Mojo Tags: Next-generation marketing tool unveiled in PR
The application recognizes iBeacons — invisible image and audio tags imbedded in product packaging, advertising, print, audio, TV ads, and locations — which can connect consumers with brands, campaigns and other multimedia sources.
Mojo Tags, a next-generation tool designed to drive advertising and marketing efforts into the next level of interactivity, has officially been introduced to the local market by a company looking to use Puerto Rico as a global launching pad for the technology.
In an interview with this media outlet Thursday, Joseph Spiteri, president of Mojo Data Solutions Inc., revealed that the “disruptive” technology that is just about 60 days old is designed to help companies and their brands get close to the consumer, using mobile devices as the channel.
The way it works is simple: an invisible code — the tag — is integrated into campaign art that when scanned by a mobile device, will lead the consumer to a website or “landing page” with information. The application recognizes iBeacons — invisible image and audio tags imbedded in product packaging, advertising, print, audio, TV ads, and locations — which can connect consumers with brands, campaigns and other multimedia sources.
Because the code is invisible, there will always be a “call to action” integrated into the campaign so the customer knows what to do, he said.
“We’re just scratching the surface with the potential behind our unique technology in Mojo Tags. Mojo’s multi-media reader can connect consumers to specific ‘brand’ related content through interactive audio or print,” said Spiteri, a seasoned executive with more than 30 years of experience in software engineering, research and innovation with an emphasis on emerging technologies.
“The content can be anything from special offers, couponing, and loyalty programs. The possibilities are endless,” said Spiteri, who less than a year ago joined the growing ranks of stateside investors migrating their businesses to the island in response to incentives provided through Acts 20 and 22.
“I made the decision a year ago to come to Puerto Rico from New York, where I had my business, Mobile Data Systems,” he said. “We created a new entity here, which I believe is the first public company to come in under Act 22.”
The next-generation technology is the likely successor of the so-called “Quick-Read Code,” that distinctive black and white square that has been plugged into scores of local campaigns and promotional materials in recent years. That technology, however, is quickly becoming “old school” in other markets, he said.
“We do not promote QR codes, which are on their way out,” he said. “Ours is a multimedia application that can recognize what we call mobile tags, that is meant to change the behavior of the brand as well as the consumer.”
Several campaigns underway
Since launching the application in January, Mojo Data Solutions has been working on several local campaigns, including a partnership with Welch’s, which chose the provider to launch a mobile social responsibility campaign to raise funds for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of the Cardiovascular Center of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
“What we’re finding here is that many of the brands still do business in the old-school way, and it’s been a challenge for me to show them how the technology can benefit them and generate that return on investment,” Spiteri said. “Initially, there’s pushback, but I think once we create a relationship, we’ll see the use of this technology grow.”
The “Sé Bueno de corazón con Welch’s” campaign allows consumers to interact and access customizable content about the campaign scanning specially printed materials in 40 supermarkets throughout the or UPC codes on 46 and 64 oz. bottles of its grape juice, going one step further than QR codes.
“This partnership with Welch’s combines two powerful tools that can provide a positive impact beyond consumer marketing, technology and social media. We are looking forward to exciting projects taking advantage of local, out of the box creativity and the benefits associated with our proprietary technological tools,” said Spiteri.
Ultimately, Welch’s is seeking to benefit its chosen nonprofit, while the developer is looking to begin gaining a critical mass of users in Puerto Rico.
Joseph Spiteri, president of Mojo Data Solutions Inc
“Everyday companies are having to do more with less. And every day, consumers are heavily relying on their mobile devices for much more than phone access. Mojo Tags is allowing us to reach consumers in an innovative and efficient manner, with a device that is already right at their fingertips, and provide them with information and the means to act upon their social responsibility with ease, turning desire and intention into actions,” said José Rodríguez-Osorio, country manager for Welch’s Puerto Rico.
“We value this partnership with Mojo Data Solutions, not only because of their support to such a worthy cause but because it allows us to be the first beverage to use this ground breaking technology reaching consumers in innovative and meaningful ways, while being early adopters ourselves,” concluded Rodríguez-Osorio.
Mojo Data Solutions is also currently working with SBS Broadcasting on an audio campaign being promoted on air that promises give-away’s and other prizes to listeners.
Critical mass needed
During the interview, Spiteri said the goal is to have at least 100,000 people download the Mojo Tags application by summer.
“This is a good market for us to use as a launching pad for our application, because between 75 percent and 80 percent of the population carries smartphones,” he said. “We plan to take the measurements of the success of the campaigns we do here, and be ready to go outside Puerto Rico by the end of the year.”
“We’ve already started exploring things in Mexico, where we’re doing a small campaign with Sony. Eventually, we’ll expand to the rest of Latin America,” said Spiteri, who also plans to buy a property in Dorado to establish his operations.
In the meantime, however, he is waiting for an opportunity to move into the government’s Science and Technology Trust facilities in Río Piedras. His company has applied for office space, but has yet to receive a response.
