This article is the first part of a series written by customedialabs’ President and CEO Manos Sifakis.
The other day, as I grabbed a quick meal from McDonalds, I noticed something interesting on my tray.
(No, it wasn’t a Happy Meal toy or the nutritional content chart – it was a QR, or Quick Response, code.)
I’m always interested in seeing what big companies, like McDonalds and Live Nation are doing with their mobile campaigns, so I scanned it with my iPhone.
And this is what I saw.
It’s a tiny box prompting me for my zip code. Look how small the numbers are! (In case you can’t see them, don’t feel bad, neither could I.)
After hitting submit, I was directed to a website. Not a website that was optimized for mobile, but a FULL SIZED WEBSITE I could barely see on my iPhone screen.
This is not the kind of mobile campaign I would expect from two large companies!
Just because a campaign uses new technology like QR codes, doesn’t mean it makes good use of that technology. Unfortunately, I see this kind of work all the time.
traditional vs. digital agencies
The city – no, the world – is full of agencies that claim they “get it”. They understand technology. They understand your company and your needs. And they say they understand how to work in the digital world of today.
But they don’t. Think of it this way: Most agencies have been around for many years. Now, in business, we are used to thinking that longevity is a good thing. But consider how much the world has changed even in the last four or five years.
There were no iPhones, let alone iPads. Mobile was in it’s infancy. Social media and group buying were also just beginning. The world was a very different place.
And that’s the world that traditional agencies were born into.
They created their business models and structured their ideas on an old world model. Those models worked great – in the world of yesterday. As new technologies shake old business models, they try their best to stay standing. But they won’t be able to keep their balance forever.
By contrast, customedialabs was born in the digital era. We are designed to be agile and at the forefront of emerging technologies. We don’t tremble as changes shake our industry.
Now, it’s easy to abstractly say “they don’t get it and we do”. But let’s use my McDonald’s story as an example.
As a born-digital agency, how would we have done that campaign differently?
To start, we wouldn’t have to ask the user for their zip code! Using geolocation, the mobile device would automatically detect the user’s location. But if entering the zip code was a firm requirement, at least we would make sure the text was large enough to see.
More importantly, the campaign would lead to a mobile optimized website! We talked a little about what makes a site “mobile” in a previous blog, but to recap: mobile sites are optimized for a mobile user’s needs.
It looks like the purpose of this campaign is to encourage users to register for a summer concert sweepstakes. In that case, larger buttons with clearer calls to action would go a long way in creating conversions.
That’s just the beginning of what we could do with this campaign. In the new world, a campaign is about bringing a brand to life in the digital media channels of today and tomorrow.
That is exactly customedialabs’ expertise. And that, my friends, is something very few agencies can deliver effectively!
Does your brand need a digital makeover? Is your brand using the latest technologies? If not, we’d love to work with you. We’re always looking for a new challenge and ways to take brands to the next level. Give us a call anytime.
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