The label industry is no longer a separate
and definable niche in the broader field of packaging print. It has a new and
extended profile as a provider of product decoration, brand identity, product
data, smart phone interaction, track-and-trace and authentication data -- and,
indeed of packaging itself.
Members of Finat, the international trade
association for self-adhesive labelling and related industries, convened in
June in Monte Carlo for their 2014 annual congress, to address the core topic
of ‘The Battle for Shelf Appeal’. Congress Moderator Marc Büttgenbach (DE),
worldwide sales director for Bizerba Labels and Consumables, introduced the
keynote speaker – Rik Olthof (NL), brand strategist at international branding
and packaging design consultancy Cartils.
The
essence of branding
Mr Olthof explained the essence of branding,
showing how important the look and feel of a product are to its ‘shelf appeal’.
The key to success is to ensure product impact and visibility in a variety of
different environments, from supermarkets – (where, today, the consumer spends
an average of just 20 minutes, making ‘shelf appeal’ essential for the
purchasing decision) – to clubs and bars. Mr Olthof identified a number of iconic
names like Nike, Lamborghini, and Smirnoff, whose branding pathways are
demonstrably successful.
There are five key pillars for successful
brand identity. Shape, which conveys the character of the product; colour,
which engages our emotions; the use of a unique visual language that confirms
authenticity; ‘endorsements’ underlining product quality and authority; and,
through the packaging’s finish, defining the product as an aspirational
international premium brand.
Looking
at the label industry
Next on the agenda was an overview of trends
in the French label markets, delivered by Dominique Durant-des-Aulnois (FR),
currently vice president of the French label association, UNFEA, and general
manager of label makers Paragon Identification, assisted by well-known label
trade journalist, publisher, and consultant John Penhallow (FR). France’s
self-adhesive label industry embraces around 400 production sites and 7000
employees – mostly SMEs and, geographically, quite fragmented. Most UNFEA label
converters reported a dramatic sales increase, powered by the need to ‘be
different’, export to other regions, and innovate. The ever-increasing EU ‘red
tape’ relating to label content could, in fact, represent ‘a green light for
label converters’.
This presentation set the scene for Jules
Lejeune (NL), managing director of Finat, to present his annual 360º tour of
the label industry, including the underlying trends and forces for the industry
as a whole and for Finat members.
Expert
panel discussions
Two valuable panel discussions followed.
Firstly, representatives from key aspects of the international industry supply
chain – Krones, Avery Dennison, and Karlville Development -- came together to
debate the subject of the ‘battle of decoration technologies’. Then it was time
to hear the brand owners’ viewpoint on ‘the future of product decoration’ via a
second panel discussion featuring representatives from L’Oréal, LEGO, Reckitt
Benckiser; and G3 Enterprises.
Industry
awards presentations
Industry awards presentations concluded the
first day’s proceedings. This year they celebrated success not only in the Finat
Label Competition and Congress Logo Competition, but also in the new FINAT
Recycling Awards – in which Unilever took the first-ever end-user company award
and Hagmaier Etiketten & Druck the first-ever label converter award.
‘Innovation
for profit’
Next morning, the topic of ‘innovation for
labelling and packaging profit’ was addressed by Mike Ferrari, founder and
president of Ferrari Innovation Solutions, and for 32 years a key figure in
Procter & Gamble management. He illustrated his talk with many fascinating
examples of how the shopper’s journey is changing, and how solutions for
engaging the shopper are also evolving. ‘If people are in the virtual world,’
said Mr Ferrari, ‘how can we make them buy products in the REAL world?’
P&G’s ‘first moment of truth’ – originally the first eye contact with a
packaged product on a retail shelf – is a different matter in a world where 70%
of purchasing decisions are no longer made in store, and where the world’s six
billion cellphones interact with smart features on packaging. Today, a
product’s first sales message might be anything from a friend’s Facebook
message to a printable coupon that generates ‘stop, hold, and buy’ in-store. It
is a sign of the times that, in last year’s earnings call, Procter &
Gamble’s Chairman-CEO estimated that the company now spends up to 35% of its
marketing budget on digital media. The
key to continuing brand success, however, remains in the consumer’s experience
of the product in use and, if that experience is good, in repurchase.
Mass production has also spawned mass
customisation – like the ‘personalised’ Coca-Cola bottles, featuring popular
male and female first names, which have graced retail shelves in 32 countries
across Europe and represent the longest digital packaging print run ever.
So what is there in this new world for the
label converter, asked Mr Ferrari? --To be shopper-/consumer-focused was at the
top of the list. The need to consider the shopper journey beyond the retail
shelf came next. Label printers should redefine their role more broadly – as
solutions providers and marketing companies. These elements, said Mr Ferrari,
are the successful route to ‘leveraging packaging for profit’.
Printed
electronics
One such route which Finat member companies
are increasingly taking is the creation of printed electronics. The UK’s Centre
for Process Innovation (CPI) is a consortium of major companies committed to
creating a UK supply chain to enable the widespread adoption of low-cost, NFC
devices using printable electronics, and currently running a project focused on
enabling smart phones to connect with labels and other packaging, and other
documents. Alan McClelland (UK), head of business development at CPI, showed
that, while printed electronics are a
feature of many more applications than just labels, packaging can successfully
employ printed electronics to deliver ‘smart’ interactive brand features;
‘bling’ on the pack; and track-and-trace, stock reordering, tamper-proofing and
anti-counterfeiting. Sadly, the extended nature of the smart packaging supply
chain has created a real problem in
fast-tracking the commercial development of
this extremely versatile technology because, he said, brand owners, retailers,
pharmaceutical manufacturers, and other major suppliers will not invest ‘until
the technology is there’.
Flying
high with Bertrand Piccard
Broadening the horizons -- into the realms
of the sky and beyond -- is a topic on which Bertrand Piccard (CH) is
unquestionably well-qualified to speak, as the achiever of the first-ever
non-stop, round-the-world hot air balloon flight in 1999.
M. Piccard’s motivational presentation
encouraged delegates to embrace his definition of freedom as the ability to
explore the alternatives, the other possibilities, with courage and pioneering
spirit – even in the business world, where exploration of the unknown can
unleash successful innovation. It is a real challenge to take a new, unmapped
direction, but it is important to realise, he said, that, in fact, ‘we need
fear. Never be afraid of it: it’s just a signal that we are moving out of our
comfort zone – a moment of waking up, of awareness.’
Drawing the event to a close, Finat
President Kurt Walker commended the Congress programme, which had proved an
excellent overture to Finat’s new Congress format which, as Jules Lejeune
summarised, ‘is a real driver for forward thinking at all levels. Finat is
committed to building on this inaugural event in the coming months through the
new web-based knowledge and learning platforms, our expanded definition of the
label, our recycling and public affairs initiatives, and, of course, our focus
point for tomorrow’s industry leaders – the Finat Young Managers Club.’
