Brand Photos: Behind the Lens of Image Recognition

The Best Part About Summer: Photo Marketing On the Go

Mobile Marketing | May 25, 2012 by Connor

Summer is fast approaching, and that means lots of people are gearing up for a vacation. Whether it’s a five-star tour of Europe’s finest museums and restaurants or a caravan-style road trip to visit family or friends, one thing that every vacation has in common is pictures, and lots of them. When people are away from home, you can bet that a lot of those pictures are going to be taken using their mobile phones, and now that 60% of Americans own smartphones, this is a valuable marketing opportunity for brands.

When people go out of town, they’re away from their usual routine. That often means that many marketing channels don’t reach their audiences. The more time spent gazing at beautiful views and spotting famous monuments, the less time spent watching TV. Being away from home also means no daily newspapers or fewer visits to the local supermarket. But brand moments are still happening even when we’re traveling, and brands would do well to take advantage of that. Highly emotional memories stick in our brains much better than mundane ones. If brands are able to become a part of people’s fun and unforgettable vacation memories, they will build a lasting, meaningful relationship that translates directly into brand loyalty.

I'll never forget when I spotted this beautiful Audi while on vacation in Florence.

The best kind of marketing is ready to capitalize on brand moments whenever and wherever they happen. Mobile photo marketing can provide dynamic direct response content anywhere in the world. Pongr’s photo tools allow brands to be everywhere at once, offering consumers relevant and engaging content on their mobile devices. It may not compare to the Sistine Chapel or the world’s largest ball of twine, but it can help to make a summer trip truly memorable.

The Ultimate Field Guide to the Photo Sharing Universe

Featured Posts, Mobile Marketing, Shopper Marketing, Social Media | May 12, 2012 by Connor

We talk a lot about how popular photo sharing is, but sometimes it’s nice to have some numbers to really get an idea of what we’re talking about. When we say that social networks are engines of massive self-expression, we’re not kidding. More than 300 million photos are uploaded to Facebook every day, which makes 91.25 billion photos expected to be uploaded this year to Facebook alone.

Photo sharing isn’t limited to Facebook. There are around 2.5 billion active camera phones today, most of them the mobile customer’s only camera. Moreover, the number one mobile shopping activity—regardless of phone type—is taking pictures of products. It is absolutely imperative that brands tap into mobile photo marketing to boost sales and supercharge brand engagement.

Pongr sheds some light on the world of photo sharing apps.

In our recent white paper, The Ultimate Field Guide to the Photo Sharing Universe, we run down a list of the major photo sharing apps on the scene today. There are a few things they all have in common, like sharing capabilities and allowing you to express yourself artistically with filters and effects. But there are a few things none of them have, like the ability to enable direct-response marketing or create branded experiences around photos. It’s for these reasons and more that we don’t include Pongr on the “Photo Sharing Cheat Sheet.” We don’t see ourselves as a competitor to Instagram or Hipstamatic, and we’re not trying to replicate Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. Pongr is a whole different ballgame because of the unique tools we offer brands to take advantage of the popularity of photo marketing.

To get the whole story, visit our corporate site and download The Ultimate Field Guide to the Photo Sharing Universe, and see what Pongr has to offer.

Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck: Effective “Nonworking” Media Spending

Advertising, Mobile Marketing, Social Media | May 9, 2012 by Connor

Smart media spending means investing in highly effective and engaging content creation. Photo by 401K.

Saving money is really about getting the most value for money spent.

In the current economic climate, everyone is looking for ways to streamline and save a little money—brands included. One way brands are trying to do this is by cutting down on their “nonworking” media spending. Traditionally, brands have thought of the money they spend in two ways: either working or nonworking. Nonworking media spending is the money used to create content; brainstorming, concepting, designing, and executing. Working media spending is the money used to actually run the content, to get it in front of consumers’ eyes. This distinction is not always popular among advertising agencies. As David Beals, CEO of the Chicago-based consulting firm R3:JLB, put it, “The whole idea that the agency-fee dollars are nonworking and the media is working just doesn’t make sense. Anybody who has enough experience knows if the agency comes up with a crummy idea, not only does the media become nonworking, it can be negatively working.”

It’s understandable that brands are examining their media budgets carefully and looking for places they can save. But indiscriminately slashing creative budgets is a good way to end up with crummy ideas, as Beals says, which won’t do the brand any good at all. Many brands are focused on reducing the ratio of nonworking to working media at all costs. One so-called nonworking area that often gets the short end of the stick is digital, mobile, and social media, even though many in the industry would agree that it’s a crucial part of the future of marketing.

Brands should consider what types of content are the most effective at engaging consumers and leading to a sale, and focus their resources there in order to maximize every dollar. “If the goal is to get people to participate in the brand, you’re going to have to invest,” says Jordan Bitterman, senior VP social-media-platforms at Digitas. Smart media spending means investing in highly effective and engaging content creation.

Here at Pongr, we make a big deal about the power of photos and photo marketing, but that’s because it is a big deal. The popularity of sites like Instagram and Pinterest—not to mention the 300 million photos that are uploaded to Facebook daily—proves that we live in a visual world. People snap photos of brands they love every day, and shoppers are far more likely to actually purchase a product they’ve taken a picture of. Creating these brand moments should be a top priority, and the value of earned media cannot be underestimated. Studies have shown that earned media consistently ranks first in driving purchases, above owned and paid media.

Everyone’s keeping an eye on their spending these days, even brands. Creating really excellent, engaging content is highly effective and leads to sales, and is a much better option than simply cutting back content development entirely. Fan-generated photo content is where it’s at, and will provide huge returns on advertising dollars. Plus, it’s a lot of fun.

Pongr is Exploding With Passion: Behind the Scenes of the Fast Company Photo Shoot

Artificial Intelligence, Image Search, Mobile Marketing, Our Favorites, Shopper Marketing | April 9, 2012 by Darren

Fast Company magazine recently explored Pongr's quest to retire QR code technology and asked CEO Jamie Thompson to demonstrate his feelings. Photo Credit: Jordan Hollender. (Click Jamie's mustache to read full story).

Fast Company magazine never settles for boring corporate headshots and their interview with CEO Jamie Thompson (“Forget QR Codes: Pongr Easily Turns Your Photos into Brand Rewards“) was no exception.

Given our focus on tapping into the power of brand logos and iconic advertising imagery, the action scene above may remind you of the Kool-Aid Man mascot, who is constantly bursting through brick walls and shouting “Oh, Yeah!” whenever there is a distress call from thirsty kids.

However, Fast Company editor Jason Feifer had other inspirations in mind.

“Photo recognition isn’t an easy thing to show in a still image. It’s a process, all done digitally, and any attempt to illustrate it would have come out cheesy,” he says. “So I started thinking that, rather than show Pongr’s business, it should show Pongr’s nemesis—the QR code, an instantly recognizable symbol.”

“We thought about various ways we could have Jamie fighting a QR code—he could be stuffing a big one in a garbage can, setting it on fire, kicking it. But in each of those, I just pictured a guy and a square piece of paper drowning in the photo. They all felt empty. Too much dead space. We needed the QR code to be bigger, badder, something requiring a full-on assault. And from there, the answer was obvious: Jamie needed to be busting through one, high-school-football-player style,” adds Jason.

Jamie met Fast Company photo editor Kathy Nguyen at the Manhattan studios of photographer Jordan Hollender, who was charged with the task of bringing out Jamie’s personality — again, no stodgy corporate stuff.

Pongr's Jamie Thompson with his archenemy, the QR Code! (Photos courtesy of Jordan Hollender)

Kathy had a more daunting challenge. Where do you find a printer to churn out billboard-sized QR codes on short notice? And then how do you prop it up?

Large format printers charge about $300 to $400 per sheet for posters that size. And with the plan being to take multiple poses and shots, the budget wasn’t generous enough to go through props like toilet paper. High school cheerleader pep rally banners were also considered, but most of those open and reseal with velcro and that wouldn’t capture the “torn” look the photographer would be striving for.

The giant barcode you see Jamie burst through is actually nine squares of paper glued together. Originally, the plans were to mount the squares onto foam core board. That image would have stood firm, for sure, but it also would have been impenetrable.

Kathy finally settled for firmly stretching the code like a canvas over a wooden frame.

Saving Jamie from countless headaches and a possible broken nose, the prop stylist cut a small hole in the middle of the code for Jamie to stick his head through and then tear a larger opening.

“The thought was that once we ripped it, we couldn’t go back, so we took baby steps before we let Jamie act like the Incredible Hulk,” says Kathy. “I couldn’t believe how animated he was — such a great model. He really brought his A-game!”

To get the “action” look, Jamie tried his best to get a running start behind the QR code, despite the tight quarters in the studio. At one point, he stumbled through the hole and accidentally caused a larger rip than anticipated.

“We were looking for lots of options so we had him running and jumping the whole time. He was absolutely dizzy by the end,” Kathy says.

Jamie's distaste for QR codes is well known in the image recognition technology universe. (Photos courtesy of Jordan Hollender).

The Fast Company fashion shoot (Did you notice how Jamie is even dressed in the colors of a QR Code) also included poses of the Pongr CEO throwing the shredded code into a trash can and trying to rip apart the remnants like a grizzly bear. Those shots ultimately wound up on the cutting room floor (or whatever magazines call the place they send their outtakes).

“I appreciate his willingness to humor us and keep trying new things. Jamie didn’t need much direction. He kept pushing the boundaries on his own. This was definitely one of my favorite photo shoots,” says Kathy.

Whenever you ask a CEO to act like the Kool-Aid Man, a high school cheerleader and the Incredible Hulk, how could it NOT be?

The Key to Mobile Marketing: Listen, Listen, Listen

Mobile Marketing, Shopper Marketing, Social Media | March 6, 2012 by Connor

The modern consumer is no dummy. Gone are the days when television viewers were inclined to think that the reason Lucy and Desi drank Sanka was simply because they preferred the brand and wanted to promote it. Today, people know when they’re being marketed to and aren’t easily fooled by tricks and gimmicks.

Brands need to listen to what consumers have to say and allow them to express themselves.

Pongr user Eric W. shows off his Motorola Droid

But an increasingly savvy consumer is a good thing for brands. People know what they want when it comes to marketing and advertising. Brands need to be able to pay attention to their customers and adapt based on what they see. Marketing that adapts to the consumer is always going to be more effective marketing. Today, nine in ten young people between the ages of 18 and 24 are on their mobile devices for one to five hours a day, and nearly one in three would like brands to market to them directly on their smartphones and tablets. Seems pretty clear what needs to be done.

That’s not the end of the story, though. What makes mobile marketing so exciting is that it’s inherently social and mobile at the same time, which means brands have to learn to hit a moving target. Mobile users are constantly on the go, and it’s important that promotions are delivered at the right time and place. As Jenna Lebel, Managing Director of Strategy at Likeable Media, said in her recent article for Promo, “A precisely timed discount code or notification about a special at a nearby venue can create new opportunities for consumers to interact with your brand—and even spark a purchase.” By the same token, an irrelevant or poorly timed promotion can be seen as annoying or intrusive, and will definitely be ignored. Opt-in mobile marketing is the trick.

Pongr’s tools provide brands with important information about their customers, which can then be used to create unique, tailored experiences that consumers desire. The key here, though, is not to be creepy. Of the young adults from the survey we mentioned earlier, two-thirds don’t want brands to know their exact location. But on the other hand, almost a third think it’s important that offers and promotions are nearby, and 40% only want deals that are relevant to them. It’s a delicate balance that requires brands to pay close attention to what their customers are saying— a little over half of the young people surveyed said it’s “extremely important” for them to be able to opt-out of receiving promotions.

While it may seem daunting, integrated mobile marketing is now an absolute necessity for brands. Fortunately, there are lots of tools available to make it easier, like Pongr’s direct-response system and image search technology. The most important thing to remember, though, is that consumers know what they want and what they don’t want. As long as brands are listening to their customers, navigating the world of mobile and social marketing will be no problem.

This post incorporates data from this infographic via Mashable, and this article by Jenna Lebel on Promo.

Tapping Into Our Natural Behavior: Find Your Inner Hamster

Mobile Marketing, Sentiment Analysis, Shopper Marketing, Social Media | February 23, 2012 by Connor

The cutest solution to the energy crisis?

Hamsters love to run. So if you want your hamster to power your refrigerator, you throw the little guy on a wheel, attach the wheel to a generator, and there you go. But if you asked him to mine coal and burn it to generate electricity, he’d probably give you a perplexed squeak and then proceed to do anything but that. Mining is not a natural behavior for hamsters, but running is. So if you want him to do something for you, it’s better to take advantage of the natural behaviors he does already, like running.

The same is true of people. As the explosion of services like Pinterest and Instagram shows, one of our natural behaviors is taking and sharing pictures of things we like— whether that’s beaches and sunsets, or our favorite products. Just like generating electricity with a hamster wheel, brands need to tap into this natural behavior to generate brand moments with consumers through direct responses.

There’s a right way and a wrong way to do this, though. The wrong way is to invent some complex, unnatural process for the consumer to get content, like using QR codes. The right way is to attach content to things people are doing anyway, like taking and sharing photos. Truly passionate brand advocates are out there, and brands can better identify these devoted customers and provide more relevant content simply by taking a look at their pictures. Pongr’s smart tools can do just that, by analyzing images to provide a 360°-view of the consumer. This means better, more intelligent direct responses that will consistently surprise and delight.

But it all comes back to natural behavior versus unnatural behavior. The moment brands start asking people to do something unnatural, they’re going to lose customers’ interest. People are going to keep taking and sharing photos whether brands like it or not. The question is which brands will tap into this behavior to engage their customers, and which brands will still be shopping for hamster-sized hardhats and pickaxes.

What’s the Deal with QR Codes?

Advertising, Brand Loyalty, Mobile Marketing, Shopper Marketing | February 23, 2012 by Connor

Fun, interesting direct response content is the key to brand loyalty in this age of fast-paced mobile marketing. One way many brands try to provide this content is with QR codes, but these just aren’t the best option.

QR codes have been around since 1994, and while they’ve had success in some East Asian countries, in almost 20 years they haven’t really taken off here in the U.S. They don’t look particularly inviting, for starters. We’ve been conditioned to ignore things like UPCs, so some people may do the same with QR codes. Plus, scanning a code can be an unnecessarily complex and cumbersome process that may scare off many consumers.

We're betting this doesn't give you a warm and fuzzy feeling inside.

Imagine you’re walking through the mall and see a QR code on an ad. The ever observant and tech-savvy consumer that you are, you stop, knowing the brand has some direct response content to offer you. First, you have to pull out your phone and open your QR scanner app. Don’t have one of those? You open up the app market, search for “QR scanner” and find that there are an obscene number of apps to choose from. After a moment’s hesitation, you pick the top rated app and start downloading. But even then, you might not be home free. After you’ve waited around for it to download, your app might not even be able to read the code at all. There are many different encoding schemes for QR codes, and they’re almost impossible to distinguish at a glance. By this point, you’ve lost interest completely.

But even if people are actually scanning a brand’s codes, it’s probably not something they love doing. Sure, the content may be enjoyable, but actually holding your phone up to a little square can be pretty boring. What if the same enjoyable content can be delivered to consumers while they’re doing something fun, like snapping pictures of themselves and their friends with products they love?

Using scalable, intelligent photo analysis tools from Pongr, brands can turn something that was once as dull as checking out at the grocery store into a fun, social experience. If the consumer is encouraged to share her own creation and self-expression, she’s got way more incentive to engage with the brand. Plus, brand moments can happen anywhere— not just where there happens to be an ad with a QR code. Uniquely tailored content can be delivered to people whenever they decide to take a cool picture. Doesn’t get much cooler than that.

So there really were THREE winners on Super Bowl Sunday

Pongr Contests, Social Media | February 7, 2012 by Darren

Jody C.'s family showed their Patriots pride, only to have their hopes dashed.

Jody's gung-ho Patriots-loving family hours before the heartbreaking finale.

Given how Super close the Super Bowl was, it could have easily been the New England Patriots prancing around with Mickey Mouse at Disney World this week or waving to fans in a gala parade. Our hats off to the New York Giants!

Based on Pongr’s strict neutrality in the eternal “Who’s Greater: Tom Brady or Eli Manning?” debate, I’m thrilled to report that the two winners of the Pongr Super Bowl Photo Contest came from both sides.

First-time Pongr player Jody C., of Massachusetts, received the most likes for her photo of her family posing in the kitchen before the game. Her beloved Pats may have lost, but she wins a $100 American Express Gift Card.

Jody’s family joined four other families in the neighborhood for the festivities, bringing her famous homemade “Barby Bars,” a sweet concoction of chocolate chip cookies with marshmallows and mints melted on top. The recipe is named after her mother.

Pongr Super Bowl Photo Contest Winner Jody C.

“I like the idea of winning a prize just for taking photos,” she says. “When I explained how it worked to my family, my daughter immediately wanted to take pics of the Sabra hummus on the table!”

Fittingly, Jody and her husband Mike were engaged on Super Bowl Sunday 15 years ago.

Meanwhile, in a pro-Giants enclave in Idaho, the Pongr gods were smiling on player Sipp S., whose randomly-selected snapshot of his TV and favorite drink earned him the second $100 American Express Gift Card.

To celebrate his wife’s recent graduation from nursing school, Sipp rented a hotel suite for the Big Game.

“We had plenty of snacks, and of course, a ‘frothalicious’ in hand,” he says. “A ‘frothalicious’ is whatever beverage that hits the spot at the exact moment you are craving it. For some, it’s coffee; for others it is a Dew, Pepsi or a Coke. For me, it was a Stewart’s Root Beer at the time! Just love the bite and it’s delicious.”

Pongr'ing the Super Bowl paid handsomely for Sipp!

Every Super Bowl, Sipp and his mother make a symbolic $1 bet for “bragging rights.”

“Mom’s a huge Patriots fan and so this was going to be her revenge game because I had the Giants back in 2007 when that game also came down to the end,” he explains. “Plus, she had won the last three years, including rollin’ with my sister’s Packers last year. She was on a roll! But this year, no deal, Howie!”

“We stay in touch sending IMs, texts and pics because she lives more than 500 miles away,” he adds. “Love that technology can keep us together even though we’re not actually in the same house anymore.”

Sipp, an avid Pongr player who has earned the Founder Award in 36 brands (including Acura, AXE and Domino’s Pizza), plans to spend his gift card on some “pampering” for his wife or perhaps put it toward a Coach purse. For her, as well.

Back to our honored Patriots fan… Jody says she is either going to go crazy at Home Depot or take the family out for an expensive dinner.

ENJOY!

Super Bowl Snack of the Century

Pongr Contests | February 6, 2012 by Darren

Super Bowl stadium made out of deli meat

A Super Bowl Stadium That You Can Sink Your Teeth Into!

So we hope you all had fantastic Super Bowl parties—what a nailbiter! Our hearty congratulations to New York Giants fans and our sincere condolences to New England Patriots fans.

And for all you fans of those other NFL teams, just remember that training camp for the 2012 season really isn’t that far away.

In all the excitement surrounding our “Ultimate Match-Up” Super Bowl promotion with Pepsi and Frito-Lay, and last night’s Super Bowl Photo Contest, we’d be remiss if we didn’t credit the anonymous deli meat architect who created this replica of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis!

Thanks to Pongr player Keith C., who alerted us to this snack sculpture masterpiece. Keith shared this picture from a viral email that’s been going around—but this idea of Bologna Architecture remains no less impressive.

Any enterprising supermarkets, grocery stores or sandwich shops want to capitalize on this idea year-round with other landmarks? Do you know of any food markets that are already being this creative?

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