NFC Technology: The Time is Right?

UNICEF Hong Kong's donation drive campaign utilising NFC stickers was certainly an interesting one. Innovative and Inspiring it was called, and rightly so. Facing difficulties in acquiring volunteers and reaching out to donators, UNICEF turned to technology as their saviour and were hugely rewarded for it. By pasting NFC stickers on donators, and encouraging them to seek other donators as well, the campaign brought a 30-fold increase in the number of volunteers, and each sticker raised an additional six donations each.

There's no denying that this was an innovative campaign, and a successful one. But is the time right for the technology to be utilised more extensively? And in different countries?

Hong Kong certainly had a suitable mobile landscape for this project to succeed. They did their legwork, saw the opportunity, and jumped onto a successful campaign. But for similar success to be replicated in other countries, is hugely questionable.

As has been pointed out, Singapore is a good case in point. We are not quite a backward nation when it comes to adoption of new technology, but we tend to 'take our time' in most instances. In Asia, countries like Japan and Korea often become a 'test-bed' of sorts before the technology sets foot here. I can't quite put my finger on why this phenomenon is so, but perhaps it is to do with the difficulty in changing the mindsets of Singaporeans. We often get into our ritualistic habits, and find it hard to jump into something new. Old habits die hard..

A case in point could be seen when the new ez-link cards were introduced some years back. Singaporeans practically had to be forced to pick up a new card that would open new doors and channels to them in terms of convenience of purchase. Right till the last day, there were still scores of people yet to arm themselves with the latest in technology.

I doubt it's that Singaporeans scorn technology. But we tend to have a mindset that the 'evil corporations' are trying to rip us off in some way with every new technology they introduce. Before I meander off-course, the point I was getting at is the neccesity to re-educate and change mindsets of consumers here. And with NFC, at this point of time, I think it will be necessary to dedicate a bit of marketing dollars if the belief is that NFC will play a significant role in marketing in the near future.

In some ways, we're already seeing some of this with VISA and their payWave system, which is essentially paying for your purchases via NFC technology. They've invested quite a bit in advertising dollars already with some prominent TV ads. They've had prizes given out for some lucky payWave users. More recently, they've started giving additional points out for using payWave. All this to encourage an adoption and a change of purchasing habits.

At the end of the day, I feel all these will have limited success. NFC can be a prominent technology at the forefront of our daily lives and purchasing habits. But, at this juncture, the main barrier to its success is quite simply the availability of NFC Technology to the masses.

NFC would have a huge chance at success if it was already in the pockets of the masses. At this stage, it is perhaps only in pockets of less than half of the masses. With the proliferation of iPhone users in Singapore, and Apple's draconian insistence on trying to be the next Microsoft, this means that most mobile users in Singapore do not have access to NFC technology as the iPhone is not equipped with NFC technology.

This could all change quickly though as Android phones are fast gaining headway in this market, and Apple themselves could change the landscape quickly by introducing NFC enabled iPhones (upon which the first thing we should do is to buy shares in companies producing NFC contactless gateways ;)). But till then, as promising as NFC is, I think for both consumers and marketeers, it will remain in its own little niche instead of jumping onto the mainstream. But, as with everything, it is just a matter of time, and we would be wise to keep an eye on NFC and its growth.

Case Studies: Red Bull proximity marketing campaign distributes mobile coupons via Bluetooth

As a mobile user, I feel that the proximity marketing campaign via bluetooth is a very convenient way for shoppers like me to get a comprehensive information on the current discounts and promotions that are going on in the store. I am always attracted to drinks which are priced more attractively than others. From the marketing point of view, I feel that there are some limitations of measuring this bluetooth campaign. As message is pushed to and redeemed by random users via serial no., it is very difficult to capture which demography is more actively using the coupons. The target audience would not be as precisely established as using a loyalty card as a marketing tool for example.

iSIGN Media Corp

This report was written in reference to iSIGN Media Corp location and permission-based messaging solutions.

This product might not be popular in Singapore, as Singaporeans will not usually have their WIFI and Bluetooth switched on. Data plans are relatively cheap and easy to subscribe to. Malls and landmarks are pretty close to each other unlike other countries. All the stores are situated in a prime location of the neighborhood and will take a short time to travel to.
By using this service, the antenna might not be able to identify the precise location of the users due to interference and the close proximity of other individuals are in the same area but not the same shop.

However, by using this product, it could be a very powerful tool. Tracking can be very accurate based on individual consumers. Consumers will appeal to the product for its discount vouchers. In exchange, for the discount vouchers, they are willing to share their information. The results could be pretty accurate as the devices are personalized to each individual. The information received will be accurate and real time. And companies will get to know if the product is working immediately as the consumers are given a choice to reject, redeem or accept the offer.

The cost is low as compared to traditional SMS and companies get to change the message in 4 minutes. By using traditional SMS, there will be a need to go through various parties, which could lead to a longer lead-time to change the message.  SMS will only be available to a certain Telco and will not be able to blast out the information to the existing consumers on site. However, SMS can ensure that consumers will be able to receive the SMS as long as the mobile phone is on.

With this service, companies can also send out music, movies, videos and flash content, which will be more interactive and easier to catch the attention of the consumers. More information can be included in the blasts as compared to SMS.

With this technology incorporated, there will be a decline of using print.  The resources can be put to better usage. Data collected can be used for future marketing campaigns. Companies can also get to know about the popularity of it’s products and the immediate effect it have on its consumers.

However, this technology can only appeal to products that are PMEBS, Youth and white collared or even tourists oriented. Only Smartphone users will enable their phone to connect to WIFI or Bluetooth. Tourists will also try to connect to WIFI whenever possible.

Each product have its pros and cons, so companies will need to evaluate their needs, requirements and objectives when selecting a suitable product. There are many different products available in the market at this moment which given companies a better choice when they are launching their new product. With the right technology and media used, the product might be a success even before it is officially launched.

Reebok Premier League – InMobi

Personally I feel that the interactive marketing campaign conceptualised by Reebok is a creative and innovative way to engage users. The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the newest and highest-profile league in domestic professional cricket. The targeted users of this application will be the League and team supporters. With the objective of driving purchase intent of merchandise through mobile advertisements, Reebok made use of special features such as “Gift a Jersey” and “Refer a friend” to increase the awareness as well as encourage users to purchase the merchandise.

There is also the “Store Locator” function which makes use of local and proximity marketing. This makes it more convenient for users to locate where to purchase the Reebok Indian Premier League merchandise of their choice at the nearest retail outlet. Users will also be able to check out the stocks available before they head down to the outlet. This is a crucial factor to ensure that fans will not be disappointed should their favourite merchandise run out of stock.  

As cricket is a sport with a huge fan base in India, the number of users clicking through the mobile advertisements and downloading jersey wallpapers is overwhelming. This is an effective platform to showcase the various designs of the merchandise and encourage people to “share” with their friends. This will lead to more people to view the content and hopefully increase the sales of merchandise.

It would be good if this mobile application is able to link to various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to reach out to a greater fan base. By using hashtags #ReebokPremierLeague, #FavouriteIPLJersey, etc, users will be able to connect with other League and team supporters regarding the IPL. 

Thoughts on Case Study: Redbull Proximity Marketing

I'm surprised why there's not much firms in Singapore using proximity marketing, since one can easily envision its popularity with the penetration of smartphones in Singapore.

Why, just imagine visiting Watsons convenience store, while queuing for payment when you receives a prompting that shows you a coupon for a snickers bar on discount that ís on display on a nearby shelf. Chances are high for chocolate lovers to purchase since its on discount! At least that's what I'll do... Impulse shoppers like myself are motivated by discount coupons, even though there was no initial intention for purchase. It creates a sort of reminder or a lure to tempt shoppers on the products being marketed. At least the novelty will serves at as a good marketing campaign.

I recently went to the shopping mall at Serangoon Nex, whereby at the customer service counter people were showing their smart phones over the counter. As a typical Singaporean, I queued before I know what I’m queuing for. While queuing, I see a poster nearby showing instructions to download the app "Perkd". Being the ever curious kind, I did and walaa! There's this coupon under “Nex Foodie” ecard that allows me to redeem 2 Cokes and a Wafer!

While I applaud the promotion effort by Nex Shopping Mall to encourage shoppers to download the “Nex Foodie” ecard shown here (see picture) for encouragement of spending at its tenants stores, it could have been more savvy by introducing proximity marketing eg. Using Bluetooth to push out the message and instead of waiting for the customers to make the first move by finding out what is the available promotions (not all customers are like me!)  Even better, the push out message signal points can be place near the participating merchants eg. Anderson Ice Cream whereby shoppers around the vicinity can be prompted of the offers and even make a purchase direct at the store before collecting the freebies via the downloaded app!

Anyway, this is my observations at one of the shopping mall that is trying to promote engagement and loyalty. Thumbs up for effort in mobile marketing but can be better improved!

UNICEF HK NFC Campaign

Good points
 

·        Remove the needs to depend on volunteers on a certain timing. It is as good as 24x7 as long as the volunteers have the stickers on them. Volunteers can still go around on their daily routine.

·        May last longer if the volunteers paste on the stickers on their bags or on the case of their tablets or laptops.

·        Remove the competition against other organizations for manpower and good locations with high traffic flow.

·        More “fun” as it allows other to learn new things. It is not surprised that a lot of people has been buying NFC smartphones but they don’t know about this function.

·        Sticker can come in different designs: features different themes according to the seasons etc.

·        Protect the integrity of the volunteers as they don’t physically handles the money.

·        Remove the need to count the cash and deposit into the banks.

 

Bad points

·        Depends on people with NFC smartphone. However, NFC smartphones are becoming more popular nowadays.

·        Drop very easily if the stickers are pasted on cloths.

·        Cannot be reused. Once web address is entered wrongly means the whole batches of NFC stickers have to be disposed off. This is because generally the NFC stickers will be programmed to disallow rewriting to prevent frauds.

·        No cheap to produce as a sticker can cost US$0.83 each for an order of 1000 pcs.

 

Consider

·        Getting others like NFC keychains because they can be hooked onto the bags etc and they last longer than others (Hello Kitty or Minions design).

·        Consider making NFC card as their ID card which contains the web address for donation for regular volunteers.

·        Can have NFC stickers in various donation amount like $5, $10 etc

·        Include QR code as part of the design so that people who are holding on to smartphones without NFC function can still use the QR code to donate.

 

 

 

 

Case Study : Unicef NFC campaign

After reading the case study, I was initially skeptical of the positive report as I had felt that NFC may not yet be so wide-spread yet. I believed the reason of my initial "gut-feel" was based on Singapore's mobile landscape.
Nevertheless, I decided to do a little research and was extremely surprised to find out that an official study had earlier conducted and concluded that HK was quite ready for such a technology like NFC to be used for contactless payment etc.
Coming back to using NFC in Singapore, I would feel that if similar campaign was to run here, most likely it would not be that successful. Not because the idea was not novel and fresh but more so because of the constraint by the devices that most people had. For a start, there are still a big proportion of iPhone owners and Apple did not put NFC into their phone. And Samsung and BB had only NFC enabled phone for their top range of their line of models.
I asked myself that If I were to implement such a similar campaign in Singapore, would I still be using NFC? My reply would be a BIG resounding YES. I really liked the idea and I think people especially the younger lot would be excited of such interaction for such a primeval thing like collecting donation.
However, I would not simply go for NFC alone if I really want some success. I will compliment the NFC sticker to contain a suitable QR code. In this way, people would not be hampered by the lack of functionality of the phone as they can simply scan the QR code and redirect them to the donation page.