Glamour Uses SnapTag Technology in September Issue

Glamour MagazineThe September issue of Glamour features an issue-wide test of SnapTags; Spyderlynk’s 2D mobile barcode technology used by such companies as Toyota and Office Depot. SnapTags are featured on 25 pages of the issue including ads for Lancome, Bebe, Land’s End and Smashbox as well as special deals on Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and French Connection.

Other SnapTags will link users to exclusive sessions featuring cover model Rihanna, Andy Cohen, Kate Bosworth and the Kardashian sisters, where they’ll answer questions on the Glamour Facebook page.

To scan and manage all the scans, readers are instructed to download the Glamour ‘Friends & Fans’ Android or iPhone app. The app contains instuctions, the SnapTag scanner and an special section to save the links to coupons and content for future reference.

A quick flip through the magazine (you know I’m always looking for style tips) shows that other advertisers are also using other 2D mobile barcode technologies including Tissot, MissMe.com and Merle Norman who are using QR codes. Garnier, Style & Co and Revlon are using Microsoft’s Tags to link users to additional content.

Glamour explains they don’t have plans to extend the use of the SnapTag in the October issue. It’ll be interesting to see if this use of 2D barcode technology will help push it to more widespread use by the public.

Toyota Launches ToyoTags to Connect Car Shoppers to Mobile Content

Toyota ToyotagSome people have written that it’s ironic that Toyota has decided to use SpyderLynk’s SnapTag technology instead of QR codes. After-all it was the Toyota subsidiary Denso that first developed the QR Code in 1994 as a tracking system for their auto parts manufacturing business. That system, which came pre-installed on mobile phones in Japan soon became a widely used method to connect mobile users to online content.

A Toyota spokesperson explains in the press release that they “sought a barcode technology to extend their marketing efforts and get ahead of the innovation curve.” They’ve gone as far to name the version of SnapTag as the ToyoTag, but even after reading the rest of the press release I’m not sure why they chose SnapTag over other 2D barcode technologies. I suspect it may come down to the ability for a SnapTag to fit in better with a company’s branding. The other reason could be that SnapTag includes alternative connection methods for users to access the online content via established services such as MMS and Email.

The ToyoTag that you see here did not work for me. I have had the ScanTag iPhone app installed for some time and has worked fine on previous occasions. The ToyoTag scans correctly, but it ‘times out’ before it can access the mobile site. It maybe that the tag above may just be a sample and it not active on the SnapTag server right now. When I emailed a photo of the SnapTag to the email included on the graphic, I received an email back within just a few seconds that included a link to the Prius mobile website.

SnapTag’s are also be used in the September issue of Glamour and I’ll be reviewing that later today.