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QR codes with nutrition information added to Nestle packaging

| February 7, 2013

QR Codes NestleThe barcodes will be launched for use by consumers in the United Kingdom, first.

Nestlé has just announced that it is updating its packaging to provide a more mobile friendly experience through the use of QR codes that will provide consumers with nutrition and other relevant information.

Scanning the barcode also reveals the social and environmental impacts of the company’s products.

The first consumers who will have access to these new packages that feature QR codes will be those in the United Kingdom. They will be available on the multipacks of the Kit-Kat two finger chocolate bars in Ireland and England. Consumers will be able to read more about the ingredients that make up the product and how they can be enjoyed as a part of a balanced diet and more healthy lifestyle.

The QR codes also reveal how the chocolate bars were produced to bring them to their store shelves.

The Nestlé product QR codes will direct consumers to mobile friendly websites which contain farm more information than could ever be printed onto the actual product labels on the packaging. The company intends to spread the use of these quick response barcodes across all of the products that it has to offer, and is only getting started with the U.K. and the Kit-Kat bars.

The goal is to help its customers to enjoy its products through more informed choices about what they are purchasing and eating. According to the head of strategic business units, marketing, and sales at Nestlé, Patrice Bula, “We hope that consumers, wherever they are in the world, will use these QR codes to learn more about our products.”

Bula went on to say that “We have a wealth of information about the nutritional value and the environmental and social impacts of what we produce, and it makes sense to share that with consumers.”

A simple scan of the QR codes using a smartphone or tablet that has a free scanning app will allow consumers to obtain added information about how to live a healthier lifestyle in general, even with the occasional treat such as a Kit-Kat. It includes guidance about proper portion control, healthier recipes, and the role that all of this plays in a balanced overall diet and lifestyle.

Geolocation app may be in Facebook’s near future

| February 6, 2013

Facebook geolocation appThe latest mobile marketing efforts from the social networking giant could include location tracking.

Sources with knowledge in the areas have revealed that Facebook currently has a team developing a smartphone geolocation app that will track user locations in order to help to boost the effectiveness and relevance of the social media experience on those devices.

The app is currently believed to be slated for a mid-March release for more than a billion users.

According to the sources – who have opted to remain unnamed as the company has yet to release the details of this geolocation project to the public – the main purpose of the app is to allow its users to be able to find friends who are nearby. Regardless of whether or not the app is actually open on the handset, it will still collect data for this and other purposes that are relevant to the application.

This geolocation app is only one of many features that Facebook is continually adding to its mobile experience.

The company may also be using the geolocation data that it receives through the app to be able to enhance the profitability of its mobile marketing efforts – which it has announced will be a primary goal for 2013. This would allow it to gain access to a tremendous amount of user location information, as there are currently over one billion people who use their mobile devices to access their Facebook accounts.

The geolocation information that will be gathered will present a considerable mobile marketing opportunity for the social network, as it will be able to sell ads based on the daily habits and the whereabouts of the app users. This could prove to be highly appealing to many companies who are seeking just this sort of opportunity to take advantage of the high tech benefits that m-commerce has to offer.

At the same time, many consumers and privacy advocates have already been raising concerns about the way that the company manages the personal data that it collects and this may only incense them further. They are not alone in their doubts of the social network’s management and protection of sensitive data, as it has also received the scrutiny of European and American regulators.

Facebook is not alone in this type of geolocation initiative, as both Google Inc. and Apple Inc. have already both created and implemented their own versions of location tracking.