ExtraTags is designed to help brands engage customers and better convey the selling points of their products at retail. ExtraTags is especially well-suited for specialty markets where products are technical in nature, although any brand that desires to have an interactive connection with consumers will find ExtraTags to be a valuable marketing tool. Multi-brand retailers embrace ExtraTags as a selling tool that does not deliver competitive messages to their customers.

ExtraTags delivers a flexible mobile solution to your brand at a fraction of what it would cost to develop, host and maintain internally. Rich functionality such as geo-locating consumers and mapping them against our master database of retailers is a difficult and costly feature to replicate, for example.

Probably the most important consideration in weighing a homemade option is our commitment to maintenance and future development. Mobile technology is rapidly advancing, and ExtraTags invests in its platform to ensure that your brand stays ahead of the curve. New features and enhancements are delivered to you as part of the annual ExtraTags subscription.

ExtraTags is specifically engineered for 1) mobile devices, and 2) a non-competitive retail experience. If your brand has already created a website optimized for mobile devices, your digital assets will lend themselves well to ExtraTags. Your mobile website is not necessarily the best experience for consumers in a retail store, however. For one, your retail partner will not look favorably upon your brand website if it offers their customers alternative styles and/or an online shopping cart (or links to one).

If your brand has vertically-integrated retail stores where cross-channel selling does not pose a competitive issue, ExtraTags can work with you to deliver a hybrid solution. We can display your own website to consumers who are in your brand stores, and a non-competitive ExtraTags website for consumers shopping stores across your wholesale channel.

Currently, ExtraTags is being offered exclusively to brand manufacturers. If you are a retailer interested in taking advantage of the ExtraTags mobile platform, encourage your suppliers to contact us.

In the near future, ExtraTags will be announcing some exciting add-ons for retailers.

ExtraTags clients are provided with a password-restricted, web-based control dashboard to manage all of their campaigns. The system is highly flexible and offers several options for uploading content to ExtraTags. Ad hoc campaigns can be created quickly and easily with simple file uploads and text entry. Alternately, ExtraTags can work with your organization to develop interfaces with your CMS to automate larger-scale campaigns.

ExtraTags stands out as a "retailer-friendly" product. While some smartphone apps are dedicated to price comparisons and online shopping, ExtraTags promises never to display competitive messages, links to online stores or advertisements. Our goal is to help retailers close the sale by educating the consumer and serving as a delivery mechanism for manufacturer incentives.

Another outstanding feature of ExtraTags is its capacity as a customer acquisition tool. Post-purchase, consumers can use ExtraTags to contact the brand, connect with Facebook, or register their products.

QR ("Quick Response") Codes are two-dimensional barcodes that can be scanned and read by most camera-enabled smartphones. Commonplace in Japan, QR Codes are fast becoming mainstream in the US as smartphone adoption soars.

Major US retailers such as Target, Sears and Best Buy are actively employing QR codes in their stores, so consumers are quickly becoming acquainted with the technology.

ExtraTags is web-based to help eliminate any barriers to participation. Consumers are not required to download a special ExtraTags app to their mobile devices. In order to scan the ExtraTags QR Code, however, the consumer will need any one of the many QR Code reader apps available installed on their device. Some newer models of smartphones are being delivered with a built-in QR Code scanner app.

Tens of millions of consumers already have apps on their phones and are actively scanning barcodes. Several apps that were built to scan UPC codes, such as RedLaser, have been updated so that they now also scan QR codes.

ExtraTags keeps track of consumer activity with your campaigns and delivers basic website analytics to the ExtraTags dashboard. Data includes number of scans by product and location, content accessed, shared content and, of course, consumer registration.

No. ExtraTags hosts the entire platform, including your control dashboard. During our set-up phase, we will evaluate your needs to determine if any programming will be required to integrate ExtraTags with your own systems. Typically, these result in simple XML feeds for content or reviews, although ExtraTags can be used out-of-the-box with zero IT integration.

The cost of ExtraTags will vary depending upon your needs. Typical agreements consist of a one-time set-up fee plus an annual subscription.

When evaluating the ROI of ExtraTags, we encourage clients to consider these factors:

• Potential reduction in physical hangtag requirements and costs
• Value of customer acquisition potential
• Cost per impression at retail
• Referrals, mentions and links (i.e. digital sharing) via social media
• Lift in sales through coupons or incentives
• Enhanced relationship with retail partners
• Customer retention benefits of our post-purchase portal