Retail TouchPoints: Microsoft Tag Debut Builds Momentum For Mobile Commerce, QR Marketing
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is an excerpt of a current article from the Retail TouchPoints website.
Building on the early successes retailers are experiencing with short codes and other mobile marketing, a new technology platform being ushered in by Microsoft could dramatically change the game by bringing the benefits of quick response and the measurement capabilities of online media to the world of offline marketing.
Debuting at NRF this week, the Microsoft Tag is positioned as a "leap" in mobile barcode technology, allowing consumers to quickly tap into marketing offers in print ads, billboards, print packages or store signage without typing in long URLs or texting short codes. By "snapping" a tag with the camera on a web-enabled phone, users are brought directly to an offer page and can either learn more about a product or complete a purchase directly with their mobile phone.
Utilizing High Capacity Color Barcodes (HCCBs) invented by Microsoft Research, the Microsoft Tag platform employs different symbol shapes in geometric patterns and multiple colors to double the amount of information that can be stored on analog printed media, and also improves the readability on lower quality cameras on mobile devices. The HCCBs also provides added flexibility for marketers to integrate into their existing materials, as the tags can be printed as small as 5/8" x 5/8" and no special process is required to print the tag as a color graphic.
The Tag technology is also expected to feed the growing need for ROI as it allows marketers to see when and where customers are responding to ads, across all media with impression activity. It also provides a new way to reach shoppers near or at the moment of truth, as it allows marketers to reach consumers when they are most receptive to products and promotions.
Although still in beta, Microsoft Tag technology is expected to generate a lot of buzz at the NRF Expo this week and many of the industry's leading players expect the platform could quickly become a widespread solution to enabling cross-channel commerce.
"With Microsoft Tag, shoppers can now scan a code and purchase an item from their mobile phones more quickly and easily than ever before. It's as easy as--snap, order, pick-up," said David Bruno, director of product marketing for Escalate Retail, which will be featuring a live retail demo of Microsoft's Tag technology in Booth 2002 at NRF. "I believe that this will make the mobile channel much more prevalent in consumer shopping patterns and also provides the potential to make traditional marketing much more relevant by increasing the ROI and the immediacy of results from these campaigns."
Discussion Question: What do you think about the Microsoft Tag? Is this how you envision mobile technology eventually working at the retail level? What would you further like to know about it?