WO1989004279A1

WO1989004279A1 - Package having a built-in promotional piece

Info

Publication number: WO1989004279A1
Application number: PCT/US1988/004037
Authority: WO
Inventors: Robert F. Miller
Original assignee: Dittler Brothers, Inc.
Priority date: 1987-11-10
Filing date: 1988-11-10
Publication date: 1989-05-18
Also published as: AU2811589A; MX171213B

Abstract

A package having a built-in promotional piece is provided. The package (10) has a wall (8) comprising an outer layer (12) laminated to an inner layer (18). The piece (24) is located between the layers (12), (18), and held in place by the surrounding lamination. One layer may be a strip (42) having the piece (24) preattached to it so as to cause the piece (24) to be placed between it and the remaining layer (40) upon attachment. A window (32) may be provided for viewing the piece (24) from outside the package by making the area of the outer layer (12) contacting the piece transparent.

Description

PACKAGE HAVING A BUILT-IN PROMOTIONAL PIECE

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the retail promotions industry, and more particularly to a package having a promotional piece or other item built into its walls.

Background Art

It is a common promotional strategy to distribute game cards, coupons, or other promotional pieces with packaged products in an attempt to increase sales. Game cards in particular have historically been a successful means of obtaining quick consumer reaction to a product.

In the past, various schemes have been devised for distributing promotional pieces with the product at the point of purchase. A fairly simple yet widely used method involves the printing of the information directly onto the packaging itself. This has proven to be inefficient, however, because most packaging materials are not conducive to having printing placed upon them other than that relating to the standard label. In the particular case relating to games, it is important that certain printing be hidden from view until after the sale of the product and opening of the packaging. This requires the writing to be placed on the inside portion of the package which, being environment around the product, is in most instances not well suited for holding print. In the case of plastic packages, such as potato chip bags, such printing is undesirable. Also, the amount of printing is limited to the size of the space available on the label. Also, the high cost involved in varying the printing on each individual package limits the ability to use a large number of different types of messages.

A second method for distributing promotional pieces has been to glue or otherwise affix the game piece to the outside of the package. For instance, a first sticker may be placed upon ^* the outer surface of the package and have information printed on its exposed surface. A second, more readily peelable sticker is then placed over the printing to be removed after sale. Related methods involve printing the information either on the package directly and covering the printing with a sticker, or printing the information onto the bottom of an easily peelable sticker and placing the sticker on the package. Quite often, however, game pieces such as these are subjected to consumer tampering in the stores. For example, stickers on the outside of packages are easily peeled or removed. This renders the promotion useless, and has the corresponding effect of decreasing sales of the product itself. Another problem with such "sticker" type game pieces is that the application of the pieces to the package slows in-plant production. Still another problem is that the stickers are typically capable of hiding or carrying only a small amount of printing. Another means for distributing game pieces involves overwrapping the piece in cellophane and mechanically inserting the piece into the package. While this method allows pieces of relatively large size to be employed, it is costly and typically results in slowing down in-plant production.

Therefore, there exists a need, for a package having a built-in promotional piece which is simple in design and cost effective.

There also exists a need for a package having a promotion piece in which the piece is not susceptible to tampering and which can only be accessed after the product is sold.

There also exists a need for a package having a promotional piece which prevents contamination of the piece by the product as well as contamination of the product by the piece.

Disclosure of the Invention

The present invention relates to a package having a promotional piece built into its wall.

Most packages currently in use today, and particularly those used in sales of food items, are comprised of two layers, at least one of which is usually a plastic film, laminated together to form a single package wall. An inner layer typically is in a stable condition. The outer layer typically contains the labeling for the package. According to the present invention, a promotional piece, such as a paper game card, coupon, or other form of advertisement is located between two layers of the package so that it is actually built into the package wall.

Alternatively, the piece may be located between a package wall and an attaching strip laminated to the package wall. In the latter embodiment, the strip layer may be attached to either the interior surface or the exterior surface of the package wall, which may be of single or multiple layers. In both embodiments, the lamination of the layers maintains the position of the promotional piece within the package and prevents tampering and contamination. A window may be provided in the outermost layer so that the piece may be seen without destruction of the package. This may be accomplished by leaving the area of the outer layer contacting the piece transparent.

The present invention has several advantages over the current means of distributing promotional pieces. First, the invention eliminates the need to "overwrap" the piece and thereafter insert it into the package. In the package of the present invention, the piece is protected from contamination of and by material inside the package by being located between the two layers of material. Also, the present invention allows the manufacturer of the product to accept package wall, thereby eliminating the need for an insertion step. This results in reduced manufacturing costs and fewer production line problems than with current methods of in-packing. Especially important is the fact that production is never slowed down.

It has been recognized that the promotional piece may adhere to the layers after lamination, and removal of the piece without damage may be difficult. It has been found that this problem can be overcome by applying a transparent releasing agent to the outer surface of the piece prior to lamination.

Secondly, the present invention greatly reduces or eliminates the tampering of packages containing game pieces. To gain access to the piece, the package must be opened and destroyed. Such need to destroy the package also results in increased consumption of the packaged product as consumers search for the piece. Also, because the printing of the piece is performed separately from that of the package, a greater variety of messages may be provided. This enables each individual package to carry a potentially different game piece.

Another important advantage of the present invention is that security involving game pieces in the manufacturing plant is greatly enhanced by eliminating access to loose pieces. Rather, the pieces typically enter the plant already built into the package walls, and are held in pre-production rolls. Also, security is further increased by eliminating the need to overwrap the game piece, and by eliminating the subsequent need to load the overwrapped pieces into inserting machines. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a package having a built-in promotional piece which is simple in design and cost effective.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a package having a built-in promotional game piece in which the piece is not susceptible to tampering and which can only be accessed after the product is sold.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a package having a built-in promotional piece which^' prevents contamination to the piece by the product.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention can be seen with reference to the following description and related drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a rear elevational view of one embodiment of a package of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a being exaggerated for clarity.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of a package of the present invention having a window.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a package of the present invention having more than two laminated layers with the width being exaggerated for clarity. Fig. 5 is an elevational view of a package of the present invention having the promotional piece held in place by an attaching strip.

Best Mode of Carrying Out the Invention

The preferred embodiment is now described with reference to the drawings. The present invention relates to a package having a promotional piece built into its wall. This embodiment relates to the use of the invention as a bag, although any other form of packaging may be used. Before assembly, as shown in Fig. 1. The package is comprised of a rectangular piece of material forming a package wall. The package wall 8 has a top edge 11, a bottom edge 13, a first side edge

15, and a second side edge 17. To form a bag, the first side edge 15 and the second side edge 17 are brought together and sealed. To complete the enclosure, the two halves of the now doubled over top edge 11 are sealed, as are the two halves of wall 8 is a promotional piece 24.

Fig. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a package 10 of the present invention having a promotional piece 24 built into its wall 8. A first layer of material is provided to form an outer package wall layer 12. The outer layer 12 has an exterior surface 14 and an interior surface

16. The outer layer 12 may be made of any suitable material, although for proper lamination discussed in greater detail below, it is preferable that the outer layer 12 be made of a plastic film. The exterior surface 14 of the outer layer 12 may contain printing for labeling or other purposes. A second layer of material is provided to form an inner package layer 18, which has a contacting surface 20 and an exposed surface 22. The inner layer 18 may be made of any suitable material, although it should preferably be of a type which can be effectively laminated to the outer layer 12. Plastic film is one such material. The two layers 12, 18 are laminated in such a manner that the contact surface 20 of the inner layer 18 contacts the interior surface 16 of the outer layer 12. It is important to note that for purposes of this description, laminate is defined as the formation of.a structure by bonding or otherwise attaching layers.

A promotional piece 24 is located between the contact surface 20 of the inner layer 18 and the interior surface 16 of the outer layer 12. Upon lamination, the two layers 12, 18 surround the piece 24 is therefore built into the package wall 8. The piece 24 may be a game card, coupon or advertisement made of folded paper, or it may be any other item capable of being placed between and held in position by the two attached layers 12, 18. Means for easily removing the piece 24 from between the layers 12, 18 may be provided. For instance, a pull tab and perforation combination 19, as seen in Fig. 1, may be employed. It is also preferred that the inner layer 18 be transparent so that the promotional piece 24 is visible to one viewing the interior portion of the package 10. Also, if the product sold in the package 10 is greasy or is susceptible to becoming stale, the inner layer 18 material can be of such type as to provide protection to the piece 24 as well as to maintain a proper environment inside the package 10. Also, the product is protected from the piece 24. Upon the sealing of the edges 11, 13, 15, 17, the piece becomes enclosed in the package 10 and is protected from contamination and is less susceptible to tampering. A release coating may be provided on the outer surfaces of the piece 24 to better allow the separation of the piece 24 from the laminated layers 12, 18. For example, a transparent, silicone-based agent may be sprayed onto or otherwise applied to the piece 24 before it is placed between the layers 12, 18.

A window 32, as shown in Fig. 3, may be provided to make the piece 24 visible while inside the sealed package 10 and enables printing to be provided on the package 10 in a manner juxtaposed promotional piece 24, as shown in Fig. 3. This may be accomplished by making the area of the outer package layer 12 which contacts the piece 24 transparent. This will allow the piece to have its printing observed by consumers before sale of the product and without destruction of the package 10.

It can be seen, therefore, that the present embodiment utilizes already existing elements of a two-layered package 10, i.e. the inner layer 18 and the outer layer 12, and makes use of them in a unique manner. However, the present invention may also be used with packages which do not utilize two layers, as shown in the following embodiments. The package 10 of the present invention may also have more than two laminated layers, as shown in Fig. 4. A first, innermost layer 52 is laminated to a second, middle, layer 54, which is laminated to a third, outermost layer 56. A promotional piece 24 may be placed between the first layer 52 and second layer 54 and held in place by the lamination surrounding the piece 24. Altermatively, the piece 24 may be placed between the second layer 54 and the third layer 56. Each layer of material between the outside portion of the package 10 and the promotional piece 24 may have a transparent portion corresponding to the location of the piece 24 so that the piece 24 is visible from outside the package 10. Also, each layer of material between the inner portion of the package 10 and the promotional piece 24 may have a of the piece so that the piece 24 is visible from inside the package 10. Fig. 4 shows a package wall 40 which may be of single or multiple layers and which may be used to form a package. An attachment strip 42 is provided which has an inner surface 44 and an outer surface 46. The strip 42 has a promotional piece 24 attached to its inner surface 44. The attachment strip 42 can be then attached to the package wall 40, by lamination or otherwise, thereby sealing and holding the piece 24 between the wall 40 and the strip 42. The strip 42 containing the piece 24 may be applied to either the interior surface of the package wall 40, in which case the promotional piece will be inside the package when sealed, or the exterior surface of the package wall 40, in which case the piece 24 will be plainly visible to prospective buyers. In both cases the piece 24 will be protected from contamination and tampering with minimal change to the package. The width of the strip 42 can depend upon the width of the promotional piece 24, and therefore material costs are saved.

While the invention has been described in detail with particular reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention as previously described and as defined by the claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED;

1. A package comprising: a) an outer layer of material forming the outer surface of the package wall; b) an inner layer of material laminated to said outer layer to form the inner surface of the package wall; and c) a promotional piece located between said layers and held in place by the lamination surrounding said piece.

2. The package of Claim 1 , wherein said inner layer of material is a transparent film so that said promotional piece is visible through said inner layer.

3. The package of Claim 1, wherein said outer layer of material has a transparent portion corresponding to the location of said promotional piece so that said piece is visible from outside said package.

4. The package of Claim 1, wherein said package is a bag.

5. The package of Claim 1, wherein said outer layer is plastic.

6. The package of Claim 1, wherein said inner layer is plastic.

7. The package of Claim 1, and further from said outer layer to provide access to said promotional piece.

8. The package of Claim 1, wherein said promotional piece is a game card.

9. The package of Claim 1, wherein said promotional piece is a coupon.

10. A promotional product container comprising: a) a package having an outer surface and an inner surface; b) an attachment strip laminated to said package, said strip having a contact surface for contacting said package and an exposed surface opposite said contact surface; and c) a promotional piece located between the contact surface of said attachment strip and said package and held in place by the lamination surrounding said piece.

11. The promotional product container of Claim 10, wherein said attachment strip is attached to said inner surface of said package and said promotional piece is held between said contact surface and said package inner surface.

12. The promotional product container of

Claim 10, wherein said attachment strip is attached to said outer surface of said package and said promotional piece is held between said strip contact surface and said package outer surface.

13. The promotional product container of Claim 10, wherein said attachment strip is a transparent film so that said promotional piece is visible through said strip.

14. The promotional product container of Claim 10, wherein said attachment strip is plastic and is laminated to said package.

15. The promotional product container of

Claim 11, wherein said package has a transparent portion corresponding to the location of said promotional piece when said attachment strip is attached to said package so that said piece is visible from outside said package.

16. The promotional product container of; Claim 10, wherein said promotional piece is a game piece.

17. The promotional product container of Claim 10, wherein said promotional piece is a coupon.

18. The promotional product container of

Claim 10, wherein said package is plastic and said attachment strip is laminated to said package.

19. A package comprising: a) a plurality of wall materials laminated together to form a package wall; and b) a promotional piece located between a pair of said wall materials and held in place by the lamination surrounding said piece.

20. The package of Claim 19, wherein each layer of material between the inside portion of said package and the promotional piece has a transparent portion corresponding to the location of said promotional piece so that said piece is visible from inside said package.

21. The package of Claim 19, wherein each layer of material between the outside of said package and the promotional piece has a transparent portion corresponding to the location of said promotional piece so that said piece is visible from outside said package.

22. The package of Claim 1, wherein said promotional piece has a release coating on its outer surface to enhance removal of said piece from said laminated layers.

23. The package of Claim 1, wherein said package has printed indicia juxtaposed with the place at which said promotional piece is held.

24. The package of Claim 10, wherein said promotional piece has a release coating on its outer surface to enhance removal of said piece from said laminated layers.

25. The package of Claim 10, wherein said package has printed indicia juxtaposed with the place at which said promotional piece is held.

26. The package of Claim 19, wherein said promotional piece has a release coating on its outer surface to enhance removal of said piece from said laminated layers.

27. The package of Claim 19, wherein said package has printed indicia juxtaposed with the place at which said promotional piece is held.