Interesting report out of ComScore indicated, “14 million Americans scanned QR or Bar Codes on their mobile phone in June 2011“. The report is sort of confusing as it mixes QR codes and barcodes, but it is interesting nonetheless.
ShopSavvy, the leading mobile shopping assistant, and ShareSquare, the leading self-serve QR marketing campaign platform, announced today that they have joined forces to offer the optimum QR Code experience for marketers and consumers alike.
As part of the agreement, ShopSavvy will recommend ShareSquare as its QR Code campaign creation, content management, and deep engagement analytics tool of choice for participants in the popular “Scan with ShopSavvy” program.
“Many marketers have experimented with QR Codes only to make mistakes that have undermined or crippled their campaigns,” said Alexander Muse, co-founder and CEO of ShopSavvy. “ShareSquare removes the guesswork and enables agencies and brands to deploy a mobile-optimized experience tailored to their campaign objectives.”
ShareSquare offers an intuitive self-serve CMS that empowers the marketer to craft an effective QR Code campaign in minutes. Following initial successes in music and entertainment, the ShareSquare platform is now driving offline-to-online audience engagement in retail, consumer packaged goods, brand advertising, non-profit, and more. By capturing the consumer’s interest with rich media, special offers and contests, the ShareSquare QR Code can convert into a captured email address, Facebook Like, and soon, immediate purchases.
ShareSquare QR Codes now prominently promote the “Scan with ShopSavvy” program and are optimized for the ShopSavvy app.
ShareSquare CEO Matthias Galica said, “We’re thrilled to be able to recommend a single barcode scanning app across every device: iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7, you name it.” He adds, “With 18 million downloads, ShopSavvy has emerged as the top barcode scanning application bar none, whether that’s UPC or QR Codes.”
ShopSavvy launched the “Scan with ShopSavvy“ program last year to encourage retailers to incorporate QR Codes in their marketing efforts. Through the program, brands overlay a badge on their QR Codes to alert ShopSavvy’s installed base that they will find helpful product information by scanning the code. Brands such as Ford, Gold’s Gym and the Washington Metro have participated in the program.
“We believe QR Codes have great potential in the United States and worldwide, and we are actively working with retailers, brands and partners to leverage this technology in creative ways,” Muse said.
About ShopSavvy
ShopSavvy is the leading mobile shopping assistant, with 17.9 million downloads and 9.3 million active users as of April 2011. ShopSavvy empowers smartphone users to quickly and seamlessly locate, research and buy products at the point of sale. When users scan a barcode or input a product name, they discover where the item is sold locally and online, where it’s in stock and at what price. ShopSavvy aggregates product data, deals, ratings and reviews from retailers, partners and its own users to provide the most comprehensive source of information and advice for mobile shoppers anywhere. For advertisers, ShopSavvy delivers “hyper-relevant” deals, promotions, warranty offers, and other UPC/GPS-targeted content to consumers. For more information, visit http://shopsavvy.mobi.
About ShareSquare
ShareSquare is a platform for connecting offline audiences to the bands and brands they love, via immediate calls-to-action & rich engagement on mobile, with real-time analytics. Using the self-serve CMS, marketers can enhance their promotions with a QR code corresponding to a custom HTML5 mobile web app. This makes a consumer’s interest actionable: posters, stickers, packaging, t-shirts, and even billboards become gateways to video, music, contests, social media & more. For more information, visit http://getsharesquare.com.
Almost a year ago we released our barcode scanner SDK publicly, allowing anyone to create a barcode scanning app for iOS or Android. Nine months ago, without working with our internal developers, I decided to hire a contractor to incorporate our SDK in a VERY simple app. My instructions to the developer were to create an app with a single screen and one ad unit. $300 later I had an app called the QR Code Reader and Scanner. I released it for free in the iTunes market. Here are the stats for the last nine months:
- 382,211 total downloads.
- 2,000-3,000 downloads per day currently.
- 563,909 iAd impressions
- 19.61% iAd fill rate
- $27.69 Average iAd eCPM
- 29,147 iAd Clicks
- 5.17 iAd CTR
- $15,613.79 iAd Profit
- $75.80 iAd Profit Per Day
Based on the current run-rate of the app we should generate another $20,000 in iAd profit by year end. That’s +/- $35,000 after investing $300 (plus using our freely available SDK). While no one is getting rich I think it is a perfect example of how ANY developer can make money building and releasing free applications for smartphones. Here are a few screenshots:
The folks from Lexmark shared pictures of their latest ‘Scan with ShopSavvy’ program. These will be seen in retailers like Sam’s Club.
We launched our ‘Scan with ShopSavvy‘ program a year ago and told retailers and brands they could use the program for free. As a result hundreds of retailers and brands are leveraging QR codes in their product and store packaging. Use of the ‘Scan with ShopSavvy’ badge around a QR code can increase the scan rate by up-to 30%. Most Americans are still in the dark about QR codes and need a little help understanding how to interact with them. The ‘Scan with ShopSavvy’ program is a very simple way to provide a ‘hint’ to consumers.
Are you a retailer or brand? Here are the program details: QR Codes are all the rage in retail, but most consumers have no idea what those strange 2D barcodes are all about. Our Scan with ShopSavvy program helps consumers bridge the gap between 1D and 2D barcodes. Retailers and Brands who have used our branding program have seen interaction with their QR codes by 30% or more. There is no cost for the program, simply use the ‘Scan with ShopSavvy’ badge over your custom QR Code (we can create the code for you if you like for free) and you are ready to go. The program helps promote the use of ShopSavvy which is good for us and helps retailers instruct the consumer how to engage with your QR codes. Download the ‘Scan with ShopSavvy‘ art today (we love to see the program in action so please send us a picture of how you used the badge).
The Home Depot is now using QR codes in their shelf and circulars. The DIY retailer uses the codes to help consumers link to additional information about their products. Just open up ShopSavvy and start scanning and the app will deliver you directly to the information. Here is an example of their latest QR code (Update: Scanlife has announced they are doing clickthru tracking on the codes):
Big in Japan announced today that a variety of diverse brands — including Ford, Gold’s Gym and the Washington Metro — are using the “Scan with ShopSavvy” program to increase awareness and trial of QR Codes to better inform consumers about their products and services.
From the release:
“Compared to UPC and EAN barcodes, QR Codes can provide consumers with far more product information – offering significant opportunities for marketers as an increasing number of consumers shop with scanners in hand,” said Alexander Muse, co-founder of Big in Japan. “The stumbling block has been a lack of awareness of QR Codes; most consumers aren’t sure what to do when they see one.”
Through the “Scan with ShopSavvy” program, brands overlay a badge on their QR Codes to alert ShopSavvy’s installed base of more than 6.5 million users that they will find helpful product information by scanning the code.
Gold’s Gym, for example, is currently using the “Scan with ShopSavvy” program in signage, product inserts and other materials associated with its fitness equipment, which is available at Walmart. By scanning a QR code, users can view product demos of treadmills, elliptical trainers and more on their smartphones.
Beyond the specific successes of the “Scan with ShopSavvy” program, Muse said he is seeing a greater interest in QR Codes by both brands and ShopSavvy users.
“Every day, ShopSavvy users are scanning QR Codes at Best Buy, Gap, Dick’s Sporting Goods and other retailers,” Muse said. “Brands like Heineken, Jones New York, and Verizon are also using QR Codes effectively. The recent Warner Brothers film ‘Inception’ was also promoted with QR Codes, and more than 50,000 ShopSavvy users participated in that promotion.”
“Scan with ShopSavvy” is only one of the ways Big in Japan has demonstrated its commitment to QR Codes. Last month, the company released a free, single-purpose QR Code Reader and Scanner for iPhone. It is already one of the 50 most-downloaded utilities in Apple’s iTunes Store.
Businesses that are interested in participating in the “Scan with ShopSavvy” program just need to follow these simple steps or email us at sales@biggu.com.
Lots of companies are using our Scan with ShopSavvy program to help users understand how to scan the QR codes. The program is simple:
Step One: Create a QR code with your favorite creator
Step Two: Overlay QR code on Scan with ShopSavvy Badge
Step Three: Provide us the URL included in the QR code
Step Four: Launch!
Users who see your QR code will realize they can scan it with ShopSavvy (more than 10 million folks have downloaded the app with more than 6.5 million active users). ShopSavvy is free on Android and iPhone (coming soon on Windows Phone 7). The program is free – it helps the user and help us educate our existing users and potentially get new users.
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The guys have been busy working on the 4.0 release of ShopSavvy for the iPhone and I was getting a little bored. I was talking to a developer who was interested in licensing our barcode scanner SDK and it occured to me that I could hire someone to build a barcode scanner app using our SDK without bothering our guys. Lots of ShopSavvy users have asked us to release a standalone QR code scanner – something our guys thought was rather silly since ShopSavvy will scan QR codes just fine. I was able to hire a developer to include our SDK into a standalone QR scanner for $300 about a month ago. I was surprise to learn that the app was number 43 in Utilities! So for $300 one can build a simple app and get in the top 50? Amazing stuff. Here is the screen grab from AppFigures:
Jake noted that there were a number of bugs in my app and mentioned that my icon sucked so he spent an evening making my app suck less (actually his update is really great). I submitted it to iTunes and hopefully it will get accepted soon. In the meantime you can download my version 1.0 QR Code Reader and Scanner.
We are always surprised by the ways people use our barcode scanner library in their applications. One developer, Andrew Pym the developer of the Star Wars Lego Guide, emailed me this weekend with an issue he was having with our scanner and I asked him about his app. I was excited to learn that he was using our scanner to help Lego fans scan the barcodes of Lego boxes so one could determine what mini figures were included. His app is cal led Lego Mini Figure Identifier + and reveals all EU and USA contents of all new mini figures. Scan the QR code to the right with ShopSavvy (app is for Android only) and download it automatically. Enjoy!
Lots of ShopSavvy users have asked us to release a standalone QR Code Reader so I asked one of our barcode scanner SDK licensees to build a simple QR Code Reader using our SDK. It took him about an hour to put it all together (it took Apple three weeks to approve it). All it does is read QR Codes (it does have a banner ad at the bottom providing a link to ShopSavvy). ShopSavvy users should remember that ShopSavvy reads QR codes as well as 1D UPC/EAN codes found on products. You don’t really need two scanners. Anyway, feel free to download (it is free) from iTunes.
We have talked about our QR Code program before, but I thought it was worth a mention. The adoption of two-dimensional barcodes in marketing and advertising has been hampered by proprietary standards. Too many companies have spent too much time attempting to monetize a very simple, but powerful feature. Ironically, there has always been an alternative, open standard called a Quick Response or QR Code. Anyone can generate a two-dimensional QR Code pointing to any website for free. Additionally, millions of mobile phone users already have QR Code capable readers like ShopSavvy®.
The biggest problem with QR Codes is that American consumers don’t know what a 2D barcode is. They need some help understanding how to react to a QR Code printed on a billboard or in a magazine advertisement. Our ‘Scan with ShopSavvy’ program was designed to solve this problem. Millions of ShopSavvy users already use the application to scan 1D barcodes, but many of them have no idea that ShopSavvy will scan open standard 2D barcodes (i.e. QR Code), but they do understand the concept of scanning.
Our ‘Scan with ShopSavvy’ program allows brands to leverage our ‘trained’ user base by including our ‘Scan with ShopSavvy’ badge anywhere they print a 2D barcode. Consumers can use ANY QR-capable scanner (50+ today), but the program attempts to short circuit the call to action by showing the user he can use an application he already has on his smartphone.
The program is free for almost all brands. Our goal is to promote QR Codes, ShopSavvy and build great relationships with brands. Interested? Brands simply need to emailsales@biggu.com and explain the planned usage of our badge prior to use. Permission will be granted to almost all brands. Camera-ready art of the badge is available for download:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/109866/scanwithshopsavvy.zip
Basic tracking is included for FREE as part of the QR code generator and includes:
Enhanced programs area available including geo-targeted content. Use the consumers location as a trigger for alternative content. Show a user in a specific store or city a different experience. Please contact our sales department for more information.
