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3M?s Post-it app creates remote access for business parties

3M is digitizing its strong physical presence with the release of a mobile application, allowing users to capture images of their Post-it notes and share with friends or business colleagues.

By combining physical with digital, 3M responds to a technologically driven world that desires the integration of both as one. Post-its, an office staple for decades, is likely aiming to remain relevant through innovating mobile capabilities.

?With the many ways to collaborate on analog and digital platforms, the Post-it Plus app offers a unique way to capture important thoughts, work sessions, project maps and more on Post-it notes when you need paper, and the ability to share ideas and continue working with others from any device, anywhere, when you need digital,? said Paul Kim, vice president and general manager of stationery and office supplies at 3M, New York. 

?Users benefit from both the flexibility of paper and accessibility of technology with the same simple, intuitive Post-it note experience and now the ability to instantly capture, share, organize and build upon those ideas digitally, eliminating time spent transcribing and keeping team momentum going,? he said.

Written technology
The app allows users to capture up to 50 square Post-it notes at once. Users can organize their notes in their own ways and can group sets of ideas on individual grids. 

Users can also combine their separate boards and collect and combine ideas from multiple uploads. The app supports various Microsoft Office programs including PowerPoint and Excel as well as Dropbox and PDF.

Post-it Plus allows for group collaboration, and users can arrange, add and build on ideas.


Though its collaborative efforts could be matched by Google Docs, Post-its offers a creative and colorful experience for its brand that cannot be remade.

No matter the number of available digital services, consumers are likely to always find a productive use from Post-its. 

Physicality
Brands that are established physically can opt for mobile in a variety of ways to appeal to tech-savvy consumers.

For example, Quaker Oats Company tapped Blippar?s augmented reality capabilities to drive online engagement among its customers.

Located on Quaker Oats packaging, consumers can scan the Quaker man with their smartphone and take a milk mustache selfie to unlock Quaker recipes. By being firmly established in the physical realm, consumer packaged goods companies such as Quaker are tapping technological tools to drive brand awareness and attract Millennials (see story).

Furthermore, Coca-Cola boosted its mobile social community with a new second-screen strategy that integrates the brand?s online marketing with television content for deeper customer insights. 

With the second-screen syncing, users of the SmileWorld application in Spain can now tap on a Coca-Cola logo embedded within content such as a TV show or ad to tag it and get extra features or coupons. A recent update to the photo-sharing app also adds the ability for users to follow their favorite hashtags, geo-locate their photos and videos to specific places and scan bar codes on Coca-Cola products (see story).

Offering a multichannel experience builds a brand?s presence.

?We always start with a consumer behavior in mind and attempt to determine how the brand fits,? Mr. Kim said. ?What we know about the Post-it brand is that our customers appreciate the simple, intuitive nature of our products. 

?When we look at entering the digital world, it is important that the experience remain as simple and intuitive as our customers would expect. While it may seem obvious that a manufacturer of physical notes would simply create a digital version of the same experience, we heard instead that consumers needed a way to continue working with their favorite tools while helping them transition to the digital world in which their teams work everyday. 

?The timing of the Post-it Plus app launch is a result of deeply understanding the needs of our consumers and responding with a uniquely Post-it brand experience. There is also, at this time, a convergence of our understanding of the consumer and the technologies available to help meet their needs.?

Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York