Pyrotec, the privately owned South African company that specialises in providing innovative and top quality product identification solutions, recently announced the January finalists for the 2011 Pyro Inspiration Awards. Started by Pyrotec in 2008, the awards seek to recognise innovative and exceptional on-pack devices and to establish on-pack as a rightful standalone media category.
The awards recognise both promotional and information on-pack devices, and a total of four finalists were selected. In the promotional category, where products with innovative and effective on-pack promotions are recognised, three finalists were selected. These were Safari Fruit's Fix-a-Form label that gave consumers useful information about the product, dietary advice and included a competition element; Lion Shoe Polish' reverse-printed label in a bright colour that made it stand out; and Ultra Mel's piggy-back label that gave consumers a discount on future purchases of the product.
The entries in the Promotional category were judged according to their originality (innovation, freshness, and design), impact (wow factor and selling power) and clever use of space (amount of information, relevance to product and functionality).
Bob Martin took top honours in the Informational category for its very effective use of space and useful, relevant information on its Vetcare Tick & Flea Spray Fix-a-Form label. The Informational category recognises brands that make clever use of on-pack space to communicate important or relevant product information.
The criteria for the Informational category take into account the originality of the on-pack device (its readability, layout and creativity) as well as the clever use of space (amount of information, relevance of information to product, and functionality).
The panel of judges consisted of experts from the packaging and design, FMCG, marketing and communications industries. Among the judges were Rod Baker of Bizcommunity.com, Emma Rowberry of Packaging & Print Media, Belinda Murray of Saatchi & Saatchi, Basie Burger of Makhro- Agro and Shirley Mabiletja from Vital Health Foods.
The next group of entries will be judged at the end of March in Johannesburg.
Pyro Inspiration Awards are awarded five times a year at two month intervals for the best on-pack devices including promotional and informational and often mostly multipage labels which are produced by Pyrotec. The finalists of the bi-monthly awards proceed into the final round and are judged by a panel of judges at a gala event at the end of the year.
For more information about the Pyrotec and the Pyro Inspiration Awards, go to www.pyrotec.co.za.
