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Filled with surprise
Date: 19/07/2010
Cans can be filled with so much more than beans. A look at Promocan of the UK by Suzanne ChristiansenPromocan Ltd of the UK is a company that, at first glance, would not appear to be a good fit with can seaming machine manufacturer Eurocan, as it is downstream from the company’s usual job of building seaming machines. However, Eurocan had known Promocan for many years as one of its customers, and in 2009, the owner, Tom Mursell, approached the firm with a view to reorganisation and expansion of the business.
At the time Eurocan had unused space in its premises, and it was interested in diversifying its income stream with a complementary activity that showed great potential. The product ‘fun factor’ was a welcome bonus, notes Linda Daniel, commercial director of Eurocan. Thus, Eurocan now has a controlling interest, and has since gone on to filling some unusual requests.
The cans make a personalised promotion, and come in several varieties apart from the standard can, i.e. money box, drinking cup, safety can, string phone can, plant can. Standard and low height 73 mm diameter cans, along with 99 mm diameter cans are used, all supplied by Crown from its British plants. The end range covers plain, slotted, ring-pull, easy peel or plastic removable type. “As well as supplying directly to customers, we also work with design agencies and distributors,” Daniel says. “We supply the cans bulk packed, or as a mailing in individual postal tubes. We are a niche supplier dealing in quantities from a few dozen to a several thousand cans.”
The can label creates the first point of interest – label design is undertaken by the customer, and Promocan can arrange the printing if required. The firm also packs any contents required in the can, which have in the past included jelly beans, condoms, wedding invitations,
scented oils, soft toys, air and poems.
Promocan currently represents a minority part of the overall turnover of Eurocan. “However, with our investment in new production facilities, machinery and commercial support, we expect its share of turnover to increase,” Daniel points out.
Although the shipping of cans has so far been within the UK, cans the company has supplied have been sent on overseas to Europe, China, Australia, Thailand, Korea and Mexico.
As can be expected, issues can arise in filling, according to Daniel. “Apart from larger items that can be a tight fit even in the bigger cans, the biggest challenges are creative rather than physical.” The best promotions use the can imaginatively, with a well-designed label and creative contents, she says.
And imaginative thinking can lead to some new products. In 2009 Promocan was approached by a design agency commissioned by Bacardi Global Brands Ltd to create a drinks promotion for its Grey Goose vodka brand at the White Tie & Tiara Summer Ball, a fundraising event held by the Elton John AIDS Foundation in the UK. The theme for the Ball was contemporary art, and Grey Goose created a new range of art-inspired vodka cocktails, including ‘The Warhol’. Together with the design agency, Promocan came up with the idea of a ‘cocktail can’ cup to complement ‘The Warhol’ (pictured).
An open top can was used, with a gold internal lacquer, and the top of the can body was curled so that a clear plastic cup sat inside the can and was securely fixed over the rim. The DrinkCan is now a new product that the company is looking to take forward. “Our objective is to establish Promocan as the industry’s foremost promotional and novelty can company, driving forward the message that the simple tin can has the potential to be a premium marketing tool,” Daniel concludes.
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