Let’s Make a Deal

Zap this code with Scanlife and see what happens

If you’re old enough to be familiar with the television game show, “Let’s Make a Deal,” then you’ll recall that what made the show special was not knowing what’s behind doors number one, two or three. There were other wonderful aspects of the show, including members of the audience dressing in costume and the host offering U.S. currency to anyone who happened to have a particular household item with them (“I’ve got $50 for the first person who’s got a corkscrew”). For home viewers, the single biggest hook was our desire to know what’s behind each oversized door.

URL shorteners (bit.ly, tinyurl, ow.ly and others) provide a similar experience via the Internet. We offer each other shortened links on social media platforms, introduce them with a teaser and hope that our audience will be curious to see where the link leads. Now, a company named Scanbuy has added a new twist to “what’s behind the door?” and “where will you take me?” using 2D Barcodes. Scanbuy’s codes are the next really BIG idea that combines the power of the real time internet with the portability of ubiquitous mobile devices.

The essence of how it works is simple. A code is created and is programmed to perform an action when scanned. The genius is in the scanning. A free application, called Scanlife, works with mobile devices − such as the iPhone, Blackberry and Droid − using the device’s camera as a code reader. It’s as easy as launching the application, focusing the camera at the code and watching the action happen. The only hurdle keeping Scanbuy from being this summer’s “it girl” is that most consumers have to go through the activity of downloading the application, so it’s a two step process, as opposed to “launch and focus.” This will become less of an issue as new mobile devices begin rolling out with the program preloaded by the manufacturers. Scanbuy already has buy-in from some of the big guys − Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson all have begun to do so.

Anyone can register for a free account at Scanlife and begin creating codes that are programmed to do things. Cool things, like taking the user to a landing page with a coupon and/or map, entering the user into a contest with immediate notification of “winner” status, sending the user a text message, contact information or an invitation to an event. This is only a small sample of the infinite possibilities afforded by this simple, yet powerful technology. Business account users are provided access to the data collected by each scan, including the demographics of who, coupled with the equally important when and where.

Big name consumer brands, such as Heineken, Volkswagen and Morgans Hotel Group have initiated campaigns incorporating Scanbuy’s 2D Barcodes. Check out this video to see how Nestle deployed Scanbuy’s technology to provide a unique, value-added consumer experience using a regular Barcode.

At d+g, we’re placing increased focus on exploring opportunities in mobile applications and the real time Internet for our clients. Technology must not be misinterpreted as brand strategy, but when applied correctly, it most certainly has the potential to significantly impact the brand/consumer relationship.