marketing Archive

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Why the QR code is failing

Great article by Sean Cummings on how marketers are failing with their use of QR codes:

My survey was conducted in San Francisco, the veritable Mecca of the planet for tech, so it only goes downhill from here. When I asked those who knew it was some type of “barcode” how they could decipher it, 35 percent answered “with their phone.” When I asked them to actually “read” it with their phone? Only 45 percent of those were able to do it, and it took an average of 47 seconds for them to take out their phone and find the application to read the QR code — not exactly a “quick response.” Remember that agencies are putting these on moving buses and highway billboards.

It’s clearly a case of “well it sounded good in the brainstorming meeting, and everyone other marketer is doing it.” How in the world do you expect people to play Quick Draw McGraw with their phones just to see your marketing message? Even if everyone knew what a QR code was and how to decode it, it would take the skills of an Aaron Burr to be able to snap them on a moving billboard target or a 2 second window on a TV.

Unless your campaign has a really interesting use for QR codes (NOT as a substitute for a URL), just leave that crap at home. Use that money for a better GoDaddy vanity URL.

via Why the QR code is failing (single page view) – iMediaConnection.com.

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Hulu Plus A Timed Playstation 3 Exclusive?

This morning, Hulu announced plans for a paid version of their popular video streaming service entitled, “Hulu Plus.” Among the added features is the ability to access Hulu through different mobile and home theater devices.

Now, the first thing I noticed on the devices page was this large discrepancy in time between the service’s availability on the Xbox 360 and other set-top devices:

If I were a betting man, I’d certainly put some money down that Sony ponied up something fierce to have Hulu available on their game console first. It’s a big deal. Consumers have been pining for Hulu on consoles for a long time now. Sony should be coming out the huge winner in this. If I was in a monogamous relationship with the Xbox 360, I’d be pissed and wanting a PS3.

Not so if I had only read this statement from Microsoft community evangelist Major Nelson:

We are happy to announce that Hulu will be coming to Xbox LIVE as part of their Hulu Plus experience. In the announcement today, Hulu announced a preview of their Plus service, along with a series of partners of which Xbox LIVE is one of them. We’re working hard on creating customized experience for Xbox LIVE members, which means that Hulu Plus will be coming to Xbox 360 in early 2011. We are taking the time to ensure that the Hulu Plus experience for Xbox 360 is the best on TV and like our other entertainment experiences it will not be a port, but rather a custom experience that leverages the Xbox LIVE community features.

I’d be thinking, “HOLY SHIT!! Hulu coming on my Xbox 360?! And they’re making it special just for me!”

This isn’t an AAA exclusive game, folks. Since when have 3rd party services on a game console been anything but a port? It certainly won’t take over a year of additional development time to get Hulu streaming on an Xbox 360. All signs point to a timed exclusivity deal between Sony and Hulu here.

It’s amazing how effective marketing spin can be in coloring how we react to news.

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Neil Gaiman Knows The Meaning Of Free

Neil Gaiman has been my favorite contemporary fiction author ever since I was captivated by The Sandman in the early 90’s. Recently, he and his publisher have put up his most defining literary work, American Gods, in its entirety for free online (I recommend you give it a read, it’s wonderful!). Apparently, he’s gotten some flak from some small bookstores who believe that move will be the death of them if authors everywhere started putting up digital copies of their books for free. Neil, on the other hand, appears to have read Chris Anderson’s Free! article and understands the current marketplace climate:

Just as a bookseller who regards a library as the enemy, because people can go there and read — for free! — what he sells, is missing that the library is creating a pool of people who like and take pleasure in books, will be his customer base, and are out there spreading the word about authors and books they like to other people, some of whom will simply go out and buy it.

If you have the time, I suggest reading his full reply to the letter – he’s got some pretty insightful thoughts on the process of building a customer base with “free” content.

The music industry could stand to learn a thing or two from this affair.

Read Neil Gaiman on giving away free content [neilgaiman.com]

Read American Gods online [harpercollins.com]

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All You Need Are 1,000 True Fans And You Can Quit Your Day Job

Kevin Kelly has a great post over at his blog on a possible new business model for artists. The basic idea is that in order to make a living as a musician, you need 1,000 true fans who will buy anything you put out. This number increases proportionally with the more people you have in your group.

While “1,000 Fans” is more of a catchy nomenclature than a hard and fast rule, the general idea is very intriguing. We’re truly moving away from a superstar-only oriented music industry into a more niche-based one that can accommodate many successful artists.

Read “1,000 True Fans” [kk.org]