Mobile Phone Apps Up by 200%

Last year saw the growth of mobile marketing explode. For example, Amazon saw an increase of mobile traffic on Black Friday of 222%, and on Cyber Monday usage of the Amazon app increased 171% over last year. What types of companies are now using mobile apps?

Mobile Phone Apps up by 200%

Smaller companies, which make up nearly 97 percent of businesses in the U.S., according to Bizness Apps, are starting to understand why it’s worth putting resources toward mobile. Sixty-nine percent of small businesses know that mobile marketing — even if not in app form — could grow their companies significantly in the next five years, and many of those companies plan to increase budgets accordingly.


You might be surprised by what industries are most likely to build dedicated apps, however. Restaurants came first, with a 22 percent likelihood, followed by professional services, which includes lawyers, retailers, accountants, and doctors. Fitness clubs come third, probably trying to keep up with popular health-conscious apps such as Nike’s Running app.

Read more at http://venturebeat.com/2012/12/05/mobile-apps-small-businesses/#lEuXsIpU6sdfzYmW.99

Here are some more predictions from this same article. There will be 81 billion apps to be downloaded in 2013. Last year 84% of small business owners saw an increase in business after starting mobile marketing. 97% of all employers in the US are considered small businesses. Only 26% of small businesses have websites that are mobile friendly. 64% of small businesses will increase their budgets for mobile marketing next year. 90% of searches on iPhones resulted in a visit to a location or a purchase.These figures are taken from a long list of sources. I invite you to read the original to check out the source material.

Top QR Code Campaigns

Sometimes people will ask me, "Are these QR Codes just a passing fad or something really useful that will stick around?" Here's an article that will show you how big companies as well as smaller businesses are using them in an increasing number.

Marketers are constantly debating about whether or not QR codes are beneficial to their marketing efforts. Ultimately, Coca-Cola, Toys R Us and Walmart have proven that mobile bar codes are not only beneficial, but also crucial in driving consumer engagement.
Over the past few years there has been a love/hate relationship with QR codes. Nowadays, the campaigns have gotten more sophisticated and companies are constantly placing mobile bar codes on billboards, bus shelters and products.
To read the original click here.

The article goes on to feature the top 10 QR Code Campaigns in the U.S. Here are a few.

Cadillac
Cadillac placed mobile bar codes on its print campaign that promoted the carmaker’s XTS model and featured calls-to-action that gave users different experiences based on publication titles.
When users scanned the mobile bar code they were redirected to a mobile landing page where they could view videos or browse a photo gallery of the XTS model. By placing QR codes on its static print ads, Cadillac was able to bring the campaign to life
When users scanned the mobile bar code they were redirected to a mobile landing page where they could view videos or browse a photo gallery of the XTS model.
By placing QR codes on its static print ads, Cadillac was able to bring the campaign to life.

Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is no stranger to QR codes. The company is constantly looking to make its campaigns better then the last and many times that involves mobile bar codes.
Earlier this year, the beverage giant placed QR codes on its packaging to further connect with new and existing customers.
This particular initiative took place in Spain.
Users were able to see calls-to-action placed on the packaging that invited consumers to scan to view content such as UEFA’s Euro 2012 videos and Coca-Cola SmileWorld – the brand’s online community.
Coca-Cola was smart to use mobile bar codes for the initiative, and even smarter to promote the campaign in a variety of ways, including a television commercial that illustrates how the initiative works.
Toys R Us
Toys R Us continued its QR code push to promote more than 20 of its large outdoor items and let consumers visualize how the product would work and look in their own backyards.
Since many of the outdoor items were too large to display in-store, Toys R Us used in-store signage that let consumers scan the QR code of a product in which they were interested.


Consumers could scan the mobile bar code next to the product with their mobile device to view video footage or images of the item fully set up.
Last year, Toys R Us rolled out a virtual store that let consumers scan QR codes featured on billboards and shop the company’s 2011 Hot Toy List.

Please note that all of these companies are using QR Codes and that the author of this article, Rima Kats in Mobile Marketer, is sometimes using the term, mobile bar code for QR Code. Indeed, the early QR Codes were bar codes and they are very much related, both in Japan where they were invented but everywhere else now too. The main difference is that a QR Code can contain  a huge amount of information. The latest versions or models can contain the equivalent of an encyclopedia (remember those?). Please see the article, "The Scoup on QR Codes" on this website for more information about QR codes.