ARCHIVES: This is legacy content from before Marketing Dive acquired Mobile Marketer in early 2017. Some information, such as publication dates, may not have migrated over. Check out the new Marketing Dive site for the latest marketing news.

Acura taps 2D bar codes to activate print ad campaign

Honda Motor Co. Ltd.?s luxury brand Acura is running print ads featuring 2D bar codes to encourage consumers to engage with the brand across various channels and schedule a test drive.

Acura Mexico partnered with Scanbuy?s Mexico-based division to power the 2D bar code integration. The print ads carrying the mobile bar codes appeared in the Mexico City newspaper Reforma and the Spanish-language edition of GQ.

?At Acura we are always looking for new technologies to get closer to customers and communicate with them new products and concepts,? said Jaime Saenz, marketing coordinator at Acura Mexico, Mexico City.

Bar codes make print ads trackable
The campaign promoted the Acura TL sedan and the MDX SUV.

The print ad campaign featuring the 2D bar codes gave Acura a chance to trace which states interact most with the ads so the company can optimize its media buys.

Scanbuy used a unique code for each ad to make each scan traceable to a specific location.

Based on the number of scans each region-specific ad received, Acura figured out where it should push more ads and where it may continue with the normal amount of ads.

Acura?s target demographic for the campaign was consumers ages 25-40.

Many consumers in that age range read GQ Mexico:

Here is a screen grab of the Acura ad in the Reforma newspaper:

When consumers scan the bar code, they are taken to a mobile landing page at http://acura.mx/tl/scanlife.

Here is a screen grab of Acura's mobile landing page:

The initial campaign was slated for two months, but Acura is considering extending the 2D bar code initiative.

Around 50 percent of the smartphones in Mexico are iPhones.

Here is a breakdown of the types of smartphones that scanned the Acura Mexico bar codes:

?Code technology is growing,? Mr. Saenz said. ?We like to innovate and stay ahead, and this is why we use the codes?it puts us one step forward.?

Final Take
Dan Butcher, associate editor, Mobile Marketer

/>