Watch your brand jump off the box with augmented reality packaging

​Consumers crave an immersive experience, and what is more immersive than reality or—the latest in innovative product packaging—augmented reality.
 
With the click of a photo, shoppers can transform the otherwise ordinary packages in their hands into epic visual stories that have the power to reinforce brand identity, spice up plain paperboard and brown boxes, and familiarize consumers with the product in their hands.

Virtual or augmented reality has been on the market for a relatively long time. But many of us still think of it as putting on wraparound goggles to sword fight aliens in another space-time dimension.
 
Today’s AR connects people with the everyday items around them, creating more informed and entertained shoppers, and more likely buyers. Most smartphones will recognize embedded AR or QR codes with the camera—no need to download an app. Just scan the code on a package, and off you go—in the direction of the brand’s wildest imagination. Carlson Print Group works with customers to create on-brand, cutting-edge packaging that can digitally transform at your fingertips.
 
Some of the biggest brand names in America—from Jack Daniels to Pringles to Heinz—are using AR technology to snag eyes and larger market shares.
 
Why AR?

Educate consumers about the product. The (unaugmented) reality is that we can’t always picture what to do with the items we are tempted to buy. But what if scanning a pasta box
brought to life a video recipe of an easy family meal you could make that very night? Inspiration is likely to strike! Bombay Sapphire gin created a stunning AR recipe tutorial. To save money, we often buy furniture that needs assembly. Scanning the box to play the DIY tutorial could mean the difference between an informed buy and a pass-on-by, not to mention easing the building process once at home. 

Go greener.  Paperboard boxes and paper bags are highly environmentally friendly packages, offering the consumer a glimpse into the values of the company using them. But AR-enabled packaging can go far beyond the story told in ink on a box—it can be a brand’s main form of advertising. Even if the box is understated, the AR can be a stand-out visual story about the company’s commitment to environmentally sound practices around the world.  From another earth-friendly angle, instead of changing packaging with every season, a company can simply update the product’s immersive experience, or a whole campaign can be revealed, leaving less waste in its wake.
 
Last year, banana importer Chiquita made a huge splash in AR advertising with a code on their famous little blue label that transported consumers around the globe to tell their sustainability story. Likewise, International coffee brand Nespresso teamed with National Geographic to tell the story of the global communities behind their coffee and has used AR on their packaging in other inventive ways in the retail space.
 
Reinforce brand identity. In itself, using immersive technology positions a brand as innovative and cutting-edge, but it doesn’t have to stop there. For example, wine, which we prefer to think of as old-world and traditional, can use its labels to go back in time and reinforce those periods and places related to the wine’s terroir. 19 Crimes brand created a fascinating interactive AR campaign that makes for a great conversation starter.
 
Carlson Print Group can help you develop innovative packaging and label designs that can seamlessly integrate with AR technology. Call or click today to watch your brand jump off the box.