Knovolo Mobile Marketing Reviews
Cell Phone Parking Lot at SeaTac Airport Offers QR Code with Recent Arrivals
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Ever since Seattle airport’s cell phone parking lot opened in December 2004, it has been heavily used by Seattleites. I’ve been there myself, listening to the radio and wondering whether my friend’s flight had arrived. One late night in 2008 I actually waited there over an hour because I wasn’t aware of a long delay!
No longer. Well, I may still have to wait, but at least I can get some information. SeaTac has created a simple website that shows the status for flights that are scheduled to come in. At the moment you load the page, it grabs all flights within about 20 minutes and shows you where they came from, which airline, the flight number, the time, gate, baggage claim carousel and the arrival status.
SeaTac Flight Arrivals on Your Smartphone
This is a great idea! It was accurate for the flight that I was waiting for, and certainly helped keep me entertained.
The mobile use case is solid and everything works, but the presentation is lackluster.
Having the large QR code is pretty nice, for those of us who know what they are and don’t mind their lack of beauty. Mobile phone users who don’t know what to do with a QR code can still get access to the content by typing in the URL list below the QR code. Presenting users with more than one onramp to the mobile web is a must, and this is pretty well done. They could also incorporate an texting short code, such as Text FLIGHTS to 11111.
Once you get to the mobile web, however, it’s slightly disappointing. The information that you want is all there, which is great, but it’s pretty stark as far as design and readability.
Screenshot of Flight Arrivals at SeaTac Airport
When I load it on an iPhone, you can’t even read the text without zooming in. Once you zoom in, the table is too large to see the entire width. Also, there’s no branding, no links to other relevant information (not even the nice Sea-Tac Mobile Webpage which uses Sencha and works on Webkit browsers), and nothing to engage me once I’m there. I could go on, but you get the gist. This would be easy to fix with a mobile web developer (Yours Truly thinks this would be an awesome project) and some mobile device optimization.
In the meantime, however, the information is there and it’s works, even if a bit clunky. This is a great mobile use case, and I’m sure impatient drivers will enjoy it for years to come.
Tags: cell phone, good qr code, mobile phone, mobile website, QR code, QR Codes, seatac airport
Boom Noodle’s QR Code Gets Facebook LIKE
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QR Codes are popping up all over the place this summer in the United States. While recently enjoying a meal at Boom Noodle, I spotted yet another QR Code and great mobile call-to-action on a small black flyer.
Flyer with QR Code for Boom Noodle
The idea here is that while customers like me are eating, we can scan the QR Code with our mobile device and get taken to Boom Noodle’s Facebook page, where, if we “like” them, we’ll get a discount. That’s REAL MONEY saved by interactions with mobile and social networking, and I imagine that people will love this.
Overall, this is a fantastic idea and excellent mobile use case. However, there’s a few kinks and oversights that will make this campaign much less successful than it should have been.
Only One Way To Go
First of all, the only road to the Boom Noodle Facebook page on this flyer is through the QR code. This is quite limiting because it takes a smartphone to run QR code scanning apps, and despite all the new smartphones being activated everyday, only about 35% of adults in the US have a smartphone. This means that 65% of adults can’t do anything with this flyer.
Solution
Offer a couple more ways to get there. The Facebook page should actually be spelled out somewhere on the handout, which would allow people to get there on any web-enabled mobile device, and even on a computer. (Right now, to get there on a computer I log into Facebook, search for Boom Noodle, and get presented with 4 Boom Noodles in my area, two Boom Noodle pages, and two people apparently named “Boom Noodle.”)
However, typing in URLs has never been a favorable task for mobile users. The QR Code could also be paired with a texting call-to-action (e.g. Text BOOM to 53000) which would allow any phone with SMS (nearly 100% of them) to receive the link in a response message. Even better, at this point Boom Noodle could allow customers to opt-in for periodic Boom news or Boom deals via text message.
Mobile Optimization Please!
Those that do scan the QR Code will be disappointed to find that they are taken to the desktop version of Boom Noodle’s Facebook page. This is not a good experience. Since they scanned it from a mobile device, they should be served content designed for a mobile device, not a computer.
Solution
Facebook is mostly at fault here because they’re supposed to recognize a mobile device and serve it a mobile-optimized experience. Nevertheless, Boom Noodle’s marketing people should have tested on a mobile phone and been unhappy about the Facebook’s lack of mobile detection. Then, with a bit of luck and determination, Boom Noodle would have discovered that their mobile-friendly webpage is found simply by changing www to m (for mobile).
Tags: cell phone, Mobile Marketing, mobile phone, QR code
Video Review: REI’s Store Locator
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Read our written mobile reivew review on REI’s mobile store locator.
Learn more about mobile marketing.
Tags: cell phone, GPS, LBS, location, location-based services, Mobile Marketing, mobile phone, QR code, REI
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