Island Records partnered with Crown Bevcan Europe and Middle East last month to launch a can that would stand out in a crowded market.
Island Records artists
It worked in collaboration with Shazam on its “Visual Shazam” technology so that consumers can connect to three playlists featuring Island record label artists on Spotify, by scanning a Shazam Code on the can with their smartphones.
Crown’s European Design Studio in Leicester, in the UK, worked on pre-press activities with Zappar, which provides the technology behind the Shazam Codes, to embed the logo onto the final design.
The cans are produced at Crown’s Braunstone (UK) factory. A second design, for Island Records beer range Jamaica Porter, has already been launched alongside the Session IPA.
Matt Twiss, marketing & business development director, Crown Bevcan Europe and Middle East told BeverageDaily, it was thrilled to have been chosen as a partner by Island Records because it is a great project.
“Whilst this is our first ever ‘Shazamable can’, this is not our first encounter with scanable codes,” he said.
“Crown has worked closely with Zappar and its IoT Smart Products Platform partner EVRYTHNG, to develop the capability to provide each and every can with a unique code or ‘Active Digital Identity’ through the company’s CrownConnect family of technologies.
“Cans produced with this technology are considered to be ‘born digital’ which means consumers can digitally interact with the brand at the very point of consuming the beverage.”
Future products & promotions
Twiss added the technology allows brands to deliver bespoke content to target consumers, for example, Augmented Reality (AR) experiences, and can also receive and process point of consumption metrics which means it can tailor any future products and promotions to their target audience.
“What sets us apart from the competition in this space is our ability to bring innovation at scale to metal packaging across a wide spectrum of product applications,” he said.
“As the appetite for digital consumption grows, the potential for creating engaging experiences via smartphones and packaging is virtually limitless.
“Brands adopting smart packaging techniques and taking advantage of this new stream of data will be well positioned to reinforce brand activation through targeted exposure, drive new and repeat purchases and optimise their supply chains by improving product traceability.”
Twiss said with industrial IoT adoption growing, an exciting future lies ahead for brands who want to utilise Crown’s technology to access consumer data and create experiential content to drive greater consumer engagement.
“These forward-thinking initiatives will become part of our day to day lives – just as packaging already is,” he added.