Connected Smart Packaging 101
How new packaging technology is changing commerce
How does connected packaging work?
Connected packaging manifests and works in a multitude of forms. The term is currently a bit of a catch-all for any package that connects to the internet, either actively or passively. All connected packaging ultimately augments the package’s functionality. The end goal is to increase value for either the manufacturer, retailer, brand or end consumer. And depending upon the stakeholder, this means bolstered logistics, prevented theft, increased engagement, or enhanced experience.
Connected packaging is either triggered by a user’s action such as scanning or tapping, or automatically activated by time, proximity, or temperature. Here are a few examples…
For perhaps today’s most ubiquitous activation, connected packages printed with a QR (Quick Response) code allows consumers to scan the barcode with their mobile camera to open an experience. 19 Crimes, a wine label, allows drinkers to scan the bottle, bringing the printed characters to life via AR in an app. It’s been downloaded nearly half a million times already, and has helped establish 19 Crimes as a recognizable brand in a category not known for loyalty.
Another example of connected packaging includes NFC (Near-Field Communication) tags. Instead of scanning a code like QR, a consumer simply taps their device to the package, activating the experience. NFC tags can either provide a novel online or AR experience, or detect product tampering. Last year Kraft Heinz integrated NFC tech in its Singles Cheese product, allowing consumers to immediately access coupons for check out.
For a third example we can look at are smart pill bottles, which tracks a person’s regime, alerting them if they’ve missed a dose, or the prescriber when the patient is ready for a refill. Relative to the previous examples, smart pill bottles work passively, behind-the-scenes, and have lifesaving instead of novel implications.
How has it developed over the years?
Connected packaging’s evolution has hinged upon both brand’s creativity and available technology. There’s a lot of ways to think about its development.
Interactive print (brochures, posters, ads, etc.) have birthed interactive packaging. Rather than a one-to-many experience, where an anchored opportunity like a flyer reaches many consumers, ubiquitous packaging in all forms can reach even more people as they bringing the products into their homes. This can develop richer, more intimate experiences.
Arguably, Amazon’s Dash Buttons could have been an extension of Tide packaging. Tap to re-order. In this case, we realize how expansive connected packaging’s origins are, and how it can take many forms.
Today, connected packaging is surpassing its trough of novelty and intro a realm of significant ROI — bettering inventory management, tracing sustainability, increasing safety, and heightening experiences.
How can connected packaging help brands build relationships with their consumers based on data?
Packaging is a brand’s silent salesman. It works passively on behalf of a company. Connected packaging helps strengthen a company’s role, invigorating the product’s purpose, value and relationship with the consumer.
When data capturing is implemented, packaging takes a more active role in the customer journey. Brands will be able to track consumer behavior and analyze across segments, ultimately allowing for better product development and marketing. Connected packaging opens the floodgates to personalization.
Is connected packaging something that brands and agencies should start taking more seriously?
Connected packaging remains a difficult bet as it’s a “Chicken or Egg” phenomenon. Do you wait until mass adoption and normalization, or be the first to market with innovative examples, making headlines?
What’s exciting is how cheap and universal these technologies have gotten. As nearly all consumers have the means to activate packaging with NFC and QR, all it takes is a few brands with loud enough campaigns and inventive to tip behavior. When we consider the continual decreased costs of producing connected packaging tech, projected increased functionality, and resulting increased ROI, connected packaging makes sense as a worthy investment.
Connected packaging should be seen as a bridge in itself between existing channel strategies. How can you connect your retail strategy to your social media or consumer personalization strategy? Connected packaging is that path. Over the pandemic, restaurants have leaned heavily upon QR-menus where diners scan the code to access the menu online, preventing the need for physical menus. This helped universalize scanning behavior.
What makes connected packaging a great investment is that it addresses both pre- and post-purchase moments. The packaging can help sell buyers who are currently shopping, as well has strengthen relationships at home once they’ve bought the product.
When we recognize all the parties involved, we can consider both the complexity and attractiveness of connected packaging’s future success. It relies upon brands, retailers, consumers, packagers and transporters, as well as the technologists managing the sensors, storage, computing, and analytics.
Why is connected packaging is having a moment?
Connected packaging is having a moment as the technology involved has become democratized. Both Apple and Android devices support QR and NFC technologies. We’re talking upwards of two billion devices. Further with Apple’s ARKit, app developers and brands are granted the opportunity to create new immersive experiences activated by packages. Competitive pressure is also compounding the motivation to hop on connected packaging.
Connected packaging currently provides value which teeters on novelty and significance. Accessing recycling instructions, expiration dates, and usage tutorials are more substantive use-cases of connected packaging. When these experiences are escalated and accessed seamlessly, that’s when it will take off.
What is the future of connected packaging?
Rather than singular experiences like opening a recipe online or witnessing a static AR experience, connected packaging will act as the gateway to an ecosystem of possibilities. Imagine bringing home a newly purchased ingredient which interacts with your smart kitchen, and triggers an oven prep. Or imagine being able to check a piece of clothing’s supply chain and carbon footprint to inform your purchase decision in store.
Eventually connected packaging will actually move towards the background. The packaging itself becomes secondary. Work is being done to track which farm your apple came from via its sticker. No package necessary to reap the benefit.
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) sensors will increasingly make its way into the market. These sensors can relay information over significant distances, more than NFC tech. The packaging of transported salmon can alert a receiving warehouse which specific pieces were exposed to exceeded temperatures, and they can then eliminate damaged product without sacrificing the entire shipment. There are truly endless possibilities here.
