NFC’s, or Near Field Communication, have been gaining rapid growth in recent years as the US banking system attempts to adopt practices that have already been fully integrated into other countries. An example of this would be the PayPass in Australia and the rest of the world where almost every payment terminal accepts PayPass, which accepts payments via NFC technology. Everything from credit cards and phones to wearable technology such as smartwatches has the capacity to process tap-and-go payments nowadays. Almost all subway and train stations also use a variation of the tap and go system from New York’s OMNY system to Melbourne Australia’s MyKi. It is quickly becoming the global standard for electronic payment processes. If you are currently sitting in North America in 2021 and thinking this is a fad, I can assure you it’s not.
Besides banking, there are many different uses for this new technology; however, we will be focused on the marketing uses for NFC technology. Within this capacity, NFC business cards, data transfers, payment processing, magazine ads linked-to websites, bus stop/sidewalk ads, event invitations, wearable technology, and even smart carts at grocery stores. The use of Near Field Communication is becoming more and more popular with New Product Developments and innovative new NFC marketing strategies being formed daily.
Marketers are doing incredible things with this technology. One example is the evolution of the business card. No more are the days of “sorry I lost your business card” or “it got destroyed in the laundry. Professionals can have physical business cards made with an NFC chip that automatically ports over the information on the card as a contact on an individual’s phone. This may also be done phone to phone within proximity to each other.
Another interesting way NFCs are being incorporated into marketing and PR is by incorporating them into magazine ads where individuals can hold up their phone to a particular page and either load a video or a website for further information and a chance for the audience to make an action. This is an incredible innovation as it links traditional and digital marketing together, removes some pain points for the target audience taking action, and delivers added value to print media.
The level of utility doesn’t stop with print media, Near Field Communication is also being used for posters and events. These links will lead the audience to a booking page, a video, or a website for them to take action on. They can then use the same system to sign in and out of in-person events using various NFC terminals. With the current restrictions surrounding COVID-19, it will be interesting to watch how many private businesses and government buildings adopt some of these tracking processes as areas such as New York are currently mandating businesses to keep track of the comings and goings of patrons for contact tracing purposes.
As North America becomes more and more comfortable with the integration of NFC technology into everyday life, it will be interesting to see how this new technology evolves with new applications and processes being found every day. The quest for blue ocean innovation is never-ending, and this is definitely an interesting area to go exploring in.
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