Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A has announced that it will be including quick response (QR) codes into its marketing mix, to allow mobile phone-using customers to obtain instant access to vehicle quotes, promotions, safety tips, videos, and other tools, information, and features.
Calling the 2D barcodes the ToyoTag, customers of the major car manufacturer can capture the image of the logo within a ring in order to obtain content related to the company and its products. The feature works with both standard mobile phones and smartphones alike.
The SnapTag reader can be downloaded for free by users of Android mobile devices or iPhones, in order to obtain the content from Toyota through the ToyoTag.
According to Michael K. Nelson, the Toyota interactive communications marketing manager, the ToyoTag is designed to allow the current and potential customers of the company to engage with them at precisely the time that they wish to access the information, no matter when it is or where they are. He explained that the new tag will give the customers one-to-one interactions at every level of interest they have with Toyota products.
In order to create the ToyoTag – the marketing for which they are doing in house – Toyota worked with a Denver-based provider of mobile marketing technology called SpyderLynk. It was SpyderLynk that first introduced the SnapTag in 2008, which allowed the standard 2D QR code technology to be customized in its appearance to suit the individual client.
SnapTags have taken off with many large corporations, including Bud Light, Coke, and even the Marines.
