Case Study

Columbia Records and We Love Mobile used Mobile QR (Quick Response) Codes to support sales of Manners, the debut album by Passion Pit. The band signed to Columbia Records following  2008’s Chunk of Change EP and a huge online buzz.  Their debut album followed in May 2009 to critical acclaim and packed summer of festivals and touring.

The rich mobile codes were the first of their kind to be used outside Japan, and feature artwork from the album. They were available via posters, flyers and print marketing as well as from the web, including the Passion Pit Myspace and Facebook pages. New codes were posted up over a period of weeks, each one revealing a new free track or video.

The campaign was partnered by 7Digital and independent record stores throughout the UK, delivering online and offline discounts for Manners as further reward for interaction with the campaign.

Users were encouraged to interact with the codes to download the exclusive content directly to their phones. They were also pushed links and money off vouchers to paid-for downloads via partners, including a reduced-price full album. All mobile interactions and downloads were trackable and Sony Music and We Love Mobile closely monitored and assessed response rates and ROI across the campaign.

In a departure from previous Mobile QR code campaigns, We Love Mobile ensured that reach is maximised by allowing fans to also use a standard short-code, or URL, to access the same content.