mobile action codes in magazine advertising

™
MOBILE ACTION CODES
IN MAGAZINE ADVERTISING
INCLUDING QR CODES AND WATERMARKS
Q1 2012
By Roger Matus, Executive Vice President, Ann Carver, Analyst, and
Maria Tricca, Marketing Manager, Nellymoser, Inc.
P1
The market for mobile action codes in the top 100 U.S. magazines
continued to grow in Q1 2012. Mobile action codes include all 2D
barcodes, QR codes, Microsoft Tags, SnapTags and digital watermarks.
1365 codes were printed
in Q1 2012 versus 352
during the same period
last year.
Every magazine title in our survey, except for one, contained at least
one mobile action code during the period. More than 450 brands ran
at least one advertisement during Q1 that included a code.
As the chart below shows, 1365 codes were printed in Q1 2012 versus
352 during the same period last year. The rate of increase from
January to March was also greater in 2012 than 2011. If the trend
Action Codes By Month
2011
Action Co des
700
681
2012
631
598
600
587
500
507
449
400
300
394
318
370
295
278
200
100
373
170
88
94
Source: Nellymoser
+BOä'FCä.BSä"QSä.BZä+VOä+VMä"VHä4FQä0DUä/PWä%FD
To p 100 M a g a zine s
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Percentage of Ad Pages With An Action Code
A ct i o n C o d es
10
9
8
2011
8.36%
7.42%
7
For the first
time, the
percentage
of magazine
pages
containing an
action code
exceeded 8%
each month
in the quarter.
5.02%
5
3
8.30%
8.05%
7.96%
4.02%
5.16%
5.76%
4.96%
3.55%
Source: Nellymoser
.BSä"QSä.BZä+VOä+VMä"VHä4FQä0DUä/PWä%FDä+BOä'FCä.BS
p 100
continues, the overall adoption To
of mobile
action codes will grow at an even faster
rate during the year.
Action codes are popular with publishers
and advertisers because they offer a
compelling way to activate print with
mobile and social content that engages
readers, builds brand loyalty and captures
new business.
P2
The study is limited to national titles readily
available on newsstands. This eliminated
regional publications and any that require
a membership, such as AARP The Magazine.
For the purposes of this study, we refer to
this list as the Top 100 magazines.
To compile the data, Nellymoser counted
and analyzed every page in the Top 100
magazines. We analyzed 38,719 pages in
Q1, including 15,691 advertising pages.
Nellymoser scanned every QR code,
Microsoft Tag, SpyderLynk SnapTag,
Digimarc watermark and all other codes
with an iPhone or Android phone. We
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Mactivated
a g a z ievery
n e scampaign, ran every video
and visited every web page.
Action Code Growth
Every magazine in our study, except for
Taste of Home, contained at least one code
in Q1. The percentage of magazines with at
least one code is up from 96% in Q4 2011.
To understand how QR codes are being
used in magazine advertising, Nellymoser
surveyed the top 100 U.S. magazines
by circulation. This study includes all
issues dated during Q1 2012 as well as
information from previous Nellymoser
studies of magazines published in 2011.
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8.90%
6.48%
6
4
2012
Overall, the total number of action codes
printed increased to 1365 in Q1 2012 from
352 in the same period of 2011. Periodto-period comparisons are important
to seasonally adjust the data. Some
magazines do not publish a January
issue. Some others create a combined
issue that spans December and January.
(We count combined issues as being in
December. ) In addition, advertising pages
increased around the holiday season in the
magazines that did publish.
The percentage of advertising pages with
an action code may provide the most
accurate measurement of mobile action
code adoption.
For the first time, the percentage of
magazine pages containing an action code
exceeded 8% each month in Q1 2012.
The average and median number of action
codes per issue returned to the levels
found in Q3 2011, when there were no
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Number of Action Codes Per Issue
Q1 2011
2.33
Q2 2011
4.23
Q3 2011
4.83
Q4 2011
6.50
Average number of
codes per issue
Median number of
2
3
4
5
4
codes per issue
Greatest number of
12
29
54
70
32
codes in an issue
Number of action codes per issue for issues that contained at least one action code. Each weekly
issue of a weekly magazine counted as a separate issue.
QR codes
clearly
dominated the
market at more
than 80% of all
action codes.
holiday season promotions. There were
also fewer mega-promotions in Q1 versus
Q4. The greatest number of codes in a
magazine issue during Q1 dropped to 32
from a holiday season high of 70.
All other codes combined had less than
10% share. Digimarc watermarks and
SpyderLynk SnapTags had an impact with
major campaigns with multiple codes in
select issues. For example, 25 Digimarc
watermarks appeared in the February
Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue while 24
SpyderLynk Snaptags appeared in the
March issue of Glamour.
QR Codes Lead Market
QR codes clearly dominated the market
with more than 80% of all codes in the Top
100 magazines during Q1, up from 72% in
Q4. This is a significant change from Q1 of
last year when the market was closely split
between QR codes and Microsoft Tags.
P3
How Action Codes Were Used
In contrast to last year, it is now unusual for
a magazine reader to be sent to a desktop-
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
% of Ac ti o n C o d e s
Action Code Market Share By Month
2011
QR Code
Microsoft Tag
Other
75%
68%
63%
53%
55%
80%
74%
17%
0%
5%
4%
13%
12%
7%
6%
11%
2%
2%
4%
1%
1
Digimarc
5
JagTag
1
1
MSFT Tag
136
176
QR
157
217
29
8
7
14
10
9
10
3
2
3
3
94
88
152
109
145
226
105
72
57
69
279
433
440
502
244
359
493
5
14
1
24
175
202
343
SpyderLynk
7
1
40
WIMO
1
1
2
AR
|
23%
"QSä.BZä+VOä+VMä"VHä4FQä0DUä/PWä%FDä+BOä'FCä.BS
Type of Code
BEE
82%
33%
25%
10
0%
80%
65%
21%
25%
1%
77%
41%
32%
0
2012
55%
46% 45%
20
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Q1 2012
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Uses for Action Codes During Q1
Video:
35%
E-Commerce:
21%
Opt-in/Subscribe/Sweeps:
20%
Social Media:
18%
Store Locator:
11%
Coupon:
8%
Photo Gallery:
7%
Downloads:
7%
Recipes:
2%
Voting:
0%
It is now rare
for a magazine
reader to be sent
to a desktop-style
web site after
scanning a code.
$
$
Source: Nellymoser
NOTE: Columns total more than 100% because each action code may lead to more
than one engagement. For example, it may show a video and then offer to share
the video.
style web site after scanning a code.
Advertisers and editors are creating mobile
experiences designed to engage the reader
while they are reading the magazine.
P4
Video continues to be the top mobile
experience launched by an action code.
E-commerce, sweepstakes and social media
are the next most common uses, with each
being around 20%. The rankings remain
very similar to last quarter:
Engagement
Q4 2011
Q1 2012
Video
44%
35%
Opt-in /
Sweeps
23%
20%
Social Media
16%
18%
E-commerce
19%
21%
Store Locator
11%
11%
Coupon
9%
8%
Photo Gallery
8%
7%
Downloads
5%
7%
Recipes
4%
2%
Voting
0%
0%
Nellymoser scanned every code, activated
each campaign, watched each video and
completed actions requested for the
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mobile campaigns. Our qualitative analysis
is that most action codes were used for one
or more of the following four purposes:
t
Branding and Demonstrations: By
far, the largest usage for action codes
was to showcase a video (35%). These
videos are often created specifically for
mobile use. Examples include:
t A behind-the-scenes look
t A product demonstration
t A how-to video
t An entertaining video
t
Data Capture and List Building (Optins / Subscriptions / Sweepstakes):
Action codes are effective for building
databases because readers can
respond immediately and wherever
they are reading the magazine.
Sweepstakes were, by far, the largest
contributor in this category. While a
sweeps can be run with just one action
code, there is a growing trend towards
sweepstakes that us multiple codes
and span an entire issue with multiple
advertisers and editorial sections
participating.
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“Smart Sweepstakes” are also used
to increase scan rates. After a user
scans and enters information, the
smart sweepstakes retains the user’s
entry data from one scan to the next,
enabling instant entry and reducing
the obstacles to form submission.
t
About 45% of all
action codes used
in magazines
(619) came from
companies in just
four industries:
beauty, health,
home and
fashion.
t
P5
has a social sharing feature. These
were not counted.)
Top Industries and Brands
Commerce (On-line Store, Brickand-Mortar Store Locator / Coupon):
Readers can immediately scan and
act on a desire to purchase. Links to a
corporate e-commerce store led the
category at 21% followed by in-app
store locators at 11%. Some store
locators used the phone’s built-in GPS
to find the nearest location.
Social Media: Action codes were
also used to enable Facebook, Twitter
and to connect to email. In Q1, 18% of
codes enabled readers to share a video
link or product information via social
media. (NOTE: Only social sharing that
was part of the mobile campaign was
included. Some video campaigns led
to a YouTube Channel, which in turn
About 45% of all action codes used in
magazines (619) came from companies in
just four industries: beauty, health, home
and fashion. These were the same top industries as during Q4 2011. We also found
in our Retail Study that companies in these
industries led the action code use in stores.
Specific brands, however, have changed.
None of the top 10 brands during Q1
appeared on the top 10 list in Q4. This
quarter, the top brand was TurboTax tax
preparation software. Perhaps this is not
surprising given that most of their business
is during tax season.
The number two brand was Tyson, which
in one of their campaigns, used QR codes
to directly link to their Facebook page. Q4
leaders L’Oreal and Bose did advertise in
Q1, but did not make the top 10 list.
Top 10 Industries and Brands
A cti on C odes
Action Codes
To p I n d u s t r i e s
3
4
5
7
9
10
|
Health
174
Home
141
Fashion
90
Automotive
81
Financial
63
6
8
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214
To p B r a n d s
2
Beauty
Food/Bev
58
Television
52
Jewlery
52
Pharmaceutical
48
Turbo Tax
2
Tyson
3
O’Keeffe’s Working Hands
4
Pandora
5
Restart Fitness
6
Blue Buffalo
7
It’s a 10 Haircare
8
UPS
9
Swanson
10
Travel
47
1
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21
19
19
18
17
15
15
14
13
Luden’s, Jenny Craig, Miss Me,
Gorilla Glue, Bill Levkov Dresses
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Top Magazines By
Number of Codes Per Issue
Top 10 Magazine Titles
The best way to determine the Top 10
Magazines with action codes is to calculate
them by the number of codes per issue.
This puts weeklies, momthlies and those
that skipped an issue on the same basis.
Ac tion C odes P er Issu e
Action Code Text
In Q1, 64% of all action codes were
accompanied by information that
described what happens after the scan.
This is considered by many to be a best
practice and follows the pattern of many
other calls to action.
P6
InStyle
2
Brides
3
Teen Vogue
4
This Old House
5
Car and Driver
12.0
6
Cooking Light
7
Traditional Home
12.0
Glamour
11.7
äääääääää
As in 2011, the Top 10 Magazines were
primarily women’s magazines and home
magazine titles.
The Top 10
Magazines
were primarily
women’s
magazines and
home magazine
titles
1
8
18.7
17.7
15.0
15.0
12.0
9
Every Day With Rachel Ray
11.5
10
Shape
There is a clear trend moving away from
having other content around the QR code,
which is an indication of wider acceptance.
Only 17% of codes were customized and
only 6% were accompanied by an icon.
Few codes were accompanied by an SMS
campaign.
indicate that a code crossed quadrant
boundaries.
Action Code Page Location
Conclusion and Key Findings
More than 85% of action codes are placed
on the bottom half of the page, the
traditional location for a call to action.
During Q1 2012, Nellymoser reached these
key conclusions based on this study:
The diagram on the next page divides a
magazine page into quadrants and shows
by percentage where the action codes
appeared. Numbers that overlap quadrants
t
11.3 Source: Nellymoser
QR codes and other types of action
codes have become established in
magazine advertising. For five straight
months, 8% to 9% of magazine ad
pages contained a code. This is up
Action Codes In Print
64%
describes destination
17%
are customized
Scan to Shop
6%
have icon
28%
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use color
Go To: ScanNow.mobi
Or text SCAN to 800-555-1234
1.6%
3%
have choice to use SMS
have instructions to get app
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significantly from March 2011, when
3.55% of ad pages contained an action
code.
t
t
More than
85% of action
codes are
placed on the
bottom half of
the page
t
QR codes are the clear market leader.
Digimarc watermarks and SpyderLynk
SnapTags entered the market with large
campaigns in single issues.
t
39.9%
Four types of campaigns dominate the
use of action codes:
0%
1.2%
44.4%
1.8%
Source: Nellymoser, Inc.
Video demonstrations and
branding
in just four industries: beauty, health,
home and fashion.
t
Data capture and list building.
t
Links to e-commerce sites and
store locators for brick-and-mortar
locations.
t
0.2% 8.9%
0.1%
Almost all action code experiences
have been mobile-optimized.
t
P7
2.9%
Social media sharing with links to
Facebook and Twitter.
About 45% of all action codes used in
magazines (619) came from companies
About Nellymoser
Nellymoser, a mobile marketing and
technology company, creates instant,
interactive consumer “engagements” and
rich media apps on mobile devices, such as
tablets and smartphones.
t
More than 85% of action codes are
placed on the bottom half of the page.
Nellymoser intends to update this report
on a regular basis to identify trends.
Get notifications of future updates by
following Nellymoser on Facebook at
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NFC. Nellymoser’s customers include
leading publishers, advertisers, retailers
and consumer packaged goods companies.
Nellymoser was founded in 2000 and is
headquartered in Arlington, MA.
Scan To See Nellymoser In Action:
These engagements and apps range from
contests and product videos to interactive
multimedia engagements that can be
shared on social media (e.g., Facebook,
and Twitter) and include e-commerce for
instant product purchases. Many clients
use Nellymoser for responding to action
codes, such as 2D barcodes, QR codes,
Microsoft Tags, Digimarc watermarks and
Copyright 2012 by Nellymoser, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Not responsible for errors and all information is subject to change without notice. Nellymoser and the Nellymoser logo are
trademarks of Nellymoser, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
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