Content, content, content. It’s certainly an industry buzzphrase at the moment and 2014 is set to see this topic continue to dominate the market, as the opportunities to deliver more innovative and engaging material increase. Whilst more brands are now recognising the need for content strategies and value to be gained from the investment, many are still missing out on the relatively simple, but effective ways to engage with consumers. They are failing to capitalise on data gathering opportunities, which helps generate additional revenue and are less likely to build a longer-term partnership with their target audience as a result.
One area many brands are overlooking is how much can be gained from looking at creating value beyond the initial purchase; specifically the engagement opportunities that can be created through innovative packaging solutions. Technological innovation over the last few years is now making this far easier to achieve and yet many brands are still only thinking of the customer journey as far as the initial purchase, and not beyond.
With customer expectations becoming increasingly sophisticated, the brand-customer relationship now requires a far greater level of investment if it’s going to deliver on revenue, long-term. Customers want targeted, personalised experiences that go far beyond the sell, which is where the true value of content marketing can be recognised. Brands must take a much broader view when considering content opportunities, and packaging, if done well, certainly provides an effective vehicle through which to do this.
In developing content solutions through packaging, brands have the chance to integrate online and offline seamlessly, covering off multiple consumer touchpoints and creating additional opportunities to gather data insights. From this, the brand is then armed with the capabilities to target the customer further with an experience they value, which should in turn encourage repeat purchase and longer-term loyalty.
So, having made it into the customer’s hand, what are the options available to brands to make the experience even better? How can they deepen the interaction through packaging and what should brands keep front of mind when doing so if they want to generate valuable results?
Whilst brand packaging can be something very simple the experience can be transformed very quickly through using technological innovation. Including a QR code on the packaging, is one route to lead a customer from print to mobile and with any luck encourage greater engagement with the brand.
It should always be viewed as a way to prolong the narrative after purchase; keeping the customer front of mind is crucial to its success here. Creating content that is relevant to the experience, interests and excites the customer and encourages them to share their data are all key points to remember.
Budweiser and the “Track your Bud” campaign is a great example of how the brand story of ‘every Bud is born’ can be brought to life via technological innovation on the packaging. Through scanning a QR code customers are taken to a microsite, which after some very simple data capture, opens up the journey that the Bud has been on. This enables customers to be fully immersed in the experience – from product to online – as they consumer the drink.
As with all multi channel brand communication, the tone of voice must be consistent across all channels. It’s one thing to build QR codes onto packaging, but if the resulting content has no relevance to the brand, it’s going to do very little to enhance the overall experience. Whether brands choose to delight customers with access to an online community, games, money off vouchers or video content, ensure it’s in keeping with the rest of the experience.
One of the greatest benefits of using packaging as a way to deliver content is that the customer is likely to have already made themselves open to interaction with the brand, in making the initial purchase. This is part of the battle and puts the brand in a different position when thinking about the type of content it can use to build the story even further.
Additional to this is keeping the target audience in mind. The technological capabilities now available are vast and undoubtedly exciting, but brands should be mindful of how their customers and potential customers want to interact. Investing in the correct technology with allows a 360 degree view of all customer interactions across the brand and pulling out all the data insights that unlocks this type information.
In a competitive market, it’s no longer enough to integrate content marketing in a scatter gun approach, particularly if money is being invested in delivering this through the packaging. Take time to create a tailored content experience that will surprise, delight and most importantly maintain customer engagement.
Whilst some brands are leading the charge in making the most of the content marketing opportunities packaging can provide it’s clear many are still failing to realise how they can be generating greater data collection and as a result, driving revenue. We are yet to see the true ‘mechanics’ on packaging interaction take off, especially in relation to mobile. QR codes are a step better than revealing a code and a URL, but it’s not the best that today’s tech can offer.
Lucozade explored the capabilities recently when it launched special edition bottles to help reposition itself as the drink for gigs using augmented reality – as per the current advertising. Creating designs which came alive when consumers used Aurasma App, the bottle design exploded, playing a video message from one of seven artists. This then drove consumers online to watch more exclusive content and behind the scenes interviews, again bringing the brand story and entire experience to life.
Packaging has always been a vital part of the overall brand experience, which technological innovation is now enabling further. Of course, the same rules apply in terms of ensuring the experience is in keeping with the overall brand message, keeping content up to date and providing a seamless user experience, but those that are successful in doing this, and do it well, will see the value and revenue generation that can be achieved through investing in clever content strategies.
