Mobile communications gateway Qkey will introduce a mobile branding tool in coming months which will connect consumers with the brands that interest them.
Qkey executive director John Warsop says Qkey is targeted at major companies which spend around R6 million on media a year, and are looking to enhance their communication with consumers and capture new customers.
“Worldwide advertising spend is $454 billion, and most of that money is spent through media channels. And now we have mobile on the scene. There are 3.3 billion handsets (worldwide) and that number is growing. There are more handsets than there are TVs and mobile is a powerful phenomenon.”
According to Warsop, Qkey takes a company's current communications campaign and integrates it with mobile. It's essentially a cellular number that a brand company can purchase and market on its advertising medium. For instance, a billboard with the particular Qkey number allows consumers to find out more about a particular brand by dialling in the specific four-digit number.
“Qkey is like a TV or radio channel for your mobile phone,” explains the company, which users “turn on” by typing in the Qkey-call number and “tune in” to by punching in the relevant Q-number to select the channel they want.
Warsop explains: “Qkey is new way of communicating and what goes onto the mobile channel is entirely up to the brand. It gives the consumer more choice and gives them what they want when they want it. From an advertiser point of view, it integrates above and below the line media.”
He adds that the Qkey technology can be used on any phone for information transmitted through voice-automated messages while users with WAP-enabled phones can choose to receive rich content such as video feeds and downloads.
Warsop says Qkey sees the Fifa 2010 World Cup as a great opportunity for companies to market their brands as part of tourism campaigns. He points out that tourists looking for information on places of interest, restaurants or emergency services will be able to dial a specific number and receive a list of options on the information they need.
The number will appear on television adverts, radio, magazines, newspapers and billboards. It's a demand-pull service, meaning the customer chooses the interaction. Qkey has already signed on BMW and Absa.
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