We Unpack Packaging - Why It Could Be Your Most Important Marketing Tool

What makes packaging more than just a box? In this episode, hosts Steph Quantrill (Cue Marketing) and Ben van Rooy (Human Digital) unpack the power of packaging as a strategic marketing tool. From Louis Vuitton to Telegraph Hill, they explore how design, psychology, and sustainability all influence what we buy - and how great packaging can become a brand’s most valuable asset.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why Packaging Is Marketing, Not Just Design Steph and Ben break down how packaging drives brand recognition, positioning, and customer loyalty, especially at the shelf.
• How Distinctive Assets Are Built Through Form and Colour From Tiffany blue to Toblerone triangles, discover why shape and colour consistency matter as much as your logo.
• The Psychology Behind Premium vs. Value Cues How subtle design decisions like fonts, finishes, and materials can signal luxury, value, or everyday practicality to consumers.
• When Simplicity Becomes the New Luxury Why the modern premium aesthetic has shifted from ornate to minimal, and what that means for brand differentiation.
• Packaging in the Wild: Retail vs. E-Commerce How in-store cues differ from online presentation, and why the unboxing experience has become part of the marketing mix.
• The Sustainability Paradox Can brands balance beauty, functionality, and environmental responsibility, or are we still stuck in the “greenwashed” zone?
• The Business of Costing and Design Hierarchy Inside the marketer’s toolkit for balancing design ambition with margin realities and why hierarchy matters on a crowded shelf.

Bonus Nuggets

• Ben’s candle obsession and the Ponsonby shelf art test for premium design.
• The unboxing craze — and how Labubu and Apple changed how we think about product reveals.
• Why Pals pastel cans redefined an entire RTD category in New Zealand.

Why Listen?

If you’ve ever wondered why people keep perfume boxes or display Louis Vuitton ribbons, this episode will change how you see packaging forever. Steph and Ben dive deep into the art and economics of design - where aesthetics meet strategy and every label, box, and bottle tells a brand story.

Whether you’re a marketer, founder, or just someone who loves beautiful things, you’ll walk away seeing packaging as your brand’s silent salesperson.