The NBA… Taking a Shot with QR Codes

By Barb Pellow, InfoTrends

Introduction

With the increased focus on interactivity and multi-channel communications, marketers want to integrate online, mobile, and printed media to enable cohesive and unified marketing. Last week, I interviewed Val DiGiacinto (Vice President of Sales and a Partner from The Ace Group) and Jeremy B. Edelman (Senior Coordinator of Retail Marketing for the NBA). DiGiacinto described how he convinced the NBA that it was time to “take a shot” at experimenting with QR codes.

Ace Group, Inc. (New York, NY) has become an industry leading marketing and print solutions provider. The company’s marketing solutions include innovative tools such as quick response (QR) codes, personalized URLs (pURLs), online collateral management systems (CMS), Web-to-print, distribute and print, interactive advertising, and 1:1 marketing.

According to DiGiacinto, “Marketing in the 21st century is all about looking at trends and staying ahead of the curve. QR codes are one of the newest trends in the United States, and we realize that they can help drive demand in real-time for our customers by blending mobile and print technologies.”

Preloaded QR Readers – Driving the Market

For those who are not yet unfamiliar, QR codes are high-density barcodes that are readable by cell phones and simple PC cams. Recipients can quickly and easily interact with the QR-enabled documents they receive. By simply pointing a camera at the QR symbol, the user is instantly connected to a QR-encoded Web page without ever having to remember or type in numbers and promotional codes.

Preloaded QR readers are one of the most critical enablers for driving the market today. Since over 80% of all handsets sold in North America currently have a camera, preloading QR readers on phones makes a lot of sense for manufacturers and carriers. These readers can add a tremendous utility to a phone. The Apple 3G iPhone and the HTC/Google G1 handsets both support QR code readers. BlackBerry is now shipping its mobile phones with a QR reader preloaded in Messenger 5.0. Meanwhile, handset vendors like LG, Nokia, Sony-Ericsson, and Samsung have all announced plans to preload various third-party QR readers and are already doing so on select phones.

QR Codes and the NBA

Val DiGiacinto from The Ace Group discussed QR code technology with Jeremy Edelman from the NBA. Edelman stated, “The NBA is always seeking creative ways to leverage technology to drive sales of retail merchandise.” The NBA reaches fans and consumers worldwide through the licensing and marketing of consumer products bearing the league’s trademarks and player attributes. Over 200 licensees manufacture, sell, and market NBA-branded products, which are promoted worldwide and sold in more than 100,000 retail locations in 100 countries. Major categories include video games, apparel, footwear, sporting goods, and trading cards. There is an NBA Store on 5th Avenue in NYC that features multimedia attractions, a broadcast booth, and an official half-court used for special events and appearances by players, legends, and celebrities. More than one million fans visit the NBA Store each year. In addition, www.NBAStore.com is the online destination for NBA fans around the world seeking exclusive team merchandise, memorabilia, and unique gifts of every NBA, WNBA, and NBA D-League team. NBAStore.com has over 10 million visits each year.

The Campaign

Edelman decided to test the impact of QR codes during this year’s All-Star Game. The 100,000 fans in attendance were invited to scan the QR code that was displayed on the 3,500+ HDTV screens on the main concourse level of the stadium after the first quarter, during halftime, and after the third quarter.

Figure 1: QR Code for NBA All-Star Game

Once an attendee scanned the QR code, a coupon was sent to his/her phone to receive a free All-Star gift at the main team store in the stadium. The NBA exceeded its goals for this campaign and distributed all of the free gifts available. This campaign was completed within a 6- hour period. According to Edelman, “This was our first QR code campaign and it was a success for the NBA. While there were no direct sales tied to the campaign, more than 10% of the attendees actually pointed and clicked on the QR code.” This provided a strong indication that people were willing to blend and leverage signage in combination with mobile technology.

Edelman indicated that there is still a requirement to build awareness of this technology. He said, “Our greatest implementation challenges were convincing our people to embrace the program and working internally with IT to develop the e-mail portion of the program. For other marketers that are using a QR code program, I would recommend explaining to your end-user—as clearly and precisely as possible—how the program will work. Make sure that all touchpoints of the program are very clear and easy to understand.”

The Bottom Line

Sports merchandise sales are time- and event-sensitive. While there are a number of technologies available (including text messaging, short message codes, and pURLs), these technologies lack a quick, precise, elegant encoding system to efficiently transport the recipient from paper to online when actually placing an order. As I listened to Edelman’s story, I had visions of signs surrounding all the NBA playoff games where fans could point their cell phones at QR codes and place orders for merchandise while standing in line. I saw Sports Illustrated advertisements with “game times” that contained QR codes so people could order their favorite jersey ahead of time and wear it while watching the game. I believe that the NBA All-Star program underscores the importance of going offline and getting the NBA brand in front of the consumers on the street. This project illustrated the importance of technology that reaches consumers via mobile devices combined with signage, packaging, interactive magazines/newspapers/catalogs, and direct mail.