Designer QR Codes: How does your business create identity?

For some, the craze of QR codes has come and gone without much flash. For others it is just beginning. The standard black and white QR as shown below does very little in the way of differentiating between brand identities. Is it for Coke? Pepsi? United Airlines? Who knows? Does it elicit any feeling? I didn't think so...  

That is where something like Designer QR codes come into play. In-turn many see this as a key driver in the re-birth of this technology.

A Designer QR code (quick response code) is a clever and imaginative way of taking a standard black and white code and transforming it into something which speaks and communicates about your brand and what it stands for. In essence they really captivate people's imagination in new and intuitive ways and allow for the connection between the physical world to that of online. They also allow for tracking of information such as geographical location, time and other key metrics useful to advertisers.

Another relevant point for this debate on the re-birth of QR, is noting the cycle we all seem to find ourselves within as relating to new technological innovation. It is well documented that as new waves of opportunity and capability are bestowed upon us, too often we as users and marketers are caught up in the romance of the technology itself and what it can do. However often times we do not pay enough attention to the actual applications which are best suited to the technology itself. This problem had certainly affected QR in an early adopter country like Japan initially via errant codes being placed in questionable locations which surely did not allow for the best use of its capabilities.

Where things get interesting, is that it seems as though marketers are catching up and finally understanding practical applications for the media. Enter in other developed markets such as the North America and some other European countries which finally have phones and infrastructure which are able to handle the technology. Now you have a potentially interesting mix of relevant experiences to draw upon from early adopter markets (both a TO DO and NOT TO DO list when it comes to application).

In returning to the newness of the Designer QR code capability, we have a technology that could really make some serious headway in connecting both our offline and online worlds in fun and engaging ways.

Here some 2011 Q3 global stats for QR code use, from research firm 3GVision via 2D Code blog editor, Roger Smolski:

• Worldwide usage on growth path: Q3/2011 growing by 20.0% over Q2/2011, with daily scans coming from 141 different countries around the world
• Barcode usage in North America continues to expand in Q3 with 42.1% growth in the USA and 35.1% growth in Canada compared to Q2/2011
• QR code activity in the Spain and Australia showed a significant growth in Q3 of 66.5%, and 50.9% respectively over Q2/2011

Top 10 users of mobile barcodes during Q3/2011

(1) 1. United States
(2) 2. Germany
(5) 3. Canada
(3) 4. UK
(4) 5. Italy

Top 5 growing countries for Q3/2011

1. Czech Republic (66.5 % Growth over Q2/2011)
2. Spain (65.6 %)
3. Australia (50.9 %)
4. USA (42.1%)
5. Canada (35.1%)

If you would like more information on Designer QR codes please contact us at BRANDPOINT Advertising. http://www.brandpoint.jp/en

Check out the examples below of other fun ways to use the Designer QR Code:

Are You Creating Cut Through?

As I sort through the various ad industry tweets that pop up daily, I am stunned by two things consistently. One is the amount of creativity out there on a global scale, which is always pushing boundaries and always finding new ways to reach people in such unique and engaging forms (SEE Nike Ice Cream Truck Video above). The other thing I consistently see is the herd mentality towards one particular idea, concept or media. At the moment and within my world, it seems to be DOOH signage (digital out of home advertising) and a lot of companies have jumped on this one and are pushing hard towards setting up shop within this domain.


In as far as DOOH goes, I get it. If done right with good content and good locations it can be fantastic. However, those two variables concern me the most as they can often be out of one's control.  Without hitting those two points, the media itself can be lost in the noise of everything else. Your big ad spend in this area can quickly turn into a glorified television set which has simply been placed in an unusual location. 


Does a digital screen in a convenience store window really stop you? Or what about CM's in train stations? Do they ever force you to stop and react? For consumers, is this media new? Do they not watch TV at home and see commercials daily? Have you heard anyone recently talk about a CM and how great it was? In essence does this create pull and pure memorable engagement? 


My point is that we as advertisers, agencies and media firms need to be careful about rushing into things simply for the sake of being able to. Sure things sound fun and the technology could be amazing but ultimately what kind of pull does it create? How does it make things memorable for the intended target?  


As we all know within advertising, if we can create something pure and memorable which can 'physically' elicit a reaction such as a smile, a look of awe, a shriek of excitement or something of that nature the media/content worked. We need not worry about the rest such as the social media play because that will naturally follow if your original strategic play was good.  


In essence, my advice for those of us within advertising is to really re-consider the fundamentals of what the industry is built on, which of course is engagement and ultimately action. The tools to do this have certainly changed and that is what is difficult. However, we need to be wise in choosing the right mix to achieve our aims. 

Emotion is the KEY in OOH

Out of home advertising campaigns are always based on getting attention. However, there are so many options and price points available ranging from standard billboards, guerilla stunts, digital and so on. The mix can be quite varied and diverse. The key question is centered on efficacy though. What will be the best value or mix for an effective campaign?


Well to answer that, an interesting study was released recently by a top Neuroscientist, Dr Phil Harris from the University of Melbourne. The study was based on what helps consumers recall such outdoor advertising. What it found was the importance of active information processing in aiding recall. The study clearly noted that simply noticing something is not enough for consumers to recall a campaign. Advertisers should be honing in on deepening engagement. The three key methods of ‘switching on’ consumers include emotional arousal, experiential learning and sensory branding.  


This is rather poignant stuff and simple decisions in the planning phase of a campaign can really go along a way in terms of really making a lasting and memorable impact.


Have a look again at Coca Cola's latest media and tell me, how do you feel from this? What kind of emotions would this elicit if you came across it in the course of your day. 


Do you follow?


Some conclusions and tips to be drawn from this?


1. Creativity in outdoor can and will create a powerful connection via emotional engagement if done properly (see this link)


2. Cost to achieve efficacy can be more at times, but in advertising or anything else there is little value in wasting time, energy or resources on sub-par results. Analyze the goals and make sure your media CAN really achieve them. (see this video case study for inspiration)


3. Forget standard billboards and posters unless they have some kind of creative or unusual flare. Can you recall the last time a billboard or poster made your heart skip a beat and 'pulled' you?


4. Seek out innovative OOH media firms. They are usually small but incredibly focussed and centered on delivering the results you seek (shameless self promotion)


5. Play with your media mixes. Make sure they can all connect and leverage off one another. 


6. Remember that the deeper the engagement or emotional arousal, the more likely the action will follow suit. All advertiser crave the spread of 'likes', posted pics, comments, tweets, Facebook engagement etc. That is where every advertiser wants to be and it is not as difficult as one thinks to create this spread through the right kind of media.

Interact, Engage and PULL!

I have made the case a few times over and provided stats which illustrate the rising power of OOH (out of home media) and what brands will do to gain attention. What we are starting to witness through more and more concrete examples is this phenomena. The cases of iconic brands stepping out of their ordinary comfort zones to interact, engage and 'pull' in new and effective ways seems to be on the up and up. I am sure this would make an interesting study unto itself and I would love to hear some definitive stats on this.  


In fact this noted trend was the point of one my recent tweets involving arguably the highest of high end auto brands Bentley and how it has stepped into OOH for the first time ever within the UK. They did a relatively safe OOH play with a billboard, however the significance is great. Before this they had been known as staunch supporters and purchasers of traditional media period. 


To further add support for this argument, I can present the case in which the company I own--BRANDPOINT Advertising--worked with the global fashion brand VOGUE for an OOH push last fall. They were looking to get help and exposure for their Tokyo version of their ultra popular 'Fashions Night Out' global event. What we did for them was outfit escalator handrails in high end shopping centers with media (Escalator Handrail Media) along with the hijacking of a basement parking garage of one of the most ritzy shopping centers in all of Japan with 'Parking Stripe Media' (PSM) (a media which is placed on existing painted parking lines). The PSM media was certainly out there for them and I feel pretty confident that such a move would have been off limits five to ten years back for a brand of that caliber. 


What both examples show however, are the risks brands are willing to take to once again interact, engage and 'pull'.  I am supremely confident that there are other countless examples to add support to the ideas raised in this post. I would be curious to hear others insight and thoughts on this topic.

3D Advertising--Flash in the Pan?

According to a leading producer of stereoscopic 3D commercials and recent studies from multiple independent sources - including ESPN, Xpand and Texas Instruments- the use of 3D in advertising yields:

• 92% total recall of an ad 
• 68% of that number showing a higher likelihood of following through with a purchase of the product advertised
• average increase in viewer retention of 15% for 3D commercials

Did this catch your attention? Perhaps I ought to bing blogger.com to find a way for these words to magically pop out of the screen for you and then perhaps you will take notice. Those statistics are phenomenal. What advertiser would not want to be part of that? Of course, that explains the rush of sorts for certain brands to jump on this and for us as media providers to find ways to leverage such value. Statistics like that indicate that 3D is not some tiny trend which is here today and gone tomorrow. The silver screen is certainly using this as a way to revive sluggish box office sales and freshen things up for movie goers, so why not a deeper push within advertising to this point? 

For a nominal increase in cost but a huge jump in statistics that all advertisers want to see such as high retention rates, high brand recall and increased likelihoods for future purchases, it seems like a no brainer.

However, there are some good reasons as to why things have not taken off completely just yet.  The first one is certainly technology related and its limitations to date. Namely, I strongly suspect that the technology is good enough for home viewing but it has not penetrated deep enough via home equipped television sets, glasses. The second issue is the home programming. Of course there are some good examples of 3D programming such as the Discovery Channel, ESPN and others, however as a whole we still have a ways to go before networks will invest consistently in wholly 3D based programs.  Until this happens, most advertisers will not jump off their tried, tested and true 2D and accompanying huge metrics for this tiny--albeit a growing one--niche segment. 

In essence, I really feel that 3D advertising is like that rolling snowball analogy. It simply takes motion and a persistence in the beginning to get things moving. Before you know it, that tiny little snowball has picked up what was needed and is now boulder sized and thundering down the hill enveloping all in its path. It is at this point in which the advertisers will fully jump on. One has to look no further than 3D in movies for that type of thinking to be validated. 

My confidence in this is really based on knowing and understanding that the purpose within advertising at its simplest and core is providing cut-through to a targeted segment. 3D certainly offers the cut-through and now its merely allowing the channels to develop which will allow advertisers to reach out (pun intended) and attract.  Therefore, I do think it is here to stay and it is not even close to being a flash in the pan phenomena. Given time, you will see 3D penetrating even deeper into other forms of media via AR, billboards, other 3D optical illusions and of course more television and commercials. All sorts of fun stuff is on its way! 

An Inside Look at the State of Advertising in Japan: Post disaster

Where is our ad industry in Japan right now? Are we within a state of solidarity and unity? Do we possess a state of common resolve with a plan as to how to maneuver this trying time? Sadly enough, it seems that such notions despite being inevitable are somewhat premature. I think the one common element most ad professionals could agree on at the moment is that we find ourselves in a complete state of uncertainty and confusion.

This tragedy which took place just under a month ago has certainly impacted many on both the personal and professional level. In so many ways, this disaster has been unprecedented in scale and reach. On a business front, we are alerted each day of new challenges that many industries—both domestic and international—face as disrupted manufacturing schedules wreak havoc.

To this point the ad industry has not had a lot of press coverage as to it's state. However, the effects are quite clear to anyone living within Japan at the moment. Television CM’s are just starting to make their way back aside the social messages brought to us by AC (Japan Advertising Council) http://www.ad-c.or.jp/eng/ .

Digital signage which had been one of the hottest media tools within Japan has been virtually wiped out for the time being due to power conservation issues.

OOH ads, posters and billboards as well have been affected too. For quite some time it has been common place on any major train or subway line to be presented with an array of ads within the stations or even in the train carriages themselves. However, this has been severely curtailed too. One reason for this lies with the over-reliance on key supplies in affected areas. Hydrogen peroxide is a key ingredient in paper bleaching amongst other things and two companies which supply this key substance were severely affected. This is in addition to six paper plants and a Maruzen Petrochemical factory—a major supplier of the nation's printing ink—which were rendered useless after the quake and tsunami. For a solid take on the over reliance of companies on limited suppliers see: http://www.terrie.com/

It is not hard to see how and why the advertising industry has been affected simply based on these cold and sobering facts. However, there is another reason which is just as pervasive and powerful at the moment. This one however, lies with a cultural explanation.

The Japanese people unfortunately have experienced devastatingly hard times before and one has to look no further than post WWII and the re-building efforts that took. The psyche of reserve, restraint and a pure willingness to dig in and re-build were qualities which certainly helped Japan to recover. Once again, these qualities will be put to the test.

How this affects advertising is that such unnecessary or outward displays of excess or distraction to tasks at hand are generally frowned upon. According to many, it is or should be a time of restraint and self control out of respect for those suffering and/or lost and also for the task at hand of re-building. This explanation explains why the few ads we are starting to see trickle out are based more around low key FMCG such as beverages and other everyday goods. It is safe to say that agencies are putting those luxury goods campaigns on hold for the moment.

Of course as we all know, time is a healer and things will come around again. The question for all of us in the ad industry right now is a matter of when? When will it be okay to return to normal advertising campaigns? When will it be safe to advertise without running the risk of offending target audiences? For many agencies, these questions move into things like, “How do we effectively target whilst also contributing to charitable efforts. How can an advertiser tie in its own altruistic efforts for the common good?” These are all questions which are being tossed about by many brands and agencies at the moment.

Make no mistake it is a time of confusion and uncertainty within advertising. The next few months will be a challenge for all of us. The one thing we must all tap will undoubtedly be our ‘creativity’ in balancing and navigating around these issues. Thankfully, that is an intrinsic quality all of us within this industry should have in abundance.