A book that discusses the merits of using simple branding tools to succeed in the digital world includes a digital marketing trick of its own. BrandDigital: Simple Ways Top Brands Succeed in the Digital World, by branding expert Allen Adamson, includes a two-dimensional mobile barcode on its back cover which connects directly to the title’s page on Amazon’s mobile website.
The book uses Scanbuy’s ScanLife technology to enable consumers taking a picture of the 2D barcode to be sent directly to its Amazon page. Once there, consumers can purchase the book from their phone using their existing Amazon account information.
“EZcodes offer a simple way for marketers to better connect consumers with their brands,” said Allen Adamson, the author of the book.
The ScanLife application can convert almost any camera phone into a barcode reader and, while the application can also read traditional UPC codes, most mainstream cameras are not sophisticated enough to do so, says Scanbuy. But millions of phones around the world today can read EZcodes like the one on Adamson’s book.
“This is a perfect example of how a 2D code placed on any physical media can send an interested shopper directly to a purchase opportunity,” says Jonathan Bulkeley, CEO of Scanbuy and an ex-head of Barnesandnoble.com. “The mobile commerce experience has improved substantially over the past twelve to eighteen months, and we expect to see more of these applications in the future being initiated through our technology.”
The ScanLife software is compatible with the iPhone as well as handsets running Java, Symbian and Windows Mobile. The ScanLife application can be download for free at www.getscanlife.com.