QR Codes Uncensored

QR code to www.srg.com

It’s hard to believe that Quick Response codes, better known as QR codes, have been around since 1994. Developed by Toyota subsidy Denso-Wave Corp. these two-dimensional barcodes act as a physical world hyperlink. Smartphone users scan the barcode with a QR code reader app (various available in both the Android and iPhone app market) and the QR code serves the user relevant content. With smartphone market penetration reaching 50% in 2011 this trend is not likely to go away anytime soon. Marketers have begun integrating the technology into advertisements in magazines, newspapers, billboards, and even in-store. Anyone can create these barcodes for free by visiting one of several QR code generating websites. While the technology is relatively new to the mainstream United States, QR codes have already become commonplace in Japan and South Korea. With all new technologies it is likely that within the next year QR codes will be found just about everywhere, but eventually usage will taper off to only the most appropriate and useful applications.

QR code best practices:

• Be sure to link to a mobile landing page
• Provide relevant, valuable content
• Some mediums work better than others

Current QR code uses:

• Tombstones
• Resumes
• Billboard Advertisements
• Menus
• Museums

Architectural Video Mapping, the New Frontier?

Architectural video mapping (AVM), also known as digital projection mapping, which turns the sides of buildings into canvases for art, is fast becoming more and more commonplace. By projecting images into the façade of buildings artists are capable of producing some pretty amazing video-based creative pieces. The technique hopes to be a new frontier for advertisers in the future. AVM is currently being used by a variety of different companies in a wide range of sectors and has evolved to fit smaller objects including the New Balance shoe and the Toyota Auris as well. Polo Ralph Lauren recently used the technology in an event the founder’s son David Lauren calls “merchan-tainment” describing the technique’s ability to blur the line between commerce and entertainment.

2010 Web Summit 2.0

Web Summit 2.0 wrapped up yesterday in San Francisco. This yearly event brings “leaders of the Internet Economy” together “to debate and determine business strategy…Web 2.0 Summit gathers the intelligence, innovation, and leadership of the Internet and media industries for a conversation that never fails to stimulate, push, and surprise.” Broad topics such as free media and control of the social realm were all discussed over the three day conference by industry players such as Mark Zuckerburg (CEO, Facebook), Mark Pincus (founder/CEO, Zynga), Wim Elfrink (Chief Globalization Officer, Cisco), and many others. The Summit’s website contains lots of interesting content for anyone interested in keeping up with the current state of the internet and its many opportunities to shape the future.

Using Augmented Reality to Sell Goods

Shoppers in New York and LA had a unique opportunity to purchase a limited edition release of the redesigned classic Airwalk, JIM. Partnering with GoldRun, Airwalk placed virtual replicas of the shoe within pre-designated areas of NYC and Venice Beach. "To be able to buy one of 300 limited-edition pairs...shoppers had to locate an image of the shoe via augmented reality". Upon finding the virtual good shoppers could use it to purchase the actual product - the pop-up store made invisible. GoldRun, an augmented reality iPhone app, allows users to collect virtual goods much like a scavenger hunt. GoldRun expressed that their "ability to subtly deliver brand messaging through compelling game-like experiences that also provide immediate and relevant user rewards" make it a good partner to all sorts of companies who would like to play in this space. Their recent H&M program is another great example of similar work.

Kik It Up A Notch

Kik, a new entrant into the smart phone app market, has seen impressive growth so far. The company went from zero to one million downloads in fifteen days. For now, the app touts "Free real-time texting...By making Kik Messenger insanely fast, and by showing when a message has been sent, delivered, and read, texting with Kik feels like a face-to-face conversation." Created by Ted Livingston, Kik hopes to build its community and then given its capabilities eventually to roll out additional features. "Basically, Kik’s technology [will] let you wirelessly 'sling' any content on your phone to any device...I can go to my friend’s home and stream an HD movie from my phone onto his TV." While the app currently does not offer any of these features the advanced streaming technology could allow this application in the future. For now, Kik is very excited about the growth and is navigating legal red tape before releasing any music/video sharing technology.

A Holiday Gift from Google

Google Chrome has just announced they will be offering free Wi-Fi from GoGo on flights during the holiday season. Virgin America, AirTran and Delta have partnered up with the Google from November 20, 2010 through January 2, 2011 and have outfitted their fleet to provide the complimentary service. This gift follows in the footsteps of last year's promotion offering free Wi-Fi in various airports throughout the country. Google's blog says "On the Chrome team, we’re big fans of innovations that make our lives on the web and in the browser better—and it all starts with more ubiquitous access to the Internet." The question is, will this offering sway you to choose one of these airlines for your holiday travel? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

T-Post: The Magazine You Wear

T-Post is the world’s first and only magazine you can wear. T-Post editors choose “an interesting topic based on one or a few related offbeat news stories. The stories … are usually those that are slightly outside the radar of the mainstream media but say something important or interesting about a current event.” The copy (written on the inside of the tee) is sent to a visual artist who interprets the story and creates a graphic for the front of the tee. Issues, released every six week are not available in stores, check out their site to subscribe and have the next issue delivered to your door.

T-Post remarks “for us it’s a way to use fashion and art to spread the word about things that are important to us and the world by using one of the best pop culture mediums ever invented: THE GRAPHIC T-SHIRT.”

Pretty awesome.

Sears Ad Your Way

Check out this interesting new take on digital from Sears posted on BrandFlakesForBreakfast:

"Sears just launched Ad Your Way, a new suite of tools on their site that let you receive more targeted offers, and follow products. Why would you care to follow a product? Because doing so lets you get alerts when there's a price drop. You can even enter a desired purchase price, and they'll ping you when the product has dropped to your action point. Looks like Sears is not only getting a refresh to their digital promotion, but they're looking at digital in every way, and asking 'how can we improve the customer experience?' Cool. "

The New Face for MySpace

MySpace, once known as the "place for friends" is re-launching the site with the goal of becoming a "social entertainment destination". The re-launch begins today and the entire update will be complete by the end of November. In addition to a new focus the site has introduced a new logo, a new target audience, and a new site design.

Be Where They Are/Do As They Do

Geico's new ad made in Xtranormal in 15 minutes (the same amount of time it takes to save money with their product) demonstrates the "be where they are"/"do as they do" approach to reaching customers. Additionally the ad has created buzz and even been featured on Tosh.O. Not so bad for 15 minutes...

Bing to Display Friends' Opinions and Preferences

The “Instant Personalization” system incorporates public information (likes, links, etc.) posted by your friends into your Bing search results. These "social results" are a result of the deepened relationship between Microsoft and Facebook. Very interesting… Making search social.

It's an App Revolution

It's small here, but check out another interesting infographic this time about app use.

TV Goes Social

Just like every other aspect of our lives our TV’s are officially going “social”. With the development of Apple TV in 2006, GoogleTV introduced this year, and Samsung’s new dedication to letting developers create apps for their televisions, now is a good time to consider the vastness of this opportunity. Apps such as Twitter, YouTube, eBay, AccuWeather, and Pandora are already involved. Imagine having the ability to watch your favorite show on half the screen while simultaneously reading what everyone else is saying on Twitter, checking the local weather, and buying those cute shoes you just saw an advertisement for, it’s simply incredible. The TV presents new challenges and benefits for developers including the large screen size, the social setting in which we often enjoy TV, the opportunity for sound as a welcomed addition, and more. The internet is releasing televisions from its bondage as a device that pushes information at us to a connected, integrated, all-way communication portal; televisions and our current code of behavior for watching them is undergoing a serious revolution, are you ready?

AdMob

In case you missed it... a rep from Google's AdMob was here in the office Friday morning and gave a very interesting presentation on what's happening in the mobile advertising space. This two minute video (below) offers a great overview. Click here to download and view the entire presentation.

The full presentation includes stats on the current mobile internet landscape and several creative examples of what types of advertising units, user experiences and interactions are currently available.