JAGTAG mobile barcodes win big with Avatar DVD launch

20th Century Fox is using mobile barcodes to promote the launch of block-busting James Cameron graphics-fest Avatar on DVD and Blu-ray. 2D barcode provider JAGTAG is working with Fox to put the barcodes on posters in Best Buy and Kmart.

What’s the story?

JAGTAG is a mobile barcode with a slight difference from the rest. Most barcode standards require an internet connection to work. You’ve got your barcode reader on your phone, and it scans and decodes whatever it is your scanning. The reader must then communicates with its remote server to get whatever information is associated with that barcode. Not every single scanner works that way, but it’s the most regular method.

The difference is that JAGTAG barcodes don’t need a net connection. It works through MMS instead. You take a pic of the barcode, and send it by MMS to JAGTAG. All the decoding and checking is done on the server side – it then sends you back whatever content was attached to that code. This can include video, audio, pictures, coupons or text. JAGTAG doesn’t even require you to have an app on your phone. You just send the MMS to the right number, and it does the rest.

There are disadvantages to this, of course. MMS are expensive, for example. Also it takes longer than a web-connected barcode reading application would. But the major advantage is that any camera phone can use JAGTAGs. You don’t need a smartphone, or even a data plan. The entire process works through MMS.

What’s the deal with Fox Home Entertainment?

These posters for Avatar bearing JAGTAG barcodes will be appearing in Best Buy and Kmart:

Shoppers who are interested in getting more Avatar content can snap the tag, and send it off to receive Avatar content throughout the year – and JAGTAG claims the campaign has been picking up thousands of interactions every day. It also says that 21% of these engagement result in someone opting-in for ongoing content from Fox.

What we think?

I have to applaud 20th Century Fox here – this is a well targeted campaign. Considering it’s Best Buy and Kmart we’re looking at here, you can bet that most of the people who see the posters won’t have cutting edge phones. Fox has chosen a format that doesn’t require:
a) a net connection
b) a high tech phone
c) an app download
d) a lot of explanation

I’m usually not a big fan of proprietary barcode formats – they clutter up an already badly fragmented barcode industry. But for JAGTAG, I’m willing to make an exception. We’ve seen JAGTAG making deals with NBC, Sports Illustrated and Toyota previously – it does great work with big brands, and seems to offer a very ROI for companies interested in barcodes. Obviously there was a real need for this kind of barcode solution, where it works from the most basic and commonly known technologies. And while Scanbuy has since launched a similar service, JAGTAG got in there first.