I was reading the case study on the innovative and inspiring use of NFC charity stickers by UNICEF Hong Kong, and I am intrigued by how far technology has advanced and how much it has become part of our everyday life.
Indeed, the campaign is somewhat successful in that it has garnered a 30-fold increase in the number of volunteers, by which each volunteer raised an additional 6 donations.
Shortcomings of the NFC campaign
There are several ways to implement mobile marketing campaigns and I wonder why did UNICEF Hong Kong opt for NFC.
There are several ways to implement mobile marketing campaigns and I wonder why did UNICEF Hong Kong opt for NFC.
According to a presentation delivered by Mr Peter Pang of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on 27 March 2013, Hong Kong possesses good market conditions for the use of NFC in that 85% of its non cash transactions are already contactless, while 90% of mobile phones shipped to Hong Kong in 2013 will be smartphones and over 40% of smartphones are expected to be NFC enabled in 2013. See Development of Near Field Communication (NFC) mobile payment services in Hong Kong
No doubt, Hong Kong has good market conditions for the use of NFC; however, UNICEF Hong Kong's chip stickers must be scanned with NFC-enabled Android smartphones, by which users will then be redirected to Google Play Store to download and install an app to make donations, sign up as volunteers, etc. This campaign has therefore limited its outreach to only people who are using Android smartphones.
Moreover, not every Android smartphone is NFC enabled. Even if they are, the campaign simply redirects users to Google Play Store to download and install an app to make donations. Does it guarantee that a donation will be made after the app is installed?
NFC technology is very versatile in that it can be easily adapted into many uses and applications, but would UNICEF Hong Kong's campaign to recruit volunteers and increase donations be even more successful if it had opted for a technology that is independent of user device? Would it have been more effective to create a "tap & go" mobile donation campaign? Would the ROI be higher if they have used QR code instead?
Will such NFC campaigns work in Singapore?
Even though smartphone penetration rate in Singapore is high, only a limited number of these phones are equipped with NFC features. Furthermore, even if they are NFC enabled, users still have to switch their SIM cards to NFC-enabled ones, and pay an activation fee. In light of the factors that hinder the adoption rate of NFC technology in Singapore, I will not recommend the use of NFC marketing campaign as yet.
Will such NFC campaigns work in Singapore?
Even though smartphone penetration rate in Singapore is high, only a limited number of these phones are equipped with NFC features. Furthermore, even if they are NFC enabled, users still have to switch their SIM cards to NFC-enabled ones, and pay an activation fee. In light of the factors that hinder the adoption rate of NFC technology in Singapore, I will not recommend the use of NFC marketing campaign as yet.
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