2D bar codes integral to mobile campaign

USE THIS 2D BARCODE TO VISIT OUR SITE funguide.mobi

DOWNLOAD THE READER HERE: neoreader.com

Using the reader on your smart phone, take a photo of the 2D code on the left and it will bring you directly to our mobile website. Pretty cool, huh?


By Jordan Crook | June 17, 2009

A new study shows that 2D bar codes are an integral part of a cross-platform mobile campaign.

The study claimed that mobile barcode technology is expected to transform our interactions with the world around us. Any individual with a camera-equipped phone can take a picture of a two-dimensional bar code and they will automatically be sent to a mobile Website, downloadable content or other information.

“2D bar codes offer a very compelling and easy way for people to access more information from a specific location,” said Jonathan Bulkeley, CEO of Scanbuy, New York. “Using codes in multiple places and in multiple ways really creates the all encompassing value for the consumer.”

Mobile bar codes were distributed throughout March and April of 2008 through a variety of outdoor media tactics which provided people with local information like restaurant reviews, weather, news, and audio tours in touristy areas, direct via mobile.

“It was interesting to track how the different media performed based on consumer needs around a location,” Mr. Bulkeley said. “As an example, a code linking to top restaurant listings from a bus shelter performed better than a code placed on an actual restaurant store front.

“Like anything else in mobile, value must be generated based on what the consumer needs in each specific context or environment,” he said.

CitySearch’s attempt to turn physical cues into mobile page views was to create physical links from their restaurant vendors to its mobile site.

The outdoor media included 2D barcodes that sent the consumer directly to mobile audio tours for the neighborhood.

Discovery Communications used outdoor media such as bush shelters and kiosks, wild postings, static clings, and street teams who handed out flyers and cards. Hundreds of codes were distributed throughout the city.

The results of this case study found over three thousand people used ScanLife during this six-week campaign.

“This project demonstrated how marketers can provide information from virtually any physical media,” Mr. Bulkeley said. “2D barcodes can give a consumer digital content when they need it most on their phone.

“They can also be used to move traffic from one location to another; in this case outdoor media to retail,” he said. “While this was not tested in the project, all of this digital information can also be share via social networks so that one person’s physical location can be ‘seen’ by many.”