iMedia Connection Blog

Since the beginning of the year, I have noticed more and more Twitter hashtags being used in various advertising channels (e.g., print, out-of-home, television) and I wonder, will this interactive marketing tactic fare any better or any differently than mobile barcodes?

From a fundamental marketing perspective, hashtags and mobile barcodes serve very much the same purpose, meaning they are both tools (tactics) by which an advertiser can use to engage and interact with a target audience. Additionally, they both enable consumers in the target audience a means by which to share the brand, product, service and/or user experience socially with others. While some might believe the similarities end here, I don't believe they do and here's why. Just as with mobile barcodes, there are a number of nuances or obstacles, call them what you may, with hashtags that need to be addressed in order for them to be a truly effective marketing tool. Some of these nuances/obstacles include the following:

Consumer Adoption. The majority of the American public are not registered users of Twitter so, by default, they probably have little or no idea of what hashtags... Read more

Over the past 18-24 months, more and more companies have been hoping on the mobile barcode (e.g., QR Code, Microsoft Tag, SnapTag, Data Matrix, etc.) bandwagon, and have been doing so without fully understanding the technology behind the various code formats and how best to develop and implement an effective mobile barcode-based campaign. When operating in this manner, more often than not, the mobile barcode based advertisement or promotional campaign will result in a failed attempt to deliver for both the consumer and the advertiser, and the question could be asked, why bother with the technology in the first place, if not to just make the brand/product appear as hip, cool and/or technologically savvy.
When thinking about the use of mobile barcode technology, companies need to recognize that there are a number of best practices, marketing and technology related, that have already been established, field tested and proven to work. At the very minimum, companies need to be aware of and understand these best practices before they go about producing their first, or their fifteenth, mobile barcode based campaign.
One of the most fundamental best practices/rules of mobile barcode based marketing is that the campaign, specifically the scan resolve content (i.e., the... Read more

The other day, in a local supermarket, I noticed cases of Budweiser and Bud Light beer that were all decked out for Super Bowl XLVI, as well as for consumer interaction with 2D barcodes featured on the packaging. What struck me the most while looking at these cases of beer was that the Budweiser case featured a QR Code and the Bud Light case featured a SnapTag. I know consumer product goods companies will often silo products with respect to development, management, marketing, advertising, etc., but was this a conscious decision between the two product groups to use two different interactive technologies, or just a coincidence?

When I scanned the Budweiser QR Code, I was brought to a page that had a message which read, "Rotate Your Device." I rotated my mobile phone and rotated and rotated, but nothing happened, so I opted to enter the URL into my desktop PC and came to a mobile landing page.

On the landing page, I was prompted for the beer's "born on" date, the date of its manufacture, as well as my birthday. Once the information was entered, I clicked the "Track Your Bud" button and nothing happened. Stymied again. I'm trying to... Read more

Recently, Scandinavian Airlines launched one of the most innovative QR Code-based promotional campaigns that I have yet to see.
As part of the company's "Couple Up to Buckle Up"  2 for 1 travel campaign, Scandinavian Airlines displayed two QR Codes, side by side, on a variety of mediums (e.g., email, banners, print advertisements, etc.). The copy accompanying the QR Codes instructed consumers to scan the left and right codes simultaneously with two different mobile phones and to then bring the two phones together. When the scan resolve video played, the separate left and right mobile phone screens essentially made one split screen, which then enabled the two participating consumers to view the video properly and discover the special 2 for 1 promotional code (see video above). If played individually, the left or right scan resolve video content would be close to meaningless.
Creative? Yes. Original? You bet. Will this campaign generate a great deal of media attention for the company, as well as QR Code (2D) technology? Most certainly. But there's another reason why I love this campaign so much. Research. From what I understand, the company conducted market research and discovered that when couples book their travel plans, they often... Read more

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been busy reviewing, in depth and across a number of attributes, the campaigns that passed my 2D Barcode Litmus Test, as well as a number of individually submitted nominees, about 40 in total, all with the goal to select the best mobile barcode campaign of 2011. While the running was close and the final decision difficult to make, it gives me great pleasure to announce that the winner of 2D Barcode Strategy's 2nd Annual Best Mobile Barcode Campaign Award is Tervis, the Florida-based manufacturer of high-end tumblers. Congratulations! Here are my reasons why.
First, the QR Code is placed prominently in the print advertisement and is accompanied by a strong a call-to-action message ("Bring the holidays to life. Use your smartphone for holiday party tips, special holiday offers, and more."). In addition to the call-to-action, Tervis also listed a URL address for consumers who may not wish to scan and/or don't have a smartphone.

Second, the QR Code is easy to scan and the scan resolve content is original, fun, cleverly worded and unique in design. When the QR Code is scanned, the reader of the advertisement is brought to a mobile web page... Read more