UK NFC Trial Shows 78% Positive Impact

May 25, 2012 by Dave Haynes

I was blabbing away with a client just yesterday about the application of NFC and OOH, so it was interesting to see results move about a fairly substantive use of it in the UK this spring.

JCDecaux and Kinetic launched in March of this year a large trial of NFC-enabled 6-sheet (the size) print  posters in Reading, which is west of London. Using media from 13 clients from the GroupM agency umbrellas, campaigns ran across all the poster sites in the town and in the Oracle shopping mall, from a month.

The results show that more than 3,000 people in Reading scanned the poster sites, which was extrapolated to suggest the equivalent of a million people doing that nationwide.

The intercept surveys were overwhelmingly positive (78%) about the experience, with users citing ease-of-use of NFC as the big key (the release doesn’t mention it, but this would be ease of use compared to QR codes, Bluetooth, etc).

Kinda reinforcing the forehead-slapping obvious, the study found that the most effective stuff combined relevance, dynamic content and a strong call-to-action. That should really strongly remind planners ands brands thinking about using NFC that the tech alone will not do the job. You still have to have a good idea, compelling creative and a provocative message.

The research amongst Reading’s smartphone users, says the release, showed that the key to success was the relevance to the consumer and experiences that built upon an existing brand relationship. Voucher redemptions were found to attract new customers, with activity highest where the poster site was in proximity to the store but also in the area around the University and right across the city.

Interestingly, redemption rates for the vouchers increased across the four-week period as consumers became more familiar with the technology and the possible reward. One campaign yielded a redemption factor of 18%; the average across the trial was still high at 7%.

Significantly, the research found that 87% of people with NFC-enabled phones are likely to repeat the experience, while 80% of non-NFC phone owners said they would like to use it in the future.

Nick Mawditt, Global Director of Marketing and Insight for Kinetic said, “The Reading trial shows that technology is driving the potential for interactive engagement through NFC. The experience of interactivity elicits overwhelming positivity around the brand, able to drive both the conversion and the retention of customers. This trial has resulted in real insight about the types of experience, our preferred technologies and the importance of relevant content which will inform the industry’s future.”

David McEvoy, Marketing Director of JCDecaux said, “With Smartphone penetration set to increase and the rise in NFC-enabled phones, there is a great opportunity for Outdoor advertising to provide consumers with engaging and interactive campaigns on the move. The study showed that consumers saw the experience as a gateway for more information about brands, attracted by the prospect of vouchers, videos and competitions and through the links to social media.”

North American readers need to remember that while smartphone penetration has grown very rapidly over here, few of them have NFC capability.

Pic from DigitalAV Magazine

Leave a comment