Bottle top makes the party hop!
StartCap is the world’s first digitally enabled bottle top that can turn on party lights or music simply from opening it, say developers UK cider brand Strongbow Gold and digital agency Work Club. StartCap features RFID technology that begins a chain reaction, sending a signal to a central computer network to activate the designated power switch
The technology is held within a strip made of a combination of RFID, aluminum and transparent paper and is secured over the bottle’s cap. The prototype was first tested in a bar in Budapest where multiple bottles were rigged to activate various features including music, lighting, confetti and fountain spectacles.
“The starting point was to use digital technology to create something of interest that because it was interesting would also be social. Technology allows you to bring product, customer and brand much closer together,” Work Club Joint Creative Partner Ben Mooge explained.
With StartCap, an idea evolved over four months and through 40 different iterations. In its current form, StartCap uses an RFID tag embedded in the cap of a limited-edition bottle. The tag is carefully secured beneath transparent paper to ensure it doesn’t snag on the bottle top’s sticky foil, which is perforated on one side to ensure it easily breaks when opened–propelling the tag away. The cap becomes a trigger when popped and RFID scanners in the environment in which the bottle is opened are activated.
StartCap is the latest in a series of Internet-of-Things innovations developed by Work Club. Last year the London agency launched what was claimed to be the world’s first animated tattoo, for Scotch whisky brand Ballantine’s.
