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The Post Office Goes Interactive

June 2, 2011 in Barcodes by Peter Langlois | No comments

Anyone making the same old jokes about the US Postal Service needs to come up with new material.

An innovative new campaign established by the USPS — which has the official approval of the Postal Regulatory Commission — rewards marketers for using 2D barcodes in their marketing materials. Companies that use smartphone-friendly barcodes will get a 3 percent postage discount on qualifying standard and first-class mail letters, flats or cards. The campaign runs through July and August, but the Postal Service has not ruled out the idea of extending the run. They say they’ll be closely monitoring the adoption rate before making a long-term decision.

The campaign is aimed at bulk mailers that submit qualifying first-class or standard mail letters, flats or cards electronically using a permit imprint payment method. However, the discount will apply to both presort standard and first-class presort mail.

The USPS has already been moving in this direction, but the new campaign makes it clear that the organization is throwing its considerable weight behind QR codes and other interactive innovations. If your company is among those wondering when to get aboard this train, now might be the time.

Here’s what we can do to help you:

Neustar has developed an ROI calculator to help determine what your breakeven point is on implementing 2D barcodes in order to take advantage of the postal discount. Here’s how it works:
• This tool will take into consideration the number of resolutions/scans associated with a given campaign, and calculate the general cost/benefit based on various resolution/scan rates.
• For example at $0.25 postage, the 3 percent postal discount savings and an average scan price of $0.14, the breakeven is about a 5 percent response rate to the mailing.
• The breakeven will differ based on number of pieces being sent, and the price you are paying for campaign management services and price per scan.

If you would like to learn more about this discount for adding 2D barcodes to your direct mail (or any marketing campaigns), contact us at barcodes@neustar.biz.

Please also let us know of any success stories or great use cases you have seen with direct mail and barcodes.

Tags: barcodes, direct mail, discount, marketing, USPS

2D Barcodes: Critical Mass

May 18, 2011 in Barcodes by Peter Langlois | No comments

How do you know when a new technology reaches a critical mass? Remember when the first flood of iPhone apps started coming down the pike? Even jaded tech veterans acted like kids in a candy store.

There is a similar shift happening with 2D barcodes. The range of factors driving this technology — easy access through smartphones, increasing customer comfort with the new channel, the ability to essentially uncover hidden value — make it clear that in the right environment, there’s a major potential audience seeing a shift in barcodes from holding just pricing information to holding much more.

Here’s one example: THQ’s “Homefront” video game, released this spring, featured no less than 10 hidden QR codes that led users to exclusive content. Even with virtually no promotion, there were tens of thousands of scans, downloads and video views within a few days. The technology was perfectly suited to the nature of the content, not to mention the marketing effort behind. With dynamic linking capabilities, those codes can continue to produce dividends by linking to current promotions as the game maker changes them.

It’s even more fun seeing how these 2D barcodes increasingly play a role in how marketers are engaging consumers online via an offline retail environment. Think about products that have a long shelf life, and a story that changes over time. Gifts that have a seasonal value or wine that’s gradually aging.

Old wine that gets better with age, matched with the newest technology to help its story mature — now that’s a good match.

You can help the new generation of barcodes mature. Even though many people know what to do when they see a barcode, until the technology becomes native to every handset, you may want to coach customers a little: include instructions for downloading a reader and how to scan. We’ve posted some other best practices here. What great use cases are you seeing, and what best practices do those reveal?

We’d also like to hear where you think the tipping points are for mobile barcode adoption.

Tags: barcodes, best practices, entertainment, next-gen, wine

When Money Talks, the Market Listens

May 9, 2011 in Barcodes by Peter Langlois | No comments

Here’s news for people who monitor the economy for coming trends: Barcodes make a hot investment.

The latest evidence is a $5 million cash injection to one mobile barcode company. Raising $5 million in funding isn’t so startling, but what is striking are reports that the round was actually oversubscribed — a far cry from the dull tenor of investment news over the past couple of years. And also, the latest funders to throw their hats in the barcode ring include Motorola Solutions Venture Capital and Hudson Ventures, along with existing private investors. Not bad!

More than just an investment, the deal points to the growth of the market as a whole. As much of the coverage around this investment has pointed out, there was a 1,600 percent rise in barcode scanning just last year, and we may be just scratching the surface. The newest show of faith — as in millions of dollars in investment — may be the signal that more companies are looking to leverage mobile barcodes and to get in on the action.

Venture capitalists have long been a bellwether of market growth. In the case of mobile barcode technology, this may not be just another sign of the maturing of this market, but also a milestone in the recognition of evolving consumer habits. We can’t wait to see some of the incredible developments that increased investments in the bright minds of this market will bring to the way we use barcodes.

Tags: barcodes, Funding, Motorola, Scanbuy, Venture Capital

Driving Customer Loyalty Through Mobile Campaigns

August 3, 2010 in Mobile Marketing by Peter Langlois | No comments

Customer loyalty and advocacy is the Holy Grail for marketers. With the explosion of mobile devices penetrating the market, it’s no surprise that mobile marketing is quickly becoming the next big wave to extend brand value. Mobile allows brands to engage in a level of interaction that is more relevant and meaningful to their customers. And, social media empowers these same customers with tools to turn those brand interactions into shared conversations with friends and family members. Brands must be prepared for the “conversations and engagements they start” because with today’s media, the customer has the final word.

So what does this mean for customer loyalty?

According to a recent Microsoft Mobile Behavior and Ad Acceptance Study, “media-savvy US consumers believe that advertising has reached saturation point and that brands are using increasingly desperate tactics to get their message through. Yet we found that many smartphone users are already inviting brands into their mobile world and reaping the benefits, often without even considering this as advertising.”

Examples of companies extending their brands through mobile include MLB, Ford and McDonalds.

With more consumers opting-in to mobile promotions and information alerts, brands can engage with their customers based on intelligence around what the consumer has opted into: location sharing, identified interests, time of day and other targeting, thereby making the experience much more relevant. For example, mobile barcodes are an excellent medium. Because consumers choose to scan, they allow consumers to opt-in to a number of options to engage with the brand and offer an immediate call to action. If the mobile campaign is done correctly, consumers can easily be moved up the marketing ladder from call to action all the way to sale, and even to member loyalty.

Consumers decide if they want to scan a barcode and get more information about a product or service, receive an offer or make a purchase. Whether you have a loyalty program or not, mobile is a new way to engage customers in a two-way dialog based on what they care about at that moment in time. Brands should follow Mobile Marketing Association guidelines to know if and how often they can continue the engagement post initial scan.

If you are just getting started, here are some questions to consider before launching a mobile campaign:

What problem are you trying to solve for your brand? For your customer?
What do you truly want to gain? More sales? More members/opt-ins? Deeper consumer insight and analytics? Improved ROI /lift on traditional media buy?
What’s in it for the customer?
Are you ready for the conversation?
How often can you provide value to the customer?
Do you have the analytics to measure the campaign’s effectiveness?
Can everyone access your campaign regardless of their mobile device?
Does your campaign have the underlying security in place to avoid hackers/scams?
Do you have the right experienced partners to help you navigate this new landscape?

Once you’ve launched a campaign, it’s important to remember that many customers are signing up for opportunities with an average of 7-9 other brands at the same time. So, even though consumers opt-in, you need to be mindful of how often you are reaching out to them via mobile devices.

With mobile, people are interacting with brands in new, innovative ways. The consumer’s connection with their mobile device is powerful and intimate. Tapping into that connection through an effective mobile campaign can not only drive business goals, but create a deeper, more meaningful relationship with the customer, thereby increasing loyalty and retention.