Traditionally, brands have viewed packaging as one of the most important opportunities for communicating to their customers. Now, new technology is giving brands the opportunity not to just communicate, but to interact with their customers through “smart” packages enabled by mobile technology.

Mobile phones can connect to a brand via a watermark on the packaging, allowing a beer label or box of crackers to send a specific message to consumers without any traditional advertising venues. To fulfill this vision, Digimarc is creating technology that transforms a food and beverage package from an inanimate, solitary object into something that can trigger a coupon, an offer or even video content. Digimarc, whose motto is “The barcode of everything,” aims to make barcodes more efficient, as well as invisible, to enable quick scanning and reading by mobile devices. The company sees multiple benefits of embedding this technology onto food and beverage packages. For instance, in the retail aisle, a shopper who points a smartphone at a package can be automatically engaged with a brand. “You can tell the customer everything you’d like to without adding more visual symbols,” explains Larry Logan, Digimarc chief marketing officer.