Cereal Box Design Tricks

While researching cereal box design I came across an interesting website. The website called PBS kids is an anti-advertising/media website which outlines advertising tricks the media use to sell products to people and as part of that there is a small flash game where you can design your own cereal box. I don't consider this to be a serious authority on the subject, but it is something interesting to look at with some interesting points.

Here is the website:
http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/advertisingtricks/cerealbox_flash.html


1. You start off with your brief to design a box for children aged between 3 and 7, and launches you straight in to the design by giving you a blank box and your first task is to select the colour for the box.











Red - helps people feel like they have the power to make choices.
Orange - Stimulates the appetite and is one of the most popular cereal box colours.
Blue - Calms and relaxes people. It's not a popular cereal box colour because advertisers want to catch people's attention and stimulate appetite.
Yellow - Can make people feel cheerful and energized.


2. The second part is to select a character to put on the front of the box.











The Worm is an interesting choice! Advertisers don't usually use worms or bugs to promote food. Most people will be grossed out, but some kids may still like it.
The Superhero is a great choice because kids prefer fantasy characters to pictures of real people.
The Soccer Player is more likely to appeal to girls because they can identify with her.
The Football Player probbably will appeal more to boys. Putting sports stars on boxes is one of the most effective ways to sell cereal.


3. The third stage lets you name your cereal:











Type in your cereal name. Think about some real-life cereal names. Think about a name that is an attention grabber. Make it short and easy to remember.



4. This stage allows you to give a description for your cereal:











Outrageous Crunch! makes your cereal seem fun and exciting to eat.
Delicious and Nutritious! is likely to appeal to parents because they want kids to eat healthy foods. It's good to impress parents because they're spending the money.
New and Improved! might be a good choice because lots of people like to try new things. Do you think young kids care?
Tastes Like Cardboard! probbably won't get any buyers, but we think you're pretty funny anyway.


5. Free Prize











Sports Trading Cards are targeted especially at boys although girls like sports too.
Pretty Princess Ring is targeted especially at girls.
Tattoos appeal to boys and girls.



6. The final stage shows your final box and gives you some additional information.











When kids go to cereal stores, clerks put the boxes on lower shelves where children can see them. You've seen little kids begging their parents to buy things before, haven't you? It's just one more way to sell your product!


This does raise some interesting points, and conforms with things I have identified in my research.