Here are 4 questions Jonathan Morgan Ceo HyperTag :

Current status : Hypertag is a proximity marketing technology provider that enables brands to deliver rich, interactive branded content to consumers based on their proximity to a physical location. This allows brands to reach their target audience at a specific time and place and puts their offer into a direct and relevant context when a consumer is most receptive. Using short-range mobile technologies such as Bluetooth and infra-red, Hypertags can send content including videos, games, music and vouchers direct to mobiles quickly and for free.  By simply activating the appropriate technology on their phones within range of a Hypertag unit, consumers can receive content to their handset.
Hypertags have been used by global brands such as Coca Cola, Ford, Nokia, Vodafone and Nike in over 100 campaigns and in more than 15 countries, making it by far the most established proximity marketing technology provider.

Can you tell us more about your service?
The Hypertag product is about using technology to target consumer’s mobile phones based on their proximity to a physical location.  For example, when a clothes shop is running a special promotion, they could use a Hypertag to reach out to passing consumer’s phones asking them if they want to receive a money off voucher to be redeemed in the store. This means that brands and retailers can target consumers at a time and place that is completely relevant to their offer – making Hypertag marketing relevant by definition.

Hypertags use ubiquitous short range mobile phone technologies like infra-red and Bluetooth.  As well as allowing Hypertags to reach out to anyone who’s physically close to the unit, a great advantage of these technologies is that they’re free to the brand and consumer and don’t require any knowledge of the consumer’s mobile phone number, avoiding the privacy and spamming issues inherent in SMS marketing.

What is your business model?
We work with brands, agencies and retailers to create Hypertag advertising campaigns.  We charge on a per tag fee with a separate consultancy fee around the actual creation of the campaign. 

What are the projects, additional features you’re preparing?
Our core focus at the moment is on two areas, consumer protection and user experience.On the consumer protection side, we want to be sure that we’re only reaching out to people that want to receive our messages and that we’re not just sending out content blindly.  With this in mind we’ve developed a wide range of opt-in mechanisms that brands can choose to use on their campaigns.  In addition, we’ve also developed technology that prevents us sending the same content to the same phone twice, ensuring that people aren’t repeatedly ‘hit’ by the same message. 

On user experience, we’re constantly looking at ways of making the Bluetooth experience quicker and easier for consumers.  Bluetooth was never invented as a marketing technology, so we’ve done a huge amount of work making connection speeds faster, enabling the technology to manage more simultaneous connections and helping devices ‘recognise’ each other quicker, all leading to a seamless content transaction between tag and consumer.

What are the current users’ feedback, your learnings on the service’s usage?
The lessons are clear and obvious – the most important thing is that, unless the content you’re giving out is valuable or interesting, no amount of technology can make a consumer want it.  If you’re just sending out a copy of your television advert then people aren’t going to thank you for the download with brand loyalty.  If, however, you give them something of perceived value, like a game or a voucher, or something different or interesting, like a unique music clip or specially made video, then you can really engage with them at a new level.

The other really important thing for a Hypertag campaign is siting – you can put them on a poster in the street where people are just walking past but if you really want to make the most of the technology you have to think about dwell times.  Places where consumers are standing or sitting still and doing nothing else are the places where they’re more willing to interact with something like a Hypertag.  Places like bus stops and underground stations are the obvious place to start but also cinema foyers and bars work really well.