Tap-ping into Consumer Engagement

Enticing consumers to engage even further with brands is the goal for most advertisers but, as we’ve learned with quick response (QR) codes in the mobile space, it can sometimes be a challenge.

Vancouver-based Mobio Identity Systems, Inc., the international mobile payments and marketing company, found that 60% of North American consumers who scanned QR codes in Q3 of 2011 did so just once. Consumers have not yet made a regular habit of scanning QR codes, but the engagement opportunity keeps certain marketers focused on using QR codes as a viable targeting tactic.

More and more frequently, however, phones are coming equipped with near field communication (NFC) chips, small chips that allow the device to be tapped to another chip to receive and exchange data. Typically this will trigger an ‘open a website’ action for a brand or product.

This process is much easier to engage with than a QR code because the phones do not need to have a QR code scanner app installed by the consumer; they just have to have their NFC capability turned on.

Samsung is doing a great job integrating NFC into their marketing plan. For instance, I am an avid Apple user and the new Samsung Galaxy S III ads are the first thing to ever make me question my iPhone ownership.

Samsung’s ads allow you to get free music, news content and video simply by tapping your phone to the ad – a hand motion that might become second nature as people start getting into the habit of tapping each other’s NFC-enabled phones to instantly share contact information, pictures, documents or multi-media content.

The integration between mobile and out of home here is done so well – the consumer is getting content they’re interested in, and the advertiser isn’t limited by the QR code.

By using emerging technology to increase brand reach, advertisers can meet the consumer on multiple platforms of their choosing – and at a new level of unlimited engagement.

How willing would you be to incorporate NFC into your out-of-home strategy?