Several start-ups in the US have been working on helping advertisers integrate their traditional advertising such as newspaper, magazine, and billboards. The US start ups have been based on the same model pushed in Britain by News International, publisher of the popular tabloid "The Sun," and that have been very successful in the advertising overload of Japan. The system is based on the use of a Quick Response (QR) code, a 2D barcode. Here in the US consumers want it easier than finding the barcode, and advertisers want to be able to use the system for more than just print media.
So, what if you could just take a picture of an ad? Easier right? As advertisers know, if it isn't easy only the truly motivated will take action, leaving others to forget the ad they saw. So what would be easy enough to bring this type of integrated marketing to the US? AT&T is the first mobile provider to quietly make a deal with Mobot to allow users to send the pictures to Mobot via multimedia message (MMS), Verizon and T-Mobile are expected to follow suit.
Mobot, after using complex image recognition software, will then connect the consumer to digital media supporting whatever was advertised. Mobot CEO Russell Gocht told Marketing Daily at CTIA, "Computer vision has been in the research lab for 30 years. Some of the technology we use has been used for circuit board inspection."
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