April 4, 2007
Drink Light, Read Light
By Bernice Hurst, Managing Director, Fine Food Network
Just last year, Australia’s On Product Publishing International (OPP) won awards for Best Label and Best Overall Concept at the Bottled Water Design Awards in Bergamo, Italy. Among those who spotted the potential there were Coca-Cola Belgium and Sanoma Magazines. The two plan to create the world’s first soft drink combined with a magazine, using the labeling innovation.
Starting April 2007, Coca-Cola Belgium and Sanoma Magazines will be working together to launch a 500ml PET bottle of Coca-Cola light wrapped with a custom-made, self-adhesive label containing a 24-page version of GLAM*IT, Belgium’s leading young and glamorous fashion title. The magazine page size has been reduced to fit the bottle shape.
Joanna Wojtalik, the inventor behind the revolutionary On Product Publishing concept, told Gizmag the ‘magazine on a bottle’ concept is “all about broadening and targeting content delivery” through a mass approach.
“In these terms, the Coca-Cola Company provides the perfect platform to utilize On Product Publishing, which will convert its Coca-Cola light bottles into an unrivalled communications tool,” Ms. Wojtalik said. “Effectively, the OPP label allows Coca-Cola light to place more content directly on its product and thereby enhance the relationship its consumers have with the brand at the point of purchase.”
Anouk Colardyn of the Coca-Cola light marketing team said, “This innovative packaging approach fits in perfectly with Coca-Cola light’s new campaign for 2007. Coca-Cola light is about encouraging women to live life by seeing it through pink glasses, and the special edition of GLAM*IT magazine attached to the Coca-Cola light bottle is packed with tips and tricks to help them do just that. This is yet another achievement in the innovation driven approach that marks Coca-Cola Belgium.”
Mie Van der Auwera, editor of GLAM*IT, added, “Adapting editorial content for another brand is only credible if brand values mutually match. In the case of Coca-Cola light and GLAM*IT, that was no problem. That’s why it results in a powerful communication tool for both brands.”
Discussion Questions: What do you think of the ‘Magazine on the Bottle’ idea? If Coca Cola North America was to try a similar exercise, which product and magazine do you think would be most suitable?
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On Product Publishing is a terrific innovation. Unfortunately, almost all CPG brands in the US have very bland images, so the magazine is unlikely to be compelling. Compare Abercrombie & Fitch’s now discontinued magazine to any advertising collateral material published by an American CPG brand. Perhaps On Product Publishing can make a deal with an energy drink brand. Their audience and positioning would be appropriate for a sexy visual presentation.
Although adding a recipe book seems like an obvious application, I doubt that most Americans find recipes compelling.
I think this idea could lead to a whole new category of products. How about novels on toilet paper? I guess the problem would be that you dare not leave before your done reading because someone else might “consume” the best part. (Just kidding)
This is certainly new thinking. It can definitely evolve into a whole lot of new ideas. The negatives are in the logistics. It could work in a small geographic coverage; a national coverage all at once would be extremely difficult.
Another significant benefit of on-product publishing is the prospect of bypassing the constricted distribution systems for publishing which are slow in producing sales data reports. In contrast, at supermarkets the data will be tracked daily.
Soda bottles are actually very unaccommodating for this sort of thing, seems to me. The obvious vehicle would be a cereal box because of its rectangular shape and tendency to stay on the dining table during the meal (for those who still eat breakfast at home). And there could be some near-perfect partnerships with lifestyle magazine publishers and advertisers, not to mention kid’s entertainment networks.
Cute idea, but who’s the audience for the magazine, versus the consumer of the Coke?
The thirsty construction worker won’t be into GlamIt and conversely, Maxim, Field & Stream or AutoTrend probably would not be appropriate for the GlamIt reader.
Cute idea, but complicated, expensive, and wasteful in terms of overpackaging and ad dollars if broadly approached.
Those paying for the advertising space that will fund this effort are unlikely to see ROI unless VERY targeted and event driven.
I see the better application in event-driven opportunities such as large-scale sporting events, Super Bowl, NASCAR, Kentucky Derby, concerts and such providing event-specific content, sports programs, collectible trading cards, etc., to a stadium full of attendees.
Quite a novel idea, really…but unavoidably futile because targeting is an important factor. It can serve as an effective tool of communication during large-scale events like maybe the Olympics….
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On Product Publishing is a terrific innovation. Unfortunately, almost all CPG brands in the US have very bland images, so the magazine is unlikely to be compelling. Compare Abercrombie & Fitch’s now discontinued magazine to any advertising collateral material published by an American CPG brand. Perhaps On Product Publishing can make a deal with an energy drink brand. Their audience and positioning would be appropriate for a sexy visual presentation.
Although adding a recipe book seems like an obvious application, I doubt that most Americans find recipes compelling.
I think this idea could lead to a whole new category of products. How about novels on toilet paper? I guess the problem would be that you dare not leave before your done reading because someone else might “consume” the best part. (Just kidding)
This is certainly new thinking. It can definitely evolve into a whole lot of new ideas. The negatives are in the logistics. It could work in a small geographic coverage; a national coverage all at once would be extremely difficult.
Another significant benefit of on-product publishing is the prospect of bypassing the constricted distribution systems for publishing which are slow in producing sales data reports. In contrast, at supermarkets the data will be tracked daily.
Soda bottles are actually very unaccommodating for this sort of thing, seems to me. The obvious vehicle would be a cereal box because of its rectangular shape and tendency to stay on the dining table during the meal (for those who still eat breakfast at home). And there could be some near-perfect partnerships with lifestyle magazine publishers and advertisers, not to mention kid’s entertainment networks.
Cute idea, but who’s the audience for the magazine, versus the consumer of the Coke?
The thirsty construction worker won’t be into GlamIt and conversely, Maxim, Field & Stream or AutoTrend probably would not be appropriate for the GlamIt reader.
Cute idea, but complicated, expensive, and wasteful in terms of overpackaging and ad dollars if broadly approached.
Those paying for the advertising space that will fund this effort are unlikely to see ROI unless VERY targeted and event driven.
I see the better application in event-driven opportunities such as large-scale sporting events, Super Bowl, NASCAR, Kentucky Derby, concerts and such providing event-specific content, sports programs, collectible trading cards, etc., to a stadium full of attendees.
Quite a novel idea, really…but unavoidably futile because targeting is an important factor. It can serve as an effective tool of communication during large-scale events like maybe the Olympics….