Thin Film Electronics ASA (Thinfilm) launch Thursday its IoT-CNECT Box, an affordable, turnkey NFC mobile marketing solution “in a box,” that provides brands and digital agencies with a quick and easy way to create, implement, and test ‘intelligent packaging’ programs that facilitate direct brand-to-consumer connections through the tap of a smartphone. Thinfilm is initially accepting pre-orders for the IoT-CNECT Box, with product shipments expected to begin in June.
Thinfilm offers end-to-end mobile marketing solutions that feature hardware, label/packaging integration services, and a powerful cloud-based software platform. Collectively, these components deliver a 1-to-1 digital marketing platform through which brands of all sizes can connect directly with consumers through a smartphone. The resulting disintermediation of search engines, online marketplaces, and social platforms enable brands to control messaging, enhance consumer dialogue, build loyalty, and drive sales.
The IoT-CNECT Box includes Thinfilm’s SpeedTap and OpenSense NFC tags in adhesive-label format; smart ElastiTag hangtags from Bedford Industries; a quick-start guide; an overview of use cases, with detailed information on Thinfilm’s cloud-based software platform, CNECT.
SpeedTap and OpenSense tags are uniquely identifiable, virtually impossible to clone, and can be read with the simple tap of an NFC-enabled smartphone or device. Once tapped, each tag wirelessly communicates with a smartphone to facilitate an instant connection to the cloud, creating a versatile one-to-one mobile marketing platform from which brands can connect directly with their customers.
Using IoT-CNECT, marketers can instantly deliver brand stories, promotional offers, product news, ecommerce functionality, and other contextual content. Thinfilm’s NFC solutions also address track and trace needs and other business-related use cases.
Customers that purchase the IoT-CNECT Box gain instant access to Thinfilm’s CNECT partner portal, a multi-tenant software platform that seamlessly integrates with the NFC tags to enable remote tag management, custom content delivery, consumer activity tracking, and detailed analytics and reporting. By leveraging this end-to-end, turnkey solution to quickly create proof-of-concept campaigns, companies can begin to test and build unique mobile marketing programs that drive consumer engagement and influence purchasing decisions.
“Having the ability to easily conduct proof-of-concept testing and measure the success of NFC mobile marketing campaigns is critical for brands exploring intelligent packaging solutions,” said Erwan Le Roy, EVP & General Manager, NFC Solutions & Smart Sensors Products for Thinfilm. “IOT-CNECT provides digital agencies, packaging companies, and brands of all sizes with a quick-start mobile marketing solution that delivers unique consumer experiences, builds customer loyalty, and drives product sales.”
Thinfilm’s CNECT software portal and its companion portal in China are hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Aliyun (Alibaba Cloud), respectively.
“The market traction we are experiencing for our NFC solutions – among brands of all sizes in regions across the globe – continues to expand,” said Davor Sutija, CEO of Thinfilm. “Our IoT-CNECT Box is a direct response to that growing interest and provides an effective way for brands to quickly evaluate and implement powerful mobile marketing programs with NFC as the centerpiece technology.”
