Sesame Street packaging gets a refresh

Sesame Street has tapped Parham Santana, The Brand Extension Agency, to help it refresh its licensed consumer products packaging worldwide.

Parham Santana developed unified packaging designs that focus exclusively on the iconic Sesame Street characters. The branding agency said it recognized the instant, emotional connections to the characters that people across countries, cultures and channels have with them, and chose to emphasize them, eliminating what it described as the marketing clutter prevalent in existing packaging.

“Sesame Street is a legacy brand, so we wanted to honor that heritage and began by nailing down the essence of Sesame Street,” says John Parham, president, director of branding, Parham Santana. “The emotional connection that consumers have with the characters is very strong. Their faces are like beacons on the shelf.”

Every package across every product category now features large furry photos of Sesame Street Muppet faces. These new packages also gain white space by moving educational and developmental cues to an area on the back.

“The simple, iconic Sesame Street characters ensure that Sesame Street products are instantly recognizable. There’s an immediate connection with children and grownups,” said Suzanne Duncan, VP of marketing at Sesame Workshop.

The new packaging has started rolling out with the licensed toys from Hasbro, and the rest of Sesame Street’s licensed products will follow. Parham Santana delivered comprehensive packaging guidelines for all Sesame Street products including toys, health and beauty aids, apparel and DVDs.

“As we implement the new program around the world, we continue to build our brand story and make it stronger every day,” said Maura Regan, SVP and GM, global licensing for Sesame Workshop.