The Mobility of Print: Integrating Print with Mobile Technology
Most months, I just pay my cell phone bill via my cell phone’s mobile app without ever looking at my family’s usage. But this month I decided a casual perusal was in order. I discovered that my 20-year-old college student logged a whopping 4,300 text messages. A lot, but as she explained, she receives ESPN scores, sorority calendar reminders, campus security alerts and discount coupons via text messaging. And she is immersed in a culture that carries on constant dialogues via text. What surprised me the most about my bill was that I had become the second highest user in the family—1,200 text messages in one month. OMG—me? That’s 40 messages a day, but apparently I and my middle-aged-mom cohorts represent one of the fastest growing segments on the texting dance floor.
Industry experts estimate that 11 trillion text messages will be sent in the United States this year, and texting is just the beginning…
Game Changer
We love our handy-dandy smartphones. More than once, I have lingered with a group of friends after dinner finishing off a good bottle of wine, sharing a decadent dessert and passing along the latest must-have apps. These days, we routinely use them to perform tasks that we formerly did on our PCs: shop, pay bills, e-mail, Facebook, play games, map destinations, get news, weather and stock market updates, etc. The first time someone showed me a QR (Quick Response) code, I felt enlightened and eagerly sought out the 2D barcodes to interact with—on bills and billboards, on business cards and business signage, and increasingly in print magazines. It was with great joy that I recently discovered a QR code in Taste of Home magazine that accompanied a recipe for Rice Krispies Treat eggs. With a single button click I was immediately watching a video on my phone that showed how to make the gooey Easter treats.
Without a doubt, the smartphone has changed the game. According to John Foley, CEO at interlinkONE, a multi-channel marketing software company and industry leader in mobile marketing, by the end of this year, nearly every estimate indicates that more than half of the population in the United States will be carrying around a smartphone. Smartphone manufacturers shipped 100.9 million devices in the fourth quarter of 2010, while PC manufacturers shipped 92.1 million units worldwide. Market experts predict that the smartphone will become the primary tool for accessing the Internet in the near future. “Once someone has one, they continue to rely on it for everything. Companies must find a way to reach this audience,” Foley affirms.
The Bridge to Mobile
How do you get your marketing message in the pockets and purses of your targeted audience? Creative mobile marketing builds an instant and meaningful bridge to interactivity and facilitates the leap from the page to the hand. Many of today’s most creative and successful marketing campaigns start with old-fashioned print—direct mail postcards, magazine and newspaper ads, signs—that has been enhanced with an interactive element such as a mobile 2D barcode or SMS (Short Message Service) call to action. Mobile marketing is not a departure from Internet marketing; it’s the next evolutionary step. As part of a multimedia marketing campaign, print projects almost always include a Web address where additional information and special incentives can be found and downloaded, but mobile marketing enhances this experience by making interaction easier, more immediate and more rewarding.
Creating interactivity within the print medium extends shelf-life as well as value by offering readers layers of experience beyond the printed page. “People still need to be touched by multiple channels. First, people see and are engaged by the printed piece, and then they make the easy jump to more content using their phones,” Foley explains. “QR Codes can absolutely help make the bridge between print and mobile! They are easy and inexpensive to create, and you can download the reader app in seconds for free. Because they are open-standard, it means that more and more companies are using them, and thus people across the mainstream are starting to understand what they are and how they can be used.”
A Snapshot of Barcodes
Mobile barcodes (QR, 2D and data matrix), popular in Japan and Europe for more than a decade, are increasingly showing up in the print world of mainstream America on signs, business cards, packaging, bills, and advertisements. The May issue of “O, The Oprah Magazine” (circulation 2.6 million) includes five advertisements sporting the trendy codes. And if past trending patterns are any indication, where Oprah goes, millions follow. Today’s media-savvy reader has an expectation for mobile interactivity, and in the near future, most of America will share that expectation. “Mobile marketing will become the new standard,” Foley says.
“QR codes bring static print to life, creating a dialogue with the consumer that frequently turns the consumer into a customer,” affirms Val DiGiacinto, VP of Sales for The Ace Group. “It can be used on any collateral and only requires a small amount of space. Since the landing page is virtual, information can be updated regularly. That is a great way to continue to bring the consumer back. It is also a great way to stay current with information that does change.”
An added benefit of QR code utilization for marketing is the ability to track responses. Using software now readily available, you can analyze the number of people accessing your QR code, and how and when they are accessing it. You can gather additional data by creating a landing page where you offer an incentive to people (ie: entry in a sweepstakes) in exchange for personal data.
Text Message Strategies
According to Steve Bessonny, COO of Text Ripple, a leading mobile marketing solutions provider, adding a mobile component to your print media frequently increases the response rate by 50 percent with little additional cost. For example, a print ad may simply say “Text COUPON to 55432 right now from your mobile phone to receive an instant coupon.” They are simple to create and so easy to access and use that the redemption rate for text-based coupons is significantly higher than for traditional print or online coupons. Mobile coupons are sent directly to customer’s cell phones, so no searching is required nor time wasted. An added advantage of mobile marketing with a SMS call-to-action is the ability to track responses and build a data base for future marketing endeavors.
Bessonny cites the results of a recent marketing campaign Text Ripple created for a pizza chain. “The goal was to drive sales at a five-store pizza chain. The medium was a direct mail piece with a mobile call to action. We invited people to text in to receive an instant coupon sent directly to their cell phones. Direct mail connected them, mobile engaged them and the results were powerful. The response rate was overwhelming—more than 12,000 people texted in—and we were able to build a data base of customers to target for future promotions. This gives the pizza chain immediate access to patrons we know are already interested in their business.”
Similarly, many businesses are now promoting VIP text club memberships by offering opt-in customers discount coupons, a chance to win a big prize and other incentives not otherwise available.
Marketing Must-do
As smartphones replace PCs as the primary access tool for the Internet, businesses need to format their landing pages so that they are suited for viewing on mobile devices. “One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is not creating a mobile-optimized website,” affirms Foley.
“With minimal time and effort businesses can greatly improve the experience that people have when they interact with their brand on their mobile phones, and deliver compelling content that fits beautifully on a smartphone screen.”
As Foley notes, technology is always evolving, and businesses should already be paying attention to emerging technologies such as Near Field Communications (NFC). NFC isn’t really new...or cutting edge. In fact, it’s basically a variation of other short-range wireless technologies already used throughout the world—especially in Japan and Europe. With NFC, you can quickly swap information between devices when they’re touched together. You can exchange things like text, images, URLs or other data simply by holding your phone up to various “smart tags.”
“That will be huge in regards to how people pay for things with their smartphone. I’m not saying it will replace QR Codes, but there will absolutely be technologies that seek to make the experience even better, and that integrate with whatever channels come next,” Foley predicts.
For the foreseeable future, smart phones are going to keep getting smarter, and marketers are going to find smarter ways to utilize this evolving technology.