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An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article.
Introduction
The term positioning is a subjective and relative concept; because product positioning is defined in the minds of consumers taking into consideration the rest of the market offers. Therefore, in order to obtain a particular position, consumer product perceptions must be analysed in great detail. The reason for this is that the perceptions of a given set of consumers reflect and inspire at the same time the company's strategy for its products.
The relevance of the term "positioning" is due, in part, to the relationship between a well-positioned product and the success and growth of a company, just as many different authors sustain ([22] Ramsay, 1983; [14] McAlexander et al. , 1993). So, given that success is traditionally associated with the choice of an appropriate product positioning strategy, the first step must be to correctly define a positioning strategy.
In this area, little work has been done to discover the role of packaging in forming consumer perceptions of a product, and consequently, in defining its positioning in consumers' minds. The reason for this lies in the fact that, traditionally, studies have focussed on positioning through ephemeral messages transmitted by the mass media, without taking into account the permanent character of the tangible codes that packaging transmits. [25] Underwood (2003) states that the proliferation of brands in the market and the varied range that a purchaser finds at the point of sale, force efforts to achieve effective differentiation to be increased. This is why traditional mass media communication is being redirected to point of sale promotions and communication.
To this end, this article will examine the possibilities that packaging provides within the positioning strategy of tangible products. So an experimentation-based empirical research study has been carried out to relate each positioning strategy to certain specific packaging elements (colour, typography, shape, image). To summarise, this study has come about because of the growing managerial recognition of the ability of packaging to create differentiation and identity, above all in the case of relatively homogenous perishable consumer goods.
Literature review
If we examine exactly what the term "positioning" is understood to mean, there are studies ([17] Maggard, 1976) that sustain that...