What would you do?… if you could personalize anything?


If I could personalize something, I would personalize Tupperware.  That way co-workers will know it’s my lunch in the fridge, and when I take a dish to pass at a party—I won’t have to remember to write my name on the bottom with permanent marker (which gets washed off anyway).
A co-worker of mine would like personalized diapers so they don’t get lost and are used only on their child at daycare— especially important when children need special diapers related to allergies and other requirements.
Personalization is popping up anywhere and everywhere. Buyers of a new Apple iPod or iPad can have it personalized with engraving. Dunkin Donuts offers personalized pre-paid gift cards (and boy do I like their coffee!) How many of you have received a personalized Holiday “ElfYourself” eCard by OfficeMax? With Valentine’s Day coming in about a month, wouldn’t it be nice to create a personalized box of chocolate, both the chocolates themselves and the packaging too…a box covered in photos you’ve chosen to make it more meaningful for that special someone.
Is there any kind of package or object that would make your life easier or more interesting if it was personalized with text and/or images?  Do you already have something that is personalized that you love?
It’s time to be creative! What would you personalize?

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12 Comments

  1. Kate Dobbertin January 19, 2011 -

    I would personalize tickets. Each ticket would show a map of the seat and the nearest bathroom, concession stand, and exit. At sporting events, they could ask fans in specific seats to wear team colors so the blimp could catch an image of the audience spelling out the team name.

    • Joel Basa January 19, 2011 -

      Kate, what a great idea! I recently went to Cowboy Stadium to watch a Manny Pacquiao boxing match and that type of personalization would of been SOOO helpful especially considering the size of that stadium. Also, I like to hold onto my sporting event tickets as souvenirs and it would of been great to have it personalized with more Manny Pacquiao photos! Great idea!

  2. Ben Wiechel January 19, 2011 -

    Of all the things I could personalize, few of them would matter if I did or not. Personalized socks with my name on them would be nice, but it will not stop my wife from wearing them.

    That said, I order supplements for my horse from a company called SmartPak. What this company does is package your supplements into daily packs (called SmartPaks) that are pre-measured and ready to add to your horse’s feed. On each SmartPak is printed your horse’s name, the supplement that is in the “well” (sub-section), and the amount. It makes it very easy for barn managers to keep track of which horse gets what, and if the vet or someone needs to know what is in it, it’s right there. That is some awfully nice personalization that has a very practical purpose, much like the prior stadium directions example.

    • Joel Basa January 19, 2011 -

      Ben, great example! I don’t have horses but I have dogs that I could see the value in having their medication/supplement’s packaging personalized. That would be very helpful!

      I was thinking more and more about my post and I came to the conclusion that perhaps the more appropriate word for personalization is customization. Global companies might think personalization is better stated as localization. Other companies might think of personalization as versioning. Regardless if you use localization, personalization, customization or versioning, any application of personalized packaging will create a better experience for the consumer.

  3. Christine Winter January 19, 2011 -

    Joel, funny you should mention personalized chocolate boxes! That’s exactly what DeBudelse did for Dutch chocolate maker Verkade. The graphics services provider located in Budel, Netherlands used PersonalEffect® software from XMPie, A Xerox Company, in conjunction with XMPie Application Programming Interfaces, to drive an e-commerce site for Verkade customers to select, customize, order and pay for an entirely unique chocolate gift. Once the order was placed, DeBudelse produced the personalized boxes on the Xerox iGen4® Digital Press. Launched during the 2009 Christmas season, more than 24,000 personalized chocolate boxes were sold leading up to the holiday, hitting a peak of three orders per minute and driving €214,800 ($277,751 USD) in revenue for Verkade in just six weeks. For the complete story, visit http://www.xmpie.com/?id=1603.

    I bet both companies are looking forward to Valentine’s Day!

    • Joel Basa January 19, 2011 -

      Thanks for sharing Christine! This is a good story on the power of personalization enabled by technology and software…on that note, I’m running to the vending machine to grab myself a Kit-Kat.

  4. nico veenendaal January 20, 2011 -

    boks, dvd’s chocolate and chewinggum packaging! Visit our site!

  5. Thorbjørn Dinesen January 22, 2011 -

    If I could personalize something it would me my travel tickets. To have my trip made up from personal choices based on destination attractions, information for safety, seats, car rental nod so on, but presented in a envolupe dice ticket, that would be fantastic.

  6. patricia January 31, 2011 -

    i would personalize kids’ clothes – especially the ones they bring to camp (or day care when they were little). Maybe then we could return the ones that aren’t ours and perhaps get some back that went home with someone else 🙂

  7. Karen February 1, 2011 -

    I would personalize discount coupons or offers. Gives the appearnace of a gift and could allow the distibutor to track who uses them. Some retailers do this today but not many.

  8. Mark September 20, 2011 -

    We personalise wine and champagne labels, so I know its popular. http://www.personalisedwinelabels.co.uk
    People get a kick from seeing there own name on anything. I really love my personalised towel – great for bagging the sun loungers by the pool.

    • Joel Basa September 21, 2011 -

      I’ve seen examples of personalized chocolate boxes and now personalized wine labels…seems like a good fit. Thanks for sharing!

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