Scanbuy boasts five new mobile barcode deals in a few weeks

We reported earlier last month on two new deals signed by mobile barcoding expert Scanbuy, both in Europe and America. These haven’t been the only projects, however, as Scanbuy has somewhat proudly pointed out today. A total of five new 2-D barcode emplacements in North America has caused Scanbuy to declare that the technology, which has been a “potential” for far too long, might finally be about to expand beyond Japan and gain wider acceptance in the States.

What does Scanbuy do?

Scanbuy is a company that focuses on connecting real-world, printed barcodes to digital content, through the medium of a mobile device. Scanbuy maintains a piece of mobile software called Scanlife - when downloaded onto a cameraphone, it allows the user to scan 2d barcodes which the phone then takes action on. It might direct the phone to a mobile website, or to send a text or download a coupon.

Scanlife is available for download on all of the popular smartphones, and cameraphones running on Java. It even comes pre-loaded on certain new devices from Sprint.

What are the new deals?

We reported on two new deals last month - the beginning of an on-going relationship with the Canadian branch of free newspaper, the Metro, and a large campaign launched by Danish Rail.

But Scanbuy has had other, less publicised deals. In all the following cases, large brands are using Scanlife to place mobile barcodes on printed material. This allows brochures and ads to become interactive. In many of the cases, the code also comes alongside instructions on how to download and use Scanlife, as you can see for yourself below:

Mobile operator Sprint placed 2D barcodes in a printed postal campaign, which were sent to subscribers:

Volkswagen placed barcodes in a brochure, allowing Scanlife users to connect to videos and more info about the cars:

For its 25th Anniversary, Morgans Hotel Group has launched an advertising campaign which includes ScanLife. The barcode links users to content, deals and info about the Hotel Group:

Bissell has an interesting one - rather than placing the codes on brochures and ads, the code is on the packaging of a vacuum cleaner itself. This is to give consumers more information about the product when they are actually on the sales floor.

What we think?

The more 2-D campaigns that get put into place, the more ideas will begin to germinate across different industries. Through deals earlier this year with packagers and printers like DuPont and Graphic Packaging Internation, Scanbuy is in a unique position to interact with companies along all points of the barcode chain. Having recently launched an enterprise focused version of Scanlife, the company now has ties with content producers, advertisers, manufacturers and (through the recent pre-loading deal with Sprint) mobile operators.