Sears Promotes Toys with QR Codes

Bob Bentz    QR Codes     games, QR Code, Sears, shop, toys

Sears is running an extensive campaign promoting its toys and games this holiday season.  Large displays can be found in several locations within the King of Prussia Mall near Philadelphia.

The idea is for shoppers to scan the QR Codes and then see the toy in action.  Snap. Shop.

Here’s a picture of one of the QR Codes and the toy.

Sears QR Code display at King Of Prussia Mall

Sears QR Code Doll

Philadelphia on a Rainy Day

Bob Bentz    Company News     CBS 3, Kathy Orr, Philadelphia, skyline

The view of downtown Philadelphia from the offices of CBS-3.  This perch is where Kathy Orr does the weather reports with the city skyline in the background.

Philly Skyline from CBS-3.

Online Dating Affiliate Program

Bob Bentz    Dating     affiliate program, Dating, newspaper, radio

Met through MatchLink

Matchlink.com is an online dating affiliate website, powered by Match.com, that connects your listeners to the largest database of online singles in the world. Matchlink.com has a simple, yet effective way to increase your radio station’s monthly revenue at zero cost to you.

Simply place our customized banner on your station’s website, link your listeners to an online
personals database powered by Match.com, and receive ongoing revenue from anyone who becomes a paying member of our service.

How It Works

Matchlink requires virtually no work on your part.

1. We design your custom banner ad that matches the look and feel of your station’s site
2. We build a custom Matchlink landing page that also matches the look and feel of your site
3. Place the banner in a prominent place on your site
4. Run radio commercials or liners for the online dating service.
5. Collect 40% of the gross sales every month

Again, all of this requires no investment from you. Should you prefer to create your own banners, just send them to us when you’re finished for a quick review and then you’ll be ready to get up and running.

Generating Revenue

Once you’ve placed the banner ad on your site, your station generates revenue for each person who becomes a paying member of the Matchlink service. Your station will receive 40% of the ongoing monthly spend per user for as long as they remain on Matchlink. The more people who sign up, the larger the monthly revenue your station will earn.

Some of the ways your station can promote Matchlink:

-Banner ads on your station’s home page.  We can design the size of the ads to fit your needs.

-Sidebar, header, or footer links on your station’s site.

-Links to Matchlink on your Facebook or Twitter page.

-On-air promotion. We will provide you with on-air spots if you need them.

Remember, the more you promote the Matchlink product, the more it benefits your station.

Q&A

Q: How long has your company been involved with this type of service?

A: Spark Network Services and Matchlink have been providing NTR to radio stations via dating since 1993.

Contact

Interested in getting this set up? Contact Scott Bronenberg at 610-994-1850 or scottb@advancedtele.com.

How Mobile Consumers Want to Receive Coupons

Bob Bentz    Mobile Coupons, QR Codes, Text Message Marketing     mobile coupons, QR Codes, text message

While most mobile users still prefer to receive coupons via e-mail, there is a growing trend among consumers that wish to receive mobile coupons via text message or via QR Codes.

46% of consumers in this study have indicated that they have received a text message with a special offer or a mobile coupon.  In addition, 36% have said that they have scanned a QR Code to receive a mobile coupon.

Sweepstakes and Contests Defined

Bob Bentz    900 numbers, Premium SMS     900 number, contests, premium sms, sweepstakes

Sweepstakes and contests have long been a popular method of promotion for brands and products.  Sweepstakes and contests often use 900 number entry or entry via premium SMS.

Sweepstakes and contests are some of the most highly regulated of marketing tactics.  Furthermore, sweepstakes are regulated by a complex set of individual state laws that add to the complexity of the already existing national laws.

If you wish to promote a sweepstakes or contest via 900 number or premium SMS, we encourage you to obtain your own legal opinions.  The following information is supplied solely as a guideline and is not intended to offer legal advice.

Consideration — Although the actual definition of consideration varies widely from state to state, consideration generally means that a willing participant is required to make a purchase or pay for access to be eligible to enter a game.  By using a 900 number or premium SMS, there is an inherent consideration involved.

Sweepstakes — A sweepstakes is a legal game that includes a prize and a game of chance.  No consideration is permitted in a legal sweepstakes.

Contest — A contest is a promotional mechanism that includes a prize and is a game of skill.  Consideration is permitted in a contest, but there can be no element of chance at any point in a contest.

Lottery — A lottery is a game that includes a prize, a game of chance, and a consideration.  Federal legislation and State laws govern all lotteries for promotional purposes.  Therefore, you are not able to run a lottery.

So, you may be wondering, how come I see some sweepstakes that do charge people to enter?  That may very well be the case, but it is likely that the sweepstakes is offering some “Alternative Form of Free Entry.”  In other words, if you wish to run a sweepstakes via a 900 number or premium SMS, like Deal or No Deal did, you need also provide a completely free form of entry whereby the free entrants receive the same opportunity to win the prize as those who have paid for the entry.

Again, if you wish to run any type of sweepstakes or contest, you should not take the content herewith as legal advice, as we are not attorneys.  You should consult your own attorney and get the necessary opinion letters prior to running your program.

A Portrait of a Digital Newspaper Reader

Bob Bentz    Media     digital newspaper, reader

An online dating site is a great value-added product for digital newspapers.

If you are still reading the print version of the newspaper, you are likely older, less educated, and less affluent, according to a new study by Pulse Research conducted in September, 2011.

The average age of the online reader of the newspaper is 44 compared to an average age of 51 for print readers.  Of those 30 and under, there are 60% more digital readers than print readers with 61% reading online and just 39% reading the print version.

Income was another category that favored online readers.  Digital readers average $65,480 versus $53,776 for print readers.  Of those earning $100,000 or more, 82% more read the digital version.

Advanced Telecom Services provides an online dating site for digital newspapers.

Santa Claus 900 Line

Bob Bentz    900 numbers     900 number, Santa Claus

Have a very Merry Christmas.

Apps Create Branding Bond with Consumers

Bob Bentz    Mobile Apps     apps, branding, Comcast., Indiana study

The app we developed for Comcast provides terrific branding for the network.

New research from Indiana University shows that ineractive apps for mobile phones are some of the most powerful forms of advertising ever developed.  Branded apps increase a consumer’s general interest in products and improves the attitude toward the brand.

“You have a more personal connection with your mobile device than you will with a website,” said Robert F. Potter, director of the Institute for Communication Research at IU Bloomington and an associate professor of telecommunications in the IU College of Arts and Sciences. “One benefit of the mobile app is that you go, you get it and you download the app — it’s now yours. It may be a deeper level of interactivity.”

“The very personal nature of mobile phones, including the new smartphones, which are practically extensions of their owners, means that advertisers need to adopt new rules of conversation with mobile phone users,” said the research study, co-authored by Potter and four researchers at Murdoch University in Australia.