2d Barcodes Frenzy Hits Hungary

Apparently, the Hungarians are hungry for new technology…more so than USA. 3GVision, a company that has been providing mobile 2d barcode scanning technology in the country, recently announced the release of their new scanning tool called i-nigma. And shortly after, they secured another project and confirmed it via another release – they’ve partnered up with Pannon, which is a large Norwegian network operator, and also T-Mobile for their Mobilkod 2d barcode mobile code project.

It’s still on trial but so far, the project is deemed credible enough for Hungary’s leading media publisher, Sanoma Budapest to follow suit with the partnership as well.

With 3GVision’s 2d barcode scanner for mobile phones, Hungarians no longer have to painstakingly type in long URLs into their mobile phones. If they wanted to find out more about a product being advertised, if there was a 2d barcode printed along with the advertisement, mobile phone users will be able to point their phones (when the 2d barcode scanner is switched on) and scan the barcode. After scanning the code, users will be led directly to a webpage containing either information on the said product, links related to the advertisements, blog post, facebook account, contest page, or to interactive media files.

Advertisers, media companies and marketing agencies have an additional advertising avenue open to them…the mobile channel. Using 2d barcodes, advertisers can pull in consumers who are interested to engage in the marketing campaigns or download pertinent media from mobile websites into their phones.

One of the more aggressive media company in Hungary is Sanoma Budapest. The company is the first to take advantage of this new venture and have since launched promotional campaigns that utilizes print advertisements, online web pages and also mobile phones. It works like this….a print advertisement containing a 2d barcode is released. It prompts the readers to scan the 2d barcodes with their mobile phones, and once scanned, it leads the readers to a particular mobile web or a website where there will be more promotional information engaging the readers to participate in activities in order to win exciting prizes.

Martin Copus, the president of 3GVision told the media that it’s, indeed, an important milestone for the company and that all the companies involved, namely Pannon, T-Mobile and Sanoma are all established leaders in their respective industries. The said companies share a common vision – to make mobile internet a vital ingredient to our everyday lives.