Delvinia Data Collection Announces Corporate Rebranding

Delvinia Data Collection announced today the launch of its new corporate identity and name change to AskingCanadians™. The rebranding, together with the launch of a new logo and website, strategically positions the firm for long-term growth within the Delvinia Group of Companies—which also includes Delvinia Interactive.

Established in 2005, Delvinia’s data collection division owns and manages the AskingCanadians™ online research community of 160,000 Canadians, and provides a range of data products and services to the marketing and research communities.

“Changing the name of our data collection services to AskingCanadians™ allows us to focus on building our growth strategy and realizing the potential of a truly unique and aspirational brand,” says Delvinia CEO Adam Froman. “AskingCanadians™ is redefining research in the Canadian market. By leveraging our dynamic community of 160,000 Canadians and relevant digital technologies, we are able to provide our clients with efficient and cost-effective actionable insights to better understand and obtain feedback from their customers.”

In 2010, the firm embarked on an aggressive strategy to grow the AskingCanadians™ research community and to expand upon the unique data services and products we have developed over the years. As the company nears the third quarter of 2011, that strategy is well underway, with AskingCanadians™ realizing triple digit growth over the same period in 2010.

This success is due in large part to Raj Manocha who joined the firm as Director of Sales in January. Effective immediately, Manocha will take on the role of Vice President, overseeing all of the sales and operations for AskingCanadians™.

In addition to positioning AskingCanadians™ for continued expansion, the corporate rebranding includes the unveiling of a new company logo and the launch of a new corporate website at corporate.askingcanadians.com.

The logo design reflects the brand values of accountability, integrity, quality of service, collaboration and exceptional customer experiences; while the website clearly articulates the company’s commitment to helping market researchers gather high quality data from Canadian consumers.

The corporate site also provides detailed information about the firm’s core service offerings—including full-service online survey programming and hosting, custom recruitment, online panel management, online tools for testing rich media creative, one-on-one interviewing, the AskingCanadians™ Pulse omnibus survey and syndicated research.

Jeep Ad Provides an Example of QR Code and Mobile Best Practices

The full-page Jeep ad that appeared in newspapers last week is a great example of best practices to follow when using a 2D barcode in advertising. A recent poll from AskingCanadians™ revealed that 58 per cent of smartphone owners who scan 2D barcodes are scanning them from newspapers (just like this one) and magazines.

The Experience
Once scanned, the QR code resolves quickly to a mobile-friendly page. Three simple drop down menus direct the user to select a region, brand (including Chrysler, Dodge and Ram deals), and model. The selected vehicle page loaded quickly and featured a photo, price, features and detailed description. A button labeled ‘Get This Deal Now’ could be tapped to find a dealer near you. Dealers could also be found by inputting a postal code. The dealer listings included contact information—with a clickable phone number (it is a phone after all)—map location and a link to a mobile-friendly email contact form.

1. The ad uses a QR Code.
The term QR code refers to Quick Response codes. These are an open source type of 2D barcode that was created in the mid-’90s by the Japanese corporation Denso-Wave as an efficient way to track auto parts. QR codes can be read by the largest number of 2D barcode reader apps and most 2d barcode providers include QR codes as an option.

2. The QR code is a readable size.
An optimal size for a QR code is around one inch. This allows it to be clearly read by most smartphone cameras. A ratio of 10:1 is a good practice to follow when considering how big to make your QR code. A QR code in a print ad, where a reader’s cameraphone would be used at a close distance of 10-15cm should be an inch or 2cm.

If you are considering using a QR code on a wall poster where most readers will be approximately a metre away, then a 10cm square code would be appropriate. Angle of surface and lighting conditions are other important factors to consider. Other types of 2D barcodes such as ScanLife’s EZcodes and Microsoft’s Tag have a simpler structure and can be made a bit smaller. However, they require specific  2D barcode reader apps.

3. Set expectations
There is a clear call to action to motivate the reader. The copy reads, Scan Here for More Great Offers, which fits in well with the theme of the ad. The usage of the QR code makes perfect sense as a way to connect the user to relevant content at that moment.

4. Provide a mobile friendly destination
The mobile landing page loads quickly and feels like a natural extension of the print ad allowing me to quickly find an offer on the vehicle I am interested in.

5. Provide value
When scanned, the QR code resolves to a mobile page where a reader can find additional offers on Jeep and Chrysler vehicles of their choice, as well as contact information for a local dealer.

The only parts of the execution I can critique are the absence of an alternative URL and instructions on how to use the QR code. While 86 per cent of smartphone users recognize what a 2D barcode is (according to a recent AskingCanadians™ poll), the majority of people still may not understand how to find a 2d barcode scanning app or what to do with it.

A Lesson in QR Code Density

Amy Sullivan, Delvinia’s Vice President of Customer Insight, and I recently presented a webinar on 2D Barcodes. We talked about several best practices during the presentation, including  the need for marketers to optimize the density of  QR codes. We used this poster for the upcoming Photographic, Video & Digital Imaging Show as an example of what not to do with a QR code.

A few days after the webinar, I found a full size version of the poster (the previous version may have been downsized, rendering it too small and dense to scan) and managed to scan it with success. I was quite disappointed to find that all it contained was the beginning and end dates of the show. These dates were already very prominent on the poster itself.

First of all, I would liked to have seen the QR code link to a mobile version of the show’s website, where I could view the schedule and exhibitors. In addition, it would have been great to see the show’s organizers provide a discount on admission for users who go to the trouble of scanning the code.

Embedding data within a QR Code

2D barcodes such as QR codes are embedded with information that when scanned, trigger an event on your mobile phone. This event is usually a redirect to a URL, hopefully a page optimized for the mobile web. It is essential that the information embedded in the URL be kept as short and to the point as possible.

It should be obvious to anyone that the QR code on the far left is much, much simpler. The URL has been shortened and there is simply less information to embed. The example in the middle contains a long Google link, and the one on the right contains all the information in a Vcard. Just because a QR code can handle a lot of data doesn’t mean you should use it all.

Why keep things simple?

If you are going to all the trouble of working with a QR code then you need to make it usable by as many people as possible. Users with older mobile devices with lower resolution cameras need as clear an image to scan as possible. Simplicity is the rule for any execution of a QR code that has data embedded within it.

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