The funny looking box you see above is a not new technology; however the QR Code is pretty foreign to us in the U.S. QR stands for Quick Response. In the next decade, I believe QR codes will start popping up in U.S. media providing our culture with what we love best; content delivery that is easy and FAST.

The QR Code is a kind of 2D barcode that contains a plethora of personalized digital data. It is primarily used to send links to your mobile device. A simple snapshot with your camera phone and the QR Code sends the necessary information to open your web browser to a specific URL site or text message. 2D barcodes allow advertisers and publishers to push relevant digital content directly to consumers? mobile phones when they are most interested in a product or service. This technology bypasses the search engine stage, allowing advertisers and publishers to give people more information at the moment of awareness.

What are QR codes and what are they already doing?
Currently, QR codes are being used as a tool to get more information. You see a code in a magazine, snap a pic, and it directs you to the product site on your mobile phone. Japan and some European countries have taken this technology to a new level. They do use it for informational purposes; however it has opened the door to deeper consumer engagement and interactivity. QR codes are proving that they have the potential to do even more for advertisers and consumers alike.

Some innovative ideas:

• URLs/Coupons – Dick’s Sporting Goods announced its new mobile site with QR coding at the new Cowboys Stadium during the University of Oklahoma vs. Brigham Young University bowl game. This was the first marketing campaign to place a QR code on a jumbo-tron during a sporting event. University of Oklahoma vs. Brigham Young University fans were encouraged to take a picture of the QR code and were directed to a coupon for the store. If your phone didn’t have QR technology, no problem. The website URL and an email address were clearly displayed as other ways to acquire the coveted coupon. A deeper explanation of the campaign and the results can be found online.
• E-tickets – Imagine not having to wait in line for your Austin City Limits Music Festival wristband a week before the show starts or the three hour line on the day of. QR codes can completely eliminate the need for wristbands and tickets. After purchasing your ticket online you receive a QR codes to your mobile phone. A simple scan of your phone will show that you have purchased a three-day or one-day only pass. Once you have checked in, your ticket is marked as used. Also, imagine after you have checked in, your phone directs you to the ACL site, where you are able to view weather, time changes, band line-up, vendor maps, and more. QR codes could even eventually tell you exactly what song your favorite band is playing on what stage in real time. Most importantly, no lost ACL tickets and no need to be worried they won’t scan.
• Business cards & Resumes – An awesome way to set you apart from the crowd. Why not include your LinkedIn QR code on your resume? Or your company’s website on your business cards?
• Tattoos – I would grab some temporary ones for the office party. Or, if you want to go permanent that’s cool too. Just make sure it’s something to last a lifetime!
• Billboards – Disney in Tokyo has Mickey Mouse QR codes that send you to the Disneyland website. Billboards in subway stations allow for easy point and shoot.
• Branded QR codes- include a picture within the code and in color – These QR codes from BeQRious can have color or pictures imbeded in the code! Why not include your face on that resume? Or, put your company logo inside the QR code on that business card?
• Swag and self-branding – Additional information is gained by using QR codes. Therefore, the potential use for them is limitless. The code can contain anything from your information, to your likes and dislikes, to what you like in a guy, to what your plans are for that night. Why not create a coffee mug, a hat, a scarf, even a baby bib. You can create your own patches. Instead of bumping on your iPhone, why not scan someone’s QR code to learn more about them? Hosting a charity event? Raise funds on location with QR coding.
• Geography based tours and reviews – City Search and Antenna Audio launched a test run of geography based QR coding in the spring of 2008. QR codes were distributed around San Francisco in restaurants and at popular destinations. The codes included restaurant reviews, as well as audio tours and historical facts allowing tourists access to distinct decision making information.
• Loyalty points system – In Japan, Coca Cola uses QR codes to reward loyal customers. Vending machines have QR codes imprinted on them, and consumers are invited to earn as many as they can, ultimately redeeming them to get prizes.
• Secrets and acts of defiance – The Pet Shop Boys released a single in 2007 on which they denounced the idea of a British national identity card. On the CD cover, there was a QR code that directed to their attack on the system. Also, the entire music video sports different QR codes that link to civil liberties websites. Pretty cool that QR coding is being used to spawn political debate and protesting!
• Alternative paintballing – No more immediate bruising from the paintballs flying at you at speeds approximately 60mph (at least that’s what it feels like). Players wear t-shirts with their own individualized QR code. A player snaps your QR code from afar and a text message is sent to you informing you of your demise, allowing for a high quality game sans the pain!
• Intelligent advertising – changing the site location to match the weather. Dynamic QR codes are special codes can be updated in real time for businesses that sell products that might potentially have a need to change advertising in response to say, the weather. What if Gap had a billboard in the NYC subway station and the QR code directed the consumer to the GAP mobile homepage featuring a new line of flip-flops? Well, on Tuesday New York has a forecast of heavy rain. No, problem. Just switch out that QR code to direct consumers to the part of the website that highlights Gap’s new swanky umbrellas!
• A great idea by DDB Brazil for Editoras Online – DDB Brazil in a campaign for Online, a Brazilian online bookstore, incorporated almost every valuable player in the media arena. QR codes are the single piece that molded the dynamic parts of the campaign together. This YouTube video explains the intricacies of the campaign far better than I could here. By far my favorite in terms of innovation and success! 33 Interactions has a great post by Jenine Wong that gives an extensive description of the campaign as well.
• Tim Burton’s film “9″ used QR codes that allowed fans to view sneak peaks and hear commentary from the director.
• Green Day‘s album, 21st Century Breakdown featured QR codes in posters, promo items, and ads directing you to a site with exclusive downloads and images of the band.
• L.A. Candy, the newest book by Lauren Conrad sports a QR code on the back cover.

So, will QR codes be the “URL Killer“, as Garrick Schmitt and others have described it? In his article Schmitt says, “QR codes will become the primary bridge connecting real and virtual worlds.” As you can see from the aforementioned examples, these codes are one step in the direction of the inevitable merging and graying of media. One builds on the other builds on the next. The mobile revolution and the saturation of the online space have created a need for simpler URLs and innovative connections. And of course, as I mentioned in one of my previous blog entries, Mobile Marketing Prowess, the mobile consumer wants conversation. QR codes have opened the door to a broader and deeper range of personal targeting and communication, and they have the potential to become a value exchange of relevant, individualized, useful, and interesting information.

Who is LIN TV you ask? They’re a local television and digital media company, headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. They have a solid presence in the broadcast network television arena. They own and/or operate 27 nationally-affiliated stations in 17 U.S. markets; along with more than 50 interactive television station and niche market websites and mobile marketing solutions.

We as employees are ready, willing, and raring to go for this new adventure. “This is an exciting opportunity for our company and our clients,” said our CEO Jon Flatt.  ”Our foundation for success is, and will continue to be, providing unparalleled client service and achieving measurable results for our clients. As part of LIN TV’s new media strategy, we will be able to benefit from important synergies and have greater resources for growth, enhanced service and innovation.”

Our goals will not change in regards to our clients. Our main objective will continue to be: targeting audiences with advertisers and publishers based on demographic, psychographic, and consumer behaviors to enhance branding and maximize client return on investment. In fact, we will be able to offer so much more through our work with the LIN TV team.

“RM Media advances LIN’s transformation from a local broadcaster to a digital media company with a national footprint,” said LIN TV’s President and CEO Vincent Sadusky. “RM Media was founded by innovative and entrepreneurial leaders who have a clear understanding of new media engagement and a first-to-market advantage.”

While meeting with the LIN TV team yesterday and today, I believe the biggest similarity lies in both companies overwhelming ability to embrace change within the marketplace and effectively implement the solutions clients and consumers want. We are forerunners in our respective industries, looking for creative answers to hard problems.

For example, LIN TV was one of the first television broadcasters to fully commit to and make investments in its Internet infrastructure and content. LIN TV has a lucrative multiplatform business model employing synergies from its core on-air broadcasts and dedicated new media technologies and personnel. On the flip side we have developed many technologies that LIN TV is eager to utilize including but not limited to; a top 35 comScore display ad network, a highly effective SEO & SEM Optimization process, a consumer-and-advertiser friendly video player, and we acquired and integrated two companies that specialize in web development and lead generation, launched two top 100 comScore proprietary websites and services several Fortune 500 clients.

As a part of the LIN TV team we will continue to deliver measurable results to local, regional, and national clients including several Fortune 500 companies. With LIN TV’s outstanding new media strategies, our unique technologies, product innovation, transparency, and personalized online advertising solutions, this partnership will prove to be a step in the right direction!

We hope to continue or begin our outstanding work with you well into a bright future!

Smartphone mobile marketing. I am pretty surprised at how many my age have a smartphone, considering most are not OTP (off-the-payroll)… Anyways, welcome to my generation. A generation of late 80′s children who have gone from email to AIM to text messaging to video messaging to sending videos and pictures via phone, and managed to become the forerunners of each. We have grown up embracing change in the form of communication. I remember as a kid in elementary school emailing friends in real time. We would sit at our computers and wait for each other’s response.

ME: “Hey wasuppp?”
BFF: “Nothing much u?”

These were emails we sent. If there was no response, we came back later and tried again. It was instant messaging, before instant messaging! The movie Back to the Future was right. Only it predicted advancement in a different field. We have mastered communication.

Back to mobile. Why I chose a smartphone? It is all-in-one. No more carrying around a phone, a GPS device, an mp3/ipod player, a watch, a planner, etc. All is there. In hand, organized, and instantaneous.

For marketers I see the main smart phone mobile marketing problem as one of “personal prowess.” How does the product/service become personal to the consumer, and how do we make sure they experience this relationship? This is THE question.

A 360-degree Campaign
The message needs to be frequent and relative to the target audience. Right? However, I believe that we should go beyond that and involve more channels of communication, as many as we can to ensure a broader reach. A 360-degree campaign. This means carrying your message across all platforms that hit the target audience. Hyper-focusing on one area does not ensure success, in fact it limits the whole campaign. Smartphones are just one part of the bigger media picture, but they have increased ten-fold the opportunities for cross promotional advertising. Interaction is the name of the game. A restaurant billboard that sends a map of its nearest location to your phone, an in-store display that offers discounts to users who text-in, etc.

It’s good to note that going too broad, in regards to channels of communication, could hurt you. Therefore, breadth and depth need to be considered. We involve as many channels as we need to ensure maximum reach potential, but not so many that we are unable to create deep relationships with the consumers. Therefore, a successful 360-degree campaign will further an effective and quality-filled message via the right networks to open two-way communication between the client and target consumer.

It’s a Two-Way Street
EMarketer points out in its latest report Mobile Users and Usage: It’s Personal that,

“As mobile subscribers and the devices they use grow in sophistication, mobile will develop into a ubiquitous platform for messaging, social networking, entertainment and Web access. In turn, growing sophistication in users, devices and usage patterns will mean increased opportunities for marketers to connect with consumers, particularly among the growing population of smartphone users.

Yet marketers must take seriously the highly personal relationship users have with their mobile devices, and respect the need for a value exchange. Expecting something for nothing is not an option.”

I love that line, “…expecting something for nothing is not an option.” This is no longer a push-it-in-your-face-and-hope-you-buy-it world. Smart phones mandated a new law; Listen and respond, or be talked about. Not an easy feat.

Can we talk about this for a minute?
With all of that said, I believe that the innate and initial appeal of a product or service, in regards to the smart phone user, is the brand’s personality and openness to communication. It puts the product or service on the radar of these consumers. Without this elusive foundation, the potential dialogue could be lost. (This cannot be measured by metrics and is one of the great psychological and mysterious parts of advertising that I love.)

So, at the heart of the smart phone is; conversation. The smart phone mobile consumer is the communication forerunner. The phone they carry is ultimately their main line of contact and an extension of themselves, and they want a reason to keep a personal vested interest in your brand.

Tap into this notion and the world of smart phone users is your digital oyster. “It’s a small world after all…”

Online is the present and the future of our advertising world. Connecting and being in-the-know, creating campaigns based around mobile, internet, SEO, etc. is a step many agencies shy away from. However, RMM is a forerunner in new ideas and innovation and that is why I was drawn to apply here.

I began my job at Red McCombs Media the week after July 4th. Having never worked in an agency setting, I am learning all new dynamics and methodologies that go along with the “agency life”. Specifically, interactive is a whole new bean, so-to-speak. I mean, I’ve had black beans and Ranch Style, but interactive is like chickpeas… It’s new, it’s fast, it’s EVER-CHANGING, and can be mashed to make an entirely different kind of food (hummus…yummmm). Everyday. Scratch that. Every MINUTE, the online and mobile realm revolutionizes. Transformation and flexibility is the name of the game.

Have you noticed that we are all copycats on the internet? I think the key to being successful for your clients is becoming the WOLF, the pack leader. Not a sheep who blindly follows, but a wolf who seeks out, knows what he wants, and creates his own destiny.

Facebook is king. Twitter, TripAdvisor, LinkedIn, and YouTube were all “firsts” of their kind (meaning most popular and first to have success in their chosen area). These are the wolves and the owners of social media. All other sites MIMIC the success of these core trendsetters. What does this have to do with agencies? We have to play the game and belly up to the bar. Unfortunately, a successful wolf attracts a huge pack, and these sites have become cluttered in a way that makes me wonder if advertisers benefit by solely investing their dollars in them… bold statement… but hear me out.

Look at twitter, for example. How awesome would this site be if say, AT&T had developed it? If AT&T had created this site, they would OWN it. Advertising for their services, phones, etc. They could encourage consumers to text in on their AT&T phone and have judges who awarded the #1 text of the day. That person could win some sort of prize from AT&T. Agencies have an overwhelming and challenging duty to create these ideas that directly benefit and hit the values of their client. We have such an exciting and creative challenge to get the word out in any way imaginable. We do not want to limit our abilities to simply putting advertising out. Why not create it from within?

Don’t get me wrong, I believe that all campaign strategies benefit by 360-degree marketing. Creating a site like the one above is just the first step, so next is getting the word out. As I said, playing the game of social media is pretty much a must for advertisers now-a-days. (I mean my mom and all her BFFs are on Facebook… it’s not just a college thing anymore.) The key element of social media is HUMANIZING your product, your company, your whatever. Because, we as humans want to speak out. We are opinionated, and we like being able to face-lessly vent. We like being able to hear, say, the new guy at ChipandDipCompanyA spout off about what’s really in the way-too-yellow nacho cheese at state fairs. We like the inside scoop, and we want to hear it from a TRUSTWORTHY source. It all boils down to that simple word; trust. Social media holds us as advertisers, businesses, and people accountable. As we’ve seen time and again, many advertisers have suffered like ChipandDipCompanyA will. Accountability in every sense of the word has become a core focus for consumers. They want to make sure you are being honest with them and others.

Honesty, creativity, and creating a campaign focused on the core desire of the advertiser are some of the keys, I believe, that create a successful social media campaign. Visibility and transparency, connecting with consumers, humanizing your company in a new way simplify your brand name. They put a face, a voice, a website to your company.

I hope you enjoyed my article! I look forward to writing again for RMM. Look out for more of my posts!