Implement of Packaging Strategy - Essay Example

Literature Review: Introduction: What is Packaging Packaging has always remained a major concern for organisations serving the contemporary market sphere. According to Paine and Paine (1992), packaging is a synchronised system, which helps to organise goods for transportation, delivery, storage, marketing and consumption. Considering the effects of packaging on business success potentials, especially when considering the marketing efficiencies of the firm in delivering the product to the target customers, many research studies have been undertaken worldwide. As specified by Rundh (2013), packaging is a technical and economic function, which aims at reducing the expenses of delivery, both in terms of time and costs, while increasing the sales profit of the company in turn. Rundh (2013) also emphasised that packaging strategies of a firm is fundamentally shaped by the persisting competitive forces within the industry and the entrepreneurial initiatives to attain and preserve industry competitiveness through differentiation of the goods or services on offer. As Rundh (2013) explained, packaging operations extend from supply chain management principles of an organisation to its applied preservation mechanism until the delivery of the product to the targeted customer. Consequently, it can be defined as a multifaceted, dynamic, technical and creative component of business (Rundh, 2013). In addition, packaging is also regarded as controversial owing to its continually changing nature, influenced by the changes in demand of products (Paine and Paine, 1992). Hence, while packaging is considered essential to enhance marketability of the product, it also presents noteworthy challenges to the organisation. Packaging offers many choices to be made concerning marketing that can have considerable impacts on the success of the product. These choices can however be narrowed, examining the influences of market trends and consumer preferences on the product, which signify its economic qualities. Therefore, packaging can be referred as a process, which involves a coordinated system of shaping products as per the consumer’s requirements and desires, aligned with the market dynamics identifiable in terms of competitive forces. This particular approach enhances customer value, which eventually maximizes profit retained by the organisation. The notion has been agreed by many theorists such as Rundh (2013), Hagtvedt & Patrick (2008), Saghir (2004) and others. As these studies offer a managerial perspective to the definition of packaging, few theorists have been much concerned regarding its components when elaborating on its nature, importance and dimensions. According to LadoCousté (2012), the prime function of packaging is to protect and conserve the products or commodities from external damages. It is considered that packaging involves multiple functions that are quite complex in nature. Again, as per the viewpoints of Saghir (2004), the definition of packaging can be elaborated on three particular classifications that include (a) logistics, (b) marketing and (c) environment. Therefore, based on the elaborations of LadoCousté (2012) and Saghir (2004), packaging can also be defined as a chain procedure that mandates coordination amid the various stages of supply chain mechanism within an organisation, in order to yield better customer satisfaction along with reward the company with augmented competitive advantages through greater marketability of its products. Although these theorists have offered distinct definitions of packaging, those elaborations can be observed as intertwined when considering its importance in the modern day business context. Based on those common characteristics, signifying the importance of packaging, the concept can be connoted as one of the most persistent and essential aspects for organisations engaged in marketing. According to Hagtvedt & Patrick (2008), effective packaging strategies can positively influence the customers and the criteria they consider when making purchase evaluations. However, as argued by Wang (2013), because visual arts are effective for functional products than hedonic products, companies often tend to overlook the importance and essentiality of packaging in their marketing strategies. Taking examples of modern day market trends, Wang (2013) illustrates the functional properties of the product and the corresponding importance of packaging, with reference to the implications of visual arts on the commodity as compared to its hedonic properties. This particular theory connotes that packaging strategies of a marketer is also quite likely to get influenced by the characteristics of the product and the way it affects the buying behaviour of the consumers. At a broader context, packaging strategies can be observed to play an imperative role in adding value to the marketability characteristics of products or commodities. Accordingly, Twedi (1968) identifies that packaging does not bring any kind of change to a product. Rather, it can be defined as the planned changes made in the appearance of the product, with the motive to attract customers and fuel product sales by redefining brand identity of the commodity. However, Wansink (1996) noted that number of research conducted on the ways packaging size affect the usage volume has been limited and insufficient. Nevertheless, with more and more research performed emphasising the issue, the influences of packaging strategies can be observed on unit cost differences, further affecting the sales of the commodity and thus, can be linked with its usage volume (Natalia and Olga, 2007). With reference to these differences, packaging process, which is larger, involves lesser unit costs as compared to the smaller packaging process, due to which the usage of larger packages can be made freely (Wansink, 1996). Emphasising a similar conceptual area, Underwood (2003) have been quite specific when relating and drawing inferences concerning the influence of packaging on consumer-brand relationship. As addressed by Underwood (2003, p. 72), packaging strategies can be implemented by redefining the graphics (identifiable with the characteristics of colour, typeface, logos and others) and structure (i.e. shape, size and material). The direct benefits of packaging can be identified in terms of the improvements witnessed in the experiential, functional and symbolic characteristics of the product that may influence both the dynamics of brand identity, i.e. lived experience and mediated experience. It is in this context that imposing strong influence on self-identity, these dynamics of brand identity, further shapes the consumer-brand relationship, which in turn facilitates the market efficiency of the commodity (Underwood, 2003, p. 72). [Source: Underwood (2003, p.72)] Packaging as Marketing Application According to Parise and Spence (2012), packaging is a vital issue in national as well as global business environment. Accordingly, considering the above-described linkages of packaging strategies with the development of customer-brand relationship, its advantages becomes much apparent in today’s extremely competitive business environment. Correspondingly, Underwood (2003) further states that marketing success of a product or a brand relates with company’s packaging strategy. It is particularly owing to the fact that a well-designed package provides consumers the feeling that they obtain the worth of their money in terms of the perceived values (Rundh, 2009). Naturally, in the context of marketing, a quality product with bad package can have severe negative influence on sales. When comparing with similar products, packaging plays a vital role in brand positioning, creating the points-of-difference of sales (Atagan and Yukcu, 2013; Kapferer, 2013; Keller, 2011). In an illustration given by Freeman et al (2007), promotional packaging strategies adopted by tobacco product companies, like Marlboro reveals that companies often make a mistake in focusing on the functional characteristics of the commodities. In a wider research, the success potentials of packaging strategies have been observed as highly dependent on the communication of product utilities to the customers in alignment with their requirements and preferences, rather than emphasising the hedonic properties of the same (Peters et. al., 2013). For instance, given the restrictions imposed by the government on the trading of tobacco products, companies have been highly concentrated on differentiating their brands and communicating the product utilities depending on visual arts to attract customer attention. Thus, where on one hand, packaging strategies applied by tobacco companies have been focused on branding, these market players have also been heavily concentrated on communicating the hedonic features of the commodity, identifiable in terms of its ‘brand identity’ (Freeman et. al., 2007). At a broader paradigm, these same features might be identified as persisting in the market environment of alcohol products. Contextually, case references on good packaging illustrates the development of an emotional attachment with the consumers and the brand, wherein customers fail to differentiate between the product characteristics and packaging qualities from the brand identity of the particular commodity. Conversely, when packaging strategies fail to build a similar emotional attachment with the customers, it results in bad packaging tactics (Peters et. al., 2013). Concerned with similar issues, Mishra and Jain (2012) suggested that the investigation of packaging strategy should be concentrated on analyzing the consumer’s perceptions in terms of decision-making process, communication and consumer culture, which apparently justifies the above-inferred notion regarding good packaging and bad packaging. In this regards, as argued by Rundh (2013), as a marketing strategy, packaging plays a crucial role in offering competitive solutions and subsequently, addressing ethical and environmental requirements of the product. In this process, packaging strategies are strongly influenced and shaped by the elements associated with product requirements, cost factors, production factors as well as customer requirements in accordance with market trends (Rundh, 2013, p. 1558). This again, justifies the multidimensional as well as complex nature of packaging. Figure 2: Influencing factors on the packaging concept [Source: Rundh (2013, p. 1558)] Consumer Decision-Making Process Apparently, inferences drawn from the above discussion justifies the linkages between of consumer decision-making procedure under the influence of their perceptions, which in turn shapes their self-identity and affects the success potentials of packaging strategies applied by the company (Peters et. al., 2013). This helps in determining both the customer’s involvement and the external variables such as the way in which a particular product is packaged with visual arts (Pinya and Speece, 2004; Underwood, 2003). According to Pantin-Sohier and Miltgen (2012), the perceived product quality directly affects customer desires and ideologies when evaluating the commodity, at the initial phase of buying process. Taking the example of alcohol products, the purchasing decision of the customers have been observed to rely heavily on the visual appearance of the commodity on offer, which stimulates the customers’ intentions to purchase the product being persuaded by symbolic or appealing reasons (Sester et. al., 2013; Underwood, 2003). Pantin-Sohier and Miltgen (2012) further noted that shape of the products also act as a major determinant towards influencing customers’ decision-making procedure, as this conveys a message regarding the functional benefits of the products. Emotional and Functional benefits According to Tatt (2010), emotional or psychological factors influence the consumer-decision making procedure at large. It is worth mentioning that customers purchasing a product seek emotional fulfilment, which is further aided by its packaging characteristics and brand identity. Emphasising this issue, Woods (2004) elaborated that brand image, influenced by packaging characteristics, may be useful in triggering emotional associations with the customer by stimulating their perceptions on the product’s intangible features (Hakola, 2013; Malär et. al., 2011). Moving further on this particular aspect, Loewenstein and Lerner (2003) reveal that emotions play a decisive role towards influencing a customers’ decision for product purchase wherein positive persuasions may even make them spend more on a particular commodity. Accordingly, the customers determine certain set of alternatives through this prediction and select the best alternative that increases the possibility of positive emotions and reduces the probability of generating negative feelings concerning the brand identity of the product (Malär et. al., 2011). It is in this context that immediate emotions highly influence the decision-making procedure of the customers, which either directly or indirectly affects their product related expectations by a considerable degree (Bhat and Reddy, 1998). Elliott (1998) identifies that functional attributes of a product influence the decision-making procedure of a customer on the basis of economic utility theory. As per this particular theory, customers’ identity is explained as the ‘rational economic person’ who puts emphasis on the trustworthiness, durability and price of a product prior to the ultimate purchase. Correspondingly, Abdallat and Emam (2010) asserted that the deliverance of functional benefits to the customers through advertisements and packaging create greater product awareness and persuade customers to make their ultimate purchase, which can again be explained with the integration of economic utility theory. To be specific, the linkage between packaging strategies and the consumer desires, which stimulate their emotional persuasions, can be identified as the determinants of successful packaging strategies. Symbolic and Rational Apart from emotional and functional benefits desired by the customers, symbolic and rational elements considered in the packaging strategies of a company can also be regarded as other key determinants of successful packaging initiative. Signifying the symbolic and rational concerns associated with successful packaging initiatives, Sun et. al. (2009) argued in favour of the existence of a strong relationship between the customers’ cognitive response (defined as self-identity of the customer) and the overall appearance of a product (defined as the brand-identity of the product). Combining these two characteristics, symbolic association of a product resembles the social status and prominence of the product, which results in influencing the ultimate purchase decision of the customers (Elliott and Wattanasuwan, 1998). This particular virtue can be denoted as ‘symbolic interactionism’, which defines the notion that customers interact in the society, being social products themselves. During such interactions, they mainly intend to promote their beliefs (which may be concerned to a particular product or service), resulting in affecting the purchase behaviour of other potential buyers (Wattanasuwan, 2005). Likewise, symbolic meanings influence the consumer decision-making procedure, which is understood from different perspectives through symbolic interactionism, which may also be referred as similar to the concept of word-of-mouth promotion. These perspectives involve ‘society driven symbolic meanings’ including intrinsic as well as extrinsic features of a product, such as brand name and visual appearance, which are shared by people living in a society (Elliott and Wattanasuwan, 1998). ‘Symbolic individual associations’ is the other perspective, wherein the product identity functions as a symbol for a customer or an individual in the community. Notably, while effective packaging strategies can be observed as characterised with Symbolic individual associations, poor packaging strategies are principally subjected to ‘Symbolic transfusion’ that relates to the positive or negative symbolic representation of a product. It is in this context that with effect of symbolic interactionism, such perceptions, either positive or negative, get transformed to potential customers in the society, which accordingly influences their purchasing behaviour (Banister and Hogg, 2004). Thus, in simple terms, while positive symbolic presentation of the product through effective packaging can persuade the direct customers not only to purchase the product but to act on the conditions of rewarding symbolic interactionism, negative symbolic presentation may cause a contrary result to the product performance. It is however, the rational linkage between the customers’ desires and product identity, which determines if symbolic interactionism concerning the product will be positive or negative (Elliott and Wattanasuwan, 1998). Concentrating on a different paradigm of the modern concept of packaging, Hogget et. al. (2009) further pointed out that the ‘not me’ concept, describing the self-esteem of the consumers, who attempt to avoid consuming products if its brand identity lacks alignment with their perceived self-image. ‘Psychoanalytical symbolism’ herein influences the sub-conscious mind of a customer, which often sustains at a level that is beyond conscious insight and have a catalystic consequence on customers’ choices (Sun et. al., 2009). Expanding this particular notion, Lee (2005) identified that consumers’ decision-making procedure is rational in nature, as they make purchasing decisions by selecting the best options out of the given alternatives. The segregation of rational decisions is generally identifiable in five stages. Initially, consumers aim to identify the need of a product and secondly attempt gathering sufficient information about the same, wherein symbolic interactionism can again be observed as a major influencing factor (Solomon et. al., 2013, pp. 151-160; Elliott and Wattanasuwan, 1998). Subsequently, in the third stage, the consumers evaluate alternatives to suffice their needs and desires, while in the fourth stage, they ultimately decide to either purchase the product or withdraw the idea. Finally, in the fifth phase, the consumers evaluate the outcomes of their purchasing decisions (Solomon et. al., 2013). In agreement to this notion, Chang and Tuan Pham (2013) further argued that even the rational consumers tend to involve more utilitarian approaches, emphasising the fact that affective feelings always influence consumers due to human nature. In addition, consumers’ information search processes consider making purchase decisions through the recommendations provided by others under the influence of cultural values, which are stronger if consumers lack specific preferences (Manjeshwar, Sternquist and Good, 2013; Dellaert and Häubl, 2012). Marketing Communication and Global Consumer Culture Considering the above described definitions, dynamics and characteristics of packaging, as a strategic marketing strategy, it can be inferred that the managerial concept is highly concerned with establishing a relationship with the customers, not only on the basis of socio-economic elements, but also by influencing their emotional perceptions largely. Finne and Gronroos (2009) state that every organisation requires maintaining a relationship with the customers in order to attain the desired return on investments made in packaging the product. Hence, the prioritisation of establishing and maintaining relationships with the customers has given rise towards conducting several marketing communication related practices. As identified by Armstrong and Kotler (2009), there are five marketing communication disciplines, namely advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and public relation, which can be observed to impose considerable effects on the success potentials of packaging strategies undertaken by modern organisations. However, it is noteworthy that the assignment as well as the fulfilment of the disciplines fundamentally resides into the hands of the respective supplier agencies, engaged in the marketing process throughout (Jerman and Zavrsnik, 2012). According to Fill (2011), the basis of marketing communication rests with promotional viewpoint, where the objective is concentrated on communicating product identity in alignment with the self-identity of the consumers to persuade them for their ultimate purchase. However, with the improvement of technology and evolution of media, marketing communication has evolved as an imperative tool in branding process, further influencing the conceptualisation of packaging strategies. By taking into concern this significant aspect, the expansion of the scope of marketing communication can be observed over the preceding few years (Keller, 2001). Additionally, new objectives, such as development of understanding along with preferences amid the customers and likewise, prompting and encouraging them were identified as the prime aspects of marketing communication (Duncan and Everett 1993). Role of Packaging in Marketing Communication The studies referred in the above sections provide many evidences in justification to the fact that packaging has an unparallel role to play in the overall marketing communication process. According to Silayoi & Speece (2007), packaging can underlie the uniqueness and originality of a product. It is due to this particular reason that the judgment of consumers to purchase any brand rely heavily on the packaging of the product, which in turn determines its product identity. Thus, if a package communicates high quality, consumers frequently assume that the products are of high quality, subjected to the condition that product identity is directly and effectively linked with the self-identity features of the customers. Underwood, Klein and Burke (2001) suggest that packaging communicate favorable or unfavorable meaning regarding any product or service. Where favorable communication inspires better marketability of the commodity, unfavorable communication discourages customers to buy the product. An in-depth study of the occurrence shall reveal that consumers often focus on determining their ultimate purchase decisions based on the visual arts of the product, such as its shape, size, taste or smell, as the foremost measure to link their perceived with its actual benefits. Accordingly, Pinya and Speece (2004) suggest that packaging is an important marketing communication tool, which helps to establish the direct and effective brand messages to the customers and prove a vital tool to influence consumer’s final buying decisions. When concentrating on market dynamics of the concept of packaging, Luca and Penco (2006) also agreed to the inference, further noting that the role of packaging in alcohol industry is to act as an effective communication tool. As per the observations made by Luca and Penco (2006) with reference to the market dimensions of alcohol industry, packaging helps in communicating about the product qualities through visual arts and functional features, such as its durability as well as the recyclability. To be noted in this regards, market structure for alcohol products have been intervened by government as well as other social forces, increases the challenges for the marketers to communicate the functional and the symbolic features of their products to the targeted customers. Owing to these barriers, marketers in this particular industry have been concentrated on applying innovative strategies of packaging, principally emphasised at visual arts. As noted by Merchlewicz (2011) and Jackson et. al. (2000), marketers in the brewing industry have been very much concerned with the visual presentation of their products, which are able to provide a feel of sophistication, i.e. stimulate the hedonic characteristics of the commodity to align with the self-identity of the customers. On the other hand, Nancarrow et. al. (1998) asserted that particular factors do exist in the contemporary business environment, which eventually contributes in assisting the modern business organizations to attain a superior competitive positioning, and are also observable within the alcohol industry. These factors may be the diverse consumer models, appropriate usage of effective marketing communication tools and development of various psychological procedures associated with the packaging of a particular product. According to Nancarrow et. al. (1998), when applying the same understanding on the alcohol industry, it can be observed that marketers’ determination of gaining superior competitive position in drinks industry lay on better understanding of the varied marketing communication procedures and the design of the packaging procedures among others. This further exhibits the role of packaging in market communication, especially for the alcohol industry. Cultural Value towards packaging According to de Mooij and Hofstede (2010), although the formulation of varied cultural models was not for evaluating consumer behaviour, their utilisation exists in understanding and inferring consumers’ buying behaviour, which can further be evaluated to define cultural values that affect the linkage between packaging strategies and product features desired by the customers. Among the various cultural models, the Hofstede’s dimensional model can be identified as one of the most suitable, as it emphasises a consumer culture based framework, which differentiates the cultural behaviour of the customers based on their nationality (signifying their social culture). Components of the national social culture is further categorised into five factors by Hofstede, viz. power distance, individualism or collectivism, masculinity or femininity, uncertainty avoidance and short-term or long-term orientation (Mooij and Hofstede, 2010). Luna and Gupta (2001) noted that applying a tradition mechanism, Hofstede’s model attempts to define the cross-cultural differences prevailing amid the individuals, which altogether determine the preferences of the customers shaping their self-identity and likewise affecting their perceptions concerning the product. According to Ali et. al. (2010), cross cultural consumer behaviour can be identified and examined on the basis of four manifestations that entail values, heroes, rituals and symbols. It signifies that these manifestations comprise the elements that directly influence the purchasing pattern and the behaviour of the customers in the global market, with especial consideration to the influence of globalisation (Jafari and Goulding, 2013). In this regard, Arnett (2002) suggested that present consumers demonstrate characteristics of both local as well as global identities. Local identity signifies recognising with local community, whereas, global identity represents recognising individuals throughout the world. Concentrating on a similar notion, Wheeler et. al. (2005) further suggested that a product, which is positioned as an international product would appeal those consumers whose global identity is highly accessible. On the other hand, as per the observations made by Bashir et. al. (2013), Chinese customers are principally collective in nature, which influences product value in the nation and correspondingly, stimulates their purchasing decisions, either positively or negatively. It is important for the business organisation to differentiate the consumer lifestyle, which influences the product value and price of a particular product by a certain extent (Jiang, 2011; Zhang and Khare, 2009). Research Gaps: Packaging strategy in consumer decision-making process It is worth mentioning that whenever a consumer purchases a beverage or a food product, their perception regarding a specific brand is not only influenced by the sensory characteristics, but also the ideas generated by certain set of intrinsic variables (Westerman et. al., 2012). Besides analysing this particular aspect, the examination of consumer’s perceptions on price and value of the product through an effective packaging strategy is also required (Hakola, 2013; Hagtvedt and Patrick, 2008). For example, research must be conducted on the consumer’s perceptions on points-of-differences for the product, brand reputation, brand stories, imaginaries and most importantly, the message of what packaging tends to express about the customers’ self-identity in alignment with brand-identity (Wang, 2013). Researches revealing these relationships demonstrate that packaging of foods or drinks provide certain signals that influence product evaluation (Pantin-Sohier and Miltgen, 2012; Wansink, 1996). A critical observation to the studies conducted on packaging strategies and its influence on consumer decision making revealed that only an insignificant amount of concentration has been offered on measuring the impact of such initiatives on brand choice of the customers. To be mentioned, while Underwood (2003) has been concentrated on illustrating the components of packaging, confined within the dimension of grocery stores, Hakola (2013) emphasised business-to-business marketing strategies when describing the dynamics of packaging strategies. However, both these studies lacked appropriate consideration towards justifying the dependency of customer buying behaviour on the packaging strategies applied by the companies. Generalisability was also a concern in these studies, which limited the applicability of the findings in other market contexts, such as the alcohol industry. Apart from addressing these gaps, the referred studies also possessed a gap to identify the interlinkage between visual art properties and other quantitative factors such as price and product nature, which forms a major part in the product identity. To be precise, gaps in these studies persisted in the form of unexamined linkage between the influences of visual arts on consumer buying behaviour, when combined with product price, durability and functionality at large limiting the understanding on the role played by packaging strategy in the consumer decision-making process (Hagtvedt & Patrick, 2008). Global packaging strategy in different national contexts: According to Mueller Loose and Szolnoki (2012), further research is required to address product related and cross-cultural differences for specific packaging elements. Addressing this particular research gap will certainly aid in determining the packaging strategy for whisky products, allowing more critical justification to the recommendations drawn to assist organisations with their strategic planning process (Mueller Loose and Szolnoki, 2012). In addition, gaps can also be identified when concerning the cross-cultural aspects and its influences on the efficiency of packaging processes, which is quite noteworthy, as with the increased extent of globalisation, several consumers have become the members of multiple socio-cultural environments, further affecting their brand-identity (Jafari and Goulding, 2013). Notably, it is found that most literatures and researches of packaging issues were based on the investigation of western countries, and mainly in the US and UK (Westjohn, Singh & Magnusson, 2012). This ultimately influences their judgement and decision regarding purchasing of food products wherein customers intend to align their self-identity with that of the product on the basis of the message communicated through its package. Accordingly, by addressing this gap, the study will be able to elaborate on the different characteristics of Taiwanese consumers under the influence of packaging strategies implemented by whisky marketers. As mentioned earlier, this research project is determined to conduct the exploration and examination of Taiwan market, which is one of the most important Scotch whisky importers around the world. It is in this context that understanding the specific consumer culture in whisky industry can be effective for making packaging decisions for Ian Macleod Distillers (i.e. the subject of this study), which also makes the subject worthy of exploration. Global Packaging strategy in whisky industry Due to the nature of this research project, it is important to be concentrated on the measures adopted by the specific company and the particular industry. In this context, it is often observed that the current researches regarding to the packaging issues, are mostly related to the general consumer goods, and mainly focused on foods and drinks, also comprising alcohol products. This raises a gap in the research conducted on the relationship between packaging strategies and product performances, as most of the studies overlook important factors that may impose considerable influence on usage volume (Wansink, 1996). Furthermore, even though there are also various articles and books addressing the branding and marketing studies for the whisky industry (Jones, 2003; Russell, 2003), there are no existing researches made in order to identify the factors of global packaging strategies that influence the purchase decision-making of consumers in the whisky industry, in particular. Different perspectives of packaging from supply chain According to the observation of Underwood (2003), there is a lack of variances on examining the overall product packaging issues through the research of distribution channels, and the direct impact of packaging on brand choice was not measured. Therefore, the additional researches are required to investigatethe opinions and feedbacks from the business partners in the supply chain, because they are the major medium between supplier and end-customer. Research Objectives and Questions Research Gaps Research Objectives Research Question There is need to explore the major consumer decision-making variables for Scotch single malt whiskies, which are influence by product packaging To investigate the consumer decision-making process for the Scotch single malt whisky in the Taiwan Market To identify the consumer culture of the Scotch whisky industry in the Taiwan market To examine the global branding strategy of packaging issues in the Taiwan market What is the major purpose of a customer buying the whisky products in Taiwan? What are the major considerations for selecting a whisky product? How the decision was make to buy or not to buy for particular brands? How customers perceive the values from packaging of a whisky product? There is need to explore the global packaging strategy in different national context There is need for additional research for the packaging strategy for the whisky industry There is need for further research to investigate the packaging issues from broader perspectives (i.e. supply chain) What is the role of the whisky distributor and retailer in the Taiwan market? How do the whisky distributor and retailer identify the overall whisky business in Taiwan? How do whisky distributor and retailer identify their customers for the packaging strategy? Summary In summary, prevalence of extreme business market competition has persuaded or rather pressurised the marketers to use packaging strategies in order to attract customers. Packaging not only acts as a communication vehicle for conveying symbolism, but also plays an imperative role towards assisting organisations in rejuvenating their brand image and in developing their product sales. In this similar context, several researches have been conducted, which suggest that an increasing role of packaging, as a brand communication tool, aims to support the modern business organisations to attain their respective business targets. There are different approaches of packaging that provide external prompts to consumers such as brand name, product origin and cost to the customers. Such information can provide deviating outcomes however, with respect to marketing as well as sales of various whisky brands. However, no specific research was noted to have been undertaken, putting emphasis on positioning aspects of whisky products in Taiwan considering the supply chain’s perspectives. Besides, signifying the above-mentioned research gaps, there lay the requirement of conducting exploratory researches in order to address cultural aspects while considering packaging strategies adopted by Whiskey marketers in the industry. Thus, the research has been undertaken, in order to understand the decision-making process with the influence of consumer culture as persisting in the Taiwanese Scotch whisky industry, and therefore suggest packaging strategies for Ian Macleod Distillers limited in Taiwan market. References Freeman, B. et. al. (2007) “The case for the plain packaging of tobacco products”, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education UC San Francisco, pp. 3-21. Jackson, M. C. et. al. (2000) “Marketing alcohol to young people: implications for industry regulation and research policy”, Addiction 95, pp. S597–S608. Merchlewicz, M. (2011) “Trends in alcohol marketing”, Alcohol Marketing Monitoring in Europe (AMMIE) Project, pp. 1-26. Peters, J. et. al., 2013. Creating Value through Packaging: Unlocking a New Business and Management Strategy. DEStech Publications, Inc. Read More