How the Wolf Met the Swan

It was a Tuesday afternoon and the Swan was headed into town in order to pick up a fresh loaf of bread from the Farmers Market.  She weaved throughout the busy bustle crowded amongst the edges of the narrow street, lined up and down with local shop keepers trying to bargain with potential customers.  The Swan was in a particular hurry that day. She had to be back home within the hour in order to prepare a meal for her mother and father.  You see, her father, the Head Goose within the town's District of Authorities, had received a special accolade that week.  He was being nominated for Man of the year, and the recent buzz on the grape-vine had everyone believing he was a sure thing.   

As the Swan continued to head toward the market, lost in thought regarding all of the things she had to prepare for that night, she clumsily bumped into a stranger, causing both to fall over.  "Oh lord, I'm so sorry," she said.  "I'm afraid I've let my thoughts get the best of me today."  The stranger, wrapped in a thick, dark cloak, hiding all features except the deep glare of a set of eyes gazing back at the swan.  "It's fine," replied a ruffled, almost growl like, masculine voice.  "Apologies are not in order, but appreciated, for I fear I as well was lost in thought."

At this point, the stranger slowly revealed their face, pulling their cloak down, and to the shock of the Swan, exposing a young Wolf, not but what appeared to be only a few years older than herself. Now, the Swan had met a few Wolves before in her past, but her father always warned her about them. He said that Wolves were of a different time.  That they still lived within a lifestyle of the old days, thriving off of the thrill from hunting and gathering in the wild.  "They're beasts!" he would tell her. "Nothing but feral beasts. If you don't pay attention to where they're at when they're around, you might as well coat yourself up in butter and serve yourself for dinner!" 

To be continued...

QR CODES: Scanners Beware

When working on your company's IMC plan, it is important to incorporate methods that are unique to the various traditional and non-traditional marketing channels you will utilize.  For planning promotional and targeted marketing activities over the web, or more specifically, smart phone platform channel, the infamous QR code can be a great asset, if used properly.

The first step in properly identifying if the QR code will create value for your branding mission, is to identify who your consumers are and what they do with their technology.  Personally, I've never really used a QR scanner until recent events demanded I did, but if I ever strolled through a magazine, or saw a flier on campus with a code, I never bothered looking it up.  But, this is me.  

A lot of marketers will make the claim that the QR code, "Is Dead!"  Let's see if statistics can uncover some information regarding this statement.  According to this data site, a 38% jump in QR code scanning occurred between Q1 of 2012 and Q1 of 2013.   But, evidence also shows that this is merely reflective of the proportional increase of smart phone usage within the United States market.  In fact, further evidence shows that the scanning of QR scans has virtually stalled.

So, what this does tell me? There's absolutely no harm in incorporating a QR code.  It's virtually free (in fact, many sites make it free), and can be a nice addition to an ad that will increase interaction for certain individuals. Still, I wouldn't rely on the QR code as being the crucial aspect to the promotion itself.  This could potentially alienate certain consumers since many no longer enjoy the novelty of the scanner itself, essentially limiting your reach to your target market.

I like to think that a QR code can hold a certain amount of mystery. What does it lead to?  Should I scan it and "stumble down the rabbit hole." Well, for the sake of the QR code below, I'll give you fair warning.  Once you open this door, it can never be shut.  For it is merely the tip of the ice-burg of something so much greater, something that has lurked behind the shadows of humanity since our very creation; pulling the strings, making empires rise and fall.  Beware, reader.  But, if you wish to know more, keep posted.