Brief:
- Barbadillo, a Spanish winemaker, boosted sales from a marketing campaign in which some 126,000 bottles were packaged with near-field communication (NFC) technology for users to interact with via smartphone, according to a press release. Thirty percent of consumers who tapped the bottles in a store to see more product information on their mobile device went on to buy the wine.
- Norwegian packaging company Thinfilm equipped the neck of bottles with its SpeedTap tags of thin sheets of plastic that integrate the label with branded mobile content that consumers can access via their smartphone, without the need for a special app.
- The Thinfilm press release said the "smart" bottles boosted engagement rate by 4x, compared to display banner ads, and generated 2x the growth rate of Barbadillo subscribers than the brand's previous online promotions.
Insight:
The "Tap & Win" campaign offers insight into how all consumer packaged goods, not just wine, could one day be promoted in stores using special labeling that interacts with a consumer's smartphone. It also signals a trend toward how retailers and other businesses with strong brick-and-mortar presence — like wine and liquor companies — can leverage emerging tech to attract customers and encourage them to better learn about and engage with their products.
While Thinfilm’s packaging interacts with the NFC chip inside smartphones, brands also have printed QR codes on labels to direct consumers to special offers. This was once a clunky process, as users were forced to download a special QR reader app. Apple’s iOS 11, released this week, includes a QR reader in its default camera, which reduces friction for users and could lead to a higher adoption rate of the tech.
Barbadillo’s campaign seems to be effective in driving sales and gathering more personal information about customers, Thinfilm said in the press release. Its SpeedTap tags spurred 10x higher traffic and 2.8x greater average time spent interacting with consumers than through its previous social media efforts alone. That’s not to say the brand neglected to run ads in other media as well. Its campaign also included TV spots, radio placements, campaign posters in tourist hotspots, online media and in-store materials. Mobile channels made up 78% of all visits to the "Tap & Win" campaign website, Thinfilm said, with 66% generated from paid sources.
There appears to be some reluctance of marketers embracing tech like NFC that might seem intrusive for consumers who are concerned about mobile privacy and security, as well as some confusion about the emerging tech in general.