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The Quick and Dirty About QR Codes

April 13, 2010 in Mobile by Lauren McCabe | No comments

Best Buy QR CodesIf you’re an avid reader of Chicago’s Red Eye, then you’ve probably spotted their weekly promotional ”mystery” code contests.  But, you’ve probably also wondered what the heck those black and white, square codes are and how you actually win the contest.  Well, my friends, this is the latest craze taking over mobile advertising and, in my opinion, it will also be the future for disseminating information … on billboards and on products.

QR Codes, or quick response codes, is a bar-code-like code that you take a picture of with your iPhone, Droid or other smartphone and you are immediately brought to a corresponding website.  For example, take a picture of a QR code placed on a billboard for Hawaii and you are immediately taken to the Hawaii Tourism Board’s website right on your phone.  (This is a real example I saw in Tokyo.)

QR Codes were developed in Japan in the 90s and after traveling there this past summer as part of a Global Marketing class while at Northwestern I can attest that they are everywhere: on billboards, in magazines, even on shampoo bottles.  Now, they are coming to America. 

The whole ”snap and connect” idea is not new.  I’ve seen Scholastic media use it as a marketing solution for their magazine clients when I worked at PBS KIDS and, more recently, Playboy used it in an ad for their annual Swimsuit Issue in a recent edition of Marie Claire magazine.  However, QR codes expands the technology from pure advertising to a logistical solution.

 One company that is really embracing this new technology is Best Buy.  While walking down Fifth Avenue in New York City during the Easter weekend, I noticed that Best Buy is prominantly displaying a QR Code in its window display.  I’ll admit that I’m not entirely surprised that Best Buy is using QR Codes.  I worked on a project last summer for the company in which our team recommended that they use QR Codes for their mobile marketing strategy.  But, how Best Buy decides to use QR Codes can really impact how consumers get product information and even purchase a new HDTV or DVD player right from their mobile phone.  All you need is to download a QR Code reader. 

Keep your eyes open as these codes will undoubtedly be popping up in more places.  Perhaps, you’ll receive a resume with one right on the bottom-right corner.

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Retail’s Innovative Cheat Sheet

March 11, 2010 in Integrated Marketing, Mobile, Online, Outdoor, Product Development, Social Networking, Television, word of mouth by Lauren McCabe | No comments

The Retail Innovation and Marketing ConferenceThanks to my experience working with Best Buy last summer, I’ve been able to discover how I can use my passion for media to market companies and products that one would not normally consider “media” entities.  As the market is currently seeing with the creation of the Pepsi Refresh Project and the millions of iPhone applications and Facebook fan pages as examples, marketers are looking to expand their brands not only with their products, but also with entertaining and informative content.  I feel this is truly the future of marketing and communications.

Apparently I’m not alone.  Last week the National Retail Federation held its inaugural Retail Innovation and Marketing Conference in San Francisco.  For anyone who wasn’t able to attend (myself included), they have posted the most amazing blog that shares the highlights of the conference and the little golden nuggets of information shared by some of the industry’s most connected and digitally-savvy professionals.

It’s truly a valuable resource for anyone wanting to learn what’s going on in the industry, but can’t pay the conference fee.  (Me again!)  Enjoy!

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It’s Hip to Be Square

February 27, 2010 in Games, Integrated Marketing, Mobile, Online, Social Networking by Lauren McCabe | No comments

FoursquareI am the “Mayor” of the Evanston Athletic Club here in Evanston, IL.  Never heard of me?  Well, you must not be one of the hundreds of thousands of people playing Foursquare.  Ok, even if you are, you probably still don’t know me, but if you are a marketer for Chicago Athletic Clubs, Lululemon, Nike, Les Mills Group Fitness Programs or any other fitness-oriented organization you should know me.

Why?  Well, as the “Mayor” of the Evanston Athletic Club, I’m self-identifying myself as the most frequent user of the gym through the mobile location-based-service (LBS) Foursquare.  I’m pretty much giving you information on where I’m going, how often and who I’m meeting up with.  That’s the beauty of LBS platforms like Foursquare.  It’s a consumer data oasis.  All it needs now is more people buying in.

I first learned about Foursquare last year at the MBA Media and Entertainment Conference at Columbia University.  Even after being one of Dennis Crowley’s first followers it did take me almost a year to really get into it.  What did I need?  More friends participating!  But now many of my friends, especially from my Medill IMC program, are getting into it.  And we’re not alone.

Already there are more people using Foursquare in the first year of its inception than what Twitter had on its first birthday.  Plus, A number of marketers like Pepsi, Bravo TV and Zagat guides are already jumping on the bandwagon by using the platform to reach the early adapters.  These marketers are reaching out to users when they “check in” to offer free samples of products and tune-in reminders.  For example, to promote the new movie Valentine’s Day, Warner Brothers reached out to Foursquare users who had checked in at one of ”Makeout Spots” locations listed on the movie’s website.

It’s examples like this that show how much of a gold mine Foursquare can be for marketers.  You are reaching an already engaged and interested fan.  The price of a coupon you can send to that person’s mobile phone is so worth acquiring that person’s loyalty. 

I’m still going to go to the Evanston Athletic Club to work out (I’ve signed a contract), but it wouldn’t hurt getting an occassional free massage or a free pair of yoga pants from Lululemon. (HINT! HINT!)

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iPad: iWow or iDud?

February 1, 2010 in Games, Mobile, Online, Television by Lauren McCabe | No comments

Funny or Die: Pee Wee gets an iPad

Since Apple’s highly anticipated unveiling of its iPad last week, there has been a lot of buzz about this “revolutionary” gadget.  Frankly, much of the discussion is just about that.  Is the iPad even revolutionary?  For some, including Pee Wee Herman and the folks at Funny or Die, they think that the iPad is nothing more than a glorified iPhone that can also be used as a serving tray.  But for others, including me, the iPad is a hint of what’s to come for media consumption. 

Sure, the iPad probably won’t change the media industry as quickly as how the iPod changed music years ago.  But what is sure to happen is how media companies start thinking about the content they produce and how they release it to consumers.  As the New York Times reports today, the iPad has its flaws.  One of its largest is the inability to play Flash, a key compenent for sites like Hulu.  However, with new devices like the iPad, the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook, media producers will once again need to figure out how to get their content into the hands, ears and laps of media users before someone else does.

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With New App, Watching Paint is Not Dry

October 13, 2009 in Mobile by Lauren McCabe | No comments

Ben iPhone App

Being first to market doesn’t always guarantee a solid win against the competition.  With the buzz surrounding Benajmin Moore’s new iPhone application called Ben, including a video feature on AdAge.com, Sherwin Williams is definitely learning that lesson.

While Sherwin Williams was the first paint manufacturer to release a photo-based, color selecting iPhone app, Ben has surpased Sherwin’s ColorSnap application in downloads … thanks to PR efforts and word-of-mouth building.

 

To learn more, watch the Ad Age video featuring Benjamin Moore’s director of product development Carl Minchew.

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