Scan Me Baby

The big question:

What do consumers want?

Immediate access to what’s relevant. That what.

And with QR codes its being made possible.

So what are QR codes?

Quick Response codes, QR codes for short are similar to that bar code used at point of sales, however the key difference is the sheer amount of information that they can hold. You can scan QR codes using iPhones, Androids, or other smart-phones, which can then link you to digital content on the web, activate phone functions, such as email and sms, and also connect the mobile device to a web browser.

Its becoming increasingly easier to make your own QR code through generator sites, the one which has worked best for me is this as it even allows you to personalise the colour as well as the format of your code;

My code for my blog: Scan Me Baby!!

http://keremerkan.net/qr-code-and-2d-code-generator/

Usages of QR codes are now being adopted into social media, with it revolving around sharing and community.  There is no limit to what you can share; so going further than images and videos, it is even possible to share an entire e-book (which would make my lecture reading so much simpler). With facebook being one of the worlds biggest online communities, its undoubtedly obvious that they would even have QR codes that can link your mobile device to a ‘LIKE’ button for your page

QR codes can be used;

• ·      On your business card
• ·      Product Tags
• ·      Restaurant Tags
• ·      Event ticket stubs

With QR codes there is opportunities for advertising and could well be used within the research stages, as it is possible to link them to customer feedback forms. As mobile technology advances, the potential for QR codes is becoming limitless. With the next generation of phones barcodes are expected to hold even more information that an Internet connection wont even be necessary. It’s amazing to think were this can go and the opportunities that may arise. I for one am excited.

Creating a Buzz...

So a week in, and my notebook tells me its time to upload my first blog entry. Suggested subject matter, are Lecture topics, Core Readings, Placements and Sectors of interest. However as the unit is only beginning to unravel, and with fear of offending the weeks guest lecturers by critically analyzing them, I wish to talk about something which has ignited a passion in me. A strong admiration, and more importantly a desire to achieve something, which makes other people, feel the way I do about this particular piece of advertising.

 So, when preparing for an interview, at DDB, I stumbled upon, their Interactive marketing division: Tribal DDB. Specializing in digital campaigns, I could hardly believe my luck that I have been offered work experience at this amazing agency, especially when I found out they were behind the HASBRO Monopoly City streets campaign.

For those of you who are unaware (or have been living under a rock), Tribal DDB created the biggest game of Monopoly ever! Teaming up with Google maps, they created an online campaign that brought monopoly into the real world and turned the globe into one giant game board.

Their primary objective was to create a ‘buzz’ around the launch of the new updated game to build consumer excitement and awareness of the new version, and that they did. They met this objective to such an extent that when the game launched servers went down, and Tribal were set to go down in history as a cautionary tale to companies who wanted to use social media to promote their brands. Yet they turned it around, sales of monopoly rose across the board and the hype around the game made news all over the world.

To me this campaign is one of my favourites, maybe I’m biased, but even to an untrained eye, it’s hard not to see how this digital campaign is not brilliant at meeting its objectives, and making me look forward to this unit, more so than before. If this is Digital Communications, count me in.

So this is me...

As an Advertising and Marketing student at Bournemouth University, some clever cloggs has finally came up with an idea of making me pay attention: A Blog. And rightly so, I'll be here week after week analysing and disecting my lectures and seminars and digital implications in the advertsing world. Sounds fun? Did I mention it's our main form of assesment? Everything aside I hope you enjoy my posts as much as I enjoy the unit, and learn with me as I get pulled into the intruiging world that is Digital Communications.