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Finally almost two years later…

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From a direct email Best Buy sent me:

“Next time you’re at a Best Buy store you can conveniently get the product information you need right from your mobile phone. Learn more about specifications, ratings and reviews using the new QR Mobile Code Reader APP.

From a post I made December of 2008:

Two ads come to mind immediately of stores mentioning how they provide access to a computer right in the store in order to research the product and their competitors prices. I think though, that they should take this one step further, why not offer an in store wireless connection that mobile phones can use to do the research with. Through that connection offer a ‘homepage’ or default page that comes up when they go to connect with all of the in-store specials. These specials then list not only the store’s price, but also their competitors online prices as well as specs, compatibility, and upgrade information about the product itself.

While yes, I agree that few people will use this in the beginning, but imagine those people then SHARING that information with the people around them. Then those people the shared it with learning of it, using it, and then sharing it with others too. It’s an in store marketing device, one that they are already providing through the use of an in store computer, but one that is a bit more private and a hell of a lot more useful than most sales people.

This can then be extended even further than that — say using a barcode scanner or photo recognition software. Just imagine the possibilities when you put access to pertinent information in the palm of a consumers hand.

One example would be utilizing Target’s Amazon relation ship by putting URLs on the tags for all the electronic items in the store. Here I can go an extra step and actually read the reviews for the item I’m looking to purchase. I not only get to look up prices, specs, and other important information, but I also get to see what OTHER people think of the product too. Then, if I purchase it in store I can say perhaps get $5 off my next Amazon or Target purchase if I leave a review thus perpetuating the cycle.

Someone should pay me to come up with this stuff. I come up with these sorts of ideas all of the time!

(Yes this is a repost as I realized recently I had copied out the wrong paragraph from the BB email!)

Culture target marketing online…

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Let me preface this post by stating my point of view here is on how a big named company has targeted a specific culture through its online and commercial campaign. Should anyone want to comment, I do not wish to discuss the lifestyle, only how it is being addressed as a culture online.

“Snowboarding fly boys. Gender-bending hipster babes who shred. Après-ski bars brightened by the banter of sass-talking divas. Think you’ve died and gone to Oz? Well, wake up, Dorothy! With Travelocity’s exclusive hotels in top gay and lesbian ski destinations, you’ll get more queer than you can shake a feather boa at–and, honey, that’s a lot of queer–for way less moolah. That means more cash for those darling go-go dancers!

This year, ditch the office digs, grab those designer ski poles, and get ready to go all-out gay with these flaming hot ski getaways. Book now for fabulous savings.”

What you just read is real copy off of Travelocity’s site for Gay-Friendly ski hotels. Not only has the company targeted this specific culture for advertising potential, but where they could have stopped at just creating the deals they took it one step further and crafted and entire ambiance around it that tries not only get the audiences attention but tries to empathize with them as well. To coincide with their travel offers Travelocity has also created a tv campaign alluding to this particular culture as well.

In doing a bit of research it turns out that in May, Travelocity partnered with Travel Alternatives Group (TAG), a group that specializes in making finding travel locations easier for GLBT people. Not only does this group look to see whether these companies offer a GLBT friendly atmosphere, but they in their search for gay friendly companies they have made an “effort to qualify accommodations based not only on their desire for gay travel revenues, but on their employment policies, services, and support returned to the gay community”. I wonder if this partnership alone lends credence to the Travelocity campaigns and without it would they be considered derogatory in any way? I also wonder how other cultures would respond to similar marketing techniques.

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