Mobile Tagging Torpedoes and QR Content Defined

QR content is a massive new category of web media tailored for mobile tagging. 

Tappinn defines QR Content as any web content specifically delivered by scanning QR (Quick Response) Codes or any other form of 2D/1D mobile tagging. QR connected content is consumed by mobile web users in a brand new fashion from a variety of unique contexts, most importantly from pre-existing traditional media, making it a relevant new category in marketing moving forward. The mobile web pages directly connected to a QR code scan experience can offer value and efficiency to the consumer that was unheard of just 5 years ago. QR content is transforming static media into engaging mobile web content.

The mobile Web is growing at an astonishing rate, and as telecommunications networks and mobile devices get faster, they offer ridiculous new opportunities for brands to engage with mobile consumers using QR codes as physical hyperlinks. By scanning a QR code with the camera of a Web-enabled smartphone, consumers willingly initiate a conversation with brands like never before and in places never previously imagined.

Like a keyword search on the desktop Internet, the act of a consumer scanning a QR code is a tacit indication of interest and an active request for some sort of brand engagement. On the desktop Internet, advertising, with its annoying banners and popups, is almost always viewed as invasive, but with mobile QR code scans brands can respond to a consumer request with exclusive and unobtrusive Web content delivered instantly.

This massive concept has ignited a wave of mainstream advertising campaigns driven around brands propelling mobile users to action with QR codes. And it’s only the beginning.

To be effective with this new approach, however, marketers must carefully think through every step of their QR code strategy, from code design and placement, delivering a worthwhile user experience and measuring response. It's not enough to just print a code and see what happens. Among the questions to consider are: where will this interaction occur and what sort of value should the brand deliver? The Web content and user experience (UX) should augment the tagged advertisement and the consumer engagement on a mobile site should be tracked across media boundaries.

Examples of trackable interactions from QR code content include: signups, v-card download, shopping, app download, social followers, music/video downloads, comments and ratings. These interactions, with the individual precision of a torpedo, are different from previous Web engagements, which was more like throwing mud against a wall. They happen in the physical world between a publisher or brand and an individual consumer with a smartphone. 

Tappinn presents 12 QR connected mobile tagging torpedoes. Fast hitting QR connected value fired into the mobile galaxy. In no particular order and meant to be teamed for more power.

Shopping: product galleries and product pages related to the printed advertisement. Not as much a hard sell but more about browsing and sharing with easy links to find where to buy related products.

Signup: Contests and sweepstakes. Enticing mobile users to sign up for a chance to win. Mobile signups offer an opportunity to capture information about users. Events and store promotions can encourage signups where never before possible.

Conversation: Tips, voting and ratings. The allure of what other people are saying can be a primary driver to scan a QR code. Also, people love to share thoughts on an open forum. Voicing approval is important to people. Encourage sharing over social media like Facebook and Twitter.

Video: By far the most useful in early phases of mobile tagging. Consider the viewing environment and content first, and fire other torpedoes to augment. Exclusive and relevant wins. Direct video downloads to smart phones are in line to take over. (Keep file sizes and download times to a minimum, however.)

Contact info: vCard. Download personal contact information directly to the phone’s address book. Eliminate typing information into a phone by downloading immediately. Offer a landing page with other links. Don’t let the full intention of the code be a vCard, however. (Test to determine how well various devices populate data.)

Social: Scan to “like” and “follow” us. Pages should be easy to share. Print advertising has an untapped viral comment component when incorporating the mobile Web if the content can be easily shared. On the other hand, collecting followers by directing them to social profiles is also popular and is encouraged. Print with QR codes has an “social” identity.

App downloads. Brands that have invested in an app can use mobile tagging to send downloads. Link the code directly to the app store or a landing page with easy links to download.

Coupons. Display phone screen at checkout. Interjecting coupons via QR codes at the point of purchase has been the most popular practice so far. Exchanging e-mails for coupons should be the target. Apps that scan QR code are also starting to reward consumers with coupons for scanning. Double dip value. Need more apps to encourage QR scanning by offering their own incentive for active usage.

Audio. Sample, buy, download. Taylor Swift, Soulja Boy, P.Diddy and Lupe Fiasco have all used QR codes to let users to sample tracks from their mobile phones. Lots of room for new collaboration between music artists and fashion brands at the point of purchase. Mobile music downloads from traditional print media and products have yet to be exploited.

Commerce. “Scan to buy” music. Unique buying pages for users who scan codes exclusively with discounted pricing. Convenience is the ultimate driver of mobile commerce in the future .

How-to information. Intended to instruct. Mostly used for product guides and user manuals. Video guides can be utilized as well (such as with assembly instructions on boxes from Ikea). Also, QR codes can be used on warranty cards that house info on the mobile Web.

Find us. Google mapping. Brands use this as “find a retailer,” but small businesses can also use this and link to Google maps. This offers users instant directions to find locations where they can make a purchase. Google maps is an awesome tool to incorporate into QR-connected pages.

The mobile tagging landscape is a wild terrain with unlimited possibilities for brands to offer unique value to smartphone users with QR codes. They must first build and deliver custom mobile websites and landing pages that make sense in their market and that helps shoppers complete a product search with a purchase. If it's a magazine ad, build a landing page that considers the readers of that particular magazine and offers exclusives and rewards to only that particular group of readers. Not only mobile, content and offerings are structured around location and medium. Quick transactions can occur in the mobile jungle with the consumer in command. They asked for it, now its time to hit 'em with some mobile tagging torpedoes of QR content!

To be published in the next IPA Bulletin by IDEAlliance. The Bulletin magazine is the voice of IDEAlliance, keeping its members abreast of business challenges and opportunities, assuring workflows are state-of-the-art, speeding information across the end-to-end digital media supply chain — from content creation through delivery, both digitally and in print.   

QR Codes Symbolize More Than We Know

Okay…QR codes are seriously blowin’ up, homies! I am literally getting flooded with emails and news about NEW campaigns daily. For anyone who has been following the world of QR codes as I have, the hype has undoubtedly reached a fever pitch. The continuous exposure they are getting has been GIGANTIC for awareness, which is the obvious hurdle for the technology. Although QR codes can still only be appreciated by an elite group of smartphone users, they represent much more about who we are becoming as “consumers” and how we expect brands and advertisers to communicate with us. It makes me think about what a “QR code” really symbolizes in this NEW era of “anywhere” web content.

Today, sharp advertisers are thinking of consumers more as “content consumers”, first and foremost. The swift change that the internet brought upon traditional advertising can be attributed to one word, SEARCH. Once digital content around our niche interests and products could be searched and therefore found, the game changed forever. On-demand information and the “long tail” were born while one-way, broad, intrusive messages grew stagnant. So if we can agree that search has had a revolutionary impact over consumer content consumption and advertising, what happens when the ability to search and absorb web content goes completely MOBILE?

Web search is embedded in our culture. Googling words and phrases to find information has become a way of life for most of us. Websites, blogs, reviews, comments, photos, videos, forums, status updates and tweets are ALL considered searchable content. Each form of content serves as unique education to whoever is searching, depending on what they are searching for. There is an innate satisfaction that is had by consumers who are able to instantly feel knowledgeable (or perceive they are) about a brand, product or service that immediately pertains to them by the power of their own searches and clicks on the web. This is where I see QR codes as the trigger to a metaphorical loaded gun, with bullets being content. The user gets a feeling of “empowerment” by pulling the trigger, in this case, scanning a QR code.

“Instant Education-Gratification“……. is a term that has been spawned by an online culture and is ripe for QR codes to own. It defines our emotional search for empowerment and feeds our craving for valuable content, instantly. The physical act of scanning a QR code is a lot like typing a keyword into a search box. It’s immediate and responsive with the user having full control. Now brands can deliver unique, valuable, unobtrusive web content to consumers through QR codes and mobile web content while tapping into the “emotional gratification” and “education” that search provides. QR codes are already the ultimate bridge between static physical media and its dynamic digital counterpart. This is a completely new way to think about the satisfaction they can bring if the content is valuable. This is when they become more than just a code, but a way of life.

Hot Bavarian Girls for QR Codes

Here's a pic of a HOT Bavarian girl wearing a QR code at the World Cup with some nerd. God bless.

QR Codes "In The Wild"

Here are some more pics from the JCK jewelry show 2010 of brands using QR codes.

Microsoft Tag in Details Magazine is Nothing Special

Microsoft Tags are being used on a Kenneth Cole watch ad in Details Magazine this month June/July 2010. We are a QR code blog and haven't spent much time observing MS Tags in action. It's time to find out what they are all about BEYOND the CODE. Watch the video for more.

Tappinn QR Codes. It's ALL About SHARING. {Video}

Me showing off a sick new feature added to the Tappinn platform. Every page can now turn itself into a QR code by touching the Tappinn icon on the share bar. Enjoy

First Designer QR Code Makes TV History!!

During ABC's final episode of LOST, you may have caught an ad for the upcoming season of True Blood. This was no ordinary promo. The 30 second spot featured a flash of a custom QR code at the end. Fans can use DVR devices like TIVO to freeze the commercial and scan the code from their television.

I LOVE it. This is TV history!!

Although most probably missed this opportunity because the concept in still unknow, I see an extremely bright future for designer QR codes on TV.

Warbasee Design created the True Blood designer QR code and the mobile user experience. They have a track record for creating cutting edge mobile campaigns with QR codes for Hollywood. most recently the Iron Man 2 promo with QR.

"The goal behind this strategy is to extend the conversation," said Philip Warbasse -CEO Warbasse Design. "If you take a 30 second commercial and add a 2D barcode to it, you are effectively you are effectively extending your time with the audience. For now, it's a clever way to make the commercial last longer, " continues Warbasse, "but, soon QR codes will become the preferred method for television advertisers to deliver extras to interested viewers."

Amen to that, Philip! Here is the clip, oh and by the way, custom QR codes rock!

QR Codes vs. Typing URL's

This video says it all! People who have had a bad experience with QR codes due to phone speed NEED to watch this! Most Blackberry's offer a less than pleasant experience when it comes to scanning QR codes. In the old days you would have to snap a picture of the code and WAIT for it to send back the information. Depending on the mobile browser being used to view the content after the code scan, it can be SLOW and discouraging. The next generation of smartphones offer users a seamless connection with QR codes that is radically faster than past generations. Check it out!

Iron Man 2 Starring QR codes

Check out the movie ad for Iron Man 2. Designed by Santa Monica based Warbasse Designs, who is in charge of the mobile strategy for Iron Man 2. The code links to a Mobile page featuring a synopsis, trailer, showtimes and photos. Click here for the official press release.

QR Codes - Content is KING

It's easy to create a QR code. There are several code generators on the web where you can simply enter the text or link URL that you wish to code at it will automatically generate a QR code. Most of what is out there is emphasizing the code and not the CONTENT connected to it. The code is just a quicker way get people to your content. The questions remains, is your content formatted to suit the mobile user? Is it targeted and exclusive to the environment? These are questions that you have to ask when considering including QR codes and the mobile web into your marketing efforts. Focus BEYOND the CODE.

QR Code Chat on Twitter

I have been following a lot of the chat about QR codes on Twitter lately (more so since the Facebook announcement) . I've noticed some common trends with the users who have a negative view towards QR codes as a new technology. What these people are failing to see is that QR codes are not magic, they store URL's and other info, THAT'S IT! The negative experiences users have with them often lies in the CONTENT not being MOBILE. If a user takes the time to download an app to scan a code but doesn't view the content as valuable or targeted they will walk away with a bad taste in their mouth about QR codes. It wasn't the codes fault that the content sucked! The code did it's job by transmitting the info instantly. It was the content that caused the negative experience. The #1 benefit to QR codes is CONVIENECE, you don't have to type in long URL's on your mobile browser. The science is in the page that you are directed to!





Tappinn is a platform to build dynamic mobile web pages and deploy them using QR codes. Each page created on Tappinn is sharable and "friendable". Advertisers can now focus on creating great mobile content that users will be interested in based on the environment and context of the code. NO worries about weather or not it will look good on the user's mobile browser, Tappinn technology has assured that. Build mobile product pages within minutes and never look back! Since the code is usually attached to something, content can be targeted towards the physical media it's tagged to. QR codes are going to become mainstream soon. Advertisers who can create and publish the best mobile content, FAST, will win.

Nokia n900 Pictures

Here are some pictures of the new Nokia N900. This device will be rockin Maemo OS with a firefox mobile browser available. We've heard a lot about Firefox mobile, this looks to be the first device we will see with it.

Not sure about the stylus. Soooooo 2005!

Squarepush Uses QR Codes To Share PingTags

Squarepush, a mobile web development firm, will be using QR codes in their latest mobile endeavor. They are calling it PingTag. It's a page that users can create using data from their Linkedin profile. The Pingtags will be assigned a QR code with the PingTag info stored inside. The QR codes are to be used on business cards where the code can be scanned by a camera phone QR reader to enable the users to easily store and share your PingTag. The results can be tracked by location allowing the ability see when and where your PingTag is being accessed and what people are doing with it. They are still beta testing with the project but expect to see PingTag up and running soon.

Motorola Shadow = Nexus Two?

Here is a recently leaked photo of the new Motorola Shadow. HOT! The devise looks a little like Motorola's Droid but boasts a fresh white keyboard and a wristband slot. Looks hip for a younger crowd. What's more exciting is the rumor that this will be Google's new flagship devise as it features Android OS. It's already being billed as the "Nexus Two". This looks like another push by Google to bring the mobile web to the masses. We are interested in how the phone will be marketed as well as how it will further position Google as the leader in mobile web devises.

UPDATE: 4.3-inch display with a screen resolution of 850x484 pixels. The phone is also said to be equipped with a 5 Megapixel cam but has an 8 Megapixel image sensor! It will also be possible to shoot HIGH DEF video in a 1080p with the Shadow. WOW. Also, there is said to be a bult in HDMI dock for easy connection to a TV.