Unilever rolled out a multichannel marketing campaign featuring mobile to promote the launch of the newest addition to the Axe fragrance portfolio, Axe Twist.

Jagtag is powering the mobile 2D bar codes for Unilever?s men?s grooming brand Axe. The two companies claim that this collaboration for the Axe Twist campaign marks the largest multichannel advertising program in the United States market using mobile 2D bar codes.

?2D bar codes are a great way to instantly connect a brand with a mobile consumer,? said Neil Strother, Kirkland, WA-based practice director of ABI Research. ?One caution is that the technology has to work well and you have to quickly educate the consumer how to use it.?

Axe is a personal care brand targeting males. The Unilever-manufactured brand is available in a line of deodorant body-sprays, deodorant and antiperspirant sticks, shower gels and hair care products.

Jagtag delivers multimedia to both smartphones and standard phones without requiring the consumer to download an application prior to use.

Anywhere mobile consumers encounter a Jagtag 2D bar code, they can use their phone to request and immediately receive multimedia content?video, audio, pictures, coupons and text?sent to their phone via MMS.

Axe and ye shall receive mobile content
Unilever integrated a mobile component into the campaign because it knows that for Axe to stay relevant to the brand?s target guy, it needs to constantly innovate and find new ways and channels to entertain him where he lives, works and plays.

Jagtag mobile bar codes appear in Axe Twist marketing efforts promoting exclusive content from the Axe Twisted Humor Tour, presented by Funny or Die and at college campuses.

To reach the Axe target demographic, males 18-24 years of age, Jagtag mobile bar codes are being featured across multiple media channels, including print inserts within nine national men?s magazines such as GQ, Maxim and Men?s Fitness, in sample packs distributed at college campuses, in hand-outs and signage within movie theatres and at Six Flags theme parks nationwide.

Here is an example:

With bar codes featured alongside Axe Twist product samples and promotional materials, consumers can snap a photo of the Jagtags and receive exclusive videos featuring comedians from the Axe Twisted Humor Tour.

The following is a sample call-to-action:

?Take a pic! Laugh your off!

?Verizon and AT&T: Send picture [of the 2D bar code] to 524824. All others text or email picture to "

Users can also click through to the http://www.funnyordie.com/axe site for additional content and tour information.

The Jagtag execution for Axe Twist will run through the end of the month.

Jagtag's ability to deliver on-demand mobile video to all standard phones and smartphones exponentially increases the number of people Axe will reach, especially since only 23 percent of males ages 18-24 own a smartphone.

?Essentially 2D bar codes are a way of enhancing your existing marketing channels, whether it?s print, poster or on-packaging,? Mr. Strother said. ?It has to be executed well.

?There are a few moving parts to educate your audience how to use it and [in most cases] consumers have to have the correct software on their phone, so there are hurdles,? he said.

Mr. Strother has a point here. However, with Jagtag technology, these hurdles have been removed as all the consumer needs to instantly engage the brand is a phone with a camera.

Connecting the dots with mobile
Mobile Marketer's Dan Butcher interviewed Dudley Fitzpatrick, founder and chief innovation officer of Jagtag, New York. Here is what he had to say:

What challenges can 2D bar codes address for advertisers such as Axe?
This campaign is a tremendous illustration of how Jagtag can leverage a brand's existing marketing efforts to increase the value of assets it has invested in and developed over time.

Axe has long been recognized as an innovator in digital media. Its target consumers have grown to expect and look forward to high-impact, comedic entertainment from the brand.

Transforming their magazine inserts, in-theatre posters, product samples and on-campus materials  into on-demand, interactive media channels to immediately promote and share content from the Axe Twisted Humor Tour was a natural way to enhance the deep connection between a demanding young audience and the brand.

The partnership with Funny or Die, the produced comedy videos, the on-campus marketing, the sampling handouts and the online assets were all existing and valuable brand marketing assets.

Our program was simply designed to connect these assets via the mobile device and increase their ROI on these investments.

Why are 2D bar codes particularly appropriate for Axe?s target demographic?
Jagtag was particularly appropriate for Axe's target demographic due to our unique ability to engage and share Axe comedy videos directly with all smartphone owners, as well as the other 75 percent of mobile consumers who still own a feature phone or don't have access to the mobile Web.

Taking and sending pictures is a mass habitual and social behavior of the Axe target audience.

With Jagtag, their consumers can instantly engage the brand without the barriers of adopting new behaviors or new technology or downloading a new application.

Every camera phone on every carrier network works instantly, which is of great value to brands like Axe with mass consumer appeal.

After scanning the bar code, are users redirected to a mobile Web site or campaign landing page?
Yes. The video has an end-slate with the Axe Twisted Humor Tour URL so that standard phone owners can visit the online site, while smartphone users receive a mobile Web link to the site along with the video.