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Posts Tagged ‘mobile marketing’

Integrating Mobile Barcodes into Brand Marketing: Toyota Shows How It’s Done

by Jane McPherson
Posted on: January 3rd, 2012, No Comments

Toyota viewed mobile consumer activation as an integral part of its 2011 marketing plan. In true Toyota fashion, the company wasn’t looking to get its feet wet or try out a novelty. Toyota wanted to make a meaningful impact on the marketing of 19 different car models, each with its own set of marketing challenges and opportunities. Toyota also wanted a solution that would deliver a rich brand experience, activate lead generation, enable CRM and collect consumer data.

The company that invented the mobile barcode in the 1980s developed its own approach: the ToyoTag, a mobile barcode driven by the SpyderLynk SnapTag platform, which allows for the quick creation of variable direct marketing campaigns tied to each Toyota brand. The six advertising agencies responsible for those brands can set up, activate and manage a ToyoTag campaign. But the most critical element is that Toyota can serve its target consumers a campaign and a message crafted to engage those consumers relative to where they are in the purchase cycle. In advertising, Toyota can engage consumers in the brand message, sharing information about new features and benefits. At auto shows, the company can give consumers access to digital brochures, safety information and price quotes. And at dealerships, they can capture people even further down the purchase path. (more…)

Best Practices for Mobile Barcodes: New MMA Whitepaper

by Jane McPherson
Posted on: November 21st, 2011, No Comments

Brand marketers considering adding QR codes and mobile barcodes to their advertising and marketing mix have a good place to start with a new whitepaper from Mobile Marketing Association, “Mobile Barcodes, an Overview for Marketers.” identifies best practices for developing brand marketing campaigns that utilize mobile barcodes.MMA

The study provides details about the types and attributes of mobile barcodes in the market, marketers’ insights into industry best practices and choosing the right type of barcode and service provider based on campaign objectives. Some key best practices and tips covered in the whitepaper include:

  • Creating a compelling experience
  • Telling consumers why and how to engage
  • Setting up your campaign to collect meaningful data
  • How to measure success
  • The life cycle of a 2D barcode campaign
  • Optimizing for mobile
  • Reducing the complexity of your code
  • Providing “quiet space” around the code
  • Choosing the correct size for the code
  • Placing the code where it can be easily scanned
  • Testing the code

Mobile barcode usage continues to increase exponentially. At the end of Q2, 3GVision issued a study that showed the global usage jumped by 1043% between the end of 2009 and August of 2011. That rise has coincided with a jump in the number of smartphone owners, which means the audience for mobile barcodes and the potential for even more has never been greater. Brand marketers should take action now to begin building a base of experience and knowledge.

APIs and Extending 2D Mobile Barcode Functionality

by Jane McPherson
Posted on: November 17th, 2011, No Comments

A number of factors go into making a mobile barcode campaign successful. For consumers, it’s about the visibility of the barcode, what is on offer, and whether the offer is clear. For brand marketers, it is about what the campaign is trying to achieve and what they can get out of it. With mobile becoming a must-have part of the marketing mix, it is certain that mobile campaigns will need to grow more sophisticated in terms of what they can deliver for both the consumer and the marketer.

The central question brand marketers need to ask is what role APIs should play in their mobile barcode platform.

“API” stands for application programming interface. It is the interactive connection between two different company’s databases allowing the databases to ‘talk’ and exchange information. The connection enhances the functionality of a marketing campaign.

APIs can amplify the power and sophistication of a mobile marketing campaign by allowing marketers to leverage the capabilities of other platforms and providers. Some of the more notable applications that APIs crucially impact include:

  • Database Information Exchange – Rendering information on demographics and user data crucial to serving consumers a customized response.
  • Reward and loyalty programs – Assigning points to existing rewards and mobile loyalty programs through interactions with mobile barcodes.
  • Geolocation – Determining when and where consumers interact with a barcode.
  • Sweepstakes– 2d Mobile Barcode campaigns can connect to program management agencies required by many companies for sweepstakes and instant win administration
  • Fulfillment – Marketers can use a 2D Mobile Barcode to offer consumers a sample of a product like conditioner, or deodorant, or whatever the client chooses to offer. After collecting the consumers address information, the API can be used to transfer the consumer shipping data to a fulfillment center
  • Content serving – APIs can serve up exclusive content like video on demand or mobile games.

Brand marketers should start with what capabilities they want their mobile barcode campaign to have and which objectives they would like to reach. QR codes, for example, require a fair amount of back-end integration to plug into various APIs. Other platforms come with API connectivity built in. It all comes down to what marketers want their campaign to do.

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