QR Code, Microsoft Tag, JagTag.. Oh My!

Hi Folks,

Just a quick overview of the different tags that are either available or up-and-coming in the United States, and their relative strengths and weaknesses from a marketing perspective.

1. QR Code. COST: FREE.
App Download: Required.
"A QR Code is a matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), readable by QR scanners, mobile phones with a camera, and smartphones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data. Common in Japan, where it was created by Toyota subsidiary Denso-Wave in 1994, the QR code is one of the most popular types of two-dimensional barcodes. QR is the abbreviation for Quick Response, as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed." [Wikipedia: QR Code]
-- KM: In the beginning of 2011, QR Codes appear to be the market leader in the real-world to online link.
http://www.denso-wave.com/qrcode/aboutqr-e.html

2. Microsoft Tag. COST: FREE.
App Download: Required.
"Microsoft Tag is a new kind of bar code that connects almost anything in the real world to information, entertainment, and interactive experiences on your mobile phone. Tags are free to create and use. You can add them to your ads, posters, product packages, display it on your website, billboards, clothing…the list is endless. When you scan a Tag using the free Tag Reader application on your mobile phone, it will automatically open a webpage, add a contact to your address book, display a message, or dial a number – there are no long URLs to type or SMS messages to send."
http://tag.microsoft.com/overview.aspx

3. WiMO. COST: TBA
App Download: Required.
"The WiMO Solution allows brands to enable real-world clicking of their products and marketing. The WiMO Solution consists of four basic components: Mobile Application, Content Triggers, Campaign Manager, and Analytics Engine."
http://www.wimoreality.com/
-- KM: Wimo attempts to provide the whole package to the marketing department, it remains to be seen if they will gain popularity.
http://www.wimoreality.com/index.html

4. JagTag: BALLPARK COST: $5000-$10,000
App Download: Not Required!
"JAGTAG is a mobile marketing platform utilizing 2D barcodes and Keywords to send back multimedia to 90% of mobile phones. Agencies, Brands, Retailers and Publishers contract with JAGTAG to run their mobile campaigns."
-- KM: An impressive solution. The advantage of JagTag(R) is that the user does not need to download a separate app. They can simply snap a pic of the code with their camera, and send it to a number. The downside is that they will have to click a link the JagTag sends in response, as opposed to letting the app do the work.
http://www.jagtag.com/

5. UPC Code: BALLPARK COST: $1000 for 100 Codes.
App Download: Required.
-- KM: This list would not be complete without including UPC Codes, which are ubiquitous in the United States, and appear to be an easy link between the real and digital worlds.
"The Universal Product Code (UPC) is a barcode symbology (i.e., a specific type of barcode), that is widely used in Canada and the United States for tracking trade items in stores." [Wikipedia: UPC]
KM: It is not inconceivable that a shopper could snap the UPC code with their mobile reader; however, the challenge for the current generation will be overcoming the perception that UPC codes are for the cash register scanner. Future generations will be more comfortable scanning a UPC code, so its usefulness may be a few years out from a marketing and sales perspective.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code

6. Reverse Image Search. Cost: FREE.
"TinEye is the first image search engine on the web to use image identification technology rather than keywords, metadata or watermarks. It is free to use for non-commercial searching."
http://www.tineye.com/about
-- KM: Applied to marketing, the consumer will soon be able to simply snap a pic of a product, and receive information on their mobile device.



Keith Miklas holds a Masters Degree in Information Technology from George Washington University, and a Bachelors degree in both Computer Science and Mathematics from Rutgers. He has over thirty years of experience at all levels of Information Technology--from design and development to project management and company ownership. He is currently a Sr. System Engineer at a Marketing design firm in the New York metropolitan area, specializing and a subject matter expert in the digital-reality link via readable codes in mobile advertising and marketing.