Extra takes on personalised packaging: Programmable labels and retail-ready codecs

Further examples include a reprogrammable LED label for vodka and Retail-Ready Personalized Packaging.

One
thing I try not to do editorially is repeat myself.
Let
me note that again because it is so important: One thing I try not to do
editorially is repeat myself.

We
are reminded at this season of New Years’ resolutions that trying is not the
same as doing. Thus, I can rationalize this article that offers additional examples
of “personalized packaging” that I’ve found since last month’s column on this
same topic,
Packaging
when it gets personal.

I
came across Kellogg’s Rice Krispie bars individually wrapped using film printed
with a white area that accepts a marker. 
One blogger suggests mom can write a note of reminder or encouragement
for her children when the snack is slipped into the kids’ lunch bags.
A
quick web search shows this one has been around since at least 2010, so while
I’m late to this party, it shows the range of packaged products that are
leveraging the personalization aspect.

While
browsing the Internet the past weeks, I couldn’t help but notice the ad from
Johnnie Walker Blue Label whiskey that kept popping up promoting its holiday
offering using a
personalized
engraved label. Apparently this has been available for several
holiday seasons, so a belated toast to this worthy effort, too.

Reprogrammable
scrolling LED label

Perhaps
the ultimate in high-tech gadgetry applied to personalized packaging is the interactive
vodka bottle from Medea Spirits. This too, is a little dated if you consider
2010 to be dated. As we sometimes like to say in editorial: If you haven’t seen it, then it’s new to you.
It
was new to me, but what’s not to like about a programmable LED messaging label?
It’s reportedly capable of storing six messages of 255 characters each.

I
found the product online for around $40. For a video showing how it works,
click
here.
 

Retail-Ready
Personalized Packaging

A vendor involved in this market is
FASTechnology
Group, a manufacturer of industrial control systems. The company’s
business model encompasses “Retail-Ready Personalized Packaging” (RRPP) systems
developed from print-on-demand processes used in the commercial printing
industry. RRPP enables the production and marketing of products customized to
store-level or to shopper-level, while eliminating the need for costly packaging
line changeovers.  The company reports
that the new process has the potential to increase sales volume and shopper
brand loyalty while substantially reducing material costs and waste.

One new effort with Brewster, OH-based snacks foods
manufacturer Shearer’s Foods stretches across the packager’s branded and
private label brands to offer consumers the opportunity to win season tickets
to The Ohio State University basketball games.
Considering that the team is again one of the top
programs in the country makes this a hot ticket item and follows on the heels
of a program for OSU season football tickets. The football promotion used preprinted,
scratch-off labels that were applied randomly by driver sales personnel ahead
of store delivery. This time Shearer’s selected FASTechnology method, which is
done during packaging to solve some of the shortcomings of the previous promotion.

For this latest iteration, potentially winning
codes are printed by FASTechonology on-demand during bagging and are embedded
underneath the printed scratch-off labels. 
The codes are then verified via multiple on-line camera vision systems and
archived in a database. FASTechnology president Joe Hattrup says Shearer’s OSU basketball
promotion was planned and developed within a matter of weeks rather than the
lengthy lead-time typically required using conventional methods.   “With this system, we’ve enabled Shearer’s to
manage, control and execute their promotion to their exact specifications,” he
says.
 

Lastly
(at least for now), there’s Georges de Latour, a
one-of-a-kind, custom-etched 27-liter bottle of a 2008 vintage. It’s yet
another take on the topic of personalized packaging. As the official
wine
poured at the past eight Emmy Awards, this unique gift presentation
features
signatures from 68 of this past year’s Emmy winners, nominees and
presenters.

It seems that many signees requires a large bottle.

The
bottle combined with a luxurious Napa
Valley adventure package as
part of a holiday auction on charitybuzz.com, with proceeds benefitting
the
Television Academy Foundation and its programs.

You can read more here.
 

Lastly
and on a personal note, I wish you all success as you delve into
packaging
throughout 2012. I’d welcome hearing about those successes, so feel free
to
send me a note anytime to
lingler@bnpmedia.com