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74 | L&L<br />
includes RFID, Track & Trace, gas<br />
scavengers, sensors and antimicrobial<br />
products and materials. ‘We now have<br />
the ability to bring these to a huge<br />
market, along with developments in<br />
nano-technology, NFC and mobile<br />
commerce,’ comments de Ferrante.<br />
As well as supply chain applications,<br />
consumers are an important target<br />
for AIPIA. ‘Thanks to the advances<br />
in telecommunications and mobile<br />
technologies consumers can now<br />
use their mobile and smartphones to<br />
communicate with the products on<br />
supermarket shelves and this is achieved<br />
through the packaging,’ says de<br />
Ferrante. ‘The ability to scan products<br />
with your mobile to get discounts, join<br />
loyalty programmes and go to company<br />
websites or on-line catalogues is no<br />
longer just a possibility, it is a reality.<br />
But it needs a broad industry network to<br />
realize the full potential of these hi-tech<br />
packaging solutions and AIPIA provides<br />
that network.’<br />
<strong>SMART</strong> <strong>DESIGN</strong><br />
Label and packaging designers are<br />
now starting to consider how they can<br />
integrate smart technologies into their<br />
clients’ brands.<br />
‘As the packaging and digital worlds<br />
combine we are seeing some interesting<br />
innovations causing us to reevaluate our<br />
design process and how we engage with<br />
consumers on packages,’ says Amina<br />
AlTai, founding partner and marketing<br />
director at New York-based brand<br />
innovation lab Imagemme.<br />
Up to now communication with the<br />
consumer has been one-way, centered<br />
around product information. Now design<br />
agencies are seeing a shift towards<br />
engaging consumers in a ‘deeper,<br />
two-way brand dialogue’ using smart<br />
technologies, as AlTai explains: ‘It used<br />
to be we would work with textures and<br />
finishes predominantly to arouse the<br />
tactile, visual and olfactory senses. Now<br />
consumers want to be involved in the<br />
brand virtually. They want to co-create,<br />
and be a part of building the brand story.<br />
And they want it all to happen fast.’<br />
AlTai predicts near field communication<br />
(NFC) will be a particularly strong<br />
catalyst in this packaging paradigm shift.<br />
‘NFCs, essentially the consumer version<br />
of RFID, allow smart phones to engage<br />
with tags embedded in packaging, or<br />
other printed material, to immediately<br />
engage the consumer in an authentic<br />
and controlled brand experience,’ she<br />
explains. ‘They are already appearing<br />
everywhere from posters, and press kits<br />
to packaging as they appear to answer<br />
many of the shortcomings seen with QR<br />
codes and snap tags.’<br />
QR codes were among the first<br />
STRATUS Group’s Smart Audio Label (see p.76)<br />
interactive technologies, but are often<br />
let down by ineffective implementation,<br />
as well as requiring dedicated apps.<br />
‘Consumers are able to access<br />
information faster and more seamlessly<br />
with NFC,’ adds AlTai.<br />
NFC technology could help combat<br />
counterfeiting; embedding packages<br />
with tags enables consumers to<br />
identify a product’s authenticity. ‘Some<br />
companies are now suggesting that this<br />
could be ground breaking technology<br />
for the visually impaired, as NFCs<br />
could eventually lead to packages that<br />
communicate price and ingredients for<br />
those who are unable to read them,’ says<br />
AlTai. French supermarket chain Groupe<br />
LABELS&LABELING
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