It's packaging, Jim, but not as we know it...
You may have heard of The Internet of Things, right? Also known as IoT, The Internet of Things refers to the notion that household appliances, for instance fridges, ovens, washing machines, thermostats, kettles, phones, cupboards, televisions or cars can be connected via the internet to communicate between one another, perhaps to re-order contents, switch itself on or off or collect the kids from school (well, maybe one day, eh?). The Internet of Things is already with us in one form or another and as we become more dependent on convenient technology it will undoubtedly continue to creep its way, stealth-like into our homes.
Rather than household appliances, here at Hive we concentrate on packaging, in particular the packaging of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) belonging to Britain’s favourite household brands.
If household appliances can be intelligent, why not a cereal pack, too?
Hive’s patented unique code solution allows just that. A unique, ten or twelve character alphanumeric code or a mobile scannable unique code is printed onto the packaging of FMCG brands. The shopper pops their unique code into a simple website (or scans it in via a nifty mobile app if they’re on the move), along with some basic demographic information. The unique code relates the product to the shopper’s name, gender, age, geographical location and basic contact info. Here’s the intelligent bit. The intelligence collected via the unique code on pack informs the brand precisely who purchased their product, how frequently and even where from. This intelligence enables the brand to pursue an engaging, relevant conversation with its shopper.
The intelligence collected via the unique code on pack informs the brand precisely who purchased their product, how frequently and even where from.
The notion that packs can be connected to their brand and their shopper is something that Hive like to refer to as The Internet of Packaging.
Find out more about Hive's pioneering unique codes at Hive's blog.