“2D will have an enormous impact if we can drive to an open industry standard and ensure low cost of entry for the global community.” Laura Marriott NeoMedia
Interview with Laura Marriott, ex-CEO of the MMA and current board member of mobile barcoding specialists NeoMedia. The interview covers Laura’s reasons for moving into the field of mobile barcodes, her hopes for the future of that industry in the short and long term, and her opinions on how the barcoding sector needs to behave to achieve real success.
Bena: Let me start by asking how you think the barcoding industry looks at the moment:
Laura: Companies are continuing to invest in wireless media. New investors are looking for media with sustainable metrics and quantifiable results. People who haven’t yet played in mobile are sitting on the line, but they’re still watching closely to see how it performs. We are seeing advertisers funding mobile campaigns, campaigns that are easy to use, easy to understand, and that see quantifiable results.
Bena: Thats very positive. But I just realised I didn’t even ask you about your move to NeoMedia!
Why did you choose NeoMedia and the barcoding industry, and what are your aims for the next 6 months?
Laura: I have long been an advocate of barcodes. They provide ease of use, and an instant accessibility component to mobile that we haven’t seen in other channels. They offer one-click access to websites, product info, ticketing, coupons and many more mobile services.
Now, the reason I chose NeoMedia is because it is uniquely positioned in the industry. It has a strong suite of services, and is well positioned with its IP. It’s a very strong player in the space.
As for the next 6 months, specifically I’m looking forward to refining messaging, aiding education for consumers and advertisers (which is the largest challenge we face in the industry right now), facilitating introductions between barcoders and advertisers, and driving standardisation. Our goal in NeoMedia is for an open standard. We don’t want proprietary barcodes and systems, that leads to fragmentation.
Bena: I love the idea of education. Lets stick with that for a while. Do you have any comments on CTIA and how to properly educate.
Laura: I am unable to speak out against a specific organisation in this area. Essentially we believe that establishing or supporting a proprietary code will only hamper, or even halt, the spread of barcodes. Large brands like Coca Cola and BMW want GLOBAL campaigns. If we as an industry don’t create global standards then we’re doing a disservice to growth in this area.
Bena: What would be your ideal “next wave” of movements for standardisation/education in the next 3 – 6 months.
Laura: The MMA needs to get all the institutions collaborating in barcodes to get together and pick an open platform. GS1, GSMA, CTIA, VCC in Singapore, we need to bring all of these organisations together to collaborate and determine what makes most sense for the industry. It will be essential to get the handset manufacturers in on this as well. Ok, so that’s a bigger thing than just the next 3 – 6 months! But that’s what I really think needs to happen.
Bena: What do you think needs to happen for mobile barcodes to take centre stage? Microsoft has made progress with the Microsoft Tag code, but that’s proprietary. What needs to be done?
Laura: It’s a challenge we’ve had in mobile for a long time. In the US, the shortcode system was deployed here in 2002, and we had a huge amount of standards We all had to get together and create an aggregator model before it really took off. Europe could really begin to take a leadership position in this regard. Collaboration and working together is so important to getting ahead in the industry.
Bena: With your MMA background, could you spearhead a proper barcodes initiative back into the MMA? Barcodes are the next big thing, but at the same time we saw Group M doing great things with Lufthansa… and then shifting focus on the mobile market. I worry for the state of the barcode industry.
Laura: Well, nothing happens over night. It will require time to get it right. The reset in economy has actually given us a chance to step back, get the right players together and move forward in the best interest of the consumers. Big agencies are shutting down or repositioning mobile teams, but this isn’t necessarily an inhibitor. It just means that when we go to market we need a strong service with good metrics. It’s not an obstacle, it’s an opportunity, but only if we take the time as an industry to put the pieces in place.
Bena: Are there any changes in the US barcode licensing that will be announced at MWC?
Laura: You can expect resolution on that shortly. I can’t give details right now, but the goal of NeoMedia has always been to license technology and share it across the industry.
