Advertisers gain an edge with Print-to-Web technology

by Heather Grimshaw

Advertising options abound, but the key to successfully reaching an audience often floats high above the clouds, out of reach of most marketing executives. Television, radio, print and Internet venues boast the best bang for the advertising buck. But when it comes time to quantify an investment, are the necessary numbers available? 

Attempts have been made to track consumer behavior and gauge advertising success, from special 800 numbers to temporary websites, consumer surveys, and passwords in ads. 

But a new technology promises to track consumers from print ads to Internet purchases, providing unprecedented accuracy in gauging advertising ROI and effectiveness of links between marketing mediums. The secret is a small barcode that can be printed on any ad or cards, linking a client's print campaign to a supplier's central computer database where consumer information is compiled. Called "Print-to-Web," this technology is offered by several companies nationwide, including PlanetPortal (www.planetportal.com), a North Carolina-based company that has packaged the tool in remote-control format. 

Touted as a customer-relations management tool, the small WebRemote Control machine features Print-to-Web technology and works through a computer and an Internet connection. The machine features branded buttons for advertisers and a variety of menu options from weather to travel, and is distributed by advertising partners that have--to date--given the machines away. Units can also be sold for $20, which may be a more effective way to attract users, says Mark DeVisser, PlanetPortal vice president Marketing. 

"We have seen a correlation between items that are paid for and used more," he says. "And in most cases, if a consumer buys the machine, he or she can get money back by swiping the card and visiting an advertiser's website." 

Once a consumer has a WebRemote Control machine, it must be registered with PlanetPortal, which lets the company track the consumer's movement on the Web. PlanetPortal requires consumers to provide profile information including name, gender, birth date, and address when they register their machines. When consumers swipe their WebCards, which use embedded barcodes to direct users to specified advertiser sites, PlanetPortal can observe their purchasing behavior from that point onward. Consumers are also asked to provide information about their interests, frequency of online purchases, family structure, and total household income. This data is used for marketing purposes and to compile reports for PlanetPortal partners. 

PlanetPortal daily, weekly, or monthly reports allow partners to see how many consumers visited their site and by what means. 

"After years of being on the buyer side of marketing campaigns, I was so tired of being told that it was 'too early to tell whether it was successful,'" DeVisser says. However, he says, the PlanetPortal reporting relationship is immediate because reports are posted to URLs given to companies when they sign up. 

The data from the reports is valuable in many ways, DeVisser says. 

If a company sends a direct mail piece with a set of WebCards to 5,000 people, the success of the campaign can be gauged by tracking the number of people who swipe the cards and visit the company's website. This gives advertisers opportunities to learn key facts about customers and their online commercial behavior. After consumers visit a site, companies can follow-up with them in a number of ways and tailor their marketing programs to suit observed customer behavior. 

The essential link between the consumer, PlanetPortal, and the business partner is the barcode. WebCards contain PlanetPortal web codes, and can be attached to magazine, newspaper, or direct mail ads, or given away at point-of-purchase sites. A company can, for example, spend $1,000 on a single small magazine ad featuring a WebCard, and measure the ad response and the number of sales generated by it. By using the reports generated by PlanetPortal, that same company can also learn whether its ad appealed to men or women, younger or older consumers. Further, the company can determine their purchasing power. 

Successful Partners 

Conceived by PlanetPortal as a way for companies to gauge the success of their print advertising campaigns and to link those efforts to the Internet, the system was beta-tested in 1999 as the eGoPad. After initial testing, the company changed the name to WebRemote Control and distributed 8,000 prototype models. 

One of PlanetPortal's first advertisers was Googlegear.com (www.googlegear.com), an Internet computer component retailer. 

"We've always hesitated to advertise offline because it's hard to gauge the response," says Phil Yeh, Googlegear Internet marketing executive, who approached PlanetPortal after reading about Print-to-Web technology. "This [technology] allows you to follow a customer's every move." 

Every move is right--Print-to-Web shows companies what first prompted customers to visit their sites, what links they use most, what they buy and how often they return. 

Googlegear bought 2,000 cards, and distributed WebRemote Control machines to customers in the spring, along with a pack of five customized WebCards from Googlegear, Proxim.com, Thomson Financial Securities Data (www.secdata.com), The Wall Street Journal Interactive (www.interactive.wsj.com), and Giggo.com. 

Googlegear, which had previously spent all its advertising dollars online, was so pleased with the test results that it plans to reorder cards when PlanetPortal releases its first official WebRemote Control later this year. The cards proved cost-effective, and improved customer loyalty and site return rate. 

"We were able to note which customers came back to the site repeatedly, which is normally a low number," Yeh says. 

Googlegear used PlanetPortal's offer to create the cards with the company's design, although companies have several options when they initiate a relationship with PlanetPortal; from ordering full service card production to simply paying for barcodes on print ads, cards, or direct mail. 

A one-time start up fee from $500 to $1,000 buys a barcode. Advertisers can then purchase a button on the machine for $1 or $2 that will feature their brand. Private label opportunities also exist at a higher, negotiable price, DeVisser says. 

Technically Speaking 

WebRemote Control connects to computers with USB cables (serial cables that work with computers that run Windows 98 or 2000). The machine uses customers' established Internet service, linking them to advertiser websites with the press of a button or the swipe of a credit card-like WebCard, which leads them to specific Internet sites where companies offer promotions and substantial discounts. Providing a link between print and the Internet, WebCards can be attached to any print ad and swiped through the WebCode reader on the back of the WebRemote Control. These cards can be used indefinitely, Yeh says, and the links can be updated or changed at company discretion. 

Designed with eye-catching colors, large keypad buttons, and a code reader, the WebRemote Control gives advertisers a direct link to consumers and a way to gauge advertising success. For consumers, it eliminates time-consuming web-surfing and sifting, and gives access to exclusive discounts and offers. Although there is no guarantee that consumers will accept this form of web-surfing, beta-tests have been successful. 

DeVisser says minimal effort and training are required for companies interested in partnering with PlanetPortal. 

"There's a very low technology barrier for companies that are interested in becoming partners," he explained. "Companies that want to web-enable their print advertising can set up an account, establish a payment relationship, and enter their request for a code, and it's theirs immediately." 

While the company plans to produce half a million WebRemote Control machines in the second half of 2000, PlanetPortal is exploring relationships with several computer manufacturers that might result in the inclusion of code readers on keyboards. 

Industry Perspective 

Companies spend millions of dollars each year trying to attract consumers and get them to buy. The concept is essential to the success of any company, but gauging the effectiveness of such campaigns outweighs everything else. Cyberspace is uncharted territory so far, and it has been difficult for companies to gauge online ad success. Some may even call the Internet a black hole for advertising spending, which is expected to reach $33 billion annually by 2004. 

Michael Aaron, online media planner for M2K (www.m2k.com), finds it interesting that PlanetPortal is trying to apply the measurability of web advertising to traditional advertising, but wonders whether consumers will find it bothersome to swipe cards instead of simply typing in a URL. 

PlanetPortal and its partners hope that incentives and giveaways will entice consumers to swipe instead of type, and are banking on the need for a successful advertising bridge between offline and online time. Print-to-Web technology is geared to provide that service. 

"We have to find ways to get customers to go to the Web," DeVisser says. 

Providing big discounts, promotions, and a direct line to the kind of information people want may do just that. 

Heather Grimshaw is a Colorado-based contributing writer for Building Online Business. She may be reached via e-mail at hgrimshaw@home.com.