Verizon Wireless placed mobile quick-response codes throughout a multichannel campaign to promote its Droid devices and the Warner Bros. film "Inception" that included print ads, in-store displays, direct mail, Web sites and iPad ads.

Verizon teamed up with Scanbuy Inc.?s ScanLife to power the mobile bar code element and promote the selection of Android applications available for Droid devices. In just over three months, the campaign drove more than 175,000 scans, which Scanbuy claims is the most successful ScanLife campaign in North America to date.

?Verizon is using 2D bar code technology like any other marketer?they want to make their traditional media more engaging,? said David Javitch, vice president of marketing at Scanbuy, New York.

?In this case, they are highlighting the thousands of apps available through Droid, and the QR codes give subscribers an easy way to get those apps,? he said. ?Previously, there was no other direct and easy way to get an Android app from something static like a print ad.?

Inception is a science fiction thriller written, produced and directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe and Ellen Page.

The film has been No. 1 at the box office in the United States for the past several weeks.

Make traditional media actionable
In addition to in-store displays, mail, Web site promotion and an ad campaign targeting iPad users, the Inception calls-to-action appeared in print ads in magazines such as Entertainment Weekly and wild-posting out-of-home ads in New York and Los Angeles.

Here is a screen grab of the iPad ad:

Once consumers saw material with a bar code, they were directed to use the ScanLife application or download it by texting the keyword SCAN to the short code 43588 for ?Instant Gratification.?

Users with an Android-powered device were linked directly to a specific application on Android Market for download or a mobile site with some of the top applications.

If users scanned the code using another type of smartphone, they were redirected to a mobile-formatted site that explains the benefits of the Droid devices and the variety of Android applications available.

Scanbuy said that using mobile bar codes in an integrated way across media significantly increases campaign results.

The Web is a good environment for codes if it adds value, for example, linking to mobile application downloads

However, it is important to note that bar codes should provide immediate access to relevant content when consumers need it.

Although bar codes have their limitations, the technology is universally used across a wide range of age groups, Scanbuy finds.

The ScanLife bar code reader application is available to download through Android Market and the new V Cast App Store.

There have been two primary drivers that lead to the 175,000-plus bar code scans in the Inception campaign.

?One was that they took an integrated approach and placed codes across multiple touchpoints, from the Web to magazine ads to in-store,? Mr. Javitch said. ?The second is that the user experience was simple and it fits perfectly with their strategy of instant access to a wide variety of Droid apps.

?If you?re reading Travel & Leisure Magazine, the code links straight to a travel app like Aloqa on Android Market,? he said. ?It?s a really simple and easy experience.?

Final Take
Dan Butcher, associate editor, Mobile Marketer

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