The majority of phones are already NFC-enabled and allow for such interactions. The issue comes with mobile giant, Apple. Apple’s most recent devices are NFC-enabled, however they limit usage to just Apple Pay. It is possible they will soon open up usage of NFC for developers, but for now we will have to wait.
What makes NFC so enticing to use is not only its ease of use but also the wide variety of interactions that can be programmed. Linking to URLs, opening applications, sending SMS messages and composing tweets are just a few of the many possible programmable engagements. One of the earliest uses of NFC in advertising was done by Lexus in 2012. The company had an NFC-enabled advertisement published in Wired magazine. The ad instructed you to place your phone on the page in which you were then linked to a video. Your phone acted as the media center in the dash of the car. Users could push buttons on the simulated media center for further information.
In my Masters of Digital Media at Ryerson University, I had the opportunity to work with Corby Spirit and Wine Ltd. to develop an NFC-enabled campaign with one of the brands from their portfolio, Lamb’s Rum. The goal of this campaign was to engage with the St. John’s, Newfoundland audience and drive traffic to Lamb’s new website and social media during the George Street Festival.
What we created was an interactive beverage coaster that would be distributed to bars and restaurants along George Street. This festival is one of the busiest times of the year for George Street; a street featuring 21 bars and restaurants making it the street with the most bars and restaurants per square foot in North America. During the festival it is not uncommon to see an influx of over 40,000 visitors.
Featured were three different beverage coasters, each targeting small problems one may encounter when visiting a bar or restaurant. Problem one targeted parties of two. The coaster featured the bold text of “Friend Leave you for the Bathroom?” followed by large icon indicating that the coaster is NFC enabled and encourages users to tap their mobile device to the coaster. If the person was to tap their phone to this coaster it would quickly link them to a Lamb’s branded puzzle to play to pass the time. Upon completion of the puzzle the user would be linked to Lamb’s website to learn more about the brand.
Coaster two targeted those having difficulties deciding on what to drink. The coaster posed the question of “What Should I Drink?” again followed by the NFC icon. This coaster would link those who tapped to a drink recommendation that featured Lamb’s Rum. The coaster would link to one of ten different drinks, showing a picture of the drink and the ingredients used.
The last coaster encouraged social media engagement. Popular in St. John’s is the hashtag and saying, #LargeTimes. This coaster featured the text of “Having #LargeTimes? Share a photo with us” Upon tapping the user would linked to Lamb’s twitter page where they could quickly tweet a photo of themselves to Lamb’s.
The interactive coasters have just launched at George St. and in a future article we hope to reflect on the project to further gauge where NFC sits as an advertising tool. The success of each of the coasters created can be measured using metrics such as number of visits and interactions with the campaign. Thus NFC represents another example of a technology that makes print measurable. Being an embedded chip technology, it is more expensive to launch this type of campaign over a passive coaster with no interaction. Therefore, the ability to track and measure the results is significant. Additionally, in this example the purpose of the chip is to move people to a digital interaction (like commenting on social media). With NFC not requiring any apps or other downloads, this is a simple method of extending the brand experience into people’s mobile devices, where we increasingly spend more of our time.
