Speaking at the AIPIA (Active & Intelligent Packaging Industry Association) Congress in Amsterdam (November 14-15), Christian Menegon, business development manager, HP, discussed ‘how print can make your pack intelligent’.
Consumer interaction
He said nowadays, people use ‘tools’ they didn’t have years ago and it has become a standard in our lives.
“What is smart about printing is that it’s just ink on material but actually what the print represents can be used to add value to a package to become smart,” he added.
“Electronics devices have driven all these changes and has been the main contributor to change; everything today has come through the evolution of electronics.”
According to Menegon, humans are changing their behavioral patterns and the value today is not in the tool itself but how we use information.
“It’s the information that is the value, not the package. Packaging is the last stage that is used to convince the customer to buy a product,” he said.
“Brand owners can do as much advertising as they want but it’s not until the consumer buys the product that the deal is done. Shapes, material, color and print are all important but there is no chance to have an interaction with a consumer if it is static.
“Before, packaging was the layer protecting the goods or a way to identify a brand, and to make it attractive, we added color but there was no interaction.
“Now, brands need an interaction of some sort to influence the consumer and develop their loyalty. How would you be tempted to return to a certain brand if there was no value for you? You want something that talks to you, you want something regional, seasonal, whatever the reason, the brand has to motivate the consumer to interact with it.
“Lay’s Summer Days” campaign
“The gold medal goes to the company that can interact with the consumer one-on-one. If a brand can address us individually that is fantastic and that is where digital printing can play a role.”
As an example, HP applauded Frito-Lay for its “Lay’s Summer Days” campaign last year, encouraging fans to create custom digital bags of Lay’s potato chips featuring photos of their favorite summer moments.
Using an online platform, the first 10,000 customers who used an interactive tool to upload a summer photo and caption it could receive a digital version of a Lay’s potato chips bag featuring their photo to share with family and friends on social media.
The promotion, which ran throughout July, included other summer-themed packaging, where Doritos, Cheetos, Fritos and other Frito-Lay chips had bags that revealed a hidden image when exposed to sunlight.
"Summer is all about creating memories that last a lifetime and we are always excited to play a role in those experiences," said Tina Mahal, senior director of marketing, Frito-Lay North America, at the time.
"The 'Lay's Summer Days' promotion is a way for us to celebrate our fans and the season by personalizing their connection with the brand in a fun, unique way."
“The problems today are the supply chain may not be able to cope with this type of flexibility but the tools are coming,” added Menegon.