QR Code Billboard Brings Quick Results

Jan. 7, 2011 - PRLog -- When Mane Image's owner Leslie Robinson bought her parent's company twelve years ago, she immediately decided that the biggest differentiator she held over her competitors was her personal commitment to new technology.  Leslie understood technology's impact on her business.  So when it came to marketing,  it was no surprise  she was the first in her area to try something new by utilizing  qr code technology.

This past fall, Mane Image began talks with visual marketing company Point Imaging (http://www.pointimaging.com) to completely overhaul her current billboard campaign. Mane Image was in the midsts of a major expansion with the addition of two surgical rooms and introducing  surgical hair transplants.  They were also flying in world-renowned surgeon Dr. Shelly Friedman each month to perform hair transplants.  This level of investment required a "Big Splash" marketing campaign.  The creative advertising and print team at Point Imaging got to work on what would become one of Chicagoland's most recognized billboard campaigns.

Leading the team of marketing specialists and designers was Point Imaging's director of marketing, Marco Perez.  "We knew coming in that Leslie had a lot riding on her investment," explains Perez.  "We needed to create a billboard campaign that was eye-catching, entertaining and memorable while delivering the vital information."  What Point Imaging created was one of the most talked about billboard campaigns in recent history.  "There is a distinct theme to Leslie's boards," says Perez.  "We hit on local pop-culture that received a good amount of buzz and even controversy, but nothing like the publicity we generated by adding a massive qr code on a billboard adjacent to a parking lot near a Target store during the Holiday season."

The buzz was felt almost immediately.  One hour after the qr code billboard went up, Leslie received her first call regarding the board.  More importantly, it led to an appointment for a transplant consultation.  By 5pm that evening, her first sale was made because of the qr code billboard.  

By the third week, business had already paid for her entire campaign.  In fact, so much buzz had been created by the mysterious looking square that the local newspaper ran a story about the billboard and how qr code technology was impacting printed media.  "We found out that people were calling and writing to the newspaper asking about the billboard and what the design meant," Perez explains.  "Frankly, I wasn't concerned with people using their smartphones to scan the code as much as I was about just generating the buzz.  I feel that eventually, qr codes will be part of our daily lives when it comes to advertising.  Being the first in this area to take the leap with interactive print was what created the buzz."

The overall success of the marketing campaign was more that Mane Image could ever have hoped for.  "We weren't sure what the qr code board or the other billboards would bring us, but we trusted the marketing and print pros at Point Imaging and they more than delivered," says Leslie.  "They are way more than just printers.  They are advertising experts with a creative team that rivals any ad agency. I am very satisfied."  

Qr codes are impacting the print industry more than any other factor in recent years.  It is allowing print to go interactive.  Qr codes are being used by retailers on catalogs and printed ads.  Cereal boxes and other packaging have also begun using qr codes.   According to a recent Nielson study, by December of 2011, more than half of U.S. cellphones with have smart technology.  There is a new wave of advertising in printed media and qr codes are leading the way.

About Point Imaging:  Founded in the back seat of a Pontiac in 1990, Point Imaging has grown to become one of the nations most well recognized and sought after producers of visual communications by means of printed graphics.   Services include print, design, distribution and installation of graphics for the retail, event, out-of-home, sports and mobile marketing industries.  From conventional offset, digital and variable data printing, to web-based marketing solutions such as personalized URLs to wide-format, high impact visual graphics, Point imaging delivers the revenue generating solutions that are used by some of today's largest brands.

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Point Imaging is a world-class, sustainable, large and grand format digital imaging company. We are proud to work with the nations biggest brands in providing in-store graphics, event marketing graphics, mobile marketing graphics and display solutions.