My friend Anne says that when her children were very small and they received presents, it was the packaging that excited them the most. First they would play with the brightly coloured wrapping paper, then they would play with the box, opening and closing it and when it was empty, filling it with toys they already had. It wasn't until some time later that their attention was drawn to the actual present that had been inside.我的朋友安妮说，她的孩子在很小的时候，每当收到礼物，最让他们兴奋的其实是包装。起初，他们会先玩那色彩鲜艳的包装纸，然后再玩盒子——开开关关，等到盒子空了，还会把自己已有的玩具放进去。直到过了好一阵子，他们才会注意到盒子里真正的礼物。

That is so true. We're talking about the importance of packaging, in particular the design. Yeah, because adults too are drawn towards a product because of the packaging.的确如此。我们今天要谈的是包装的重要性，尤其是包装的设计。是的，因为成年人也常常因为包装而被某个产品吸引。

Now if you go to any supermarket, you'll see the shelves are completely stacked with similar products from different brands. So what do you choose? Yes, and as you know, Jackie, you can often find me in the supermarket staring at bottles of wine. And actually wine labels are becoming a dominant factor for consumers when deciding which actual bottle of wine to buy.现在如果你去任何一家超市，你会看到货架上摆满了不同品牌但种类相似的产品。那么你会怎么选择呢？没错，正如你知道的，Jackie，我常常在超市里盯着酒瓶看。事实上，葡萄酒的标签已经成为消费者决定买哪一瓶酒的重要因素。

And in fact, in one supermarket study, the most visible wine bottles were noticed by up to 77% more consumers than less visible bottles. Sorry, so what do you mean by visible? Well, it seemed that consumers gravitated towards the brightly coloured labels, especially red, orange and gold. And also the owners of small size shops agreed.事实上，在一项超市研究中，最显眼的酒瓶比不显眼的酒瓶多吸引了高达77%的消费者注意。抱歉，你说的“显眼”是什么意思？嗯，看起来消费者更容易被色彩鲜艳的标签吸引，尤其是红色、橙色和金色。而且，小型商店的老板们也同意这一点。

They said that if a consumer is unsure of what they're looking for, it only makes sense that they actually end up choosing the most eye-catching bottle. Yeah, so standing in front of hundreds of bottles which all contain the same thing, it's the labels that help you make the choice. Now, if further proof of the importance of packaging design is needed, then the story of Tropicana needs telling.他们说，如果消费者并不确定自己想买什么，那么选择最显眼的瓶子就是合乎逻辑的。没错，当你站在摆满上百瓶内容相同的饮品前，正是那些标签帮助你做出选择。现在，如果你还需要更多关于包装设计重要性的证明，那就必须提到Tropicana的故事。

Now, Tropicana, as you know, Richard, is an American company that sells fruit-based drinks. Yeah, it's orange drinks in a carton, isn't it? Yeah. Now, way back in February 2009, for some reason, the company decided to change the design on the orange juice carton.Tropicana，正如你知道的，Richard，是一家销售果汁饮料的美国公司。对，就是那种纸盒装的橙汁。是的。早在2009年2月，这家公司不知出于什么原因，决定更改橙汁包装盒的设计。

After less than two months and a 20% drop in sales, worth about $20 million, Tropicana switched back to its original design, and that had cost them $35 million. So what was the big mistake then? What did they do? Well, for some bizarre reason, Tropicana took a distinctive characteristic brand look. And that's the orange with the straw, isn't it, coming out of it? Yeah, and then they replaced it with a bland, nothing special design, just a glass of orange juice.不到两个月，销量就下降了20%，损失约两千万美元。于是Tropicana被迫恢复原有的包装设计，而这一折腾共花费了三千五百万美元。那么，他们到底犯了什么大错？他们做了什么？嗯，奇怪的是，Tropicana放弃了原本极具辨识度的品牌形象——就是那个插着吸管的橙子，对吧？没错，他们把它换成了一种平淡无奇的设计——仅仅是一杯橙汁。

And so the carton instantly disappeared in the masses of no-name juice cartons. Right, so the people were actually looking for that design which they were so used to, and then they couldn't find it, so they picked something else. The product had lost its visual identity, so it was more about the packaging than the content.结果，这种新包装瞬间淹没在众多无名果汁盒中。没错，人们其实在寻找他们熟悉的那个设计，当他们找不到时，就转而选择其他品牌。产品失去了视觉上的识别度，这说明问题更多出在包装而非内容本身。

Mm-hmm. Now, interesting, brands of all sizes now are starting to see the value of doing extensive research. Now, in particular, Richard, they're using this eye-tracking technology.嗯，现在有趣的是，无论大小品牌都开始意识到深入研究消费者行为的重要性。尤其是，Richard，他们正在使用一种叫做“眼动追踪技术”的工具。

Yes, they can tell now what exactly the consumers are looking at, can't they? They can track their eyes over the products. So they can make comparisons with different designs and which ones attract the eye of the possible consumer the most. Well, actually, I can certainly see from the consumer's point of view, it'd be interesting to see why you actually chose one bottle or one packet over another.是的，他们现在能确切知道消费者在看什么，不是吗？他们可以追踪消费者在商品上的视线移动，从而比较不同的设计，看看哪一种最能吸引潜在顾客的注意。其实，从消费者的角度来看，了解自己为什么会选择某一瓶或某一包产品，也确实挺有趣的。

Yeah, and it's certainly, from a manufacturer's point of view, something that they need to know.没错，而从制造商的角度来看，这无疑是他们必须了解的关键信息。