Personalized Products Connect with Consumers

The Nutella Unica campaign is another example of why your brand should be thinking about personalization.

Today’s shoppers are empowered by their social networks and technology that most consumers already know what they want, when and where they want something. Specifically millennials show less interest for mainstream offerings and are instead and more intrigued by customized brands and services. This has pushed businesses to provide more personalized services since customers are expecting the opportunity to affect what they consume. According to a study by Deloitte, shoppers would actually be willing to pay more for customized products or services, and they prefer to be actively involved during the process. This has made businesses rethink how they manufacture and market their products and services. 

The challenge so far for many businesses has been to create products or services that feel unique while still being profitable. Thanks to technology, mass personalization is now becoming a reality and customers seem to love it. Businesses can measure what each individual consumer wants, and by using flexible manufacturing and 3D printing mass personalization can be achieved. 

A company who successfully managed to connect with consumers through personalization is Nutella. In February this year, millions of Nutella jars with unique label designs were sold in Italy. It was food manufacturer Fererro that released a limited-edition collection of the popular chocolate spread and it was achieved by using innovative technology. By depending on an algorithm they created seven million unique packaging designs. The new labels had eye-catching colors, shapes and patterns, and they all sold out within the month. 

The marketing campaign was called “Nutella Unica” (Unique Nutella) and was created by the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather Italia. It was so successful that Nutella already is launching the same campaign in other European countries. The campaign was aiming to “make each hazelnut spread jar as unique and expressive as the Italian people,” and this message was delivered by a video.  

Nutella is not the only company who has launched successful personalized campaigns. Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke Name”, which was re-launched in the US earlier this year, was extremely successful. Using algorithms is not a new thing, in 2013 Amazon created a product curation and recommendation algorithm.  This was huge for mass personalization since data driven suggestions made it possible to connect to every seller on the platform. 

Looking in to the future, personalized products will be beneficial for both businesses and consumers. Therefore companies should focus on making automated personalization campaigns that understands the need for relevance. It is easy to find all consumer data online; the tricky part is having the means to process it. Mass personalization transcends advertisement to a new level and consumers no longer see it as luxury but rather an expectation.