insights.
Like our phones, watches have become smart. They do more than tell the time.
Some run without batteries. Some never lose even a fraction of a second of time. Other watches include compasses and measure barometric pressure.
Curious as to how three high-end watches wooed customers to the counter through QR codes®, I scanned the quick response codes on Citizen’s, Casio’s, and Bulova’s print ads
CITIZEN
Much to my delight, the QR code® for the Citizen Eco-Drive watch led me to an interest video showing how it uses natural and artificial light to keep on ticking without the need of a battery or the hassle of replacing a battery. The video nicely reinforced the print ads message that Citizen Eco-Drive watches are unstoppable.
I also liked that Citizen put a five-word descriptor beneath the QR code® foreshadowing exactly what you would see or learn if you scanned the code: Discover the Eco-Drive Technology.
CASIO
The Pro Trek Casio watch is the iPhone of watches. I’m not a hiker and I’m not knocking through a list of 10,000 footers. However if I were, I’d buy the solar-powered, atomic timekeeping Casio with an altimeter, barometer, and compass for $480. They sucked me in with their bells and whistles, making me a raving advocate through their well crafted ad and its QR code that led me down their tech path as easily as their watch would have led me up a mountain.
Casio’s QR code® led me to three photo hotlinks about the Pro Tek. The first link took me to the white sheet, which told me price and how to make my purchase. The second link took me to a journal about an 8-day cycling trip thanks to the aid of the Casio. Finally the third link took me to the Facebook page, which didn’t force me to “like” it to get in and read the raving testimonials. Thank you for the access and information.
BULOVA
The Bulova Precisionist makes some bold claims, according to watch collectors and enthusiasts – calling itself the most accurate watch with a continuously sweeping second hand. And because the Bulova brand has built a reputation as being prestigious and collectible, the marketers may have been a little arrogant and assumptive. The QR code® on Bulova’s ad, which clearly stated it was taking me to the Facebook page, led me there but wouldn’t let me see a thing unless I hit “like.” I didn’t like that and did not oblige.
I found it odd that the $500 watch, which looks like something you’d wear to a high-stakes poker game in a roped off area of Vegas or Donald Trump’s boardroom, featured a diver. The watch was not waterproof, but Bulova was trying to drive home its marketing message of “breaking through” with the diver. Bulova’s poor choice of imagery did not reinforce the functionality of its watch.
The winner of this week’s QR critic is Casio with the runner up being Citizen and the bronze to Bulova.
QR Code® is a registered trademark of Denso Wave.
about 4 days ago - No comments
When a Dallas-based advertising agency, VLG, needed to engage prospects, it opted to show off its interactive technology through a sitelet or mini-site. The sitelet used a mock company called Crescent Bluffs to demonstrate the amount of time VLG could engage the prospect in the demo. I was engaged for 1 minute 41 seconds. I took VLG’s More >
about 2 weeks ago - No comments
Do you feel like you’re constantly playing catch up? If so it’s particularly hard to stay ahead of trends. We can relate; thus the reason we’re posting a 2013 marketing trends piece in late April. Take a breather and read the eight trends projected by Forbes and CIO Network magazines. 8 Marketing Trends Projected for More >
about 1 month ago - 1 comment
Regardless of how you feel about QR Codes® you have to admit when you get handed a business card similar to one of the 10 examples below, you think one or all of the things below: This person is on top of technology. This person is harnessing all the tools to start conversations and get More >
about 1 month ago - 1 comment
A QR Code® can either be the cherry or the sour grape on the top of your marketing sundae. When it comes to prospects interacting with your marketing materials, newsletter, or advertisement, they’re either going to swallow and smile or spit it out. By including a QR Code, and a teaser foreshadowing where it will More >
about 2 months ago - No comments
Remember how fun it was as a kid to dig into a box of Cracker Jacks® caramel popcorn and get that treasured prize inside the box? Well history repeats itself with Alo’s Free Music in Every Bottle campaign. Alo, makers of an aloe vera health drink, have a marketing tagline — Goodness From Inside Out More >
about 2 months ago - 1 comment
If you follow this blog, you know I criticize advertisers that cram too much copy or too many visual elements into their ads. This week’s advertisers do neither. Sleep Number Bed and Drugfree.org demonstrate how to execute a clean ad with a simple six-word hook as a headline and appropriately placed QR Code® that does More >
about 2 months ago - 3 comments
When your product closely resembles another company’s product, the difference in which company earns the prospect’s business is often the company that can make the prospect feel enough pain to switch services to their company. While many salespeople are trained to find pain, copywriters, account executives, and corporate marketers aren’t. This is demonstrated when you More >
about 3 months ago - No comments
Savvy marketers who wish to remain employed measure the efforts of their email, print and multi-channel campaigns. Amateur marketers wing it or use the wrong metrics in an effort to make the right decisions. Visit any social media or integrated marketing agency lunchroom and you’ll hear the words click-through, long-term bounce rates, subject line pull, More >
about 4 months ago - No comments
We pitted three corporate giants against one another this week. Between Microsoft, Dassault Systemes and Boehringer Ingelheim, which company do you think did the best job with its mobile tag usage (QR Codes® vs. Microsoft Tag) and advertising composition (copy, layout, call to action)? Boehringer Ingelheim Gets Wordy Reading this ad makes me happy More >
about 4 months ago - No comments
If you haven’t read Sabine Lenz’s Printing Impression guest post, “These Business Cards Are Crap,” read it now because she’s created quite a stir. Lenz is the founder of PaperSpecs.com and doesn’t mince words about the cheap, flimsy stock, off center cards she collects every time she networks. She rightfully asks where is the quality, More >