Brooks Takes Running Shoe Launch Mobile with 2-D Contest
Sports gear maker Brooks is introducing the latest in its line of running shoes with a 2-D barcode campaign that can enter customers to win a mobile sweepstakes.
The promotion is designed to publicize Brooks’ new Ghost 3 footwear and asks customers to use their phone cameras to snap a picture of a 2-D barcode from provider Jagtag that’s affixed to print collateral, promotional T-shirts worn by sales associates at retail stores nationwide, and to direct-mail postcards sent out to 10,000 names on the house list of athletic retailer Finish Line.
Verizon and AT&T customers can photograph the barcode and text the picture to short code 524824. Those on other networks are instructed to e-mail the barcode to Jagtag.
Entrants are then automatically entered to win one of five all-access VIP trips for two to a Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon of their choice in the “Host the Ghost” sweepstakes. The winners will be determined after submissions close on Aug. 31. Marden-Kane is administering the sweepstakes.
Contestants can also win other prizes, from free running shoes to a runner’s gift bag with water bottle, T-shirt, key chain and tote bag.
Users who submit a shot of the barcode will also receive mobile links to video content about the Ghost 3 shoe and a chance to opt in to future alerts and updates from Brooks, the official sponsor of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon series.
“Working with Jagtag gives us an opportunity to leverage our in-store marketing efforts for the Ghost 3 launch and existing sponsorship with the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon,” Brooks Sports retail programs manager Dyana Berger said in a release. “Brooks offers performance-based running gear for all levels of athletes, so reaching a broader audience of both standard phone and smartphone users with Jagtag was key to the success of our first mobile program.”
Unlike other 2-D scanning solutions that ask the user to download and install software on a smartphone, the Jagtag platform does not require a software download and thus can be used on any mobile phone with a camera and texting capability, addressing a user market than has been estimated at about 285 million U.S. users, about 97% of those with texting capability on their phones. By contrast, smartphones make up less than 20% of the American market now, although Nielsen predicts they will make up half the installed base by the end of 2011.
