The Challenge
Drop Dead delivers edgy, limited edition clothing in menswear, womenswear, and collectables. Inspired by internet culture and life on the road, Drop Dead make the clothes your favourite rock bands would wear along with references your parents probably wouldn't understand. Known for their high-quality rock-inspired creations, Drop Dead constantly defy convention. Their plastic mailing bags, however, didn't. They simply didn't communicate the high quality clothing inside. Unhappy with their packaging, Drop Dead were looking for something different, something new. A solution that would not only protect their high-end clothing but also enhance their customers' shopping and unboxing experience.
The Problem
Lil Packaging was tasked with creating Drop Dead some brand new packaging. Our brief was to find a solution that felt more premium than just a plain old plastic mailing bags, with a striking design that better reflected their edgy brand image. Firstly, our friends at Drop Dead needed a box our "something more substantial than a plastic mailing bag" option.
A cardboard box, you see, allows us to better reflect personalisation and continue a brand's story right up to the point the customer opens their order, and allows for a consistent presentation and experience when unboxing. The challenge, however, was that Drop Dead needed packaging that would successfully add continuity and promote their core brand message, yet look distinctive and sleek enough to really stand out on social media (and with 770k followers on Instagram, their social media is more active than most).
The Solution
While ensuring everything was right, our team worked closely with Drop Dead to assess their packaging line up and decide on the Lil Packaging solution that best suited them: The Mailbox. Lil Mailboxes provide the ideal combination of solid protection and high-end presentation for fashion orders. The innovative pop-up base means they're easier and faster to assemble than standard mailing boxes, too. The Mailboxes are also at a great price point, making it accessible for brands ready to take the update and improve their packaging. Drop Dead were also keen to personalise their boxes using our bespoke service. Because of the Mailbox's reasonable price point, this freed up more budget for an impactful design to be sealed on their boxes. Here's how we did it:
- Using our eco-friendly inks, we produced striking boxes for Drop Dead, immediately transforming those plastic mailing bags into something more recognisable and memorable.
- Printing a rich black on the exterior maximised the impact of the boxes. We used the white kraft cardboard material to show off the 'Drop Dead' branding on the outside.
- The inside of the box was also customised. When customers open their order, a vibrant Drop Dead blood-red interior is revealed, emblazoned with a rich black text overprint.
The Outcome
Drop Dead were able to take their packaging and their customer unboxing experience to the next level. By introducing their brand to the Lil Mailbox and our bespoke printing service, we were able to steer Drop Dead away from non-recyclable, single-use plastic mailing bags. By switching their packaging to boxes, Drop Dead was also able to better protect their clothing while delivering a professional look and feel to their online orders. The all-black exterior and Drop Dead red interior gave their boxes impact and made them easy to recognise from customers a great asset to have in the age where unboxing experiences regularly go viral online. The switch also meant that Drop Dead online packaging went from being entirely single-use plastic to 100% recyclable. As providers of single-use packaging, we are aware of the dangers to the environment that plastic packaging can cause.
Our mailboxes are made from FSC® certified corrugated kraft cardboard and are 100% recyclable, and we use eco-friendly vegetable-based inks, so Drop Dead can be certain that their orders have as little impact as possible on the environment. While low-cost plastic packaging might seem like the more cost-effective option for your business, Drop Dead is a perfect example of how bespoke packaging and upgrading to boxes can be both reflect the high-end nature and success of your brand, and cause less impact to the environment.
Alongside our ready-to-go options, our bespoke packaging services follow a simple yet effective process that helps us get your packaging the way you want it. If you're interested in seeing how we've helped other major brands around the world with their packaging needs, you can check out our other case studies right here.