Customizing Labels and Packages to Consumers Personalized marketing is certainly not a new concept. It has quickly become a staple in effective online advertising campaigns, mainly for retailers and sellers of consumer packaged goods.

Earlier this month, Business 2 Community Contributor Richard Larson cited presenting consumers with personalized and connected experiences as one of the biggest emerging marketing trends in 2016. He pointed out that as technology evolves, customers' expectations are growing. They expect to have content that is highly relevant to them and tailored specifically to their needs. And there are many ways to achieve this. For example, by leveraging real-time insight and information on target audiences, businesses have the opportunity to establish more meaningful relationships and spark greater levels of engagement.

And while there are valuable tools and strategies to use for customizing digital content and marketing initiatives to best appeal to target audiences, there is also enormous opportunity in taking a similar approach to physical aspects of products.

How Major Brands Have Used Product Personalization  In an article for Media Post, Emily Canan highlighted some of the benefits of personalizing consumer packaged goods (increased revenue, enhanced brand exposure and loyalty, higher levels of engagement, etc.) for both online and offline channels. And this is why more companies are starting to use customization techniques on product packaging to further improve communication with consumers.

As Canan pointed out, some of the most successful and well-known brands have exemplified the powerful appeal of personalized packaging and labeling, including:

• M&Ms: Over a decade ago, the chocolate giant Mars launched the "My M&Ms" campaign, which let customers print custom sayings on the candies. Northeastern University Professor Marc Meyer estimated that this move led to over $10 million in sales, according to the source. The tactic has led to further developments that now let consumers print images and personal photos on the M&Ms.
• Oreo: The brand recently announced its Colorfilled campaign, which lets consumers create custom labeling messages and packaging on the cookies for the holidays.

However, perhaps the greatest demonstration of how personalized labels can give companies a competitive advantage and make products more appealing is provided by Coca-Cola Co. Years ago, the beverage company launched its "Share a Coke" campaign, which featured individual names of people on the cans, as well as tags such as "soul mate" or "friend." It was a brilliant strategy that led to enormous success for the corporation. So much so, in fact, that the brand has recently decided to take it a step further by including song lyrics on its product starting this spring, Labels and Labeling reported. Coca-Cola Vice President Racquel Harris Mason told the source that the organization is incredibly proud of the project and excited about its success, which she attributes to the people appreciating the "personal touch" of the campaign.

Labels and Labeling added that Coca-Cola implementing this strategy indicated a transition in the labeling industry, with more brands leveraging personalization for product promotion.

Tips for Creating Custom Packaging and Labeling The above examples are a just a few instances that portray the tremendous affect custom labels can have on the success of a product. Of course, it may be unrealistic or altogether impossible for some businesses to customize the label of each product with the personal name or other details of its target customers. And that's okay. There are many ways to harness the power of personalization when selling products and goods.

The first step is to determine what actually appeals to the customer. When designing a custom label for products, rather than crafting a message or artwork that is self-serving, it can be beneficial to consider what the consumer would be more drawn to. For example, instead of using every space on the package to promote the company, sellers can dedicate some areas to unique, attention-grabbing content.

Another important aspect of personalizing product packaging, especially for individual sellers or small businesses, is making sure there is a return on investment.  Customization can play a valuable role in operations, but if the costs of executing the project exceed what it's actually worth, there isn't much point in pursuing it.

To ensure personalized products and campaigns are cost-effective, organizations are highly encouraged to partner with a custom label print provider that can handle a wide variety of jobs. When choosing a supplier, companies should be careful to make sure the business can offer quick, affordable service, without sacrificing quality.

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