The disruption of Packaging Custom Box with QR Codes and Smart Labels
Has it ever annoyed you when you are handed a nice looking but somehow a squandered chance at getting in touch with your customer packaging custom box? You are not the only one. Tons of brands launch their goods into the wild with that sneer at the back of their minds that they can be doing better–opening doors, not closing boxes. So, now, shall we take things even further and mix in QR codes and smart labels and really complicate things when every season brings a new campaign curveball?
The might of QR Codes: More than a scan:
The QR codes have made the transition to being a form of black and white blobs to becoming digital interactions between the physical world and the online world. That is, when these little passports are scanned, they do not only deliver a web site, they open up a VIP backstage tour of your brand. Take a look at some mind boggling numbers, the U.S. saw about 89 million users make use of QR codes on their smartphones last year and the trend is trending upwards, says Statista.
However, do not be enticed to simple applications. QR codes are able to:
Provide privileged seasonal offers
Connection to how-to clips to the tricky assemblies (avoiding customer headaches–and the yelling and screaming on the phone)
Give fun games on the beauty aisle or AR experiences
Make tech gadgets easy to activate warranties
And with matching codes to analytics, you identify what campaigns are ringing in the loudest bells and which are flopping. That is immediate feedback- no need to wait to get reviews that slowly get in weeks later.
The Intelligent Labels: The Brightened Upgrade
The objective of typical labels is to stick and stay. As compared to smart labels however, the rockstar ones come with their own amps. These labels can be equipped with embedded RFID, NFC or complex barcodes:
Activate Trigger product authentication (so customers can avoid the headaches of counterfeited goods)
Log temperature variations in sensitive objects A revolution to chocolate or vaccines
Automate reordering of stock in retailer shelves
Give environmentally-friendly buyers disposal or shar- ing tips
Using NFC, you would be able to tap your phone and lo and behold! you would have the care instructions of that scarf, or you would be able to check the sustainable origin of your coffee beans. The label has become a free conversation.
Custom Labels: Making Seasonal Campaigns Alive
Custom labels can be the top attraction when the new pop-up flavor launches in the summer or when the holiday season comes. This is where being generic has its limits by beating the idea of being fresh, spicy, and personal. Who knows, snowflakes melting into QR codes during the winter, or fiery fireworks creating a label to enter a July sweepstakes? Such design nuances are what brings packages off the shelves.
Holiday editions which include QR codes to drive children to an online wish catalogue? Halloween labels that lead to a Halloween ‘find the secret code’ promotion when they are scanned? All of a sudden, the packaging becomes narrative and evokes memories and creates loyalty.
Enhancing Participation: The Customer-side of the Story
Human beings do not need products only; they demand a connection. QR codes and smart labels offer a ribbon-cutting experience whenever there is a landed package. Now, customers require on-demand information: unboxing tutorials, reordering tricks, and even a soundtrack that can fit the mood! Presenting them through tech-augmented labels will reduce the obstacles and create anticipation.
For instance:
Beauty brands help users in learning to perform new routines on their skin by linking the products to tutorials
Ingredient brand labels direct the customers to a QR scanned code on a bottle or packet of seasonings
Toys will take children to mini-animated narratives or instructions on assembly techniques, which will reduce the level of frustration among parents
The result? Meetings during which very little happens yet the implication remains. It is that aha moment that people share with friends.
Monitoring, Statistical Analysis and the Goldmine of Data
It is not doing to wow-factor, the backend data powers up more intelligent campaigns. Every scan time, place and device is infused into a dashboard that enables TLT pivots in real time. Did Christmas Eve code 2015 beat out the Thanksgiving code? Was there a higher number of customers scanned at 8 a.m. than at 8 p.m.?
This information implies that seasonal campaigns will have the capacity to change gears in the middle of the air, not only next year. You are given a chance to experiment. Perhaps, it was more effective under the QR code that directed to a video showing the gratitude rather than under the one that was a discount. These nuggets change the future campaigns to surgical attacks.
Price, what is easy, and brand image
The clincher here is that QR codes and smart labels need not eat into your margins. There are no costs associated with generation of standard QR codes and the cost of NFC has fallen under 10 cents per tag on scale. It is now possible to print a smart label to the cost of a good cup of coffee, and exponentially more in the investment, should it be executed well.
Customers pay attention to details. With smart seasonal touches carried off with your box, people are not looking at just another brand; they see a brand which has taken the trouble to please and informatively entertain them. This trust eventually multiplies into tighter involvement. According to one report by Label Insight, 94 percent of the consumers are willing to remain loyal to the brands that provide total transparency. The mechanism that can put under guarantee that transparency can be smart labels.
Creative Possibilities: There Is Nothing to Be Frightened of Standing Apart
It is not necessary that all campaigns should aim at reinventing the wheel. In some cases, you only need to use interactive labels, and this is already adorable. In other occasions, ingredients of augmented reality (AR) are mixed with QR codes to spice it up. In case of a back-to-school campaign, a label with some classroom scene in it would flood your social tags with customer videos in delight.
Try, experiment and do it. The danger of not being heard usually does not weigh out the fear of being too much. Are you in search of a creativity playground- well its here.
