Thursday, August 09, 2007

Camera Phones Capture Marketing Pitches

NeoMedia is putting a new twist on mobile marketing by using image capture technology to enable camera phones to link the physical with the virtual world. The company's patented technology enables camera phones to take pictures of barcodes that are connected to websites. The idea is that mobile users won't have to type in URLs to take advantage of special offers printed on billboards, poster, or promotional items.

For example, if you pass a poster or billboard or poster and snap a picture, NeoMedia's software will launch your browser to complete a special offer. I can see where this simplifies transactions, but the technology must be highly reliable to create a positive user experience. An outdoor advertiser could run a contest to see who can submit the most images of its signage to generate buzz and PR.

I'm not sure that technology is a big improvement over creating custom URLs. Also, the marketing challenge will be to familiarize people with the idea of snapping photos of billboards with their cameras so that half of the ad space isn't used up by an explanation.

Posted By John Gartner at 09:48 AM
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