Package Design - January/February 2013 - 4

FROM THE EDITOR

by LInDa casEy

Self Defense
T

hink the brands you work on don’t need protection against product
counterfeiting or diversion? Think again.
The growing popularity of Tide, the household detergent, as a shoplifting
target is a reminder to all of us that product diversion isn’t just a problem for
pharmaceuticals and luxury goods. And if you’re doing a stellar job at building your brand—no matter your vertical, your risk grows.
This is a phenomenon that Ben Paynter saw, when developing the article,
“Suds for Drugs,” for New York magazine. Paynter reports that liquid Tide
has become an ad hoc street currency with the nickname, “Liquid Gold,”
and this unlikely black market wouldn’t have formed if P&G wasn’t so good
at pushing its product.
P&G is doing so much, right, with Tide: consistent use of brand’s colors
and an updated logo that still keeps the packaging distinctively Tide. But
thieves have found that the combination of a distinctive package without
anti-diversion devices makes Tide an excellent currency for drugs such as
crack cocaine.
But this currency conversion comes with a hefty transaction fee for P&G’s
customers, the retailers. These stores typically pay higher wholesale prices
for the detergent, so their profit margins can’t absorb these losses. These
stores also compete with retailers that buy fenced product and sell it for less.
To help you protect your brands’ customers, contributing author Danielle
Beurteaux writes about how packaged goods companies are using product
tracing and anti-counterfeiting technologies in “Tracking Authenticity” on
page 14. And to help you put that information to use for your brand, we’ve
paired that feature with a product focus on some of the overt and covert
technologies available now.
The wide range of solutions available show that defense against product
diversion and counterfeiting is within reach of nearly any brand.

sTay In TOUcH wITH Us by:
Email: linda.casey@stmediagroup.com
LinkedIn: Package Design Magazine
Facebook: Packagedesign Mag
Twitter: packagedesignmg (no “a” in “mg”)

january/february 2013

11262 Cornell Park dr.
Cincinnati, oh 45242

Editorial dEpartmEnt
Editor-in-ChiEf
Linda Casey
linda.casey@stmediagroup.com
EditoriaL assistant
Kara dunford
kara.dunford@stmediagroup.com
Contributing Editor
Patrick henry
pat.henry@stmediagroup.com
art dirECtor
Laura Mohr
laura.mohr@stmediagroup.com
ProduCtion Coordinator
Linda Volz
513-263-9398
linda.volz@stmediagroup.com
SalES dEpartmEnt
PubLishEr
Julie okon
317-564-8475 / fax: 513-744-6909
julie.okon@stmediagroup.com
assoCiatE PubLishEr
John t. Lyons iii
770-955-2923 / fax: 610-296-1553
john.lyons@stmediagroup.com
CorporatE Staff
PrEsidEnt
tedd swormstedt
PaCKagE dEsign subsCriPtion sErViCEs
P.o. box 1060
skokie, iL 60076
P: (847) 763-4938
f: (847) 763-9030
Pd@halldata.com
rEPrints / E-Prints / PLaquEs
Mark Kissling
513-263-9399
mark.kissling@stmediagroup.com

PacKaGE DEsIGn (Issn 1554-6772) is published 9 times annually
(Jan./Feb., March, april, May, June/July, august, sept./Oct., nov.,
Dec.) by sT Media Group International Inc., 11262 cornell Park Dr.,
cincinnati, OH 45242-1812. Telephone: (513) 421-2050, Fax: (513)
362-0317. no charge for subscriptions to qualified individuals. annual
rate for subscriptions to non-qualified individuals in the U.s.a.: $48
UsD. annual rate for subscriptions in canada: $76 UsD (includes GsT
& postage); all other countries: $98 (Int’l mail) payable in U.s. funds.
Printed in the U.s.a. copyright 2013, by sT Media Group International
Inc. all rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be
reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the publisher.
The publisher is not responsible for product claims and
representations. POsTMasTER: send address changes to: Package
Design, P.O. box 1060, skokie, IL 60076. change of address: send old
address label along with new address to Package Design, P.O. box
1060, skokie, IL 60076. For single copies or back issues: contact
Debbie Reed at (513) 263-9356 or Debbie.Reed@sTMediaGroup.
com. subscription services: PD@halldata.com, Fax: (847) 763-9030,
Phone: (847) 763-4938, new subscriptions: www.packagedesignmag.
com/subscribe.

Package Design - January/February 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Package Design - January/February 2013