https://www.iotworldtoday.com/wp-content/themes/ioti_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Galleries
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Video / Podcasts
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Strategic Partners
  • IOT World Events
    • Back
    • Internet of Things World: San Jose
    • IoT World 2020 News
Iot World Today
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Galleries
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Video / Podcasts
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Strategic Partners
  • IOT World Events
    • Back
    • Internet of Things World: San Jose
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • newsletter
  • IIoT
  • Cities
  • Energy
  • Homes/Buildings
  • Transportation/Logistics
  • Connected Health Care
  • Retail
  • AI
  • Architecture
  • Engineering/Development
  • Security
ioti.com

Retail


Kilchoman NFC technology

Kilchoman Distillery’s NFC Marketing Shows Promise

Kilchoman Distillery has a high-tech method for showcasing its old-fashioned approach to whisky making.
  • Written by Brian Buntz
  • 4th September 2018

The Kilchoman Distillery is the first to be built on Islay Island in 124 years. Islay is the southernmost isle of the Inner Hebrides, a chain off the coast of western Scotland renowned for single-malt whisky. Kilchoman is also the only independent farm distillery on the isle. At the facility, 30 full-time workers manage the entire whisky production process, including harvesting the barley grown onsite, malting, selecting casks, distillation and bottling. The company’s whiskies have won several awards internationally.

The industry is, however, fiercely competitive with 126 licensed Scotch whisky distilleries selling to some 200 markets internationally, which presented Kilchoman with a challenge – how to stand out from the crowd as one of the smallest companies in the market. The company was considering its options of how to best share its story with consumers. It mulled over putting leaflets in its cartons, using QR codes and considered changing its packaging when the printed electronics company Thinfilm reached out to suggest the firm experiment with near-field communication (NFC) labels on its bottles. “It seemed to us to just jump out with a pretty cost-effective but powerful option,” said Peter Wills, sales and marketing manager at Kilchoman.

Kilchoman decided to replace conventional neck-tag booklets with versions featuring embedded NFC technology. The smart tags would enable consumers to tap the tags with their smartphones to get information on the whisky in their hands including tasting notes and distillery information. “In the whisky industry, there’s an emphasis on transparency,” Wills said. “People want to know exactly where the whisky came from, what’s in it and how old it is, and what kind of cask types were used to make it. The NFC marketing campaign enables the company to provide consumers with an array of extra information it couldn’t include on the label, including detailed information on the production of its flagship Machir Bay and Sanaig whiskies and links to videos showing the company’s farm distillery in action. The campaign also improved the company’s geographic visibility into its supply chain.

[Industrial IoT World is the event that takes IIoT from inspiration to implementation, supercharging business and operations. Get your ticket now.]

Also weighing in the decision to test NFC marketing was the fact that spirit consumption has risen in recent years relative to the sales of other alcoholic beverages, including an uptick in consumption among millennials, who are the top users of smartphones. Kilchoman was “interested in ways that they would be able to optimize connection with those particular younger demographic groups,” said Bill Cummings, Thinfilm’s senior vice president of corporate communications.

 In an early trial, the technology outperformed traditional digital marketing by a wide margin. With a tap rate of 6.5 percent, the NFC-based marketing campaign was 70 times more effective than display ads and three times more effective than email or search campaigns. The campaign tracked consumers across 13 countries in Europe enabling them to track open rates in popular whisky-drinking hubs across the continent.

Wills said many spirit customers already do research on their smartphones when attempting to select a bottle. The NFC-based mobile marketing platform “cut out the middle part of having to go search online. It gives them the information they are searching for in the easiest way possible,” he said. “And also, some of the big companies cut a few corners with what they are putting in the whisky and how they are making it. We’re doing it the old-fashioned way — all by hand.” A screen capture of the app is shown at right. 

At first, Kilchoman wasn’t certain what the engagement rate with the NFC marketing campaign would be. “As soon as the connected bottles got out there, it seemed people wanted to tap and wanted to find out more information,” Wills said.

While Thinfilm creates the NFC hardware and offers consulting services to support marketing campaigns, Cummings describes the company’s cloud-based CNECT platform as the “engine that fuels the entire solution.” When Thinfilm sells tags to a particular customer, each of those tags has a unique ID. That enables the company to track the bottle based on tapping activity regardless of location. “When we sell the NFC tags to customers, all of those tags’ IDs are loaded up into the CNECT cloud platform,” Cummings said. In the case of Kilchoman, the company distributes to 13 different outlets across Europe. By analyzing tapping activity, the distillery can identify hot spots where interest in the product is strongest, which can potentially inform future marketing campaigns. “One of the things that we want to take advantage of more is geographical messaging. If you are selling in France, you can geographically locate any bottle, say, in France and tailor the message in French.”

The NFC program also spurred Kilchoman to refine its overall marketing strategy, helping it fine-tune its social media strategy. The company is also developing new NFC portals on its website. “We’re trying to get our whole online presence really linked up together and improving out as much as we can,” Wills said.

The company ultimately plans to replace the neck-tags by embedding the technology directly into the primary labeling on the bottles of its flagship whiskies.

Tags: Retail Case Studies

Related


  • internet of things marketing concepts,smart augmented reality,customer hold the taplet to see the product that search by ai application with hot deal,promotion code
    How IoT Devices Can Enhance the Connected Customer Experience
    As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc around the world, consumers have put health first as they interact with companies. “To reduce the risk of infection, people are anxious to minimize physical contact and maximize contactless interactions, and companies are taking note,” according to the Capgemini report, “COVID-19 and the Age of the Contactless […]
  • Smart manufacturing is everywhere.
    Ensuring Safety & Security of Pharmaceutical Supply Chain: A Case Study
    Enable greater visibility of shipments and ensure proper shipping/storage protocols are being followed through the use of IoT asset tracking technology. Brought to you by:   
  • Patient Tracking & Smart Surveillance: A Case Study
    Manage the safety of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients through IoT-driven in-facility tracking technology. Brought to you by:    
  • Argent Case Study
    For more than 40 years, Argent has specialized in the fabrication and distribution of unique adhesive and die-cut solutions. See why Argent relies on the Plex Manufacturing Platform to remain competitive and support their open book management. At a Glance: • Argent’s legacy ERP system was cumbersome, costly, and disruptive to the business just to […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your IoT World Today account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Content

  • McKinsey Q&A: How Protecting Consumer Data Can Pay Dividends
  • IoT Device Security: 7 Tips for Securing Smart Home Gifts
  • 2020 Predictions: IoT Market to Expand, but Challenges Remain
  • IOTAS Brings Smart Home Technology Experience to Apartments

News

View all

Private LTE Market Projected to Grow to $13 Billion

12th January 2021

IoT World Announces 2021 IoT World Advisory Board

9th December 2020

White Papers

View all

The eSIM Cookbook – Towards the Next Generation of Connected Devices

22nd February 2021

eSIM Delivers Greater Freedom for OEMs – by Beecham Research and Truphone

22nd February 2021

Special Reports

View all

Cybersecurity Protection Increasingly Depends on Machine Learning

28th October 2020

Webinars

View all

Weber’s Journey: How a Top Grill Maker Serves Up Connected Cooking

25th February 2021

From Insights to Action: Best Practices for Implementing Connected Device Security

15th December 2020

Galleries

View all

Top IoT Trends to Watch in 2020

26th January 2020

Five of the Most Promising Digital Health Technologies

14th January 2020

Industry Perspectives

View all

IoT Spending Holds Firm — Tempered by Dose of ‘IoT Pragmatism’

1st December 2020

The Great IoT Connectivity Lockdown

11th May 2020

Events

View all

IoT at the Edge

17th March 2021

Embedded IoT World 2021

28th April 2021 - 29th April 2021

IoT World 2021

2nd November 2021 - 4th November 2021

Twitter

IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

At Microsoft Ignite: How IoT and Robotics Are Driving Industry 4.0 dlvr.it/Rttgwj

3rd March 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

🎙️ Introducing #EIOTWORLD speaker, Obinna Ilochonwu, Industrial IoT Architect at Schlumberger. 📅 Join his session… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

2nd March 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

#Smartbuilding technology lays the foundation for #energyefficiency efforts but also new COVID-19 goals, such as… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

2nd March 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

IoT Remote Monitoring Helps Enterprises Traverse COVID-19 and Beyond dlvr.it/RtZ3K5 https://t.co/owJXYf1gkO

26th February 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Securing the Industrial Internet of Things dlvr.it/RtYfYk https://t.co/khUn79dvQD

26th February 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

📢 Announcing #EIOTWORLD sponsor, @BluetoothSIG — the global standard for simple, secure wireless connections. ➕ Le… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

26th February 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

How IoT Devices Can Enhance the Connected Customer Experience dlvr.it/RtPcvS

24th February 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

🤝 Meet #EIOTWORLD speaker Ingo Feldner, Project Lead for Virtual #Hardware Platforms at @RobertBoschGmbH 📅 Join hi… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

24th February 2021

Newsletter

Sign up for IoT World Today newsletters: vertical industry coverage on Tuesdays and horizontal tech coverage on Thursdays.

Special Reports

Our Special Reports take an in-depth look at key topics within the IoT space. Download our latest reports.

Business Resources

Find the latest white papers and other resources from selected vendors.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IoT World Series
  • Channel Futures
  • RISC-V
  • Dark Reading
  • ITPro Today
  • Web Hosting Talk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Login/Register

FOLLOW IoT World Today ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X