Brand Strategy – Key Findings October 2012
| Are QR Codes working? | |
| Hyper-Connected Consumers Push Marketers toward Campaign Integration | |
Are QR Codes working?
Over the last couple of years, QR codes have been popping up all over. In December 2011, they appeared in 8.4% of all magazine ads, up from 3.6% at the start of the year. Only 5% of Americans scanned a QR code between May and June of 2011. Seems the limitations of QR codes aren’t helping usability. A smartphone, cell service and adequate lighting are required, and then, you need to download an app and hold the phone steady to capture the image. QR codes are also showing up in weird places such as on billboards, subway walls and the pages of in-flight magazines, befuddling users further. QR codes are gaining some traction in smartphone ticketing, inventory tracking and other applications. The new Apple iPhone is expected to offer an app called Passbook, a digital wallet to store boarding passes, coupons, movie tickets and gift cards, many of which rely on QR codes. (Bloomberg Businessweek)
Hyper-Connected Consumers Push Marketers toward Campaign Integration
According to Gartner, digital strategies like social marketing will influence about 80% of consumers’ discretionary spending by 2015. In a joint study with ExactTarget, Gartner recommends that marketers move toward developing cross-channel campaigns that integrate email, social, search, voice, video and more to tap into this trend. This will undoubtedly require them to acquire knowledge of device, channel and content preferences for specific campaigns. The study polled 1,500 U.S. online consumers and found 75% prefer email compared to other channels when receiving customer service messages. Yet, 25% prefer text messages for real-time travel alerts. 16% of survey participants ages 15 to 17 said they made a purchase after seeing a message on Twitter; 20% did the same after seeing a message on Facebook. (mediapost.com)
Bullets
- U.S. consumers spend 94 minutes a day in their mobile apps vs. 72 minutes a day in mobile browsers. (Analytics firm, Flurry; Adage.com)
- By 2014, some 6.7 billion devices will connect consumers to the Internet, and a recent study says marketers will be required to integrate campaigns across email, social, search, voice, and video channels to reach them. (mediapost.com)
- In terms of effectiveness, 92% of marketers believe content creation is the best driver of SEO. Yet, only about 60% use it because of its challenges. (marketingsherpa.com)
- Consumers are increasingly comfortable making purchases using smart phones and other mobile devices when prompted by personalized email messages (66%), or sent marketing text messages (16%). (mediapost.com)
- 10,000 “Citibikes” were released this summer on the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn as part of a new public bike-share program funded jointly by Citibank ($41 million) and Mastercard ($6.5 million). (Bloomberg Businessweek)
- 72% of consumers age 50 through 64 say “Made in the USA” labeling significantly influences their purchases. (Perception Research Services International, AARP magazine)
- 81% of consumers age 50 through 64 buy American because they believe it helps the economy. (Perception Research Services International, AARP magazine)