MICROSOFT TAG TAKES OFF IN MALAYSIA

Standard Chartered is the first to adopt Microsoft technology in its latest marketing campaign

25 October, Kuala Lumpur – Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad (Standard Chartered) has pioneered the use of a fresh mobile marketing approach with Microsoft technology in its latest marketing campaign – making it the first bank in the country to adopt this new wave of customer engagement tactics.

The Bank’s latest deposit campaign that offers the highest savings interest rate in town at 5% per annum is the first of its kind to incorporate a Microsoft Tag in its advertisements. Customers owning a smartphone will be able to immediately locate the nearest Standard Chartered Bank branch by scanning the Microsoft Tag from their phone. The campaign which starts 1 October, 2011 will appear in major newspapers across the country.
(L-r) Peter Tam, Director Of Local Software Innovations Malaysian Software Economy, Microsoft Malaysia and Tan Lim Soon Fu, Chief Technology Officer, Fifth Media Networks Sdn Bhd

Tiew Siew Chuen, Country Head of Consumer Banking, Standard Chartered Malaysia said, “Standard Chartered continues to notch up a first in service innovation with this initiative that reinforces our commitment to provide greater value to our customers. This campaign bridges the customer experience from a print medium into one that is “live”. It is innovative, fun and easy to apply. With Microsoft Tag, our offers can now cut across conventional advertising mediums to one that is dynamic.”

“The possibilities are endless. Microsoft Tag provides a seamless experience for customers from the first point of contact to access content on mobile websites – whether it is maps, videos, clues for competitions, music demos, discount vouchers and more. We are just at the tip of the iceberg as to how extensive and pervasive this technology can be in driving customer and community engagement,” said Peter Tam, Director, Local Software Innovations, Microsoft Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

Microsoft Tag: Hello Creative Colours, Goodbye Boring Black & White…

Microsoft Tag is a 2D Barcode released to market in June 2010. Since then, over 3 billion tags have been printed, in colour and B&W, on a variety of media, including newspapers, magazines, t-shirts and even cupcakes! Microsoft Tag can be customised with intricate designs, brand symbols or logos.

Microsoft Tag technology provides comprehensive marketing analytics, including reporting features such as number of daily scans, total scans and also a heat map which indicate from which locations customers are scanning the most.

Microsoft Tag reader is supported by leading smartphone manufacturers including Nokia Symbian, Apple iPhone, Google Android, RIM Blackberry, Microsoft Windows Phone, as well as feature phones which support Java.

A user downloads the Microsoft Tag Reader application once on his smartphone from http://gettag.mobi and scans a Microsoft Tag which will automatically open a mobile webpage, receive a vCard (business) contact, or dial a number. The mobile website content can be dynamically updated for the same Microsoft Tag, therefore reducing the need for new tags to be created.

According to latest CommStat research, smartphone growth in Malaysia has been phenomenal, with 1 in every 2 persons owning such a device with access to the internet. This, coupled with the advancement of mobile broadband networks and declining prices of smartphones and tablet PCs, has led advertisers to actively integrate mobile marketing as part of their customer outreach programmes.

TBWA Malaysia was looking for a way to effectively provide customers a hassle-free immediate excess to Standard Chartered branches. "Microsoft Tag gave us the opportunity to step away from the conventional QR Codes to do something fresh and exciting with the Bank’s above-the-line campaigns," said Shaun Tay, Head, Account Management, TBWA\TEQUILA\ Malaysia.

Fifth Media Networks Sdn Bhd, a Microsoft BizSpark partner was commissioned to develop the mobile website and customized Microsoft Tag design for Standard Chartered.

“We had three days to churn out a tag design and mobile website for this campaign. In spite of the tight deadline, we were able to pull this off using our software,” said Tan Lim Soon Fu, CTO, Fifth Media Networks Sdn Bhd. “We are looking to work with more retailers and advertising companies as this technology takes off in Malaysia. It provides a strong value proposition for organisations wanting to reach an increasingly mobile society,” he continued.