Article - BoaTAG™ Interface Gives Starcraft Marine a Place in the Sun By Christian Mattix, Force 5

BoaTAG™ Interface Gives Starcraft Marine a Place in the Sun

Christian Mattix, Force 5 - Case Study 0 Comments | Add Yours

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Force 5, based in South Bend, IN, is a next generation brand development and marketing communications firm. Force 5 provides brand expression, brilliant ideas, and award winning marketing programs to regional and national clients. Force 5’s principals are certified Brand Strategists, and they have experienced and certified account and technical staff members – serving a wide variety of B2B and B2C customers.

In the bleak of winter, many people dream of enjoying the sun and sand of warm summer weekends boating on their favorite lake. This year, Starcraft Marine decided to help boating enthusiasts find that “happy place” a little differently. When Peter Barrett, Exec. VP of Marketing, and his staff planned Starcraft’s new product launch and winter show activities, they wanted customers to see Starcraft boats on the water in a new and more personalized way. So, to deliver the most current boat videos and latest product information to their customers, Starcraft decided to utilize smart phone technology and 2D bar codes in their promotional materials and at boat shows. Starcraft looked to their web development partner, Force 5, to help them find the right 2D bar code system and to implement their plan.

During their investigation, Force 5 learned that all 2D bar code systems have both pros and cons, but it was the ease of use, powerful reporting, and wide range of compatible devices that steered them toward Microsoft TAGs. It was also learned that 2D bar code systems, as a general rule, were being utilized in some what limited ways: directing viewers to a web site, dialing a phone number, receiving a text response, etc. In an effort to more fully engage customers and to learn more about their needs, Force 5 developers created the BoaTAG™ interface. The interface creates a more robust customer experience and leverages the power of analytics. While Starcraft Marine allows those attending boat shows, viewing brochures, or reading magazine ads to watch fun and informative videos about their favorite boat from their smart phones, the BoaTAG™ system enhances the experience by enabling the viewers to take action.

BoaTAG™ directs the Microsoft TAG to a customized URL based on the specifications of the particular tag. As a part of the interface’s general functionality, the viewer can watch a video, share it with a friend, continue to a web site, look up a marine dealer, or order a brochure. The system is expandable so additional interactions can be added as needed and the viewer can be allowed to have any or all of these interactions. For example, someone scanning the tag from a magazine ad could see all the options available; someone scanning the tag on a boat may only be given the video - the brochure, or directed to the web – the possibilities are limitless!

Starcraft has produced about 50 TAGs which are being utilized in a variety of settings (static clings on boats, magazine ads, etc.) and the analytics/metrics for the system are phenomenal. Microsoft’s reporting provides “hits” data and geo tracking per tag; Force 5 tracks video views from their server, directs to form pages, etc. Together, BoaTAG™ and Microsoft TAGS provide a richer media experience for the viewer while allowing Starcraft Marine to obtain better viewer metrics to help them gain a greater understanding of their customers. Microsoft TAGs and BoaTAG™s: it’s a TAG team that’s hard to beat!