Packaging Brand Awareness | Sport’s embrace of retail packaging

Last Updated on Tuesday 04th Sep 2018

The UK’s Olympic summer has reinforced just how popular sport is in this country. Unprecedented spectator attendance has sold out every available session across the whole spectrum of sport. UK success at both the Olympic and Paralympic games have united the nation as never before. People are proud to be British. Our reputation as a sports loving nation is unquestionable. Sport is cool.

The past twenty years has seen a revolution in spectator sport consumption in the UK. The creation of the English Premier League and it’s broadcast by Sky television since 1992 has led to a whole new ball game in spectator demographics, ticket pricing, corporate events, marketing and merchandise. And it’s not only football: every major worldwide sport has evolved to embrace the upward mobility of this very lucrative marketplace, including cricket, rugby, tennis, golf, Formula 1, and the Olympics, plus a raft of US sports such as NFL American football.

As sport’s upwardly mobile advance has driven forward, so too has the evolution of sports brands. Managing clubs’ or tournaments’ public perception is now big business, with some sports – such as football – perceived in the same light as glamorous industries like music, film and fashion. Accordingly, sports merchandise and its marketing has followed suit.

As the quality of sports merchandise has improved, so too has the product packaging, including what you carry your purchase in. Organisations, such as the All England Club – who run the Wimbledon tennis championships – have taken the opportunity to increase their brand awareness by investing in tailor made, brand specific retail and product packaging. This has turned the simple carrier bag in to an object of desire, a badge of honour to be worn which demonstrates an association with an event which is popular and well perceived. Effectively, the consumer basks in the glow of association while the brand receives invaluable free exposure.
The All England Club commissioned bespoke branded retail and product packaging for Wimbledon

And it goes further. It is not uncommon for shoppers to re-use the high profile branded bag in everyday use. It’s an on-going opportunity for the consumer to tell the world that they attended a sporting event, or support a particular club, increasing the exposure of the brand. In the same way that people will reuse the bag of a cool shop – such as Selfridges or Biba – they now do so with sports brands.

Whether it’s luxury paper bags, an all-purpose polythene carrier bag, or an event specific fabric bag, Keenpac can provide clubs and organisations with the bespoke retail and product packaging necessary to take advantage of the unprecedented marketing opportunities available through sport. We are also the leading UK manufacturer of luxury gift boxes and accessories, and we provide packaging for many leading UK brands.

For an informal, no obligation chat on how Keenpac can help to grow your brand’s visibility, call us on 0116 289 0900 today. With our experience and expertise your bag is in safe hands.