Don’t Judge a CD by Its Cover – Or Should You?

Most people are familiar with the adage “Don’t judge a book by its cover” which warns us that what lies within may not be properly represented simply by what you see on the surface or facade. When you’re marketing your CD product quite the opposite holds true as the CD packaging needs to encourage and convince consumers of the value and worth of the disc inside.

Competition is fierce in today’s marketplace with a blizzard of marketing and advertising messages vying for our attention, along with retail shelves and e-store pages lined with products to wade through. Now more than ever it’s important to make an excellent first impression, because a few seconds worth of cursory review may be the only chance your product is going to get. With that being the case, your CD packaging decisions need to be properly thought through.

There are a large number of packaging styles to choose from which include off-the-shelf products as well as custom printed or custom manufactured items. You need to pick a style that will be well suited for the type of distribution or environment your product will encounter. Is it a retail product that will be sitting on a shelf surrounded by competing products or perhaps it’s an item that will be purchased on-line and shipped by postal mail or courier? Is it a disc that will be primarily distributed from hand-to-hand through an organization or will it be included within other materials such as in a seminar kit?

The type of package requires careful consideration because you need to determine what level of safety and security the disc will require to survive its environment and what amount of graphics and visual appeal will be required to properly ‘dress up’ the package to entice the consumer to purchase it. A good way to gain some insight is to look at what type of CD packaging the leaders in your industry are using and to evaluate what types of societal trends are in play, such as a shift to environmentally-friendly products and manufacturing methods.

After you’ve picked the style of packaging you will need to consider graphic design (assuming it is applicable to your needs). With the affordability of powerful home computers and ready access to commercial grade graphic design software, an entire generation of do-it-yourself amateur designers has been born. More than any other factor, amateurish design provides the largest impediment for a product trying to make the all-important ‘good first impression’ in a highly competitive marketplace. Again, an excellent benchmark is to look at the most successful of your competitors and evaluate the style and professionalism of their graphic design. Ideally, your product needs to look as good – or better – than theirs.

The final stage of your decision making process will be whom to choose to produce your CD packaging materials. A popular packaging style and impressive graphics will quickly be negated if the quality of printing, assembly and finishing is sub-standard. Do your homework on any potential vendors, always get written quotations from at least three different companies and request samples of work that will be similar in scope to your own. Here’s one final piece of advice: Plan ahead and don’t rush, because there’s another popular old adage that says, “Haste makes waste.”

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