Driving conversion and revenue with connected packaging: 3 ways to win over consumers
Ground-breaking developments at the intersection of packaging and digital technology are delivering new revenue streams for brands, by grabbing customers’ attention with engaging strategies like gamification, NFT offerings and more.
Laava’s connected packaging offering does all this and more:
- helping to protect brands from counterfeit and grey market activity
- providing powerful marketing insights
- connecting brands and their consumers in experiential and engaging ways.
Laava is collaborating with brands and their marketing, printing and packaging partners globally – to help them harness the power of connected packaging with Laava Smart Fingerprints® – the world’s first secure and globally scalable alternative to QR codes.
“The opportunities for brands who implement effective connected packaging strategies are incredible, creating sustainable competitive advantage for those who execute well. Here are three reasons why connected products convert – and really this is just the start of a much bigger industry transformation,” said Laava’s Joint CEO Gavin Ger.
“Today, businesses of all sizes and across all sectors simply can’t afford to ignore the opportunities connected packaging offers – and the great thing is, it’s now an easily accessible and commercially viable proposition for businesses of any size.”
Gavin Ger, Joint CEO and Commercial Director, Laava
Connected packaging also offers consumers the ability to experience the brand before, during and after consuming the physical items – and to enjoy and share the product in a virtual setting online, including in the metaverse.
1. Gamification, rewards, competitions and NFTs
Consumers have been drawn to gamification since the dawn of marketing. Brands ran competitions in mainstream magazines, by inviting consumers to “call now to enter”. The term itself was coined in the early 2000s; since then, the digital experience of gamification has become not only far more immersive but also immediate – driving that dopamine hit that can inspire real brand affection and loyalty.
When a game goes viral, the brand benefits can be stratospheric. When KFC launched Shrimp Attack, 22% of people who played the game visited a KFC store to redeem their voucher. Store sales figures increased by 106% compared to the previous year. (Source: Growth Engineering.) It’s all about creating interest – about inspiring surprise and delight in the consumer. But first… they need a pull.
Laava customers are using Laava Smart Fingerprints as the secure on-product gateway for their digital gamification and rewards strategies. Hayes Family Wines has seen success with the ever-popular give-away model, where customers scanned the Fingerprint for a chance to win a VIP trip for two to the Barossa Valley, as well as access a range of unique experiences, such as making wines with the winemaker.
Laava’s innovative fractional share rewards collaboration with Tamburlaine Organic Wines and Upstreet showed just how technology can elevate gamification and rewards to the next level. Tamburlaine customers who scanned the on-product Laava Smart Fingerprint were offered the chance to claim $4 worth of shares linked to Tamburlaine’s sustainable practices on the Australian Stock Exchange. Upstreet invites customers to “earn shares while you shop” – the very essence of gamification as a marketing strategy.
As a bonus, Tamburlaine’s partnership with Upstreet, enabled by Laava’s connected packaging solution, further supported Tamburlaine’s brand claim as a sustainable business with a commitment to the environment. The end result for Tamburlaine? An impressive 16.10% scan rate and an incredible 80.11% engagement rate (80% of those scanning claimed their shares).
And with the rapid maturing of the NFT sector, what started as collectible digital art is turning into seriously rewarding and potentially valuable collectible tokens that can deliver exclusive experiences for the lucky owners.
Laava’s pioneering work in providing a secure, scannable token to verify NFT authenticity has segued into enabling consumers to claim NFTs from physically-twinned products; and at the same time helping brand managers and marketers engage directly with their end consumers, as well as the peace-of-mind that consumer data is protected and potential fraud avoided.
2. Powerful consumer insights and connections to power next-generation marketing
With connected packaging, marketers have access to real-time data and a full suite of analytics that provide valuable insights into customer behaviour.
Leading technology platforms like Laava can reveal not only where and when your products are being scanned but also the phone model and OS (itself a valuable demographic marker) that was used for the scan, and whether the user was scanning via a specific social platform (eg. WeChat). Our system even collects information on the amount of time visitors spent looking at specific content on a product’s digital stories.
Laava’s advanced digital storytelling platform will pass these and other insights directly to a brand’s CRM and lead generation platforms – along with the product SKU, serial number and even the CTA on the label – so that marketers know which products and marketing executions are performing for them.
Laava’s expertise in developing the consumer registration capabilities have enabled businesses globally to start to capture and engage with their consumers directly – in some cases for the first time in their history. For example, Swift + Moore Beverages has had success on this front, with Laava developing the consumer registration form and competition mechanic for the launch of the Walking With Giants wine label for Aldi Supermarkets in Australia.
3. Brand protection and channel integrity for businesses; and assurance for consumers
Connected packaging not only helps to stop counterfeit activities; it also protects brands and their valued supply chain partners against grey market activity and illegal distribution.
Stories of fake counterfeit products are rife – so, too, are the number of businesses looking to protect their brands from this form of illegal activity. As Gavin points out, if you’ve built up brand equity, there are bad actors who will take advantage of that and seek to ‘freeload’ on all your hard work.
“As many of our customers have found, if you have a valuable brand, you need a plan to protect it.”
Gavin Ger, Joint CEO and Commercial Director, Laava
Laava’s expertise in brand protection and channel integrity is extensive – having pioneered on-product marking technology that is secure by design and globally scalable.
Because every Laava scan is recorded digitally – including an actual image of the product or label – brand managers can view exactly where and when their product ends up, and identify and automatically shut-down any counterfeit or grey market activity.
This capability has been well documented in sectors as diverse as premium foods, beverages, nutraceuticals and footwear – with brand protection and channel integrity being a fundamental draw for Laava customers. For more, check out our Reid Fruits case study.
Until recently, innovative premium nutraceuticals manufacturer Biogency was the target of copycats in its Asian export markets, where its unique and powerful formulations are famous. CEO Jimmy Tang approached Laava looking for a solution to protect the Biogency brand, having seen the success premium export cherry brand Reid Fruits had achieved with Laava.
Smart Fingerprints are now applied onto every major SKU in the Biogency range. What made the Biogency x Laava story even more amazing was the speed to market, said Gavin.
“From the time I met Jimmy and Dr Gray in their Sydney offices, to the first production labels rolling off the line – we’re talking about only a couple of weeks – Biogency were able to test sample Laava Smart Fingerprints directly from our website, apply them to their bottles and scan then. And from that, they had already worked out exactly what they needed. Biogency were all-action from the time we met them, and they remain one of our most valued global customers to this day.” Read more about Biogency’s success.
Naturally, brand managers like Jimmy can view every scan event on the Laava Manage analytics dashboard, complete with drill-down mapping tools that locate every scan right down to street level.
Take the next step to connected packaging today
There’s no doubt that with the right partner, connected packaging can drive engagement, conversions and – all importantly – revenue, for your business.
Laava Smart Fingerprints are secure by design, built for consumer engagement, and fast, easy and cost-effective to deploy. They turn products into connected products – enabling consumers to authenticate and engage with them at point of purchase and beyond – while providing marketers with incredible insights and opportunities to connect.
Laava can help you start or accelerate your connected packaging journey, so start the conversation about connected packaging today.
