Comments (0) The New York Times article about mobile barcodes by Stephanie Clifford spotlights SpyderLynk SnapTags as a brandable more accessible mobile barcode.
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Mediapost’s OMMA Magazine, the Magazine of Online Media, Marketing & Advertising features an article about SnapTags in it’s January issue.
The article explains that ” Through mobile activation, companies have found a way to not only deliver a wide range of brand content, but open an actual dialogue with the consumer.”
“This sort of technology is an amazing opportunity for advertisers to expand their content beyond the parameters of traditional media,” says Dan Cornell, director of digital strategy at Edelman. “It’s a door opener to creating a real relationship.”
“Often, this relationship between advertiser and consumer starts rather simply with brand recognition, often involving the brand logo. Denver CO based Spyderlink recognized the importance of the logo and is now taking a brand first approach with technology much more accessible than your average 2D or QR mobile barcode.”
Read the article by Tricia Despres now.
Article Originally Published by Mobile Marketer
December 8, 2009
Marketers, advertising agencies and brand departments have been giving a lot of attention recently to the emerging mobile barcode market.
And why not? Mobile barcodes offer marketers an exciting opportunity — increase the value of brand marketing and advertising by adding measurable interactive functionality. With the placement of a mobile barcode, brands can give consumers access to information, multi-media content, promotional opportunities, retail store locations, discounts, samples and much, much more from brand marketing materials.
Now, that is something worth talking about. But there might be more to the conversation than you know.
As the market grows in the U.S., a number of different mobile barcodes have emerged. With these new mobile barcodes comes a sea of new terminology and capabilities creating barriers to understanding and differentiating between them.
If you are considering adding a mobile barcode to your brand marketing efforts, there are two key variables to consider when choosing a solution:
1. The degree of brand identity and customization you desire
2. The consumer experience and potential barriers to entry for participation
Pre-Generated vs. Customized Codes
Many of the more well-known mobile barcodes are pre-generated, meaning that the code has the same overall appearance regardless of the brand or product it is representing. Alternatively, there are customized codes that are capable of incorporating a brand’s identity or artwork directly into the code itself. Customized mobile barcodes can complement the advertising and reinforce the brand or product message.
Microsoft’s Tag is capable of including color and can be customized to include a background image while SpyderLynk’s SnapTag uses a brand’s identity as the centerpiece of its mobile barcode. SnapTags are created with any brand logo or product image and SpyderLynk’s Code Ring Technology, which provides tracking and differentiation capabilities.
Mobile Apps vs. Snap & Send
Depending on what type of mobile barcode you are using, the decoding and activation of the promised engagement occurs via one of two interfaces activated by the consumer:
1. Barcode Reader – Code is read by a barcode reader mobile application
2. Snap & Send – Code is read by the consumer snapping a photo of it and sending it to a number or email address
While a few handsets in the U.S. come with a barcode reader pre-installed, most consumers will have to download a barcode reader by visiting a website or an application store on their mobile camera phone. In the U.S., there are multiple types of mobile barcodes requiring readers and multiple types of barcode readers. While many readers can activate QR Codes, an open source code, proprietary mobile barcodes like the EZcode and Microsoft Tag can only be read by code-dedicated reader applications. In a world with multiple kinds of barcodes, consumers may have to find and download a reader for each type of barcode they want to activate.
Mobile barcodes offering Snap and Send functionality in the U.S. include SnapTags and JagTags. Consumers use their camera phone to snap a photo of these mobile barcodes and send the photo to the number or email address provided. The barcodes are then decoded and the promised message or link is returned to the participating consumer via SMS or MMS messaging. These mobile barcodes do not require a barcode reader or any type of application download, making them usable for over 200 million consumers in the U.S. today.
The exciting bottom line is that marketers in the U.S have multiple options for activating their advertising. All of the mobile barcodes mentioned above can increase brand engagement while providing sophisticated analytics about consumer behavior as well as the effectiveness of brand marketing and media initiatives. It’s important to know that you have options and that you can choose the code that best fits your brand and marketing objectives.
See the article at Mobile Marketer.com
SnapTag featured on Janet Jackson advertising in Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is using SpyderLynk SnapTags to add interactivity to the pages of their magazine for the first time this week. Interactive solutions delivered via the magazine include mobile promotional opportunities and mobile purchase opportunities.
Entertainment Weekly is offering consumers the opportunity to enter a sweepstakes this week when they visit Samsung and Janet Jackson’s advertisements.
Entertainment Weekly ran a full page advertisement promoting the sweepstakes and consumers have the opportunity to win movie tickets for a year.
Participants who snapped and sent in the Janet Jackson SnapTag received a link to Amazon.com giving them an opportunity to make a mobile purchase of Janet Jackson’s Number Ones CD.
Unlike 2D mobile barcodes, SnapTags activate a text response from Entertainment Weekly. Consumers have been proven to be highly responsive to text messages sent to their mobile phones.
SnapTags are changing the landscape of the Warren Miller film series. First Bank is offering film-goers the opportunity to participate in a sweepstakes for a custom-made pair of skis or a snowboard by snapping and sending in a SnapTag. The program engages consumers, promotes the bank’s free checking offer and allows First Bank to track conversion rate from participation to customer acquisition.
Through a text message, consumers provide their name to complete their entry, allowing First Bank to track the significance of participants opening free checking account.
“SnapTags not only give First Bank an opportunity to engage consumers in a meaningful way at an event, but they also create visibility into how an event exposure drives consumer adoption of our free checking account,” said Brian Jensen, VP of Marketing at First Bank of Colorado.
CoverGirl uses Branded SnapTag to engage consumers
CoverGirl is the latest advertiser to use a SpyderLynk SnapTag to optimize the value of advertising impressions and engage consumers. In the November 2nd issue of Star Magazine, CoverGirl offers readers an opportunity to snap and send in a branded SnapTag to enter a sweepstakes to win a Swag Bag from a Star Magazine Red Carpet Event.
Placing SnapTags in brand advertising and marketing, creates an opportunity for more interactive, trackable campaign not only improving the value of the marketing materials but also creating a more dynamic relationship between marketers and consumers. SnapTags are the only branded mobile barcode. To activate, consumers snap and send the SnapTag making them more accessible than 2D barcodes or QR codes which require the download of a software application.
Ladies, grab your issue of Teen Vogue and turn to page 63 for your chance to win with SpyderLynk SnapTags!
Brought to you by Lycra and Fruit of the Loom, readers who snap a photo of the Lycra SnapTag in this month’s issue will be automatically entered into a drawing to win one of 25 prize packages from the Fruit of the Loom Fresh Collection.
If you happen to miss out on one of the prize packages, don’t worry – you can still get more incentive from the advertisers! Send in your name and e-mail address and you’ll get back an additional special offer with purchase.
With over 1 million readers, Teen Vogue, like many other magazine and publications nationwide are looking for additional ways to reach consumers and have implemented interactive campaigns, like this one. With SpyderLynk’s SnapTags, advertisers are able to interact with readers on a mobile level and deliver back wanted content straight to their cell phones. From prizes, to free samples, to coupons and discount codes, SnapTags are the newest in mobile barcodes, offering a branded, more accessible alternative to 2D Barcodes. Check out the SnapTag demo here to see for yourself how these “snappable” interactive tools work.
SpyderLynk announced today it has been chosen as one of the 20 showcase companies for the 2009 DEMOgala technology conference on Oct. 8, 2009 at the Denver Convention Center. DEMOgala is the region’s largest technology conference, with a showcase of demonstrations from innovative Colorado companies and more than 40 Founders and CEOs from around the nation. These leading edge entrepreneurs will be sharing insight on how they are leveraging technology for success.
“Our judges chose SpyderLynk as one of the top 20 most innovative technology companies this year because of their leading-edge work in mobile marketing,” said Su Hawk, president, CSIA. “We’re proud to have this smart company and people involved, because the national tech leaders who are attending and speaking should see what SpyderLynk is all about, and we’re pleased to provide that forum,” she said.
(Thanks, we are, too!)
We’d also like to take a minute to thank the folks at CSIA for naming SpyderLynk a 2009 DEMOGala Showcase company and a big thanks to iSherpa for nominating us for this honor. It’s such a privilege to be named to this list alongside some of the most innovative and interesting companies coming out of Colorado today and we look forward to seeing what other great technologies and services will come out of this group in the future.
– The SpyderLynk Team
To read more about SpyderLynk being named a DEMOgala showcase company, click here.
Star Magazine and Procter & Gamble’s Secret deodorant have teamed up with SpyderLynk in the latest issue of the publication, using SnapTags to create a snappable sweepstakes for readers.
The SnapTags are part of an innovative advertisement for Secret in conjunction with an interview with newest music sensation Cobra Starship and the band’s front man Gabe Saporta.
To activate the SnapTag sweepstakes, readers simply have to take a photo of the tag with their camera phone and send it in to the designated phone number or e-mail address.
Readers who enter the sweepstakes are automatically entered for a chance to win a trip to see Cobra Starship live in concert. The SnapTag is the interactive brand-marketing tool offering readers the opportunity to immediately enter the sweepstakes and engage with their favorite brands and music artists.
Grab your copy of Star Magazine today to check out this new innovative advertisement and to enter to see Cobra Starship live!
This past weekend, SnapTags were on display along with Dell’s new mini Netbooks at Austin City Limits Music Festival. Dell is the first computer manufacturer to use SnapTags, the more accessible, branded alternative to a 2D barcode, in event marketing.
Dell used SnapTags to drive interest and awareness in the mini Netbook by featuring a picture of the new product as the centerpiece of the promotional SnapTag. Consumers were invited to snap and send in the Dell SnapTag for the opportunity to win ACL Backstage passes, concert tickets to future show or a Dell Mini 10 Netbook.
The impact of Event Marketing has historically been tough to evaluate. Demonstrating a product among an event filled with a product’s target market feels like a good strategy, but only if a marketer really creates awareness and engages the consumer in a meaningful way.
SnapTags offer brand marketers a means for making event marketing more effective and measurable:
1. SnapTags provide consumers a simple means for participating in a brand promotion at event.
2. SnapTags give brand marketers a way to convert interest to an ongoing conversation when they offer access to an email or text club.
3. SnapTag promotions can be used to drive booth or display traffic.
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