Most FMCG companies sell ‘dead products’, in that once they’re off the shelf, there’s little more a brand can do to talk to a consumer.
The Internet of Things promises to change this, signalling a future where beer bottles, trainers and fire alarms are connected to the internet and can continue talking to the parent brand after purchase.

That means thinking about products not just as something to sell once and have done with it, but as a continuous feedback loop of improvements, data and customer service. It means thinking about products as a source of data, and even as a subscription service.

This requires a leap in thinking so dramatic that marketers mostly haven’t caught up. Major drinks firms, including Diageo, Pernod Ricard and Heineken have all dabbled in connected bottles, while Unilever last year issued five briefs to attract start-ups working on the Internet of Things. Nike has also pioneered the brand-as-a-service concept with Nike+ Fuelband.

Absolut Vodka and the Internet of Things
Now Pernod Ricard’s biggest brand, Absolut Vodka, has signed up with the first agency to focus specifically on the Internet of Things, the London-based Sharp End.