Thus, it is largely through this ground swell, majority attachment via social interactions and public associations that we produce these socially unified symbols. It is important to note that individuals all ascribe their own associations to visual and interactional cues based on their own symbolistic processes, such as “overripe bananas” and “one’s grandmother’s funeral.” However, certain symbols have cultivated shared and collective meanings, such as the “peace symbol.” There is nothing inherently “peaceful” in a circle split in half with the bottom section separated into thirds, but through socialization and collective use, we have imbued this arbitrary shape with the symbolism of “peace.” As Underwood notes, “through the process of social interaction, consumers learn not only to agree on shared meaning of some symbols but also to develop idiosyncratic symbolic interpretations” (Underwood 63). In other words, people attach meaning or “symbolism” to certain images, colors, shapes, and other visual cues, which companies then play into when they package their products. This is all due to the fact that “people buy products not only for the functional utility they provide, but also the symbolic meaning they possess” (Underwood 62). By means of physical appearance, packaging can communicate everything from convenience to environmental consciousness, health, nostalgia, prestige, regional authenticity, and value. As Underwood points out, “packaging communicates brand personality via multiple structural and visual elements, including a combination of brand logo, colors, fonts, package materials, pictorials, product descriptions, shapes and other elements that provide rich brand association” (Underwood 62). Packaging is one of the most important parts of marketing as it guides the consumer to make certain assumptions and correlations about the product through its presentation. Thus, in this blog post, I will deconstruct the packaging of several popular candy bars and confections to showcase how chocolate companies use different packaging strategies to appeal to appeal to different facets of the impulse buy that surrounds the Western consumption of chocolate, and ultimately argue that these products play off of deeply entrenched social and cultural tropes of nostalgia and reward to entice consumers to act upon their impulses. As Grager puts it, “ goal is not to make the product jump off the shelf, but to attract the sort of people who are likely to be interested in it and perhaps make it part of their lives” (Grager 4). Chocolate bars need to look different, and thus packaging and branding are arguably the most important elements of a candy bar. Since chocolate bars are culturally cast as last minute grabs that all exist next to one another in similarly shaped containers, candy companies must distinguish themselves from one another. Candy bars are typically sold at check out counters like this, implicating them as impulse purchases: something to buy last minute before you pay and go. Furthermore, candy bars are largely sold at the check out line at grocery and convenient stores, implicating them as “impulse purchases.” It is presumed that these items are not typically on one’s list and are to be bought on a whim right before purchase. They are contained, or wrapped in similar packaging that consists of colorfully-printed paper…They are all priced the same…They all live and compete on the same shelf” (Grager 2). While other products and produce often come in a variety of diverse and uniquely designed and proportioned containers, candy bars are, “all basically shaped the same: small, narrow and long-bar shaped. It does not store any personal data.In America, and much of the Western world, chocolate bars are marketed unlike any other product. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.
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