Print to web. Does it work? Can it work? - National Theatre Wales Community2024-03-28T23:58:08Zhttps://community.nationaltheatrewales.org/forum/topics/print-to-web-does-it-work-can-it-work?groupUrl=artsmarketing&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI really like that idea. So o…tag:community.nationaltheatrewales.org,2011-12-08:3152760:Comment:1050682011-12-08T21:50:39.542ZMarc Heatleyhttps://community.nationaltheatrewales.org/profile/MarcHeatley
<p>I really like that idea. So often we're throwing ideas out there with no tangible way of evaluating their success.</p>
<p>I really like that idea. So often we're throwing ideas out there with no tangible way of evaluating their success.</p> One little birdie told me a g…tag:community.nationaltheatrewales.org,2011-12-08:3152760:Comment:1049382011-12-08T14:13:11.224ZKenon Manhttps://community.nationaltheatrewales.org/profile/KenonMan
<p>One little birdie told me a great tip!</p>
<p>Use something like bit.ly to shorten your web URL (links to page optimized for mobile) then you can track how many people have scanned your code.</p>
<p>:) </p>
<p>One little birdie told me a great tip!</p>
<p>Use something like bit.ly to shorten your web URL (links to page optimized for mobile) then you can track how many people have scanned your code.</p>
<p>:) </p> Add to calendar is part of th…tag:community.nationaltheatrewales.org,2011-11-30:3152760:Comment:967392011-11-30T09:30:45.289ZMarc Heatleyhttps://community.nationaltheatrewales.org/profile/MarcHeatley
<p>Add to calendar is part of the QR spec and actually pretty solid as far as I know. As well as:</p>
<ul>
<li>URL</li>
<li>Email address (which, depending on the app, should just open a blank new email)</li>
<li>Phone Number</li>
<li>Contact info</li>
<li>Calendar Event including start and end date/time, location and description</li>
<li>Geo location - so a pin in your map, which would be great for treasure hunts or similar</li>
<li>Text - so just a message on the screen of the…</li>
</ul>
<p>Add to calendar is part of the QR spec and actually pretty solid as far as I know. As well as:</p>
<ul>
<li>URL</li>
<li>Email address (which, depending on the app, should just open a blank new email)</li>
<li>Phone Number</li>
<li>Contact info</li>
<li>Calendar Event including start and end date/time, location and description</li>
<li>Geo location - so a pin in your map, which would be great for treasure hunts or similar</li>
<li>Text - so just a message on the screen of the phone.</li>
<li>SMS - which would open the messaging app on the phone with a pre-composed message ready to send. (have implemented this for charity donations but would work for booking/subscribing)</li>
<li>WiFi network - SSID & Passphrase</li>
</ul>
<p>I agree that lack of knowledge + enthusiasm to jump in quickly may be to blame, but I think there is another dimension to that worth noting. Quite often clients will ask for a specific <em>thing</em> to be implemented and designers and developers will just deliver that thing exactly as requested, get paid and move on. All great. But better than that would be for the client to present the problem and ask the designer/developer to find the solution. This is much more likely to produce innovative results beyond what's already in the marketplace.</p>
<p>Part of the responsibility for this lies with the designers and developers who don't question what they've been asked to produce. A marketing exec may not delve into an API to find out what's possible, whereas that is/should be what good digital creatives are there to do; but this can depend entirely on the relationship and a good deal of trust between client and producer.</p> I completely agree with your…tag:community.nationaltheatrewales.org,2011-11-29:3152760:Comment:966232011-11-29T12:06:34.353ZJen Thorntonhttps://community.nationaltheatrewales.org/profile/JenThornton
<p>I completely agree with your thoughts on QR codes (and other similar AR systems, like Paperboy). It's a great way to enhance content or make something easier for the user but far too many people are just linking QR codes to a homepage and in many cases one that's not even mobile-friendly. </p>
<p>I've seen a couple of people's business cards that use a QR code to add them to your phone's address book. This is good because it solves a problem (in this case the time taken to add details…</p>
<p>I completely agree with your thoughts on QR codes (and other similar AR systems, like Paperboy). It's a great way to enhance content or make something easier for the user but far too many people are just linking QR codes to a homepage and in many cases one that's not even mobile-friendly. </p>
<p>I've seen a couple of people's business cards that use a QR code to add them to your phone's address book. This is good because it solves a problem (in this case the time taken to add details manually and the possibility of entry error). </p>
<p>One way I did come up with for the arts to use QR codes better for print-to-web is similar to that. You have a poster or flyer with a QR code and, when scanned, it takes you to a web page into which you input your email address and the event details and booking link are sent to you. This could also incorporate the standard social share gateways. The other thing to do with this in a similar way is an 'add to Calendar' version like the 'add to address book' one, though I suspect this would be more difficult as different mobile OS have different calendars. </p>
<p>I think the lack of initial knowledge is what has led to QR codes being used by excited marketers without the technical familiarity to use these codes well. I think we're probably right in the middle of the timescale where we need to start using them creatively before people just start to ignore them! </p>