Due to the reality that the market of today is cluttered with competing brands and media, marketers are being forced to exploit all angles of a brand's interaction with the public. Given the plethora of media choices and overall fragmentation of markets, it's not surprising that marketing tools are being reviewed, and in particular more and more emphasis is being put on packaging.

In the past, packaging has often been called the 'silent salesman'. It's one of the four Ps of marketing and perceived as important - but rarely considered sexy as advertising. Given its limitations, packaging can't deliver audio-visual movement in the way a TV commercial can, but packaging can be the source of big ideas. Packaging is usually essential in creating the image that comes to mind when discussing a brand.

While advertising and promotion are power tools for communicating a message, packaging shouldn't be hiding its light under a bushel. It's time the silent salesman was silent no longer and the industry behind those salesmen starting shouting about it too.