Malibu Rum’s Initiative With Connected Bottles
Connected packages are about creating a better engagement and product purchase experience for the end customer. An FMCG company, Malibu has been aggressive to implement technologies in its products to provide this connected experience to its customers. Malibu is leading the Internet of Things (IoT) campaigns among the beverage industry with Near Field Communication technology into their bottle. The FMCG brand has been proactive to implement technology that promotes the creativity and gamification of the product for the sole purpose of a better consumer experience.
The Malibu Games: Launch Of Connected Bottles
Malibu introduces as many as 300,000 connected bottles with NFC chips in the USA, particularly in the states including Texas and Ohio. This launch took place as a part of the Malibu Games in 2019. These Malibu Rum bottles were equipped with NFC chips embedded into the bottle’s aluminum cap.
Users would be able to directly tap on top of the aluminum cap and get access to Malibu Games content on their NFC-enabled mobile phones. In addition to an NFC chip, the bottles also carried QR code printed on the bottle’s neck. Therefore, users can also scan the QR code in order to access the Malibu Games content even if their smartphone doesn’t support NFC.
This campaign was not a massive experiment for Malibu without any prior proven campaigns. Before the Malibu Games in 2019, Malibu has been experimenting with connected bottles since 2015. In addition to that, Malibu had already successfully executed a couple of successful smart packaging solutions in the UK and Germany in 2018.
The Vision Behind Connected Malibu Bottles
As per the Global Brand Manager of Malibu, their primary objective with connected bottles was to allow users with more accessibility. These connected bottles allowed them to separate their brand from other competitors. The consumers would be able to get a relevant post-sale engagement by additional services and after-purchase experiences with the help of NFC.
Malibu offered a smartphone game called Sunshine Slide that users can access once they participate by tapping on the bottle. The brand also allowed the users to win lucky prizes for participating in the game. In addition to the fun, the bottles would also share new drink recipes for consumers to enjoy. Malibu focuses on generating a more significant customer base with the help of their offerings into a connected experience and providing the users with engaging content. That has been the driving principle with which Malibu bottles are able to connect with their customers on a genuine level.
To conclude, Malibu has been one of the first in the FMCG industry to implement connected devices in order to create more value for their customers and engage with them post-sales to improve customer loyalty. Such a piece of tech is never easy to implement as it requires stressful testing and constant improvements for precise implementation. Still, Malibu proved that it is definitely possible to achieve by putting in the right amount of effort in the development and strategizing.
