Page 14 - Packaging News Magazine Sep-Oct 2018

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September-October 2018
mation about food. Serialisation is a cloud-based platform that helps brand owners provide authenticity, and QR codes are also useful as they cannot be easily counterfeited.
These codes improve security while helping companies avoid packaging errors. “The technology is not 100 per cent, but it does help prevent the prod- uct from being targeted and helps build protection,” he says. “The hum- ble barcode has evolved beyond point of sale to a QR code which can provide assurance through packaging.”
Conrad Mendoza, regional market- ing manager for brand innovation at HP took a deep dive into personalisa- tion and versioning, and how they can create opportunities for brands marketing to the me generation.
He said more companies are turn- ing their attention to interactive packaging as a critical way to engage target markets. He said FMCG brand owners were currently dealing with a me-centric consumer market – one which personalisation of packaging taps right into. Coca-Cola’s 2017 brand activation, which turned bot- tle labels into interactive wristbands at a music festival in Romania, and a
recent collaboration which saw a daily newspaper printed on iced cof- fee cartons, were two such examples.
“Personalisation creates a lasting connection with the consumer, pro- viding them with an innovative ex- perience,” he said.
“When consumers, with a frag- mented attention span, have to choose from up to five different brands, with a number of devices competing for their attention, it’s vi- tal you stand out.
“Millennials are connected and are financially capable, but also flighty – and digital printing helps get the message across.”
He said while it can be difficult to measure the ROI of digital advertis- ing, packaging offers a marketing value all its own, “We’ve seen that digital advertising should not be used on its own. It needs to be backed up by offline engagement. Once you have created the stand-out packaging, you create awareness of it on social and digital platforms.”
Packaging can be an emotional item consumers enjoy interacting with, as seen by the growing trend in unboxing videos on YouTube, he said. “Packaging can capture differ- ent senses, and help users engage through digital interaction or gami- fication. Digital printing is creating new opportunities for brands that we simply haven’t seen before.”
Gwen Blake, creative director of Boxer & Co presented an overview of
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Conrad Mendoza, HP; Gwen Blake, Boxer & Co;
Ian Douglas, Spawnit, and Marty Stone, Australia Post; Lindy Hughson, (left), PKN and Print21 with (l-r) Iain Blair of Birdstone Collective,
Mark Daws
of Currie Group, and Bill Atta
of DreemAR
(also pictured bottom left).
the latest trends in printed packaging design, including the push towards inclusivity and away from gendered elements.
Brands that boldly champion in- clusivity have a strong advantage over their competitors, Boxer & Co managing director Gwen Blake says. According to Blake consumer de- mand for inclusive designs is grow- ing, and she says moves such as Aus- tralia’s vote for gay marriage reveals an inclusivity mindset that more brands should be tapping into, with the confernce delegates left in no doubt this meant opportunities in short run packaging.
Many companies are moving away from gender-specific packaging de- signs. Blake gave the example of a hair dye brand which used colour swatch- es on packs instead of the traditional images of women with lustrous hair.
“It’s about cutting out prescriptive packaging which assumes products are exclusively for people of a cer- tain age and gender, and shifting to more neutral colour palettes and in- formative systems using simple shapes or textures,” she said. “Many brands are shifting to easily legible type, understood and read by all.”
Ian Douglas, director of software firm Spawnit, and Marty Stone, head of channel development and management for business and gov- ernment at Australia Post, discussed how Spawnit and Australia Post are teaming up for BrandWrapped, a custom packaging initiative de- signed to help small business capi- talise on the unboxing trend.
Called BrandWrapped, the cus- tom packaging offering is now being rolled out across 4000 post offices in Australia. It allows businesses the chance to create personalised boxes, satchels, and other branded items
Personalisation creates a lasting connection with the consumer, providing them with an innovative experience.”