Mobile Marketer, in an article describing the potential impact of Verizon’s new pricing plan on mobile marketing, raises the possibilities that marketers may find the Postal Service’s promotion less effective than they did prior to the introduction of the new pricing plan.
QR/2D scanned codes? Negatively affected Similar to apps, QR and 2D bar codes contain content that can only be accessed when connected to a network, either Wi-Fi or data.
There are many barriers to using a QR code, but in regards to Verizon’s newest pricing structure, subscribers will have to think twice before scanning QR code since there is no way to know what type of high bandwidth media might be loaded on their phone.
QR codes typically provide the user quick links to a mobile Web site, engaging video, images or provide the option to download contact information.
All of these actions consume data and the most often used type of content – streaming mobile Web video – consumes the largest amounts of data of all.
Given that ATT has introduced a similar pricing plan, the increased cost of using a mobile device to use media rich websites will affect the bulk of U.S. mobile telecommunications consumers.
The Postal Service’s mobile bar code promotion will come more than three months after the new mobile device rate structures go into effect. Therefore the promotion will come around the time that consumers begin recognizing how their use of the mobile web affects their monthly bill. Advertisers would be well advised to track the demographics of customers that click on mobile bar codes on mail sent under this promotion to see if the concerns raised by Mobile Marketer affect the effectiveness of their ads.
Where is Alan Robinson? No post in three (3) weeks.