Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. is using mobile bar codes to provide one-to-one interactions with customers at all stages of their interest in the company?s products.

The company partnered with SpyderLynk to use its 2D mobile bar code service. Toyota is adopting the SnapTag technology with a newly-coined name, the ToyoTag.

?We wanted to use a 2D mobile bar code that allowed us to make Toyota branding interactive,? said Michael K. Nelson, interactive communications marketing manager at Toyota. ?We also wanted to reach the broadest range of consumers possible.

?Although studies say 35 percent of mobile users own smartphones, Toyota also wanted to include the others who only use regular mobile phones,? he said. ?That?s why the SnapTag was a perfect fit for us.

?All consumers need is a standard mobile phone with a camera to be able to interact with us.?

Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. http://www.toyota.com is the marketing, sales, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota, Lexus and Scion.

SpyderLynk http://www.spyderlynk.com, the creator of the branded, algorithm-driven SnapTag, enables brands such as Coke Zero, Revlon, L?Oreal, MillerCoors, Warner Brothers, Toyota, Bud Light and others to engage consumers and accelerate purchase cycles.

Scan me
Toyota was able to brand the SnapTags with icons and logos that are specific to the company, rather than a QR code that does not offer any brand affinity.

Consumers with any camera handset can snap and send ToyoTags.

Users with iPhone and Android devices can download the SnapTag Reader and scan to get the information, promotion or content that Toyota is offering.

?SnapTags give us the ability to deliver multimedia content like videos and other interactive content, as opposed to QR codes which typically drive consumers to a Web site,? Mr. Nelson said.

?Finally, SpyderLynk gaves us the ability to measure our marketing performance to ensure we?re delivering what consumers want,? he said.

Mobile tags
ToyoTags are being used to engage consumers through print publications, online portals ? including the company?s Web site ? and on product display signs at events such as the L.A. and Detroit Auto Shows.

Toyota is featuring a call to action and a quick explanation about how to activate both the Snap & Send interface and the scanning interface.

?We?ve been using SnapTags at auto shows throughout the country and in print and online advertisements since last fall,? Mr. Nelson said. ?Now, we have launched the branded ToyoTag beginning with the Dew Tour, which started in late July.

?Mobile provides us with a new way to reach consumers and create one-to-one dialogues and, this is just the beginning,? he said. ?We used ToyoTags at the start of the Dew Tour to engage consumers at the event through a fun scavenger hunt and a best-athlete voting contest.

?This fall, we will begin using the ToyoTag with the introduction of our 2012 models, which will be included in our brochures so consumers can receive interactive multimedia content like videos or links to apps that allow customizing or building of new vehicles. We?ll also use the ToyoTag to launch our new Prius family line of vehicles and expect we?ll use if for other new model roll outs.?

Final Take
Rimma Kats is staff reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York