Mox, the cloud-based tool specifically developed to help small-to-medium sized consumer brands (SMB) meet the challenges of today’s omnichannel market, is boosting the ability of businesses to scale up with great packaging by delivering the simplicity and streamlined processes they need.
Launched earlier this year, Mox combines project management with digital proofing and digital asset management (DAM) in one user-friendly solution, taking the complexity out of packaging artwork management and delivering technical know-how to growing businesses.
“Brand equity and trust is hugely important to young and growing brands,” said Adrian Fernandez, general manager of Mox. “With limited promotional and people resources, emerging brands count on packaging to play a significant role as part of the marketing mix - the fifth P. It is a major component in building that brand equity – but the process of managing the artwork can be complex and cumbersome. Many small businesses and brand teams still rely on emails with file attachments and manually updated spreadsheets for workflow management and collaboration, but with so many elements to keep track of in the omnichannel environment of today this way of working is fraught with danger.
“It’s too easy to simply lose track of digital assets and team members’ approvals, feedback, and even version histories,” he said. “There are a lot of data points that need collecting during artwork development process, and if the final content is incorrect, or the wrong version is used at the wrong stage, that priceless brand equity is already at risk.
“When scaling up, it’s vital that businesses realize effective packaging artwork development is an evolving process, involving project management through to artwork review. Ultimately, it is creative collaboration that brings the whole marketing team together,” he said.
Ensuring accuracy throughout the process is a key element of a recent webinar - Scaling up with Great Packaging – in which Adrian was joined by Megan Young Gamble PMP®, renowned project manager, Packaging Consultant and principal of Get Level Consulting, to discuss how Mox was making years’ of packaging experience and know-how available to growing businesses.
Megan details the importance of goals, roles, processes and interpersonal relationships - and how establishing these pillars is vital in helping businesses scale up with packaging that reflects the brand and builds that oh-so-valuable equity.
“Whether you’re a young or growing brand, packaging is a critical element of the marketing mix, playing a large role in building trust and fostering brand loyalty,” Megan said. “But before we can start building our packaging, we need clarity of purpose. Don’t just create your product and then look at the packaging. It is a crucial part of the product and should be considered at the start of the process.
“In terms of stakeholders, everyone from R&D and product development through marketing, production, sales and procurement will all be involved in the process,” said Megan. “Each of the various aspects of packaging are the responsibility of a stakeholder, so it’s important the cycle of packaging design is transparent, everyone involved has oversight, changes are up to date, and there is only one version of the truth that everyone works to.”
Adrian added that the more complex the packaging is, the more time needed to design and produce that packaging. “As a business scales up, there are so many different levels to consider. Launch dates might vary in different markets, product shelf life, logistics - all of these can play a part in deciding our path to market,” he said. “It’s foundational that we look at all these core elements, and this is where Mox comes into its own.
“Everyone starts somewhere, and with so many different files, folders and ways of sharing, collaboration is crucial. Mox standardizes and simplifies these stages and acts as an engine that helps businesses to scale up smoothly.”
Combining project management with digital proofing and DAM, Mox was created by Esko, the global provider of software and hardware solutions that accelerate the go-to-market process of packaged goods. Mox helps SMBs work more efficiently and to deliver right-first-time packaging and marketing content on time.
“Great packaging is the result of a team effort with a practical but robust standard process, with coordinated collaboration across disciplines and organizations,” Adrian said. “With Mox, we have been able to use the many years of Esko’s experience with top consumer product companies and their ecosystems to develop a best-practice software tailored to the needs and budget of growing consumer brands, helping them increase productivity, reduce costs, and save time in their packaging and content creation process.”