Packaging Shines in Youtube ‘Unboxing’ Videos
October 23, 2014
There’s a strange phenomenon on Youtube that shows just how important packaging is: Unboxing videos. (And, no, these are not boxing matches shown in reverse.)
The idea of these videos is simple: Someone gets a new product, examines the packaging, opens the packaging and examines the item. Ta da.
Yeah, it sounds weird, but many of these videos have several million views. An unboxing video for the iPhone 6 has nearly 8 million views! One for a Spongebox Squarepants set from Play Doh has more than 17 million views! In 2013 alone more than 2,370 days — or 6.5 years — worth of unboxing footage was uploaded to Youtube!
The most common types of these videos are for technology products, toys and shoes, but they have them for everything from blenders to tarantulas. (Seriously, who sends a tarantula in the mail?!)
Why are these videos so incredibly popular? It’s like people don’t just want products; they want experiences. These videos are a way for people to get a detailed preview of items before they get them, but it’s also a way to relive that feeling of Christmas morning when you couldn’t wait to unwrap — or unbox — your new toy.
As mentioned last week by Forbes, unboxing videos show that packaging is a major part of our experience with our favorite stuff. If product packaging didn’t matter, we would just have product reviews. Because packaging matters, people love to watch people open and explore the packaging before taking a look at the packaging. A blank box will result in a boring unboxing video and — even worse — a bored customer.
We have an entire whitepaper about the importance of packaging in B2B branding that you should check out.
What is your packaging telling your customers? What story should it tell? Ernest can help you make your packaging something that people want to unbox for the world to see — and then keep the goods! Contact us today to get started.
