On my way to lunch in Denver yesterday, I passed a gelato store with this sign to the right. Unfortunately, after lunch, I wasn’t hungry enough to have some, but I did text to it and sure enough, after about 5 seconds, I got a 2 for 1 text message back. I’m starting to see this more and more. I think this is a really good use of simple technology to bring in the walking traffic in a busy downtown area (except I didn’t go for it). This is a very easy and cheap way to create and manage a short term coupon, especially for walk in traffic. Technology doesn’t have to be complicated in order for it to work… it just has to work. And when you start thinking about it, there are a great number of potential uses.
There’s also the Jag Tags that are starting to make an appearance. If you see a weird looking shape in the magazine or newspaper or something that looks like the below image (only maybe more clear), this is a Jag Tag. If you take a picture of it and text or email it to a specific address, it will also send something back . Maybe a coupon or a download or some sort of information. It could be just about anything that you can email and can be attached to anything else. The plus here is that it becomes REALLY easy to start tracking your print advertising. Whether it takes off or not, who knows….
