Adding in Mobile

Allowing customer feedback via mobile text messaging is the latest trend overseas, especially if your target market is in the 15-35 year olds. You’ve likely see some of these on TV, a magazine ad, or on the back of a bus, getting you to enter a competition or take part in a survey.

Although bulk text broadcasting from a large mobile phone list can become expensive (18-20c per recipient), the cost to setup a keyword and response message like this is minimal, since it’s the user that pays the 20c, not the business. And if the offer provided is a good one, then few seem to mind the cost. As an ad response vehicle, it easily outperforms the old 0800 phone number, even online!

But now, it’s not just having people respond via an SMS code as we’ve seen in TV or Magazine ads. Now, you don’t even have to key in codes or numbers to get results. It’s been commonplace in Japan for years.

New Cool Print-to-Mobile Tools

Instead having people attempting to key in those long text messages or website addresses on their phone, we use the mobile phones’ built-in camera to do it all for them. i.e. To start, the phone instantly captures specific instructions from any printed item. e.g.:

Just snap a photo of the barcode which then:

• tells the Phone web browser to go directly to the product providers webpage for more information, or
• prepares the phone to email a special message on, with a link back to the suppliers web page with offer or
• simply tells the phone to just save the details into it’s built-in address book or
• perhaps use the message as a discount voucher.

All this could be very handy if say you see a promotion on a magazine ad, website page, on a building, even street, realty or bus sign, and don’t have time to take down all the details. Now you’d just snap a photo of it and the special QR barcode (left) included in the photo. This provides the information for the phone to do its special ‘thing’, like sending you to the corresponding website on that product or property or translating it into readable text. This will really come into it’s own this year as more people upgrade their phones as the newer 3G networks expand.

Simply  TXT QR to 710

But why wait? Many Vodafone users here with the modern camera phone may already have this QR capability today and don’t know it. Simply  TXT QR to 710. They then get a link to download the correct free QR Code reader.  (For full details click here)

As discovered overseas, it’s certainly a great way to connect with a youth market that’s notoriously difficult to reach – not just because it offers something new and different for them to interact with, but also because it generates a lot of street buzz. What’s really interesting, is when we generate variable QR codes in the printed mailer. XMPie and other high-end VDP software now has this capability.

Looking for more neat QR code ideas? View the videos below:

Call or email us at zn.oc.tentnirpnull@nivek on how to add a text keyword, or your personal QR code to your next website, brochure, flyer, poster or business card .

Background printing industry news articles :

Stars align for QR codes  and Pazazz Printing QR Campaign