DDi - April/May 2011 - (Page 36)

36 M U L T I C H A N N E L R E T A I L Incorporating mobile and QR codes into marketing strategy f you’ve spent any time at all recently reading about marketing, you’ve been inundated with articles about mobile and the coming impact it will have—indeed, is having—both on marketing and on the way people shop. Every day, a new statistic comes out proving that mobile is the next big thing, and that we all need to get on the bandwagon or risk missing the big opportunity. This has fostered much activity in the retail marketing universe, with CEOs all over the world clamoring for an iPhone app as soon as possible. Marketing executives, for their part, are busy concocting a “mobile strategy” to cash in on this activity. But, many of these efforts will fail. Mobile is not an end unto itself; it doesn’t need a standalone strategy. What it needs is a definition for how it fits into the overall marketing strategy—assuming, of course, that the retailer in question has a broad marketing strategy. Mobile is a medium, nothing more. But it happens to be an extremely attractive medium, in that consumers are rarely without their mobile devices. What were once simple telephones are quickly becoming pocket-sized computers that are always on and always connected. This makes mobile a consumer touchpoint with a value opportunity unlike anything we’ve seen before. Additionally, the mobile user’s mindset is different from most media consumption: show me an ad while I’m watching my favorite TV show, and it’s an interruption; show me an ad while I’m searching for a product, and it’s valued information that can influence my purchase decision. More frequently, this is a medium that the shopper interacts with while at the shelf, looking for additional information that will inform her purchase decision. If the shopper has made it all the way to the shelf edge, then mobile can help push her that final foot or so to complete the purchase cycle; the easier the retailer makes this action, the better. QR codes at the shelf edge can facilitate this communication, allowing for quick connectivity to specific information about the product, possibly coupled with a compelling offer or cross-promotion to further add influence. This means that the mobile components need to tie strongly into other marketing efforts—all of the external communication must be effective and integrated, right down to the shelf edge. Mobile will add the finishing touch to an effective advertising campaign, but it is not a panacea for a poor one. So far, 2011 is shaping up to be the year of the QR code, but how successful it will be depends on how those codes are implemented. Use them to connect the shopper to incremental, relevant value that complements the overall message, and shoppers will buy and come back for more. But use them in a disconnected fashion, e.g. to deliver a short-term coupon, and expect poor results over the long term. Mobile is here to stay, and the use of mobile devices during the shopping trip is being driven by the shoppers themselves. It’s our job as marketers to align our communications with the shoppers’ use, and bring relevance that wasn’t available five years ago. Shoppers will expect nothing less. —Jeff Weidauer is vice president of marketing and strategy for Vestcom International Inc., a Little Rock, Ark.-based provider of integrated shopper marketing solutions. He can be reached at jweidauer@vestcom.com, or visit www.vestcom.com. To e-mail this article, visit www.ddionline.com/magazine. I The use of mobile devices during the shopping trip is being driven by the shoppers themselves. | April/May 2011 www.ddionline.com http://www.vestcom.com http://www.ddionline.com/magazine http://www.ddionline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DDi - April/May 2011

Ddi - April/may 2011
Contents
From the Editor
From the Show Director
Newsworthy
Shopper Insights
Greentailing
Editor's Choice
Design Snapshot
Channel Focus: Footwear
Multichannel Retail Section
Digital Engagement
Shopping for Kicks
Mobile Retailing
Right Light
Product Spotlight
Global Shop
Booth Winners
Speaker Sessions
Trends
Products
EuroShop Products
Calendar
Advertisers
Classifieds
Think Tank

DDi - April/May 2011