A lot is happening in the mobile barcode industry all over the world. To help you keep up with the developments, here’s a round-up of the hot stories that caught GoMo News’ eye over the weekend! And it’s not all good news – some brands still haven’t figured just how much education is needed to make consumers understand a good barcode.
Subway travelers get info by barcode
In Rhine-Main in Germany, travelers on public transport can now snap a QR code to access a mobile-optimised website. This portal has information on maps, destinations and schedules for the subway system:
http://mobile-tagging.blogspot.com/
Ride Snowboards uses Microsoft Tag poorly
http://www.2dbarcodestrategy.com/ has an excellent breakdown of how not to use mobile barcodes – based on a two-page ad taken out by snowboard maker Ride Snowboards. The barcode is tiny, poorly placed and doesn’t offer any real incentive to snap it.
http://www.2dbarcodestrategy.com/2010/09/ride-snowboards-uses-microsoft-tag.html
Washington Redskins launch rubbish QR code campaign
Canadian mobile barcode company Mobio recently announced an interesting new QR code emplacement with the Jacksonville Jaguars – but it seems that another deal in place with the Washington Redskins has failed to impress anyone. 2d code has an exhaustive list of all the problems with campaign – it seems that the blame is to be placed at the feet of the Redskins for not really understanding how to implement the campaign.
KIA launches mobile barcodes in local paper
Recently, the Edmonton Journal launched a barcode service with Scanbuy – the paper can now embed barcodes in its articles and advertising. Last week, rival local newspaper the Edmonton Sun also featured a mobile barcode – but this one was simply part of an advertisement from car maker KIA, placed by a separate mobile barcode company called SKUyou
http://virtual.autonet.ca/doc/Edmonton-Sun-Autos/autonet_sept17/2010091601/40.html
MogoTix launches new mobile ticketing platform
The use of mobile barcodes instead of paper tickets is a growing phenomenon. The latest addition to the line-up is MogoTix – it allows event organizers to send people links to QR codes by SMS (no smartphone needed, any feature phone with a browser will do) when they book their ticket. The organizer just scans the barcode when the punter arrives at the door.
http://mashable.com/2010/09/24/mogotix/
