Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Mobile Tagging - Instant Interactions & Transactions

The future of advertising is here. Well, actually it's in Japan, and gaining traction in Europe. When this technology evolves to the states, it will change how we view ads with the click of a button - on your phone.


Mobile tagging simply means reading out a 1D- or 2D-barcode using a camera in a mobile device. Currently about 70 different types of barcodes and their specific versions exist and are mostly in use in the field of logistics. In terms of mobile tagging, the number of codes is essentially restricted to a dozen types. For reading out 2d-barcodes it is essential to install specific software, a reader, on the mobile device. How does it work? See below.

Now, how can this be applied to marketing or even shopping? Easy. With its seamless interaction, content can be delivered instantly to the consumer. Whatever the transaction (pushing a URL, video/media, "add to cart") this enables anyone with a camera phone and data plan to view content in a more interactive way. Imagine what this will be like once the program moves over to webcams - any camera is a barcode reader and any barcode can be printed out on a sheet of paper and scanned. What if these barcodes were on product packaging? Then you could interact even more with the product, even while consuming it. Talk about interaction.

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