Diageo is kicking off electronic tagging of bottles through NFC technology. To make the beverage packaging smarter, Diageo entitled NFC tags for Johnnie Walker Blue Whiskey to ensure premium customer experience and track supply chain for sipping the top-shelf Scotch.
Diageo is a world-renowned brand for beverage alcohol and a holder of Scotch Whiskey brand. Diageo rolled out NFC technology to enrich the customer experience for its Scotch Whiskey prototype, Johnnie Walker Blue Label smart bottle at Mobile World Congress held in March 2015. Thin Films Electronics ASA walked out with Diageo to induce NFC technology in Johnnie Walker Blue Whiskey bottle.
Thin Films Electronics ASA’s proprietary, Thinfilms OpenSense TM Technology, introduces connected ‘‘smart bottle’’ to enhance the customer experience by using printed sensor tags. These sensor tags allow the Scotch Whiskey fans to detect the open/close status of bottles.
Thinfilms OpenSense TM Technology has produced thin and flexible tags for each Johnnie Walker Blue Whiskey bottle, introducing ‘‘tap to interact’’ feature. Blue Whiskey consumers use smartphones to tap the label of the bottle for exploring stories behind the bottle and accessing brand information. The technology embeds tags in such a way that no one can reuse the tag once the sealed is broken.
The ability to detect whether the bottle is opened or closed puts OpenSense printed sensor tags one step ahead from traditional static QR tags. QR sensors don’t maintain the integrity and authenticity of items. Some other disadvantages of QR codes are; they’re hard to deploy, difficult to read and can’t be modified electrically, which is paramount to obtain the authenticity of products in inventory stores.
One-to-one Communication Medium
As customers can detect whether the bottles are sealed or not, Diageo also uses these printed tags sensors to establish one-to-one communication medium with customers. Once the customer opened the Johnnie Walker Blue Whiskey smart bottle, Diageo sends personalized content to user’s smartphones to offer premier digital experience, delivering features more than the blue whiskey bottle.
Increasing Target Audience
Through NFC tag sensors, Diageo can increase their target audience before and after the purchase of Johnnie Walker Blue Whiskey smart bottles. They offer exciting features including promotional offers, sales packages, brand promotions, cocktail recipes and exclusive content, all achieved through NFC-enabled tags.
Tracking Bottle Movements
Moreover, Diageo exploits NFC-enabled smartphones to make their inventory align by tracking bottles movements across the business unit. These connected smart bottles add a layer of security in the Diageo stores as they remain readable even after the seal of the business unit has been broken, allowing the Diageo retailers to track the location of bottles. Thus, connected smart bottles not only help to improve customer satisfaction before and after the purchase but also bring confidence that no one can misuse their bottles with their tracking abilities.
Diageo’s speaker notified an endless number of opportunities provided by NFC-enabled bottles. According to her, Diageo uses NFC technology for Johnnie Walker Blue Whiskey bottles to explore ways for enriching the customer experience. That’s why their product is prototype instead of commercial. Once the bottle becomes connected or smart, it brings significant advantages both for retailer and customers.
In summary, when every Johnnie Walker Blue Whiskey bottle uses NFC technology, it becomes smart, digital and connected, enabling the customers to experience much more than just drinking Scotch. Similarly, NFC-enabled and connected smart bottles eliminate the bridge between customer and brands as retailers know how to bring best for their customers.
Our case studies show how NFC technology is helping brands solve challenges in authentication, traceability, and product protection. If you want to learn how these technologies are implemented in premium packaging, explore our detailed guide:
→ A Practical Guide to NXP NTAG® 424 DNA TagTamper Wine Bottle Labels
Discover how BrandGuard™ Tamper-Evident NFC Labels combine advanced NFC security with tamper detection to protect valuable products and build stronger customer trust.
Explore More NFC Smart Packaging Cases for Wine & Spirits Brands:
→ Jameson Connects: Deployment of NFC-enabled Connected Bottles in Ireland
→ NFC Tags for Whiskey Bottles: Success Story of Kilchoman Distillery
→ RFID for Brand Protection: Duclot Export, France Example
For more RFID and NFC smart packaging case studies, please visit rfidlabel.com.
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