toby coates, head of packaging and brandphonics, mmr research worldwide, contemplates the year aheadin our business we get to work across the entire brand mix for some of the world&rsquos biggest food drink and personal care brands. over the years we have seen a reduction in product differentiation as r&d teams and product developers across different companies have mastered their art and embraced new technologies available to them. it is rare to see an unbranded product in any category that can stand head and shoulders above its competitors. appeal ratings in our research often show minimal levels of differentiation across a category.however, in every category, the market reality is that some brands will take pole position, often by some considerable margin. there are clearly other dynamics at play. this won&rsquot be new news to anyone but when we consider the fragmentation of all the digital and traditional media channels coupled with consumers&rsquo increasing ability to tune out of the less relevant communication channels, it leaves packaging as the obvious everpresent conduit to woo the consumer. this can only continue into 2015 as media channels continue to proliferate.there is no getting away from packaging it takes our goods from factory to store and into our homes. in many instances it will probably live on beyond the life of the goods themselves. this is a considerable amount of &lsquofacetime&rsquo between brand owner and consumer.if we acknowledge that successful brands must deliver complete and coherent brand experiences, rather than just great products, then there is a perfect opportunity to bring the experience together through packaging. the pack is the personality of a brand. delivered effectively, it makes a brand approachable in store and encourages us take it home. if the experience is rewarding for us then the next time around we will likely make the same choice. this continual reaffirmation of the brand values throughout the entire experience is what makes good brands great.customisation is one of the big themes that have emerged over the last couple of years. this ranges from thinking carefully about the target buyersusers of the product and creating the most appealing and appropriate pack structure and graphics all the way to more innovative forms of pack personalisation as exemplified by cocacola&rsquos bottle naming initiative. technology advances, reduced production costs and the everincreasing palette of materials available to us means that forward thinking marketers and packaging developers have the ability to bring the conceptual nature of their brands to life in the hands of the consumer.we attach conceptual meaning to brands when we interact with them through our senses. the more senses we can engage, the more we can communicate. packaging engineered to deliver the right visual aesthetics, tactile cues, aromas and sounds to bring the brand and product together will inevitably create much stronger consumer experiences.the likes of apple and cocacola may be leading the way as obvious examples of experiential packaging on a mass scale but i think we should be prepared to see a lot more innovation around experiential packaging design moving forwards. 
