Janoschka magazine Linked_V8_2023

30 i n s i g h t s
issue #8 ©
l i n k e d
31
Even back in the “analogue” days this was a task for
highly experienced specialists. Each detail of the design
is decisive: do the proportions, layout and text blocks
fit the packaging? How do the lettering, graphics and
images look? And last, but not least: what about the
colours and the logo? Do all these elements together
reflect the brand’s personality? Does the overall look
live up to the premium claim of a brand?
When translated into the digital world for a global point
of sale, the tasks and challenges increase exponentially:
budgets are tight, timeframes tighter still, and
ubiquitous visibility is paramount. Is the brand logo still
easy to recognise when a drinks can moves in the animated
3D view? If it isn’t, then a serious rule has been
broken whose effect is all the more harmful given that
the brand is being displayed all over the world via social
media. Anyone who sees their favourite beer, shower
gel or biscuit on their tablet or smartphone should be
able to tell from the picture whether it keeps the brand
promise. This is where brand guardians with knowhow
come in.
The Linked2Brands production agency uses its brand
mindset and production expertise to mediate between
brands and consumers. Our specialists know that time
is of the essence when it comes to producing visual
content. For swift implementation, they rely on Grip,
an online tool that automates visual content production
for physical goods. Instead of all the images having to
be created by hand, this system draws on a library of
data, thus meeting the growing demand for visual content
that covers all marketing channels and customer
contact points.
Digital transformation
E-commerce is the new normal. Accelerated by the pandemic, digitalisation,
e-commerce and other processes now define trade. Retail turnover,
including digital services (like eBooks and music streaming), rose above
the 100 billion Euro mark for the first time in 2021.
Here the greatest drivers of growth (with an increase in turnover of
36.4 per cent) were fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), i.e. food,
health and beauty products, pet food and similar. And while this idea may
seem strange at first: space is also short on the online shelves of this world.
Brands that use this very reduced platform better and earlier for their
product presentation – in particular on mobile devices – therefore have
3D-
Models
INPUT IS KEY
clear advantages. For the industry, fitting visual depictions or hero images
are now not just desirable add-ons but “must haves.”
Packaging
artwork
Digital twins
Automatically
generated
visual content
grip.tools
Background templates
eCommerce | Social | Campaigns | Videos | Interactive 3D | 360°
“Top-class artwork is essential if the visual content
thus generated for all possible touchpoints is to meet
our own and our customers’ standards,” Stefan Hilss,
Managing Director of Linked2Brands, emphasises.
“Virtual versions of the product can only be created if
our input is top quality. Only then will our customers
benefit from the shorter production and lead times that
speed up market launch and allow more output at the
same cost.”
On the one hand, Hilss and his team know how important
the specific and exact preparation of data is. All
elements like logos, images and text need to be scaled
and positioned correctly so that they live up to the care
and attention that goes into the design of products,
packaging and labels. After all, that is what makes a
product stand out, arouse curiosity and feel right. In
the process, Grip takes the creation of e-commerce
images to a new level, accelerates production (so that
it takes minutes rather than days) and maintains rigorous
consistency: a coding, a form, an aesthetic DNA
– across the world.
On the other hand, Linked2Brands takes charge of
endowing brand products with emotional appeal for
social media. In their role as brand guardians, they
exploit the full potential of existing content and use
suitable artwork to prepare it for new applications,
such as films, stills, animations or mood pictures.
Hilss is aware that exploding consumer demand for
visual content at all digital contact points cannot be satisfied
with an analogue, i.e. traditional, linear production
model: “No matter how hard we work to improve
the KPIs year for year … if we seriously want to meet
expectations at different digital touchpoints, we need
a radically new system.”
According to the chief brand guardian, it will take not
evolution, but a revolution to make all presentations fit
a brand, generating an unmistakable experience. In this
way, brands will not only stay up to date, but move
ahead of their time.