Mall of America uses QR dayparting
Timeboxing automatically varies the QR ‘content’ for every hour a promotion runs. The mall used it for its recent Black Friday ‘Snap + Win’ traffic-driving promotion, where participants won prizes ranging from $25 gift certificates to three $1,000 shopping sprees.
US mobile marketing specialist, MixMobi, developed the promotion for Mall of America, and says that Timeboxing can be used for managing and measuring QR code response for long-term promotions as well as varying content by daypart, day of week, or to coordinate with other marketing.
The Mall of America Snap+Win event involved three groups of 100 pre-selected shoppers having to use their mobiles to snap QR codes embedded in a giant MOA logo on the floor of the Mall’s central Rotunda. The QR codes took the shoppers to a website which revealed what they had won.
Maureen Bausch, executive vice president of business development at Mall of America, says the event combined “the excitement of a giveaway with emerging technology. QR codes are gaining momentum with the general public, but many still don’t understand the purpose or usability of them. Snap+Win is a fun event that is allowing us to teach the consumer more about QR codes.”
Mall of America is also offering guests the chance to snap a QR code to win $1,000 shopping spree from Black Friday through to December 23 2011. Holiday Snap+Win codes will be placed on food court tables, digital signage and on the back of guest service staff t-shirts. Shoppers will use smartphones to snap tags and enter through an electronic entry form. The winner will be drawn and notified on Christmas Eve.
Black Friday is the first shopping day after America’s Thanksgiving holiday, and has become the biggest shopping day of the year in the US. Retailers across the US run major Black Friday promotions. Black Friday is also increasingly featuring in other countries such as the UK and Australia, imported by online retailers like Amazon.