SnapTell Blog

SnapTell Coverage In The New York Times

The New York Times recently wrote about SnapTell's mobile marketing platform Snap.Send.Get and how it is being utilized by advertisers in Rolling Stone and Men's Health magazines.

Snipped from the article, which is titled Take a Picture of an Ad, Earn a Reward:

Rolling Stone and Men’s Health are both testing programs in which readers can take cameraphone pictures of icons on ads, then send them to a certain number. In exchange, they’ll receive more information or an offer from the advertiser.

In Rolling Stone’s current issue, five advertisers are running these offers. They include a motorcycle ring tone for Allstate’s motorcycle-insurance program and a video preview of The Discovery Channel’s new season of “Man vs. Wild.”

Men’s Health is going even further, saying each full-page advertisement in its July-August issue will have the added feature.

An image-recognition company called SnapTell is behind both magazines’ efforts. Technology from the company, based in Palo Alto, Calif., can differentiate the icon on one advertisement from that on another and text back the appropriate offer.

For the magazines, it’s a way to make print products interactive.

“We’ve got a product made of paper and ink sent out every two weeks,” said Ray Chelstowski, the publisher of Rolling Stone. “We’re always in the market to find other ways that we can work with our advertisers in providing empirical data in showing how readers engage and interact with our ads.”

Snap Up the May Issue Of Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone's May issue "The Best Of Rock 2008" features the "125+ People, Places and Things Ruling the Rock and Roll Universe" plus SnapTell-enabled print advertisements.

Readers of the magazine can use their camera phones to snap a picture of any SnapTell-enabled ad that interests them, send the picture to SnapTell, and get special promotional offers and/or content such as free ringtones, wallpapers, and video clips from the selected advertiser/s, which include Allstate, Canadian Club, DiGiorno For One, Discovery Channel and Edge.

And everyone who snaps a picture of any of the SnapTell-enabled ads in the magazine is automatically entered to win a trip for two to an upcoming Rolling Stone Live event ... plus $500 cash.You only receive the information that you request, so grab the May issue of Rolling Stone and start snapping!

Readers of the magazine aren't the only ones to benefit, of course. SnapTell's "Snap.Send.Get" mobile marking solution transforms static print ads into a measurable, two-way communication tool for brand owners. For more information on our Snap.Send. Get mobile marketing platform, please see our website or contact us at [email protected].

SnapTell is Officially Cool

We're pleased and proud to announce that SnapTell is one of Gartner's 2008 "Cool Vendors in Retail."

According to Gartner research, mobile phones are poised to become a more important part of the multichannel shopping experience and SnapTell's Snap.Send.Get solution is paving the way for marketers to utilize the mobile channel more effectively.

This year's Cool Vendors report was designed to highlight interesting, new and innovative vendors, products and services. The research highlighted four emerging companies whose technologies may deliver the next breakthroughs in shopping and customer experience in the store.

Key findings of the report included how consumers can use a mobile phone to snap a picture of an advertisement or product packaging, send it using MMS, and receive back product information or offers.

The Gartner report also listed recommendations and explained how to leverage new retail channels created by technologies, such as mobile, as an interaction channel first and a sales channel second. Gartner surveys show that consumers value the new channels for increased multichannel shopping ease.

It is always nice to be recognized by experts within your industry, especially the thought leaders at Gartner. We are very proud of our Snap.Send.Get mobile marketing solution and are very grateful for all of the praise Snap.Send.Get and SnapTell have received.

SnapTell: Making The Physical World Interactive

According to a story on mobile marketing being carried on the Dow Jones Newswire, which appeared on CNNMoney.com, more ads will be coming soon to a cellphone near you.

Snipped from the article:

Companies are better at taking advantage of the personal nature of the handset to provide customized ads. Consumers, meanwhile, appear more tolerant to ads than previously thought. And further acceptance could ultimately lead to the rise of ad-supported services and a shift in business models.

"We're growing, and we're growing quickly," said Laura Marriott, global president of trade group Mobile Marketing Association, of mobile ads. "Brands are spending more because mobile allows for dialogue."

  On a worldwide basis, mobile advertising is expected to generate $2.7 billion in revenue this year, up from $1.7 billion a year ago, according to Gartner Inc.

And on a more personal note, the article quoted SnapTell CTO G.D. Ramkumar:

SnapTell Inc., a privately held company based in Palo Alto, Calif., is banking that consumers will proactively research brands. The company hopes they will do so by snapping shots of billboard and magazine ads with their cellphones and sending them off via media messaging in exchange for information, coupons and other promotions.

"We make physical world interactive via camera phone and image recognition," said G.D. Ramkumar, co-founder and chief technology officer of SnapTell.

(SnapTell's Snap. Send.Get) service doesn't require additional infrastructure or software - the consumer only needs to send the picture to the messaging short code placed on the magazine ad or billboard poster. Likewise, the consumers don't need to download any programs for their phones - the image recognition process occurs in the central database.

At the show, SnapTell said it would run a camera phone-based movie campaign to promote the film "Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?" later this month."

Multi-City Mobile Scavenger Hunt!

 

SnapTell is partnering with the Weinstein Company to support the release of Morgan Spurlock’s highly anticipated documentary “Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?”

The centerpiece of the initiative is a two-week scavenger hunt contest in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington D.C., challenging movie lovers to search their local supermarkets, colleges, high-schools, bars, nightclubs, newspapers and other destinations to find, photograph and email photos of strategically placed “Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?” branded reward flyers to a special address.

Street-teams will create and locally distribute multiple branded reward flyers featuring contest information and unique stills from the upcoming film. With help from local radio stations, contest participants will search around their towns and cities to snap a photo of any of these images in the two week contest period from their camera phones and send the photo to an email address that will be clearly marked on the flyers between 4/7 and 4/18.

Utilizing image recognition based mobile marketing technology from SnapTell, each picture will then be verified and the participants will receive a message back confirming their entry into the contest and a link to exclusive content from the film. People will also be able to participate by following clues in promotional ads in local newspapers.The contest will run from 12 am on Monday, April 7th through11:59 pm on the film's opening day, Friday, April 18th.

In “Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?” Oscar nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock takes on a franchise even more lethal than McDonald’s - Al Qaeda. And after this real life action thriller is over, the world may never be the same.

Following bin Laden’s trail through some of the most dangerous places in the world, Spurlock encounters both the rational and radical faces of the Middle East. In a world where we are constantly being told that we’re on the verge of the ultimate showdown between good and evil, Spurlock risks life and limb to uncover the truth about Osama bin Laden. But along the way, he discovers the lines that divide us aren’t nearly as black and white as they may seem.

“Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?” builds off the Weinsteins' success bringing documentary films to wide audiences including “Fahrenheit 9/11,” the highest grossing documentary of all time and “SiCKO,” the third highest grossing documentary of all time.

SnapTell -- Best New Company!

We're very pleased and proud to announce that SnapTell has won the Andrew Seybold Choice Award for Best New Company

The Andrew Seybold Choice Awards were created to honor the most innovative wireless mobility products and concepts and their positive impact in the world of wireless mobility connectivity.

“This year we received an overwhelming number of entries for our Choice Awards,” said Andrew Seybold, President and CEO of Andrew Seybold, Inc. ”We judged the products and services for their impact on the wireless market, how they embrace new, innovative technologies, their ease of use and how they simplify the user experience. The Winners are to be congratulated for their dedication to our industry.” 

Snaptell Teams With Buongiorno

SnapTell is teaming up with Buongiorno, who will offer SnapTell's Snap.Send.Get mobile marketing solution to its customers worldwide. The Snap.Send.Get solution from SnapTell allows marketers to enhance their mobile marketing campaigns with image-based audience interactions.

Buongiorno has already started creating and deploying innovative mobile marketing solutions for its customers using the Snap.Send.Get solution. The combination of SnapTell image-based mobile technology and Buongiorno's services for mobile content distribution offers international mobile marketers the ability to engage consumers in an array of fun, interactive opt-in mobile marketing campaigns and services.

"SnapTell allows for our clients to utilize an innovative and cutting edge mobile marketing technology that allows consumers to easily access information and content on their mobile phones," said Carsten Boers, President, Buongiorno Marketing Services, Inc. "We are excited to add SnapTell's solution to our arsenal of services for our clients."

SnapTell has gone through great lengths to eliminate the barriers associated with barcodes and mobile software downloads to bring image recognition technology into the mobile marketing space. The SnapTell Snap.Send.Get solution is a highly customizable and integrated mobile marketing solution that marketers can deploy quickly and effectively. This end-to-end solution gives marketers the ability to reach consumers and create a lasting brand relationship with them not just impressions.