Bar codes: linking the offline world to the online world - Alban Fournier (part 1)

1D and 2D codes can be found everywhere. With more and more people acquiring a smartphone, codes become a growing channel for brands to communicate with potential customers. A scan of a code could become an access to mobile commerce.

In this first post, I will talk about the technical advantage of using the scan of codes.

Fast access

Scanning is a quick and automatic way to access information on your smartphone. No need to type a long web address in your browser: you scan and the page opens automatically. The most famous type of 2D code is the QR Code. QR stands for Quick Response.

Format of codes

Compared to the 1D code, the 2D code “contains information in both the vertical and horizontal directions, whereas a 1D code contains data in one direction only”. This explains the popularity of QR Code able to hold a greater volume of information. For more information, you can go to the website of the company that invented the QR code 18 years ago (1994): http://www.denso-wave.com/qrcode/aboutqr-e.html

The Japanese company Denso Wave has protected the trademark and patents of the QR code all over the world. As of today, the use of QR code is free but it might change.

An alternative to the QR code has been developed by French telecom carriers and MobileTag. The name of the 2D code is Flashcode. It contains as well information in both directions.

The information is coded into the code:

 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:QR_Character_Placement.svg

What you can do

With a scan, you can access any content on the Internet (video, text, picture, mobile site…), connect to a wifi network, store information, dial a phone number, send a text message, send an email, a tweet, make a payment and so far.

In a second post, I will explain some of the opportunities for e-Marketing (content display, coupons and discounts, product features...).

You can create a code and manage it for free

http://www.createacode.att.mobiletag.com/

Links of interest:

-Top barcode scanners: http://www.inman.com/news/2011/08/2/top-10-qr-code-and-barcode-scanner-reader-apps-iphone-ipad

Marketing Shampoos – a view from the other side of the world

Most developing countries have much lower per capita income when compared to developed countries. The world's most reliable information source (www.cia.gov) estimates the 2011 per capita incomes of India at $ 3,700, Pakistan at $2,800 and Bangladesh at 1,700 as against $ 48,100 for the United States. This huge gap in incomes poses a big challenge for US and other multinational companies when they try to market their products in developing countries. Many products that are considered to be normal daily use items in a developed country might be unaffordable to most of the population in a developing country. My example in this case is the humble shampoo; a product that even the poorest person (especially women) in a developed country will not think twice before buying.

Shampoos generally come in bottle sizes of 250ml (8.45 oz) to about 1000 ml (33.8oz) and these sizes are universally available. However, in India shampoos are mostly sold in single use sachets of 7.5ml (0.25oz). Unilever, which has the largest share (44%) of the shampoo market in India, sells its Sunsilk and Lux shampoo in these sachets. Each shampoo sachet is priced between 2 and 4 US Cents. Clinic All Clear, the anti-dandruff shampoo is sold at 5 US Cents per sachet.

Not to outdone P&G, a late entrant in the Indian market, now sells Head & Shoulders and Pantene brands in 7.5ml (0.25oz) sachets at 6 to 8 US cents a sachet. Incidentally P&G has the second largest share (25%) of the Indian Shampoo market. P&G has also put its washing powders in sachets with Tide priced at 2 US Cents a sachet and Ariel at 4 US cents.

Imagine, at this price Unilever, P&G and others not only have to cover their manufacturing costs but also distribution costs and various margins for whole sellers and retailers, and the huge advertising costs that the hair care products require. It’s the volume of sales that really makes this segment profitable for them. The total Indian shampoo market is currently estimated to be between US$ 470 and US$ 550 million, out of which 40% is sold in sachets

It should be noted that most sachet sales in India take place in small towns and rural areas where people have extremely low purchasing power and the penetration of shampoos (i.e. the number of people who use shampoo) is very low. The introduction of shampoo, and other products, in sachets creates a new market for these products, a market that could not afford large bottles of shampoo but is quite willing to buy in small sizes that are priced to suit their incomes

References:

http://www.unilever.com/images/ir_Unilever-in-India_tcm13-113961.pdf

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

http://trendwatching.com/trends/SACHET_MARKETING.htm

http://www.scribd.com/jeetan1984/d/35942531-The-Shampoo-Market-Imc

http://business.mapsofindia.com/top-brands-india/top-shampoo-brands-in-india.html

http://www.pg-india.com/hp/history.htm

Better ROI for tested emails

An interesting article at Marketing Vox on email best practices and how companies run away from them. A lot of companies are, for the moment, shooting in the dark. The Email Marketing Industry Census 2012, newly-released by eConsultancy and Adestra, clearly establishes that companies across America and Europe know the importance of targeting emails…and yet many don’t make the effort.

Testing and subsequent results in terms of ROI from emails is a clear enough reason for investing time in such best practices. The same article said that 81% of companies who do regular testing for email marketing say their ROI from email is "excellent" or "good", compared to 72% for those who do "occasional" testing, 65% for those who do "infrequent" testing and only 37% for those who "don't test".

One of the issues they say was a hindrance and is on its way down is better technological tools to achieving better targeting. For example, ExactTarget has introduced a new data segmentation application called Audience Builder.  It has a drag-and-drop interface that consolidates and segments data to create targeted audiences. Read more here…

Anyone still need a team member?

I am still available if anyone still needs a team member -
Economics & East Asian Studies Concentration, Chinese Language, Communication, Writing & Rhetorics Minors from Villanova.
yuan.yao@alum.villanova.edu

Thanks!!!

GoDaddy.com's Huge NYC Billboard uses QR Codes Effectively

As I passed through New York City's Times Square, I couldn't help but notice this huge GoDaddy.com billboard. It's typical for GoDaddy.com to have a racy ad (Ala Sharon Stone "Basic Instinct") but the biggest winner here is their use of a QR code. I don't think I have ever seen a QR code advertisement more effective than this. At least in the sense of awareness. 

In contrast, while I was at South Station there was a 3x4 ad that had a QR code on the inner side of the T rail tracks, facing riders while they await the next train. When I tried to scan that QR code (a different company) it wasn't even big enough to be capture on the phone from a distance and it makes me wonder how many companies are running ineffective QR campaigns by not positioning their advertisements correctly? That was a clear sign of ineffective marketing. 

On the other hand, this GoDaddy.com ad creates brand awareness and prompts action. What I'm saying is if you are going to do it, do it right. Here is some data behind QR Codes from Com Score that shows GoDaddy.com had the right brand and used the right type of targeting:

1. 14 Million Americans scanned QR Codes in 2011.
2. 36% of QR Code scanners have an income of over $100,000.00
3. Approximately 53.4% of Mobile QR Code scanners are Males 18-34 Years Old
4. Of this set of QR Code scanners, they were twice as likely as the average mobile user to engage in this behavior.
5. Men were 25% more likely (index of 125) than the average mobile user to scan QR codes, representing 60.5 percent of the scanning audience.

The future of QR code marketing is bright, there's potential for companies  to directly engage their target consumers and create action outside of passive viewing. The old way of print advertisement where consumers view the ad, clip out a coupon, or have to recall an impression from a billboard doesn't cut it this day and age. With effective use of technologies such as this, marketers will be able to determine ROI and capture metrics based on user activities and purchases. Products and services will soon be bought online in an instant by those who merely scan their smartphones. As a result, we'll soon be able to purchase items faster and with less hassle by simply scanning a QR Code and going about our way, perhaps causing a new avenue for expedited in electronic commerce.

See further data here:

14 Million Americans Scanned QR Codes on their Mobile Phones in June 2011

Is indeed a sign of the times

Keep for future reference, but don't go back and change if you quoted any tweets in your paper--unlikely, I think, anyway.

Personal Experience with iContact

I recently researched email marketing service providers for my company.  For anyone else looking into this, the link provided in the text of the book on Rating Marketing Service Providers is a good selection of what is available.  I am currently testing iContact and just ran our first campaign out of it.  So far, the deliveries are fairly high, the bounces relatively low, and the click through's are significant.  Their design templates (and ability to build your own html) are easy to use and fairly flexible for design. I also tested out their customer service (you get a "Success Manager" assigned to you) and they were responsive and helpful in a short time window.  Interestingly, iContact was acquired by Vocus (cloud based marketing and PR provider) this past week so it will be interesting to see if anything changes for the Client (i.e. me) on the iContact side.  I am also going to test Vertical Response, which I know Professor Roberts mentioned in class this past week.  FYI, for those who are using Salesforce, both of these programs are available through the appExchange, therefore I can integrate the statistics and templates directly into our Salesforce Campaigns.