NEWS

A small tag that costs less than 10 cents could put a dent in the marketing machines of Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc.

Thin Film Electronics ASA, based in Oslo, produces near field communication (NFC) tags for consumer brands. The tag is put on a product package or label and allows brands to communicate directly to customers through mobile devices. Shares rose as much as 5.3% in Oslo and were up 5% to 1.938 kroner as of 9:25 a.m.

“Not every brand is able to benefit from what Google and Facebook are doing,” Chief Executive Officer Davor Sutija said in an interview in Oslo last week. “Many of the major brands see our solution as leveling the playing field.”