Thanks to Twitter user @sirneggles for letting us quote him for the title of this blog post!
Continuing with our Twitter insights, it is great to see that grumbles about mobile operators are matched in volume by celebrations, with people sharing their excitement about new SIM packs.
We’ve been tracking streams of tweets that are simply commenting on SIM packs including the design of the SIM pack and – more importantly to marketers – have noted how many are uploading pictures of their SIM packs.
“Hv u seen the new [MNO name] SIM packs? http://twitpic…”
It might not be at the same volume as tweets about price plans, signal strength or handsets but it’s not insignificant.
We love the new origami SIM packs from GiffGaff featured in The Drum a couple of weeks ago. We’re known for our love oforigami and origami-inspired designs so we’re very envious that we weren’t responsible for them!!
A conversation-starter that fulfils multiple goals beyond just packaging a SIM card: it’s popping up (ahem) on social media sites and there’s a lovely GiffGaff-produced video on how to assemble the pack on their YouTube channel, with a glorious Morcheeba track over the top… we’d share that (if we weren’t so jealous).
Back to Twitter, over the last several months we’ve noticed that many of the pictures uploaded by users show an opened SIM pack, not just the closed ‘presentation’ format that a customer would see in-store. This confirms our belief that designing for conventional retail impact is not sufficient.
Twitter and other social media sites are increasingly acting as a shop window for mobile brands. We believe that packaging designs need to consider this informal and unregulated 360° view as an opportunity and aim to capitalise on the potential viral spread of a great piece of design.
What’s the message to your NEXT customer on, and inside, your SIM pack?