Maxell Launches New DVD Packaging Design At CES

By Staff On Jan 9 2003 - 8:00am

With an eye toward guiding consumers through the maze of multiple formats and compatibility issues, digital media products maker Maxell Corp. of America is launching at International CES a new DVD packaging design that highlights format information, making product selection easier.

Central to the new design is an information hierarchy that emphasizes brand, DVD format, capacity and writing speed.

The design strategy is further enhanced by a new color system intended to make format selection easy, while providing a family look that supports the overall brand communication. The color set-up utilizes vibrant blue packaging to designate +R and +RW, while bright purple designates -R, -RW and RAM. The color-coding of the packaging provides product differentiation, which will ease the consumer's shopping experience, Maxell said.

The new packaging also extends to DVD camcorder (DVD-RAM and DVD-R) media and to CD-R data and music.

On the back of the new packaging, Fair Lawn, N.J.-based Maxell has designed a comprehensive icon-based information panel that features descriptions of recording and playback compatibility, along with graphs depicting video recording times in various playback modes and hardware compatibility. The back panel also highlights Maxell's live toll free 24/7/365 tech-support hotline, said to be an industry first for a person answering the call, rather than a machine.

"In a category that offers multiple formats and where playback compatibility is an important criteria, we felt it was vital to prioritize the information consumers need to make a purchasing decision and present it in the most productive and direct way possible," said marketing VP Peter Brinkman.

"In this category we know consumers want their DVD packaging to clearly communicate brand, format, capacity and writing speed. We also know they want a clear articulation of the hardware the media is intended for and the playback time they can expect."

The packaging also features Maxell's "chair-man" icon, which links it to the company's other consumer product franchises.