TROPICANA, DON'T EVER MESS WITH MY ORANGE JUICE PACKAGING!!!!!!!

Take a look at these two orange juice cartons. If they were side by side at your neighborhood grocer, which one would you choose to purchase? Well, THE JOKE'S ON YOU! They're the exact same brand of orange juice!! The carton on the left is Tropicana's new packaging design. Some very vocal consumers, however, prefer the carton on the right. They can rest easy tonight, Tropicana announced they are returning to the old design.

Last month Tropicana was proud to introduce a new packaging design for their orange juice. Gone was their iconic orange with a straw stuck in it, and in its place was a tall glass of OJ. The redesign was accompanied with a $35 million campaign with placement everywhere including print, billboards and television.

THEN .... THE WORLD IMPLODED!!!

Even though Tropicana focused grouped the new design to death, consumers did not like the new package. Some loyal fans were downright outraged. They felt an attachment to the old logo, and felt the new design made the product appear like a generic brand of orange juice.

“Do any of these package-design people actually shop for orange juice?” one e-mail complaint asked. “Because I do, and the new cartons stink.” (Courtesy of NYT article below)

Thanks to social media tools like Twitter, as well as using blogs and e-mail to spread word of mouth, consumers were able to make their voices heard. More importantly, Tropicana was willing to listen and quickly change course. The old packaging should be back in the stores some time next month.

There are 2 key takeaways here:

1) Consumers use social media to organize and make their voice heard. Tropicana admits that only a small fraction of their audience complained, it was a very vocal and loyal fraction. Brands should listen to what is being said about them and be willing to respond if needed. By changing course so quickly, Tropicana avoided the further spread of backlash and anger that could have lead to a significant sales decrease.

Consumers can complain about anything. When I was little my sister wrote a letter to General Mills because she felt that they did not change the content on the back of the Frosted Mini-Wheats box often enough, and she was tired of looking at the same old info every morning. They sent a form letter thanking her for her loyalty in response. I wonder what she could do now with social media. Would she get more than a form letter if she was able to organize a group who felt the same way she did? Probably. Social Media has given the consumer that power.

2) Every logo matters. Tropicana president Neil Campbell admitted he did not realize consumers had such an attachment to the orange and straw logo. While it isn't as iconic as Coca-Cola's use of red or the Nike swoosh, the logo was recognizable. To completely remove it from the packaging was a mistake. Focusing on a glass or orange juice would have been fine, as long as that orange/straw image was present somewhere (even add the red and white straw IN the glass of orange juice). If you want to overhaul a logo, do what Pepsi did (which owns Tropicana) and make slight design changes that seem different while still being recognizable as the brand's logo.

What do you think? Did the new packaging bother you? Did you even notice it?

Tropicana Discovers Some Buyers Are Passionate About Packaging - NYT