Johannesburg-based Mobicode has won the South African patent for distributing bar codes to mobile devices, introducing the infrastructure to deliver tickets, coupons and vouchers directly to local consumers.
Mobicode was awarded the patent after securing the rights to use technology developed by Mobiqa in the UK to deliver bar codes to any mobile device in SA that conforms to international GSM standards.
"This is a mature technology that uses normal SMS channels and has already been proven over the past four years and adopted in over 20 other countries around the world because it is much quicker and cheaper than paper-based alternatives," says Ian Burgess, MD of Mobicode.
Mobicode will provide a Web-based bar code distribution service as well as Web-application hosting where required to organisations that want to send either linear or 2D bar codes to mobile devices.
The globally standardised bar codes can be redeemed or validated by scanning the LCD display using a charge-coupled device or any other image scanner at a point of sale or access to an event.
Burgess says existing anti-spam techniques can be used to prevent bar codes from being forwarded to other phones. The system will issue an alert for any bar code scanned more than once or not matching any unique bar code on record.
One of the biggest advantages of Mobicode in SA, says Burgess, is that people in rural communities will be able to buy tickets for sporting events without having to travel to an urban centre ahead of the event.
Business opportunities
"Mobicode will create business opportunities for ticketing companies, event organisers, brand owners, retailers and direct marketing companies by enabling them to deliver bar codes to 20 million cellphone users," says Burgess.
"At the cost of a PC with a Web browser and a bar code scanner, smaller ticketing companies will be able to access millions of consumers and compete with much larger organisations."
According to Burgess, using SMS as a delivery channel has various benefits for business and the consumer.
For business, it eliminates printing costs, increases sales, provides cross-selling and branding opportunities, improves customer satisfaction and enables real-time tracking of information. It also enables organisations to build databases of consumer behaviour and set up instant marketing campaigns using bar codes for discounts and other incentives.
For the consumer, it allows last-minute purchases, ensures tickets are never lost or left at home, and instantaneous delivery is convenient and time-saving.
Flexible, fast
"Not only are bar codes well-established around the world and able to facilitate fast information transfer, they are also extremely flexible and can be used to represent anything from an event ticket to a promotional cup of coffee," says Burgess.
In addition to providing ticketing for several large events such as the Australian Cebit consumer products show, Mobiqa technology has been used by a UK company to attract 18 000 people to its retail stores by offering entry into a lucky draw in exchange for scanning a bar code sent to their mobile phone.
"Although SAFA [the SA Football Association] has yet to finalise ticketing plans for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, bar codes sent to mobile devices is one of the options being considered," says Burgess.
"We believe there is enormous potential for Mobicode in SA because people here love their cellphones and are great adopters of new technology."
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