[dropcaps style=’2′]With the aim to provide unique experiences and enhance personal engagement with consumers, HP has collaborated with Coca-Cola to bring the famous ‘Share a Coke’ campaign to India. The initiative aims to give people the opportunity to celebrate relationships that have evolved over the years and reignite them by creating a moment of happiness that comes from sharing a Coke. The ‘Share a Coke’ campaign is being technologically supported by HP Indigo digital printing.[/dropcaps]

In line with the initiative’s principal idea ‘Har Rishta Bola, Mere Naam Ki Coca-Cola,’ Coke cans and bottles are now available with 20 special relationships printed on them, including Bae, Bro, Dude, BFF, Dad, Mom, Daughter, etc. Labels have been created in 12 languages, which are English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Malayalam, Oriya, Assamese, Gujarati, Punjabi and Marathi. Each relationship is accompanied by an exciting descriptor, such as Grandad (Old School. Yet Cool), Grandma (Scolds me. Spoils me), Daddy (My teacher. My friend), Mom (Above the rest. Simply the best) Son (My devil. My angel), Sis (Supermodel. Super role model), Bro (Troublemaker. Merrymaker), Boss (Pushes me. Promotes me) and nicknames including BFF (Laughs with me. Cries with me), Bae (Bugs me. Hugs me). A total of 11 crore labels will be printed digitally using HP Indigo 20000 digital press on PET bottles through the machine installed at Mumbai-based Huhtamaki.

Ajay Bathija, director-Colas, Coca-Cola India & South-West Asia, said, “We are delighted to partner with HP for the Indian spin of our ‘Share a Coke’ campaign, that takes a refreshing new look at relationships. This campaign aims to encourage Indian consumers to celebrate relationships that have evolved over the years and reignite them by creating a moment of happiness that comes from sharing a Coke.”

Commenting on the campaign from HP, A Appadurai, country manager, HP Indigo Graphics Solutions Business, India said, “The campaign comes at a time when brands are increasingly focusing on targeted marketing campaigns to engage with customers on a personal level and this has resulted in the rise of customization and personalization. The changing tastes of consumers in packaging of goods has the potential to chip away market share of brands as customers value packaging with a personalized touch which adds to the overall emotional quotient of the customer. As a pioneer in changing the digital printing landscape, HP is progressively focusing on offering innovative solutions for them.”

“As brands continue to look for ways to connect with their audiences, we are seeing a growing trend of mass personalized packaging, including desktop label printing campaigns in stores. The HP Indigo 20000 opens a realm of possibilities for flexible packaging converters, by enabling them to efficiently and profitably cope with changing market demands for shorter runs, more varied SKUs, and customized campaigns. HP Indigo is the only digital color printing process that matches gravure quality and is safe for primary food packaging,” said Michael Boyle, vice president – Graphics Solutions Business – Asia Pacific and Japan, HP.

Amar Chhajed, president – labelling business at Huhtamaki PPL, said, “It is an advantage to have a sound customer with us as we made this significant investment. Brining India’s first HP Indigo 20000 should be seen as Huhtamaki’s stepping stone into digital printing. And this investment into digital comes with a much bigger commitment and confidence.”

Explaining the complexities on the ‘Share a Coke’ label printing job, Chhajed said, “The variable data printing for the job comprised of 32 relationships, 12 different languages, and five descriptors to each relationship, which summed up to 3,000 artworks getting printed simultaneously.”