Goss International Corp. is putting the finishing touches on software aimed at making it easier for cell phone users to interact with print ads.

The offering, GossRSVP, is based on a two-dimensional barcode that appears in a company’s print advertisement. Consumers use their cell phones to either snap a picture of the code or text-message a request about the specific ad to Goss, which in turn sends back a promotional reward and other marketing information to the user.

The program uses software developed by Goss as well as software components developed by other vendors. Goss declined to disclose the names of the other companies.

Photo: Goss International
GossRSVP was tested in late December at Foster’s Daily Democrat in Dover, N.H. Goss manages and processes all user transactions.
 

Goss manages and processes all of the transactions from a server at its Durham, N.H., headquarters.

Foster’s Daily Democrat in Dover, N.H., tested GossRSVP in its Dec. 20 and Dec. 23 editions, publishing print ads from five local firms sporting the GossRSVP logo and associated barcode.

“Print continues to deliver a very strong return on investment, and this interactive capability can enhance the value by documenting the reach and effectiveness,” said Goss Vice President Toby Clarke, explaining the rationale behind the service.

“The GossRSVP program complements our ongoing innovations aimed at making print media more valuable and dynamic.”

Clarke said Goss would continue testing GossRSVP with a limited number of advertisers and publishers in New Hampshire. It then hopes to expand the service to other parts of the country and to add more features to the offering.

Associated promotion

GossRSVP also offers a complementary promotions program, MyRSVPrewards.com, which allows advertisers to give out text coupons, additional information about a product or service, directions to retail location and information about daily specials.

Aside from testing the technology components of RVSP, Clarke said Goss is working on how it will offer the program to newspaper clients.

“There is a wide range of compelling applications and business models for the GossRSVP concept,” he said. “We will customize the management and costs accordingly.”

Goss said it plans to offer the service on a per-response basis to advertisers, publishers and others that use the program.

Clarke said GossRSVP could also be used with other media in addition to print advertising, including billboards, packaging and electronic media.

GossRSVP comes as other vendors market services aimed at narrowing the gap between print and electronic content.

Finnish firm UpCode Ltd., for example, in 2006 displayed a mobile marketing technology that lets users automatically access Web content by pointing camera-equipped cell phones or PDAs at print ads containing a special code. (See Newspapers & Technology, December 2006.)

NeoMedia Technologies Inc., a Fort Myers, Fla., company, also has a direct-to-Web product that relies on mobile barcodes.