notes.
Cole Clark (2:25)
By performing sentiment analysis and aggregating these individual factors, we can analyze the dynamics of what makes up a label. This allows us to isolate successful versus unsuccessful components, providing creative teams with actionable, specific feedback. Ultimately, this quantitative approach leads to more effective labeling and stronger in-store communication that directly drives consumer purchase decisions.
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