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Category Archives: QR Codes

Here’s how personalised magazines always over-engage readers for an outstanding CX…

13 Thursday Sep 2018

Posted by Malcolm Auld in Advertising, B2B Marketing, BIG DATA, Branding, Digital marketing, Direct Marketing, Marketing, Media, QR Codes, small data, social selling

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

BIG data, branding, customer engagement, data-driven marketing, digital marketing, media, small data

Please accept my apology for the jargon overload in the headline. Back in pre-history, around 2004, I helped a number of competing print companies launch their Variable Data Digital Printers via a series of seminars, trade shows and other marketing activity.

This disruptive technology delivered what many now call data-driven marketing. It was simply the use of relevant data to digitally print personalised publications and link readers to personalised landing pages. An undigi-believable omni-channel breakthrough. But let’s just pretend data-driven marketing is only five year’s old like most digital marketers believe it to be, so as not to confuse them.

One of the most successful promotions and product demonstrations we did, was to personalise the cover of a number of Marketing magazines for individual subscribers. We also personalised the accompanying advertisement to the subscriber inside the respective issues, as well as the landing page.

At the time, the Editor of Marketing magazine said the covers were the most talked about in the history of the publication. They had never had such a positive response. He said subscribers were ringing and writing to congratulate them. It was massive engagement to use today’s jargon.

Leap forward to 2018 and a few months ago I was asked by Kellie Northwood, the Publisher of VoPP magazine, to be the Guest Editor. I readily accepted and suggested the magazine be customised for those on the database. Kellie agreed.

Well VoPP has just hit the streets, and this customised version demonstrates the power of print when it comes to engaging susbcribers via personalisation.

Here’s the outer envelope:

Here’s the personalised magazine cover:

There is a customised message on the cover for each of the key subscriber groups, as well as a custom background colour. If you scan the QR Code it takes you to a PURL where you can complete a survey. There is a segmented group title printed below the code – mine is Agency/Retailer on this edition. And to add some polish there’s a spot fluoro ink printed on the QR code too. The story of how it was produced is in the magazine.

Here are examples from 2004/5:

Fuji Xerox – personalised message on the screen:

Personalised ad on back cover:

Personalised ad inside the front cover:

PURL – Personalised URL:

Direct Smile font printed via HP Indigo:

Personalised advertisement on back cover:

.Another issue:

Penfold Buscombe printed these versions with personal message written on the street sign and the image of the relevant capital city in the rear view mirror:

Customised versions by State printed using postcode data:

VoPP stands for Value of Paper and Print. If you’d like to get a FREE copy of VoPP Mag, visit the website to subscribe: http://valueofpaperandprint.com.au/subscribe/

I’m off to read this issue, there’s an interesting guest editor…

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Do you want fries with that tablet?

30 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by Malcolm Auld in Advertising, Customer Service, Direct Marketing, Marketing, Marketing Automation, QR Codes, Social Media

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Tags

customer service, digital marketing, direct marketing, iPad, marketign automation, QR Codes, social media

I naturally assumed dear reader, you knew I meant computer tablets and not “mother’s little helpers” as Mick Jagger called them.

But now the humble tablet – be it iThing, Android or otherwise – is improving the way retailers serve, process sales, capture customer data, images and dare I say it – engage with customers.

When you walk into most telcos or iConcept stores you are greeted by Stylus-boy, who taps away at his tablet before directing you some place for “service”. Many appear battery-powered with cords running from their tablets to their ears.

One US restaurant owner told me last week how he uses tablets to build lists and followers. His waiter asks a table of customers if anyone would like to join the VIP reservation club.

Inevitably one person at the table says yes, possibly with a bit of persuasion from the waiter. They are handed a tablet and asked for their name, email address and mobile phone number. As they submit the details the computer invites them to customise their details with things like table and wine preferences. When complete, a pop-up message invites them to pass the tablet to the person next to them.

At the same time, the customer receives an email and sms inviting them to Like, Share, Follow the restaurant’s various social channels in return for an immediate free drink.

And there’s nothing like a free drink to motivate immediate action. Apparently the customers then try to wrestle the tablet from each other to complete their details and get their free booze.

19th_century_Coca-Cola_coupon

Mind you, 20 years ago I designed a customer satisfaction survey for The Observatory Hotel – a 5 star hotel in Sydney. Each delegate attending specific types of conferences at the hotel was given the survey to complete – the incentive was a free drink at the bar when they handed the barman the completed survey.

It became the cheapest way to generate new conference and accommodation leads and was copied by other hotels in Australia and NZ.

I’ve advised a number of wineries to build their social media followers by placing a tablet on the bar where the customers taste wine. The customers can take a selfie or have the staff take a photo and immediately upload it to their account. And it’s easier to convince the customers to get involved after they’ve had a tipple or two.

Recently I checked into a hotel in regional Queensland and was invited to Like the hotel on FB while I was checking in and was given a free drink as a result – is there a theme emerging here? How do they know my drinking habits?

While the tablets have had a major impact on back-of-house order systems, some restaurants are now moving to reduce waiter numbers by attaching tablets to the tables.

back of house

The menus are displayed on the tablet and the customers order using a DIY screen on the tablet – not sure who you tip in these circumstances?

Stacked-1

ipad-menu

Others simply use tablets as the menu or the waiters take the orders on their tablets, which are automatically sent to the kitchen.

waiter serving from ipad

Or there’s this Japanese restaurant in London testing the delivery of food using miniature helicopters controlled by iPads to deliver food to customers.

flying food

It’s most likely a spoof. And while I understand the novelty value in this, why pay for a helicopter to be controlled by one of the staff who could probably deliver the meal faster – even dressed in a helicopter suit?

helicopter person

Tag’by is an innovative European company that is putting tablets to use in numerous ways to get customers to link their store visits to their social media channels.

tagby-presentation-1-638

They use cameras on the tablets, Radio Frequency ID systems, QR codes and other methods to engage customers to share their physical visit on social channels.

Here’s are some videos showing how it works:

  • Cafe or restaurant
  • Fashion store
  • Shoe store
  • Hairdresser
  • Eyewear store

The issue of course is effectiveness. While it is good to get some brand awareness among customers’ friends and followers – that’s assuming of course the posts get noticed within their friend’s feeds – see “What’s Your A.S.S Time” – if the friends don’t live locally they’re not likely to shop at the store, so the value is limited.

Yes, they could shop online if that service is offered, but whether they do or don’t is a whole separate blog.

I’m sure you’ll soon be dining out when someone at the next table uses the tablet to order a meal/pizza delivered to the restaurant from a competing restaurant.

Pizza Service

Hmm – I might go out for lunch today…

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Why most marketers fail with QR codes

21 Tuesday Feb 2012

Posted by Malcolm Auld in Direct Marketing, QR Codes

≈ 1 Comment

QR codes are not new. They have been around for about 7 years but their use has been held back by technology – that is, the availability in the market of mobile phones able to scan the QR code.

But now that ‘smart’ phones are the dominant phone, QR codes are more accessible than ever before.

To understand how to use QR codes, you need to understand how to design a direct response advertisement.

Whenever you design a direct response advertisement, regardless of media, you should always start at the finish. Start with what you want your customer or prospect to do as a result of reading your ad.

Do you want them to go to a website, pick up a phone, download or fill in a form, scan a QR code?

Once you know what you want them to do, you design your response mechanism as the first part of designing your ad. Once you have written your ad you give it to someone of average intelligence (or anyone really). That’s because there are more people of average or lower intelligence in the world and their money is the same as rich people’s. If they understand the ad and can respond as required, then you should produce the ad.

If the marketers using QR codes as the response device followed this procedure, they would understand why QR codes should not be the only response device on an advertisement.

They would discover that most people with ‘smart’ phones have not downloaded the QR code App and cannot respond to the ad. In fact in my country – Australia – less than 6% of smart phone users can scan QR codes.

The scanning technology is not native to the handsets. It requires the user to go through the hassle of downloading the App. And given we are lazy by nature, many people opt-out of downloading the App and ignore the QR code.

Yet retailers abound who are rushing to establish outdoor virtual stores for the 6% of the smart phone population to use.

The rule for putting QR codes in your ads is simple. Just as users can download a copy of Adobe PDF Reader to read a PDF file, the advertiser should offer an easy way for the prospect or customer to download the QR code App. See the image below.

And they should offer an alternate way to respond, otherwise they risk reducing their response to only those who want to use QR codes, which is a very small percentage of the population.

Make it easy to download the QR code App

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