Sticky Bits – Graffiti for geeks

I didn’t go to SXSW this year, in fact i’ve never been , but like many I’ve been reading the news about what’s expected to do well this year.

One of the start-ups that caught my attention among the buzz was Sticky Bits.

Sticky Bits is a new startup. It’s a way of digitally tagging real world objects, kind of like graffiti for geeks only more socially acceptable.

“Every place and object in the world has a secret past: who lived there, who passed by, who touched it. The secret lives of objects are filled with such details. If only you could make them talk.”

Sticky Bits Vs QR

A few of us at iCrossing are quite interested/excited about the rise in popularity of QR codes in the west, hoping it will gain similar popularity that it has in countries such as Japan. I’ve seen QR codes being used more in offline advertising such as on the back of products (Pepsi cans), in pieces of DM and on some billboards too.  However, it still seems to be taking off very slowly. I think there are 3 reasons for this;

1. Lack of access to QR code scanners (a popular one is QuickMark, the ‘Lite’ version is free on the iPhone)
2. Unfamiliarity with QR codes (we are far more used to seeing barcodes)
3. Limitations of media you can attach to a QR code (typically a link to a website)

I think Sticky Bits has addressed a few of the issues above, increasing its chances of takeoff.

Sticky Bits uses the traditional barcode format that we’re already familiar with, you are able to scan/tag existing barcodes on any products or create your own unique barcodes for things such as product promotions. This makes the overall process far more intuitive.

Attach a range of ‘bits’

Unlike QR codes that typically re-direct to URLs (which you can still scan using Sticky Bits), Sticky Bits can be used to share a much wider range of media. You can attach images, videos, comments (+ links) and audio.

Location Based Services (LBS)/ Geo Tagging

A hot topic of the social web and perhaps the next major shift for tech, Sticky Bits incorporates a similar location based service to Twitter, Google Buzz and Foursquare as well as integrating easy sharing options on some of the more popular social platforms too.

Analytics

The ever important part of digital, you can setup notifications and track data of all your barcodes, great for integrating online and offline campaigns!

Here’s a few ways that it could be useful to online marketers…

Online/Offline campaign integration & measurement – If you have an online and offline campaign, say an offer using a unique barcode with a strong call to action, Sticky Bits will allow you to track and drive customers offline to online. This will also allow you to measure campaign response far more effectively.

Existing barcode monitoring – Yet another way that consumers can talk and share stories about your brand be it with positive or negative sentiment, the tech could be another platform integrated into your ongoing brand monitoring strategy.

Increase traditional marketing channel usefulness – Attach additional media to a piece of offline marketing material. Add a barcode to a traditional flyer and attach photos, audio, video etc

Reviews – Consumers can use applications such as Sticky Bits to compare prices and get reviews instantly. Its portability (mobile) means that these price comparisons and reviews of products can be checked whilst ‘in shop’.

Here’s some more general examples from Sticky Bits themselves…

The best way to get started is to visit the Sticky Bits website and download they’re app for the iPhone or Android so that you can start scanning and sharing. Go check it out and let me know what you think…