A UK start-up specialising in
proximity mobile marketing
has brought together the
digital and analogue worlds
in an NFC-enabled magazine
advertising campaign created
for BMW.
Running in
Spiegel Wissen
,
a quarterly spin-off from
Der
Spiegel
, the four-page print
advertisement incorporates
near-field communication (NFC)
tags that when tapped with an
NFC-enabled smartphone open
a BMW app giving access to
online content.
Norbert Facklam, MD
SPIEGEL QC, said: “This new
technology is a fantastic
example of successful media
convergence – the world of
print is being connected to the
online world through a remote
device. Our customers have
an attention-grabbing form of
advertising available, which they
can use to break new ground in
communication.”
A key benefit for advertisers
is the ability to track and analyse
reader responses via Tamoco’s
cloud-based software platform.
As well as showing how people
interact with campaigns, it lets
customers plug-in other data
sources, such as sales histories
and information collected from
Twitter or Facebook, enabling
them to create detailed profiles
for each customer and ultimately
provide more personalised
marketing and communications.
The campaign was planned
by Mediaplus and Plan.
net in cooperation with the
Smart Media Alliance (SMA),
an industry-led initiative to
further implementations of NFC
technology.
Samsung acquires
PrinterOn
Samsung has expanded
its mobile ecosystem with
the acquisition of mobile
cloud printing solutions
provider PrinterOn, which
will henceforth operate as
an independent, wholly-
owned subsidiary of Samsung
Electronics Canada (SECA).
PrinterOn solutions allow
users to print from any mobile
device to any printer, with high
quality document rendering in
multiple formats and multiple
print submission and print job
delivery methods.
Additionally, PrinterOn offers
a cloud-based directory service
that enables a secure interface to
mobile devices and private
and public cloud servers.
Toshiba and Stratas
donate MFP to
Bowel Cancer UK
Toshiba TEC and technology
partner Stratas have donated
an e-STUDIO2550CSE colour
MFP worth £13,000 to Bowel
Cancer UK’s London HQ.
The MFP had been used at
the Charity IT Leaders (CITL)
Conference to enable delegates
to print from their mobile
devices, and after the event
Stratas decided to donate it to a
charity nominated by speakers.
Rob Holyoake, Director at
Stratas, said: “Ian Williamson,
ICT Director at UNICEF UK, gave
a very moving speech about
bowel cancer and all of the
delegates attending agreed that
Bowel Cancer UK should be the
charity to receive this product.”
Natasha Romain, Bowel
Cancer UK Corporate
Partnerships Executive, said:
“Everyone has commented
on how easy it is to use, and
knowing that we have such a
reliable machine in the office
allows us to concentrate on the
important work we are doing
in raising awareness of bowel
cancer.”
Print service for hoteliers
A hotel marketing agency and specialist printer have
launched a dedicated print service designed to meet the
printing needs of hotels. Developed by In2Print and Journey,
Hotel Print provides marketing and collateral design work as
well as print fulfilment.
Central to Hotel Print is a specially adapted Print Management
System (PMS) that allows individual hotels to manage their
requirements easily and efficiently and, where necessary, make
modifications to printed material.
In the case of larger hotel chains, this can be done without
affecting brand identity, as the PMS can be set up to allow
individual hotel management teams to change certain fields,
such as addresses, room numbers, telephone numbers and staff
names, without modifying branding or design work.
As part of the service, prospective clients can take advantage
of a free print audit to identify print overspend and explore more
cost-effective print solutions.
Cloud-based print management
lacks appeal
New research from the Cloud Industry Forum reveals a slow
uptake of cloud-based print and file management among UK
businesses.
The survey of 250 IT decision-makers found that one in five
(19%) organisations that have a file and print management service
hosts it in the cloud, with a further 17% planning to do so in
the near future. The remaining 63% have no plans to move this
function to the cloud, preferring to keep it in-house.
Andrew Smith, Head of Professional Services at Annodata, is
surprised there isn’t greater appetite for cloud-based print given
the central role the printed page still has in today’s enterprises.
“There’s clearly momentum in this space, but it’s surprising
to see that cloud-based print and file management isn’t even
on the radar of so many businesses. Print and file management
languishes at the bottom third of IT directors’ priorities and is too
often thought of as trivial, yet it’s integral to the well running of a
host of business functions. Moreover, it’s one of the functions that
stands to benefit most by being hosted in the cloud,” he said.
ASL signs with
The Posh
Cambridge-based Automated
Systems Ltd (ASL) has
extended its 10-year
relationship with Peterborough
United Football Club by
signing a three-year Managed
Print Services contract with
the League One club.
Peterborough United,
also known as ‘The Posh’,
was formed in 1934 and is
managed by Darren Ferguson,
son of Sir Alex Ferguson.
For the duration of the new
contract, ASL will be the official
match ball sponsor for two
games per season.
NFC brings together printed
and online information
BULLETIN
8
PRINT.IT
01732 759725
Photo shows (left to right): ASL,
Account Manager Anton Sambrook
and Alex Harris, Commercial
Manager at Peterborough United FC.
