Following the passing of Steve Jobs, the president of T.H.E.M. Technical Help in Engineering and Marketing) publicly expressed his belief that the packaging industry can greatly benefit from the many lessons to be learned from his legacy of forward thinking, personal drive and relentless pursuit of perfection.
"When one of the world's most successful game changers passes away, it's worth taking the time to reflect on how his thinking can help all of us." says Neil Kozarsky, long-time president of T.H.E.M. "I believe that what Jobs taught us about vision, persistence, and exceptionalism can and must have a real impact on the future of packaging."
Kozarsky pointed to the daunting fact that Jobs never relied on consumer research to plot the course of personal computing and his mobile communications vision. "Steve Jobs had the ability to put himself in the consumer's shoes, to imagine fulfilling his own wants and needs, and he had the strength of character to make it happen," says Kozarsky. "The consumer experience was more important to him than any other factor. That is exactly how we need to be thinking in the packaging industry."
When you look back at the career of Steve Jobs from a branding point of view, you realize how pivotal a role packaging played in his success as an innovator and marketer. More than anyone else in the consumer electronics industry, Jobs realized the critical potential of packaging. The look he gave his products was consistently clean and fresh, from the early multi-colored MACS to the iPod nanos. Everything had to be sleek, trim and good looking. His packaging was as much a statement of cultural sensibility as it was a means to deliver and differentiate the goods.
"His products had to do more than perform uniquely," says Kozarsky. "They had to look different. Today's marketers have the same opportunity to distinguish their products with every new launch or line extension. It's up to us, in the packaging industry, to give them the tools and the encouragement to keep pushing the creative envelop. We have to remember that before Steve Jobs, computers were no sexier than early fax machines."
There is no disputing the fact that Steve Jobs did more than create exciting products that delighted and delivered on their promise beyond expectations. But he was also one of the most influential packaging innovators of our time.
Jobs also proved to every product manufacturer that it pays to seek perfection. His unwillingness to compromise in any aspect of product development, design and manufacture is legendary. Cost-effectiveness always factored in. It had to. But Jobs was never afraid to ask his customer base to pay a little more for an experience over and above the ordinary.
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