Panel Members
Elsa Vivero – VP of Sales for Weea (sales and distribution of Warner Music Group)
Dennis Switkin – Google
David Javitch – VP Marketing at ScanBuy
AJ MacGregor Dey – QRCodes.com – will allow you to see who has scanned the codes if they are using their platform.

Get a Reader
Link.me

David – ScanLife Mobile Barcode Solution
Code management platform and a mobile app for every OS
Included with new phones for major carriers including Sprint and Verizon.
This technology is open to any size business. Any type of object interactive. Outdoor, print, etc.

What is a code?
Binary code in an image. Software algorithms that translate the text of the message and encode it into the image.
One of the great things is that it’s instantly recognizable.

Dark lines have information. White space has no information. Contrast is read. You can store information, VCS, URLs, SMS, etc within the images.

Can you provide information on how many phones have this software on them?
3.5 – 4 M in Australia
4 – 5M in US
15 – 20M in US by 1st quarter of 2011.

The goal is to prevent typing on mobile devices.

Guidelines for deploying the codes. The trick is getting it right.

• Encode the data as small as possible. A tiny URL service is recommended. While phones have autofocus, it is still not perfect.
• Standard requires you to leave white space around the code. You are supposed to have 4 modules width in a code.
• You can add dark color, but 60/40 contrast if using color.
• Maximum of 25 characters before codes start to be unreadable on small devices
• About 1in is as small as you can get before it becomes unreadable.

What can be done to streamline backend servers to make it a seamless process? (SXSW had some problems with badge scanning.)
The issue was about registration processes. Some people had 2 profiles created and it resulted in multiple codes being generated.

The Vision. This will eventually allow point A to point B information easy to obtain. Coupon offers. Exclusive music. Special offers to create a complete experience.

A call to action is key to the success. Give people a hook! These codes allow for a connection between the physical and the digital easily. Code can be changed on the backend, so barcodes can be generated, printed, etc. and paths can be updated any time. So, if you wanted to point a code to your LinkedIn for a week, then make it point to a competition URL, you could do this easily from the backend using the same barcode image.

You can encode geolocations or other useful information.
Remember, smartphones are still only 20% of the market.

Paper printing. You want paper that does not reflect a lot of light. Avoid glossy paper. If it is reflecting light, it can make it difficult to scan.

Campaign Examples / Case Studies
1 Paramore
Campaign was in Hot Topic from August through October 2009. Allowed users to download exclusive Paramore tracks. URL to mobile site. 2/3 downloaded the reader. Over 1/2 of the people who streamed the tracks were complete streams of music through the software and not thru a browser. There was the opportunity to join newsfeeds and lists.

If your site is not formatted for mobile, do not use QR codes. People are scanning the codes because they are interested in byte-sized content. Codes should not lead to easily accessible areas like homepages. Success tends to come from exclusives.

They hoped for a quarter of interactions through the code, but they found that more than 50% did this. Wow.

2 HarperCollins
Lauren Conrad novel (LA Candy)
HC was one of the first clients to take a risk and put it in the mainstream
Can provide HC with information about where books are being purchased and being read which can be converted into book tours of popular areas, etc.
It has been fascinating to see the scanning increase as book sales increase.
Code scan takes you to the mobile site..Code has URL under the code so users who dont know what it is can visit it.. http://lacandy.mobi
The site also tells users what the codes are and how to use them with their devices.

The most widely deployed codes are barcodes on products. The benefit of QR codes is that they say CLICK ME.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO this is the last #sxsw interactive panel. I dont want to go home!!!

Posted via web from This Is Beautiful @sxsw