Over the last few years the North American mobile scene has watched the evolution of the 2D barcode (matrix codes). There are now many variations of 2D barcodes (matrix codes) available. The 2D barcode provides a high capacity for much more data to be stored then the previous 1D version. Historically they have been well used for activities such as, tracking packages, collecting and managing inventory and labelling components.
It’s time to start taking advantage of this technology within the confines of the emerging mobile marketing space in North America. In reality this is nothing new; utilizing these code types in the mobile world is very much common place in the more advanced mobile markets, such as Asia and Europe. 2D code marketing has been a massive success in these markets, and of course they also boast many mobile advantages I won’t get into in this post.
In theory, there are many simple ways these codes could be deployed as an effective digital marketing and communication tool;
- Direct customers to a site for further “take away” information
- Provide a discount or a coupon
- Provide directions to store/product events
- Provide information and directions to store locations
- Interactive engagements - Treasure hunt games
- Push customer to any data, content, messages, etc. desired
- Strong potential to tie the in-store, website and mobile experiences together
*For some interesting global case studies - http://scanbuy.com/global.php?page=solutions&name=global
With all that said, it’s really not as simple as we’d like. Not all handsets can execute 2D barcode scanning. It will currently be more pain then pleasure to get this to work for most users. If their device comes with a built-in reader it will likely not support all types of codes. If they do not have a reader they will need to find 2D code reader software that supports their handset model. If they happen to have a handset that does not come with a built-in reader and they cannot locate software that supports their handset – well, they’ll just be generally frustrated and out of luck…
Don’t forget to look beyond the business applications, this technology can also be applied to the individual. My favorite example of how this could be used at the personal level is the 2D barcode business card or resume – what a great way to prove you are the savvy digital expert web 2.0 kind-a-guy? A business card (with 2D code) that directs contacts or potential employers to your personal website or LinkedIn profile – that’s interesting…
It’s a lot like the cross-browser issues we faced 10 years ago, only much worse and much more complicated. We are dealing with many hardware types (handsets), many more operating systems and in this case – many more code types. All this makes it very challenging endeavor, but it will get there. The movement towards a 2D coding standard is well underway and more and more handsets are entering the market with scanning software pre-installed, so hope is alive and well.
This is a very cool technology and once you have yourself set up – it’s very simple to execute and fun to use. The possibilities are endless and there are so many great examples already well refined – just look at the Asian and European market samples.
Would you like to try scanning now? Go back to the EZ code and give it a try.
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