Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, it sent shockwaves through every industry. Restaurants shut down, small mom-and-pop shops were forced online and companies went into overdrive to come up with the innovative solutions that would keep businesses, big and small, afloat. Over the last six months, the world has adapted and companies have adjusted with it. Businesses in every industry have found new ways to reach their customers, especially in the digital space.
With more people working from home and social distancing, digital marketing has become more important than ever to reach customers where they are, which is typically online. Even as people begin to venture back out to stores and restaurants, many are still relying on the safety of their phones to engage in contactless connections. We’ve seen this as QR codes have made huge comebacks in the worlds of retail and hospitality, and there’s opportunity for more industries to capitalize on similar technology, like Direct Response Video (DRV) codes.
Similar to QR codes, DRV codes scan unique codes through a smart phone’s camera or an app to direct customers to some specific action. However, unlike the QR codes, DRV codes are embedded in digital and video mediums, like TV screens, digital billboards and social media pages. This technology, which can be scanned from up to 60 feet away, expands the channels for marketers to engage consumers directly, even in a world of social distancing.
Streamline Digital Calls to Action
Whether you’re looking for a consumer to book a hotel room, purchase a product or even sign a petition, streamlining the process is the easiest way to turn an interested party into an actual customer. Most digital advertisements already offer consumers the tools to do their own research, whether it’s encouraging them to visit a website or download an app. However, at the end of the day, that customer still has to make sure they catch the relevant information and then make the decision to move forward with it.
Integrating technology like DRV codes into digital marketing materials that are already being viewed, like TV commercials, can streamline this process and increase the likelihood that a potential customer will visit a website, call a phone number or purchase an item. Immediately after viewing an advertisement, a simple scan of the screen can allow a user to make a reservation, send a text or research a service, with less of a possibility of them getting sidetracked.
Improve Ad Tracking
Integrating DRV technology into digital advertisements allows brands to better collect and analyze data from a marketing campaign. While any company can estimate the amount of eyes a billboard next to the freeway will get, it is very difficult to quantify how many customers decided to actually engage with the brand because of that billboard.
The DRV’s unique codes allow companies to see real-time data, campaign conversion rates and even customer demographics of their digital advertisements. This can either validate a campaign’s messaging or gives the brand a chance to update their tactics without starting from scratch.
Enhance the QR Code Experience
While there are clear opportunities to utilize DRV code technology in digital advertisements, it can also be integrated into a brand’s existing QR reader. Sophistication in DRV augmented QR readers enable end-users to scan either code seamlessly without switching apps. DRV technology can be scanned at 150 to 1 distance ratio, or up to 60 feet away. This gives consumers the chance to practice social distancing more effectively, and still access the information a brand is trying to display through its QR codes, while offering businesses multiple avenues to reach their customers in person.
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are going to be felt for a long time after its finally been solved. Social distancing, in some form or other, is our new normal. More people will continue to work from home and the digital spaces that have become so crucial to many companies’ survival will continue to be one of the main spaces for brands to engage with their target audience. Starting to integrate the innovative technology now will improve these processes moving forward, giving brands across all industries the opportunity to continue to keep up with consumer adaptation.
