An algorithm can now customize your hazelnut spread jar
Who said you can’t get creative with even the most mundane of products? In the news today, a successful marketing campaign by Nutella hazelnut spread in Italy which employed an algorithm controlling the label printer in Nutella’s factory to uniquely design each label, except for the standard Nutella logo:
https://www.inc.com/betsy-mikel/can-robots-do-the-job-of-designers-nutella-gives-it-a-whirl.html
“And what was the reason for “hiring” an algorithm to design all the jars exactly? A video about the campaign says Nutella wanted “to make each jar unique and expressive as the Italian people.” That seemed to jibe with Italy’s grocery shoppers. All 7 million jars sold out within a month.
The campaign was called Nutella Unica and was brought to life by advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather Italia. So the real reason is clear: to create irresistible demand and sell lots and lots of Nutella.”
The article above is a bit sparse on details but further digging reveals that the algorithm is apparently HP Mosaic which is included free in HP SmartStream Designer for HP printers. It was first used in a Coke marketing campaign in 2014:
