Taco Bell and MTV have teamed up to help promote this year’s MTV Video Music Awards with the help of ScanLife. The fast food chain has placed QR Codes on all of their “Big Box Remixed” packages and large cups. The codes deliver all kinds of VMA content to users including teasers, sneak peeks, artist interviews and performance footage.

Even better, the content changes on a weekly basis, so users can expect to receive a different experience for scanning throughout the six week campaign. The scan rates are already into the six-figure digits, and you can find out more about it from their website.  Don’t have an app?  You can even use our Scan and Send service by just snapping a photo of the QR Code and texting it to 43588.

They did a great job with explaining how it all works, so check it out, and head out to your nearest Taco Bell and join in on the fun!

Frito Lay just launched a brand new program to get people using their products in a whole new way – by scanning the bag!  All you need to do is pick up a current bag of Lay’s Original, Sunchips, or Tostito’s Scoops, open up the ScanLife app, and scan the UPC code right on the back of the package.

After you scan, you can learn more about “Our Promise” from Frito Lay which is “the belief that all can benefit from doing good.”  The barcode will show a video of how the potatoes are grown by local farmers to how the chips are made in an all natural ways.  It will also give you some great recipes to try at home.

Many of our customers use a QR Code to take people to this kind of content, but you can’t forget that 1/3 of our scans come from UPC codes, and it is already on millions of products so you don’t have to change a thing.  They are also doing a great job by sharing this new feature through their social networks, and it doesn’t hurt to have 2.1 million fans!

Don’t forget that you have to have the ScanLife app with any AF phone like iPhone 3GS and above, any Android, and most newer BlackBerry’s – pretty much this describes a majority of our users.  Just go to getscanlife.com from your device if you don’t have the app already.

Happy scanning – and snacking!!

ScanLife has just released it’s third edition of the Mobile Barcode Trend Report which looks at data and analysis from UPC and 2D barcode scanning aggregated across 30 countries around the world. This data includes scans from both the ScanLife app and other 3rd party apps.

Below is an infographic with some highlights from the report.  Download the complete PDF to see why people like Coca-Cola and George Bush!

Here are some of the newest 2D barcode campaign examples from March.

This Month’s Key Campaigns:

• The Home Depot – Martha Stewart Collection
• Bloomingdale’s – Scan to Win integrated promotion
• Banana Republic – Spring Collection video
• Bravo TV – “Late Night” video
• Miller Lite – SXSW Sweepstakes
• Georgio Armani – Unicef TAP Project

We often get asked if people are actually interested in this whole barcode scanning thing. Before we launched ScanLife in 2008, we wanted to know ourselves so we conducted a survey with over a 1,000 people. Results showed us that if we build it, they will come.

Three years later we now see millions of scans a month and over 20% of the Fortune 50 are using 2D codes in one way or another. But, people still want to know if the general public wants to use mobile barcodes. While we publish our quarterly Mobile Barcode Trend Report showing huge growth, we are thankful for other surveys which have been done recently to confirm these trends.

We wanted to keep a running list here of helpful reports on this topic. If you know of any others, please leave us a comment below, and we will add it to the official list.

18% of scanners make a purchase, and 50% of Smartphone users have scanned a code in the US [12.11]

Compete Smartphone Intelligence Survey

CMB Consumer Pulse – How Smartphones Are Changing the Retail Experience

MGH – 72 percent of smartphone users indicated that they would be likely to recall an ad with a QR code

Stores must reach out and touch more mobile users

Last month’s key examples include campaigns/projects from:

• Target (magazine ads linking to home design videos)
• Banana Republic (direct mail linking to exclusive video)
• Geico (direct mail linking to an insurance request)
• Panasonic (hangtags on products)
• Maxim Magazine (editorial and advertising)
• Metro Newspaper UK (linking to editorial content and promotions)

You can download the PDF here.

As we move into a new year, we wanted to reflect on a pretty amazing 2010, so we just released a year-end Mobile Barcode Trend Report . When we launched ScanLife in Beta in 2008, it was a time when “Droid” was just something from a sci-fi movie and camera phones were meant for throwaway snapshots.  To say things have changed is an understatement.

In 2010, ScanLife saw over 1600% growth in mobile barcode traffic.  That doubled in the fourth quarter alone!  A year ago, ScanLife couldn’t even read UPC codes, and now it is more than half our traffic offering content ranging from local prices to coupons to nutritional information.

Some other highlights from the report:

• The largest scan days of the year for us were the day after Thanksgiving (“Black Friday”) and Christmas Day (as people received gifts, many being new Smartphones)
• The top most used features for people scanning UPC codes are Coupons, Prices, and Nutritional Info.  This reflects previous learning that Food and Personal Care are the most scanned categories.
• There was a 13% increase in female to male traffic, and a 25% increase in the 25-54 age group.  This is likely indicative of how the technology is evolving, and going more mainstream.

We truly appreciate the support of all our users and customers, and can’t wait to make 2011 the year mobile barcodes go completely mainstream.

You can download the full report here.

Every month, we will upload a recap of the most recent new activity.  This will cover marketing campaigns, media usage, or other projects using ScanLife.

This month’s highlights include:

• Gap (direct mail and in-store)
• Oprah Magazine
• Arizona Diamondbacks
• Restore the Gulf
• Verizon

You can download the PDF here.

It’s been awhile since we did a basic 101 post, so we thought we would take a look at how retailers can use barcodes (both 2D and 1D) to help give shoppers valuable content.  After all, the holidays are right around the corner!  Check out this recent report from Sterling Commerce which has some pretty amazing numbers, including 25% of people are already using their phones to price compare (with ScanLife and other apps).

Why Should a Retailer Use ScanLife?

1. Give shoppers deeper information, without needing to leave the store or spend time away from the shopping experience.
2. Provide cross-sell opportunities by matching products, linking to online inventory information, or linking to online communities to get friend recos.  60% of people want inventory info in the store.
   
3. Existing UPC codes on products or hang tags can be registered to link to specific content without needing to print new material

How are Codes Being Used in Retail?

There are a number of ways this technology has been used and can be used.  Here are a few, but the options are virtually endless!

• Drive shoppers to retail from outside marketing like print, direct mail, etc. Consumer can view closest store locations and current sales.
• Codes are placed in storefront windows that enable potential shoppers to purchase an item on their mobile device when the store is closed, or enter the store with a discount offer.  See the Norma Kamali campaign as a great example.
• Codes placed at the point of sale that show complimentary products or demo videos of how the product can be used or worn.
• Link the customer to view alternative size or colors, and order online if it is not available in store.
• Offer a discount for an item which can be redeemed at check out (if capable) or by email rebate.
• “Lotto” codes that offer shoppers the chance to win a product instantly. See the Norma Kamali campaign as a great example.
• Check in by scanning a code that links to Foursquare for exclusive offers which other visitors can’s see.

You can download a White Paper on this topic here, and feel free to add your retail ideas below!

We told you a couple months ago that Verizon has integrated codes into their new Droid Does campaign which touts a wide variety of Android apps for any occasion.   The QR Codes have been placed on print ads, store displays, websites, and even iPad ads.  And guess what, they got scanned – over 150,000 200,000 times!! (as of 8/15/10)

You can view a full case study right here.  Bottom line is that this is the most widely scanned 2D barcode campaign we have ever seen in the US, and it’s still going full force…