Can Advertising Have an Impact?

June 1, 2018

The Paper & Packaging – How Life Unfolds® campaign reminds a broad consumer audience of the value of paper and packaging products they may take for granted. In the market since 2015, the campaign first must reach an audience, and then its impact on consumer attitudes and their propensity to choose paper products can be measured. In fact, results from the August 2015 to November 2017 Attitude and Use Survey, conducted every six months by the Paper and Packaging Board, show how key metrics on perceptions of paper and packaging products are changing for the better when people have seen the campaign.

Among the target audience who recall seeing campaign ads, measures related to personal relevance have held steady or improved from August 2015 to November 2017. Some show significant improvement.* Survey respondents agreed with the following statements:

Even as technology becomes more advanced, paper continues to play an important role in our lives—up 6 percent to 79 percent.
Paper-based product packaging is an essential part of everyday life—up 15 percent to 71 percent.
Corrugated cardboard boxes are essential to the way I live my life today—up 10 percent to 70 percent.

In addition, attitudes among the audience who recall seeing campaign ads have shown significant improvement around the quality of paper bags and paper-based product packaging:

I prefer paper shopping and grocery bags to plastic—up 19 percent to 67 percent.*
Products that come in paper-based product packaging tend to feel more premium—up 16 percent to 68 percent.*
When a company decides to package its products in paper-based packaging, I think more highly of that company—up 23 percent to 67 percent.*

Attitudes around the quality of corrugated boxes are already high and remain steady, with 81 percent who agree they “can rely on corrugated cardboard boxes to get my merchandise shipped/delivered safely.”

How can the campaign continue and expand its impact? New creative concepts were launched in February 2018 featuring paper and packaging characters as our industry’s newest ambassadors. They highlight how packaging protects the shipments and goods we count on and how paper helps us achieve things great and small in our lives. They’ll continue to remind consumers of the value of the industry’s products and can be found in ads on TV and digital, in print, and across social media.

Visit www.howlifeunfolds.com to learn more.

Joan Sahlgren is senior director of public relations at the Paper and Packaging Board. She can be reached at jsahlgren@paperandpackaging.org.