EYE Mall Media has announced a partnership with Zappit to power its next generation Amplify mobile platform. EYE launched Amplify last year as the largest mobile-enabled out-of-home network in the country. It allows consumers to engage with their mobile devices at more than 3,100 backlit and digital advertising locations in more than 250 premium shopping malls around the country.
According to the company, version 2, which is powered by Zappit, adds a robust metrics and reporting capability and web interface to enable real-time monitoring of consumer engagement.
The Amplify v2 platform uses NFC (Near Field Communication), QR (Quick Response Codes) and SMS (Short Message Service) to enable consumers to engage with the kiosk based on their phone's capability to either tap, scan, text or connect to further engage with the ad. This is in addition to the Mobile Proximity Marketing network powered by Mobiquity.
"We made a conscious decision to incorporate multiple technologies to make Eye's Amplify mobile platform work with all phones. Too many mobile executions are only focused on QR and now NFC, which consequently leaves out almost 50 percent of the market that do not use smartphones," said Joe Carbone, who is business development manager at New York-based Eye and heading up mobile solutions.
The Amplify engagement label that houses the NFC chip, QR code and SMS short code has also been completely redesigned to enhance consumer engagement. The message "Connect With Ad" and the use of red were added to draw more attention to the Amplify label.
"Because over 90 percent of the local community goes to their mall, the challenge is to connect with those consumers on the go, and messaging needs to be simple and eye catching, enabling brands to deliver a richer and more engaging experience," said Jeff Gunderman, general manager, EYE Mall Media. "Our digital and backlit advertising solutions are optimized to catch the shopper's attention, and the addition of the Amplify mobile solution allows brands to deliver consumer engagement in the form of video with sight, sound and motion, coupons, offers, a mobile web experience and more. Additionally, we can deliver a rich set of metrics to the advertiser about that consumer engagement."
"We've been developing a cloud-based management platform for outdoor media owners since 2010 and are excited to partner with EYE Mall Media to roll out their next generation mobile solution, Amplify," added Mark Fraser, CEO of London-based Zappit. "Zappit and EYE share a common vision that the right mobile solution works with all phones, has robust analytics and reporting and above all provides consumers with a valuable and engaging mobile experience."