Package industry is going digital in a big way. Especially large brands have realised that digital packaging solutions can enable just about anything. Smart players are fully aware that a package is more than a package – it’s a media, an advertisement, a spokesperson and potential in a box.
Once packages get smart, all kinds of information about the target group becomes available. The thing to do is to realise that omnichannel marketing is here stay. And that marketing is now focusing on the individual like never before.
So how can we pull this off?
Brands have more and more products and lifecycles do vary. Digital packages have given us the opportunity to manage the lifecycles of the actual, physical product packages with flexible production and, at the same time, enhanced the ability of the brands to react swiftly to various market situations.
Brands provide new tasks and duties for packages in the store shelfs: they are new-and-improved POS (point of sale) material and can connect with the customer with additonal ease. Here at PackageMedia, we deploy PM Platform which enables the customer to create his/her own service and identity around the packaging solution.
The end-customer – perhaps a young mom reaching for a milk carton from the shelf – can become a part of a community which engages and rewards its members. Is the product manufactured sustainably? Where can I get reliable information? – The package itself can open these doors and many more.
For the brand, the digital approach can deliver data straight from the frontlines. Digital packages show you in real-time, where business is good and where its not so good. Via smart packages, the brand will be able to learn about the customer’s daily routines.
At the same time, analytics draw up scenarios which make sure that the end-customers receive fast, diverse, individual service. The best package solution helps you to make and maintain that connection.
For every brand, the most valuable customer is the kind that really takes up the cause, making the product or service his/her very own. Especially the young generation features a lot of active consumers who want to engage with the brand and be a part of its development.
Using the digital tools, these brand ambassadors can be awarded with their own ‘special edition’ products – and they can even be included in the production process. Digital printing makes it possible to print even small orders in a cost-efficient manner.
The PackageMedia digital package plant, located in Inkeroinen, Finland, is the only one of its kind in the country. It’s also the largest 100% digital package plant in the Nordics. In 2017, we made investments to the tune of EUR 3 million to elevate our solutions and really zero in on the consumer’s everyday experience.
The investment mirrors the fact that we are big believers in the market. Right now, there are plenty of companies with courage and curiosity to say: ”What if…?”
These frontrunners know that future success is not attained by doing the “same old, same old”. Change can really throw you for a loop, if your eyes are fixed on the rearview mirror.
In this setting, digitalisation can be the ‘bad guy’ who keeps tormenting those who can’t cope with the changing times. Or, alternatively, digitalisation can provide you with the rocket engine that will take your company to the stars.
When times are tough, companies get cautious. When economy improves, it’s more acceptable to take some risks – who knows what’s out there, just waiting to be discovered? Packages can be a real El Dorado for those explorers willing to take a chance.
Mauri Reinilä
Pyroll Packaging