The hardest thing about on-pack activation is creating novel excitement without losing yourself.
Few consistently get it right, but it's something we think about deeply at @B Brand Design.
When a major sporting event arrives, the pressure to do something bold is strong. Stakeholders and retailers want something that stops the consumer at each fixture.
The temptation is to chase the occasion so hard that the pack stops looking like your brand and starts looking like the event.
That's a real danger... but @Budweiser has long been a brand that gets this balance right.
As the beer of the FIFA World Cup for nearly 40 years, their 2018 and 2022 activations are examples we reference regularly. Contextually relevant, but unmistakably Budweiser.
The idea is that the pack tells the consumer this brand is part of something happening right now, without making them work to recognise what brand it is.
With the World Cup approaching in June, it'll be worth watching how they execute again.
That's the discipline of great brand activation (and the standard we hold ourselves to as well).