In 2007, Singapore’s digital sector was buzzing after Tourism Canberra, Tourism Queensland and the Korea Tourism Organisation collectively became the first users of the two-dimensional mobile technology ZapCode in the market.
At the time, 2D codes were being touted as the future of mobile, having boomed in technologically savvy Japan and Korea, where they are seen everywhere from billboards to taxis to business cards. So the travel clients decided to use ZapCodes in their upcoming print ads in The Straits Times.
Yet, fast-forward to 2009 and the tactic remains little-used in Singapore and most other Asian markets. Why have they not taken off?
The codes, which are scanned by special technology via mobile phone cameras, are used to shepherd audiences to mobile webpages. They were initially developed to track shipped goods, but marketers found that, by placing codes on static objects, audiences could use their phones to link to extra information and promotions.
In Japan, where the most popular 2D platform is called QR (quick response) codes, this technology has led to campaigns such as Chocoman Hunter, developed last year by Bascule Inc. The campaign is based on the game manhunt where players digitally ‘tag’ other players by taking mobile snaps of the QR codes they’re wearing, all to gain points for prizes.
But industry observers say this creativity is difficult to find elsewhere, and in Singapore, little has come out of the market to inspire the overall adoption of 2D codes as a marketing medium.
“Japan in 2005 was interesting because almost 90 per cent of consumers under 20 were using QR codes. Now, only 10 or 15 per cent are using it in Singapore,” says Gregory Birge, founder and MD of F5 Digital Consulting, adding that he has seen little creativity in Singaporean ZapCode campaigns. “I’ve only seen these codes used for marketing in The Straits Times, where you zap them to see if you win a prize. But this is not revolutionary - you just zap the code and you do it once and you don’t do it again. It’s underwhelming.”
It’s a similar tale elsewhere. According to Joshua Maa, CEO of Madhouse: “2D campaigns in China have been very limited. I have not seen a particularly good one with scale.”
This, he argues, is mainly because consumers have to install the relevant software, as it is not included in handsets. In Hong Kong, which faces the same hurdle, campaigns include MyClick’s promotion for Pepsi, which involves scanning a code on a Pepsi bottle, but the technique is still not widely used. Maa points to the lack of clear standards within Chinese mobile, and the fact that mobile carriers do not tend to subsidise handsets, meaning they have less say in what software is pre-installed.
Jonny Shaw, chief executive of Naked Communications in Tokyo, says that one of the most impressive QR campaigns he has seen involves taking a picture of a code on a computer screen that allows the phone to function as a remote control for users’ computers. Campaigns like this, he adds, have a technological “wow factor” and have a specific functionality that attracts usage.
“This is maybe why it hasn’t worked elsewhere, because if all you’re seeing is a link that brings you to a URL that you could have otherwise typed, then it’s no surprise it’s not an engaging experience,” he says. “You can’t blame the consumer if the content is crap.”
And if 2D codes have not been adopted outside of Japan and Korea thus far, there is a danger that they will not be adopted at all. According to Brian Stoller, partner of invention at Mindshare Asia-Pacific, with the proliferation of smartphones and rapid mobile internet connections, using keywords that a search engine can link to will be more effective.
“Even if a single standard vendor of QR reader technology could be embedded onto all handsets, there would likely be a period of two years before enough of the population would upgrade their phones and the technology would achieve a high enough penetration to use the technology effectively,” Stoller says. “Convincing people to pay for the bandwidth to download the reader just so they can read advertising is a real challenge.”
Got a view?
Email [email protected]
At the time, 2D codes were being touted as the future of mobile, having boomed in technologically savvy Japan and Korea, where they are seen everywhere from billboards to taxis to business cards. So the travel clients decided to use ZapCodes in their upcoming print ads in The Straits Times.
Yet, fast-forward to 2009 and the tactic remains little-used in Singapore and most other Asian markets. Why have they not taken off?
The codes, which are scanned by special technology via mobile phone cameras, are used to shepherd audiences to mobile webpages. They were initially developed to track shipped goods, but marketers found that, by placing codes on static objects, audiences could use their phones to link to extra information and promotions.
In Japan, where the most popular 2D platform is called QR (quick response) codes, this technology has led to campaigns such as Chocoman Hunter, developed last year by Bascule Inc. The campaign is based on the game manhunt where players digitally ‘tag’ other players by taking mobile snaps of the QR codes they’re wearing, all to gain points for prizes.
But industry observers say this creativity is difficult to find elsewhere, and in Singapore, little has come out of the market to inspire the overall adoption of 2D codes as a marketing medium.
“Japan in 2005 was interesting because almost 90 per cent of consumers under 20 were using QR codes. Now, only 10 or 15 per cent are using it in Singapore,” says Gregory Birge, founder and MD of F5 Digital Consulting, adding that he has seen little creativity in Singaporean ZapCode campaigns. “I’ve only seen these codes used for marketing in The Straits Times, where you zap them to see if you win a prize. But this is not revolutionary - you just zap the code and you do it once and you don’t do it again. It’s underwhelming.”
It’s a similar tale elsewhere. According to Joshua Maa, CEO of Madhouse: “2D campaigns in China have been very limited. I have not seen a particularly good one with scale.”
This, he argues, is mainly because consumers have to install the relevant software, as it is not included in handsets. In Hong Kong, which faces the same hurdle, campaigns include MyClick’s promotion for Pepsi, which involves scanning a code on a Pepsi bottle, but the technique is still not widely used. Maa points to the lack of clear standards within Chinese mobile, and the fact that mobile carriers do not tend to subsidise handsets, meaning they have less say in what software is pre-installed.
Jonny Shaw, chief executive of Naked Communications in Tokyo, says that one of the most impressive QR campaigns he has seen involves taking a picture of a code on a computer screen that allows the phone to function as a remote control for users’ computers. Campaigns like this, he adds, have a technological “wow factor” and have a specific functionality that attracts usage.
“This is maybe why it hasn’t worked elsewhere, because if all you’re seeing is a link that brings you to a URL that you could have otherwise typed, then it’s no surprise it’s not an engaging experience,” he says. “You can’t blame the consumer if the content is crap.”
And if 2D codes have not been adopted outside of Japan and Korea thus far, there is a danger that they will not be adopted at all. According to Brian Stoller, partner of invention at Mindshare Asia-Pacific, with the proliferation of smartphones and rapid mobile internet connections, using keywords that a search engine can link to will be more effective.
“Even if a single standard vendor of QR reader technology could be embedded onto all handsets, there would likely be a period of two years before enough of the population would upgrade their phones and the technology would achieve a high enough penetration to use the technology effectively,” Stoller says. “Convincing people to pay for the bandwidth to download the reader just so they can read advertising is a real challenge.”
Got a view?
Email [email protected]
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