Tic Tac joins personalized packaging trend
Todd Midura, category manager, Tic Tac mints Ferrero USA, told FoodProductionDaily it is constantly looking for ways to appeal to Millennials, its primary target audience, a term used by demographers to describe a segment of the population born between approximately 1980 and 2000 (otherwise known as Generation Y).
Heinz tomato soup
Coca-Cola capitalized on this trend with its ‘Share a Coke’ campaign last year, swapping its logo on its bottles with 250 of the most popular names in Great Britain and Heinz soup launched a Facebook initiative two years’ ago allowing users to personalise ‘Get Well’ tins of tomato and chicken soup, to send to an ill friend or family member.
“We’ve experimented with packaging in the past, including markerless Augmented Reality (AR), which allowed customers to scan a Tic Tac product or advertisement with a mobile application for access to games and daily tips without a QR code present,” said Midura.
“This, along with TicTacMyPack.com, has allowed us to continue shaking things up for our fans and we look forward to exploring other ways to do so in spirit of our Shake It Up Campaign.
“While this campaign won’t have an immediate impact on our packaging or product offerings, we think our consumers will appreciate the ability to interact with the product in a new way.”
The microsite, TicTacMyPack.com will promote 13 flavors including Freshmint and Orange then customers will select a label with their name on it to reflect their personal taste. Once completed, fans can share their virtual pack with friends and family via social media, including Facebook and Twitter.
Millennials
The company has also launched a ‘My Pack Tour’ where people can create and customize their own packs using mobile devices provided by a team on-site and take them home for free.
The mobile tour kicked off on April 4 in Dallas, Texas. Other locations include: Tortuga Music Festival, Fort Lauderdale, FL (April 12-13); SweetWater 420 Fest, Atlanta, GA (April 18-20); Spring Jam Minneapolis, MN (April 24-26) and Cinco de Mayo Festival, Denver, CO (May 3-4).
“We know that Millennials, our primary target audience, appreciate products that offer personalization and that our customers often combine our Tic Tac mints into interesting combinations,” added Midura.
“We’re giving consumers the opportunity to create their own packs in person or online to put a spin on a product they already know and love.”
According to Sam Sheppard Fidler, of Smithers Pira's European Distribution Testing operations and Smithers' European Product Testing operations in the UK and Paul Jenkins, founder of ThePackHub, a UK packaging innovation consultancy, as brands use the internet and social media to broaden reach and drive campaigns, consumers feel packaging is 'made for them'.
“As digital printing becomes more affordable and wide-spread, there has been an increase in short print runs, and personalisation is being used more often as a tool to differentiate a brand and attract customers,” said Sheppard Fidler.
“This was arguably pioneered by Coca Cola and their Share a Coke campaign, which featured popular first names printed on labels. However, Coca Cola was just the beginning, and we now have a number of other designs which capitalise on this 'made for me' approach.
“As the technology enabling such innovations improves and costs come down, the industry will become even more creative with personalised packaging.”
