A new report from industry experts and knowledge partners Faraday is urging the packaging industry to become more informed about the significance of plastic electronics for brand marketing and how this technology could add value for the FMCG consumer.
Called Plastic Electronics and the FMCG Consumer, the report explains why current societal and technological trends in plastic electronics will have a major impact on FMCG brands. It also shows brand owners how to get ahead of the game and advises on ways to differentiate themselves from the competition by using plastic electronics in a meaningful way.
The author of the report and Faraday's expert in materials and new technologies, Dr. Laurence Hogg, argues that as society relies increasingly on the internet for product information, online user reviews will severely diminish the power of brands owners' marketing communications.
To counter this, he says, brands will need to create more competitive 'stand out' packaging than ever before.
"Packaging manufacturers should be most concerned with the development of cheap, printable electronics because it's a significant step towards the creation of an always-online 'recommendation' society where products are ‘sold’ by the users, not the brand owners,” says Dr. Hogg.
"The research we've done shows how brand owners can get to grips with this in a structured, consumer-led way rather than trying to use the technology in a pack or product just for the sake of it. In this case there's always a danger of creating a gimmick rather than a real point of difference for the consumer."
Faraday's report gives several examples of what could be possible in the long term with plastic electronics technology applied to FMCG packaging, including a smart ketchup bottle featuring three sensors printed on the side of the bottle – small, medium and large – that measure and deliver the amount of sauce the consumer requires. It concludes that for packaging manufacturers to survive they will need to understand the capabilities and limitations of this new technology and have the imagination and design capability to produce packs that do things no-one has ever seen before.
The Plastic Electronics and the FMCG Consumer report can be requested free of charge from Pauline King on p.m.king@adm.leeds.ac.uk or 0113 284 0213.
Dr. Hogg will be discussing his report at Faraday's Knowledge Futures Briefing 2009 in November.
