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Nova FM will launch the most recent instalment of their ‘Live Life Nova’ campaign using the latest near field communication (NFC) technology for mobile phones.

NFC technology will be employed in an outdoor campaign in Sydney and Melbourne with JCDecaux. It is the first time this technology has been used in advertising within Australia.

The media aspect of the campaign, developed by Nova's media agency UM, enables consumers with NFC capable phones to simply tap their phones against the outdoor panels to immediately start listening to Nova.

Currently, NFC is most widely deployed in payment cards like MasterCard Pay Pass and Cabcharge Fastcard where consumers need only tap their card against a reader instead of having to swipe it and enter a PIN.

NFC technology involves two systems communicating with one another to either transfer information or perform an action (such as a credit card transaction). When installed in a mobile phone, NFC allows for consumers to pay for goods, initiate a content download or transfer information with a simple touch or tap.

Ashley Brown, National Head of Digital Communications at UM said this of the campaign, “We are really excited to be trialling this cutting edge technology with Nova. It creates a direct connection between their outdoor media and the digital world. Unlike QR codes or Bluetooth, NFC allows for hassle free and instantaneous communication and information transfer between a brand and a consumer.” He went on to say that “Whilst penetration of NFC enabled handsets is currently quite low we are very interested in testing it because it has enormous future potential for advertisers".

JCDecaux in conjunction with ‘Tapit’, an NFC specialist agency based in Sydney, have collaborated to create specially designed sites which allow for this unique interaction. JCDecaux CEO Steve O’Connor said: “More and more web search is being conducted from mobiles so Tapit is ideally suited to facilitate a fast and convenient online connection for advertisers.  With a large proportion of JCDecaux signage being located in high traffic pedestrian areas and in key commercial districts it is an ideal way to employ this type of technology.

Nova is the first to use this NFC in Australia and, as far as we can tell, only the second advertiser globally. I suspect that this technology will significantly change the way advertisers consider the role that JCDecaux can play in driving web traffic and promoting calls to action.”

Tony Thomas, Group Marketing Director at DMG said: “Nova’s goal has always been to  showcase our on-air product to as many potential listeners as possible. UM are always looking for new media innovations to help us with this and we're proud to be leading the way with such an exciting innovation. Now, if you walk past a Nova poster, and have an NFC enabled phone, you can immediately tune into Nova with a simple tap of your phone," he said.

This solution has been supported by the NSW Government's Collaborative Solutions Program. For more information: www.business.nsw.gov.au/collaborativesolutions

12/07/2011 by llewdacris