With there being so many disaster and alert apps released on iOS and Android over the last few months, you’d be (almost) forgiven for thinking that this is a real product. Instead the app on display is a parody app from Friends of the Earth Netherlands, who is protesting against Royal Dutch Shell for the pollution it’s causing in the Niger Delta in Africa.
Instead of showing a video highlighting the destruction and problems its causing, the video highlights a spoof iPhone app released by Shell called ‘Live With It!‘, an app that allows users to highlight oil spills, unclean water and forest fires. Pretty much everything associated with apps and smartphones is parodied here: Gamification points for reporting a spill, geolocation elements so you know where gas fires are occurring, QR codes so you can report unclean water and trading in points for prizes which include Shell branded gear such as goggles, rubber gloves and respirator masks, all so you can survive a land troubled by pollution.
The link address for the ‘app’ bringing you to Friends of the Earth dedicated website, Worse Than Bad. Ultimately the campaign is to pressurise Shell to tackle the oil pollution problems that it’s being blamed for in the Niger Delta. As well as a timeline showing just how deep the problem goes, the campaign also sets a list of demands for Shell to follow such as compensation for farmers and fishermen affected by the pollution, and to close all oil wells that are illegally flaring gas before 2013.
It’s certainly differentiates itself from other environmental campaigns, and the humour behind it will guarantee that it will be shared and get the message across. Although it’s unlikely that people will believe that this is a real app, the chances that someone is developing a smartphone app that has all these features and more is likely. It’s only a matter of time before we start getting points for reporting every big and little problem we come across.
When they first came out, QR codes were embraced for various forms of marketing, but in recent times they’ve fallen by the wayside as marketers realize that consumers aren’t bothered to scan them.
One place that QR codes always had great traction is in the far east. This campaign, which has just finished in Korea, is a classic example of them being used well and in a way that attracted consumers with an innovative offer that actually drove sales.
The campaign was run for Emart – who are one of the largest retailers in the country – and was called “sunny sale”. The problem that Emart were facing was that nobody was entering their stores at lunchtime so the creative team developed a QR code that was placed in thirteen locations around the city and could only be scanned between the hours of 12-1.
Anybody who did scan the QR code was given a special discount code with 25 per cent off and taken to a special store that was only accessible to those who scanned. The results were spectacular and the campaign has now doubled in size after they saw a huge spike in sales. QR codes are just like any other form of marketing in that you need to come up with innovative ways to use them instead of just slapping them on a brochure or poster. Very smart indeed.
As an area predicted to grow over the next few years, mobile commerce is being pushed by many brands and companies, Paypal in particular has spearheaded an aggressive expansion to try and control the market. However, for more traditional outlets, implementing such practices in-store or outside it poses their own problems.
One solution to this problem is the poster store concept, where a list of goods and accompanying QR code is displayed in a busy area. Originally introduced by Tesco in Korea back in June, the idea has proven popular enough for other retailers and companies to try it out in subways, shopping centres and other busy areas where potential consumers could be found.
Scandinavian ecommerce platform provider Jetshop decided to try this method of shopping out in Stockholm Central Station. To highlight the benefits and convenience of m-commerce, they set up a pop-up superstore which took up over 130 square meters.
With 20 different retailers such as Amazon Marketplace participating in the campaign, commuters had the opportunity to purchase goods such as DVDs, clothing, games and cosmetics. Each product was accompanied by a QR code which, when scanned, provided further information about the product and an option to purchase via smartphone.
With over 250,000 commuters passing through the station every day during the week that the store was in operation (March 12th – 18th), it meant that the superstore was (in theory) seen by roughly 1.5 million people.
Not only is the campaign a great way of getting the message of mobile commerce across, but it also works as a form of market research, showing what goods have the most success with this format. In their preliminary results, NFC World reported that the items usually associated with impulse buying, like T-shirts, books, DVDs and cosmetics were the most successful, while more expensive products, those priced over €150 to be exact, were met with little interest.
For this reason, getting 20 different stores to participate was clever as they could find out exactly which goods performed well and adjust their marketing strategy as such when approaching brands and businesses.
Is this the retail store of tomorrow as Jetshop say it is? Who knows, but with the information and findings this experiment brought, we may see stores like this pop up in stations and advertising billboards across cities over the next few years.
For marketing and advertising campaigns, the link between traditional media and mobile technology in the world of advertising is usually the QR code, the medium of choice for marketers but not so much for consumers who find the transition rather jarring. This is an obstacle considering how advertisers are trying to capture the imaginations of consumers by combining the two worlds together through augmented reality or the more popular option of QR codes.
If you’re getting sick of seeing and hearing about QR codes and are looking for something that could potentially replace it, look no further than Kooaba’s newest app Shortcut. Basically an upgrade of their previous newspaper app Paperboy, Shortcut can be described as a digital scanner: if you’re reading a newspaper and want to connect to the digital version, you just take a picture of the page and the app will automatically connect you to the digital content.
If you’re familiar with the social media app Path, you’ll notice that Shortcut’s interface has taken inspiration from it. When you wish to share whatever content you’ve scanned, you’re given a list of potential options including the usual (Twitter, Facebook etc.) alongside the option to save and archive it via Evernote in case you want to save reading for later.
Writing on their blog, the developers explain their reason for expanding their service beyond newspapers, citing that interactive print advertising will play a bigger role in the future. This makes sense as, instead of scanning a QR code which can be difficult to capture, taking a snapshot of a particular ad campaign could result in more scans as it’s a more visual experience.
They also believe that the days of QR codes featuring in print and outdoor are numbered saying that ”despite the enormous media attention QR is getting, it still is not at a level where people are really using it. It does not seem to fit into people’s daily routine. ” We’re inclined to agree with this, the process of spotting a QR code, scanning it and uploading the content isn’t intuitive enough for people to make the effort.
That said, being able to scan an advertisement and find out more is a great concept in itself but the real problem is communicating this quality to the general public . The average person isn’t going to be savvy enough to know this exists so it’s a matter of finding brand partners to support the service and campaigns to help build up awareness.
Like all things, it may take a while for it to seep into the consciousness of regular users but the fact that scanning advertisements would be far more attractive (and visually appealing) than scanning a QR code would have to work in their favour. Whether marketers will warm towards it as well remains to be seen, but they’ve already done campaigns in Switzerland and are affiliated with a number of different newspapers from around the world, so perhaps we’ll be seeing more of Shortcut in the future, sooner than we think.
Despite getting an indifferent response from smartphone users, leading to some very awkward results, companies and marketers are still using action codes as part of their mobile strategy. Yet a new report from mobile marketing and technology company, Nellymoser, has shown that not only are advertisers beginning to understand ways to make mobile campaigns work, but are also using them as part of a greater campaign instead of being standalone efforts.
In what sounds like the most thorough survey involving 2D codes in a while, over 164,255 pages were analysed throughout the year with 4,468 2D mobile action codes appearing in the top 100 U.S. magazines over the year. The year began with 352 codes found in Q1 before growing to 1,899 by Q4, an increase of 439%. The agency also scanned every code they found in each magazine and activated each campaign, video and web page that they linked to, so points to Nellymoser for covering every base throughout the year.
The most popular 2D code overall was, of course, the QR code which accounted for 72% of all action codes. The second most popular code used was Microsoft Tag which made up 25%, with QR codes growing in popularity as the year progressed.
Regarding the content each code linked to, the most popular action was to showcase a video (54%) which contained content such as product demonstration, how-to examples and behind the scenes videos. Other actions included data capturing and list building (30%) which consisted of opt-ins, subscriptions and sweepstakes, and links to purchase goods via e-commerce (19%).
Another major trend that emerged from this was the presentation of action codes. Considering their monochrome appearance, many advertisers made sure to include additional information and images to flesh out the action code. This has become standard practice for advertisers as more than two-thirds of all action codes (70% or 1,327) included information about what happens after the scan.
Other additions included instructions about how to get a code reader (23%), using colour in the action code (31%) and even customising the action code itself (16%). Despite this, very little importance was placed on the location of the QR code itself with more than 90% of codes appearing at the bottom of the page. This suggests that the codes themselves are usually the last thing people see when they’re browsing through a magazine.
Alongside this, NellyMoser also did a report concerning QR codes in retail, identifying that the codes are being used as part of an overall mobile strategy instead of being a standalone campaign. Both reports can be downloaded here.
QR codes have been getting a good bit of flak recently as a fad that are mostly used by brands and marketers but ignored by consumers. There have been some pretty silly uses but this latest campaign from Heineken is actually a very smart and social way for them to be used at a music festival. The idea is that everybody attending can have their own QR code printed and stuck to them which when scanned gives information about them and what they like doing. A bit like their social media profile but in the real world. As they say in the video music festivals are all about meeting new people and the QR codes were a way for shy people to do this without others thinking that they were freaks although it does involve holdingout your phone and physically scanning somebody. While it is a smart idea in terms of breaking the ice it works even better for Heineken as a brand as it turns festival goers in to walking billboards for the company.
Having seen a surge in popularity with digital campaigns, QR codes have grown in popularity with marketers but has left the public somewhat confused due to their use focusing on advertising as opposed to more practical uses. Yet this one is not only practical but will save a lot of commuters and holiday makers from queuing and waiting around the airport.
Delta Airlines, who had recently released an app which tracks your luggage during your flight, have also introduced mobile check-in which allows you to board through an eBoarding Pass straight from your smartphone.
Reported on USA Today: Travel, by signing in and having the eBoarding Pass sent to you, you can just proceed directly to security where they will scan your phone. The other requirements is that the screen is bright enough to scan the barcode when you arrive and that you’ve a valid government issued photo ID available for inspection.
So far it’s available in 50 different airports around the U.S. and Europe but it’s certainly an idea that will catch on with airlines who try to reduce the costs of checking in and filtering passengers. It’s certainly one of the more nifty and effective use for QR codes we’ve seen in a while and we hope that other groups think outside the box and use them for more than just self promotion.
There’s been some innovative campaigns to promote safe sex among young people and this is a clever way of engaging with an audience.
To help promote safe sex in Stockholm and increase awareness, Swedish Agency Ester decided to hand out 50,000 condoms, each with a QR code to young adults aged between 20 – 30 years old. When you scan the QR code, it would direct people towards a love making app that you could install on your smartphone.
As the name suggests, the app is designed to be used during lovemaking, reminding you to put on a condom first before beginning. When you do, it measures factors such as sound, duration and rhythm during each act. When you’re finished, you create your profile and it would aggregate your stats with everyone else who uploaded theirs, where you can compare and contrast.
But the real genius was that Ester compiled the statistics gathered during each session and compiled a list of results which they then posted up around the city. So people found out how many people in the area had sex during the weekend, or that dog owners are louder than cat owners. Adapting a lighthearted approach for a usually serious subject created further awareness of the campaign and convinced more people to practise safe sex.
The campaign ran during the summer months with over 5,900 different graphs registered during that time period. You feel that if the campaign had a wider reach then the number of people participating would have been much higher but it’s an unique way of approachign what’s usually a difficult campaign to get young people to engage with so hats off to them.
Quick Response (QR) codes have been slow to catch on in this side of the world but are quickly gaining popularity among smartphone users and the traditional media. Now advertisers, and to a lesser extent print media, are embracing the trend by placing it in their campaigns in some shape or form.
The survey, conducted by Nellymoser and reported by MediaPost, showed that the number of QR codes found in the top 100 magazines in the U.S. by circulation rose by over 476 per cent in the first nine months this year from 88 in January to 507 in September. On a quarterly basis, the number of QR codes in magazines grew from 252 in Q1 to 1155 in Q3 (up 358 per cent).
Also advertisers have taken to using the codes for marketing purposes as 482 of the 507 codes in September were found in adverts, while only 25 were used to enhance editorial material. Interestingly, the highest number of QR codes could be found in women’s fashion, beauty and celebrity books such as Glamour, InStyle and Us Weekly.
Increase of QR code use in magazines: via www.MediaPost.com
What advertisers and publications felt was the best use for these QR codes differed greatly, highlighting the difficulty in making them an engaging experience. The majority felt that video was most important with 47 per cent of the QR codes in Q3 reflecting this.
Other uses included sweepstakes entries and easy subscription opt-ins which accounted for 34 per cent, social media prompts to share links made up 24 per cent while 16 per cent prompted people to buy something via their phones and 12 per cent offered coupons when their code was scanned. This not only implies that advertising will be the main function of QR codes, but that the most effective way to use them in engaging with their target audience has yet to be found.
A while back, we covered how Coca-Cola (and Google) were beginning to revolutionise the concept of the vending machine through smartphone payment. That was as far as we thought smartphone interaction would go with regards to vending machines, but Coca-Cola in Japan are now launching a new campaign called the ‘Happiness Quest‘, which aims to get more people using their machines.
The campaign, originally reported by Penn Olson, will see QR codes being given to each Coca-Cola vending machine in Japan which users can scan to gain rewards. There are 400,000 Coca-Cola vending machines located across Japan but the brand are planning to increase this number to 820,000 by March 2012.
After registering, each user is asked to designate a single machine to be ‘my machine’, that is one that they will interact with on a more personal level. Such interaction would include campaign news, weather information and other relevant news which will keep users up to date.
By creating a vending machine avatar and scanning the QR codes on each machine, your avatar’s experience increases and you gain points that can be used to customize it. Points would be spent on virtual items including shoes, character skins, accessories and backgrounds. Also, badges can be gained from checking-in to certain machines, or during certain periods like the Christmas season.
Registering for the campaign begins on November 14th, with one person who signs up on the first month winning a prize to one million Yen (€9,500) on the day. Coca-Cola are also pushing the social aspect by awarding another one million Yen prize to a user who introduces a friend to the campaign.
While the campaign is very quirky (and very Japanese judging by the presentation in the promotional video below), the campaign will do wonders in strengthening the relationship between consumers and the brand. Also, it could develop into something more for Coca-Cola, creating a loyalty and desire among consumers to seek out these vending machines and level up their avatar.
The chances of them purchasing a soft drink while they scan the QR codes are very likely so with a potential 820,000 vending machines to work from, Coca-Cola have the scale and resources to make the campaign work.
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With there being so many disaster and alert apps released on iOS and Android over the last few months, you’d be (almost) forgiven for thinking that this is a real product. Instead the app on display is a parody app from Friends of the Earth Netherlands, who is protesting against Royal Dutch Shell for the pollution it’s causing in the Niger Delta in Africa.
