Next Wave of Advertising: Cell Phone Pointers
Scannable bar codes will deliver detailed information, coupons and freebies.
http://www.kiplinger.com/businessresource/forecast/archive/cell_phones_scan_bar_codes_ads_081029.html
By Michael Doan
October 29, 2008
Advertisers, cell phone makers and service providers are joining forces, and consumers may not mind so much. Cell phones can now scan bar codes on movie posters and TV and magazine ads to offer up more detailed information and in many cases, coupons or freebies.
For example, a phone aimed at a movie poster might get reviews and local start times displayed on the phone’s screen. Phones pointed at ads on TV or a Web site on a computer screen could deliver the same information. Use your phone to scan a sign at an airline counter to find out arrival times of incoming flights.
The technology is already commonly used in Japan and Europe, where consumers regularly download coupons or other advertising offers. Multiple bar code standards in the U.S. are slowing adoption here, but agreements are being worked out so use of the technology is expected to pick up steam next year.
Getting a head start are companies such as Scanbuy, which has bar codes on Billboard magazine advertisements for downloading free music, in restaurant windows for critics’ reviews, on signs in front of real estate sales with details, and at Sears home appliance centers, featuring product reviews.
“It’s easier to go point at a bar code and click than to enter urls for Web sites, which takes time,” says Jonathan Bulkeley, chief executive officer of Scanbuy.
Another firm, Mobile Discovery, is getting help from Case Western University in Cleveland to test bar codes for all sorts of information. Bar codes on school newspaper ads link to advertiser Web sites. Students use bar codes to enter company-sponsored sweepstakes. Bar codes posted at public transit stops tell students when the next GPS-enabled bus is scheduled to arrive.
The bar codes are two-dimensional and have more information that cannot be transmitted from the one-dimensional bar codes routinely used in packaging and retailing. Many phones already contain the software needed to scan the ads, and the software can be added to many other phones for free from the Web.
Another early adopter of the technology, SnapTell simply has users take pictures of the ad and type in a few numbers to reach the advertiser’s Web site rather than scan a bar code. By pointing to a Discovery Channel ad in Wired magazine, for example, readers can get a video clip of a new show on the Discovery network. An HBO ad in a sports magazine provides a download of a ringtone and an announcement of when the show airs. In a men’s magazine, Gillette offered mail-in discount coupons to people who pointed their phones at an ad.
One benefit for advertisers is that they can gather data on customers. The data will show the location of the cell phone transmission or demographic information about the publication being read. Different ads can be sent to individuals, based on their likely age or geographic location. In exchange, companies will offer freebies, such as product trials or ringtones, etc.
As the use of Web-enabled smart phones grows, there are bound to be hundreds of new applications. At a museum, for instance, you might be able to scan an ad’s code to get an exhibit’s details. Point to a magazine article, and a reader could get a detailed text interview with the author or an audio recording of an interview the writer conducted. Readers could download recipes embedded in bar codes in women’s magazines.
For weekly updates on topics to improve your business decisionmaking, click here.
——————————————————————————–
This page printed from: http://www.kiplinger.com/businessresource/forecast/archive/cell_phones_scan_bar_codes_ads_081029.html
All contents © 2008 The Kiplinger Washington Editors
Leave a Reply