The Power of Printed Carrier Bags

     If you ask any retailer, merchandiser, restaurant owner or boutique manager who uses printed carrier bags what they believe to be the best thing about them is, you may get a few different opinions. Everyone seems to know a few things: the bags carry your logo through a mass of consumers, customers love them and reuse the paper type with sturdy handles most often because they are environment friendly, and it’s “free” advertising for the business. But, there may be more to their power than logo recognition and recycling. Branding is important to every business, but printed carrier bags take it a step further.

     If you peruse branded merchandise in a clothing store, for example, there are tags, logo’s, stitched tags and removeable vinyl stips bearing the brand of the article. All these items, which are meant to be recognizable to consumers, is thrown in the garbage. Finding the brand name on some clothing articles is impossible once the article is worn and laundered. There are a few brands whose logo is so recognizable and trusted it is monogrammed on the article, but most brands are not in this category. Those brands without such a name are destined to have their careful attention to branding tossed to the rubbish. Printed carrier bags have no such destiny.

     Speaking of branding and trust, customers love their printed carrier bags for a few important reasons. They feel they are being taken care of, spoiled, and given a gift. If tissue paper is added, it even looks more like a gift. These add to the “brand experience” for a consumer who may well purchase a retailer’s or restaurant owner’s goods anywhere else, but it’s the “feeling” they get from the brand which makes them return, because they feel important. The experience is a positive one for customers, and that is the true, lasting power of the printed carrier bag. “People will always remember how you make them feel” said Maya Angelou, and in marketing and branding, this has never been more true.

     A well designed printed carrier bag encourages curiosity about the brand and the purchase. When customers leave a store or boutique with their beautiful branded bag, they go about their business of the day carrying the brand with them. Friends, coworkers and family will be instantly curious. They’ll want to know what was purchased, they’ll want to see it, and calculate if it’s a place they’ll need to visit soon for upcoming gifts, or in the case of a restaurant, eat there soon. Those who are social media enthusiasts will post a picture of the branded bag on their facebook page and twitter page. One customer, and one customer has spread the brand and logo over hundreds of people in a few seconds, and that is power.