JAGTAG offers wider mobile audience to charities than QR codes
Howard Lake | 27 January 2011 | News
Launched today, JAGTAGS is a 2D barcode technology designed to enable charities to accept mobile donations anywhere in the world, and from a wider audience than that which can donate using QR codes.
JAGTAGS allows the user to make a mobile donation to the charity of their choice by taking a photo of the ‘JAGTAG’ on their phone and sending this by MMS to the designated number. This then triggers a £3 donation to the chosen charity, which receives 85% of the donation, deducted from the phone user’s bill. There is no set up or monthly fee for the charity.
The system is being piloted by The Sick Children’s Trust, a charity which provides free, ‘Home from Home’ accommodation for families whose children are seriously ill in hospital.
Claudette Watson, Chief Executive for The Sick Children’s Trust, said: “We wanted to reach out to a younger audience and make them aware of the work we do. JAGTAGS is an innovative and easy way for them to fundraise for us”.
The older 2D barcodes, QR codes, have been around since 2002. They utilise the camera in smart mobile phones to connect printed codes to the mobile web by scanning the barcode so people can instantly request and receive information, and in some cases make a donation. However, currently, this can only be done via a smartphone, which accounts for just 25% of mobile phone owners in the UK.
The JAGTAG technology allows 2D barcode interactivity from any camera phone, without the need for a reader download or web connection. It has already been used in campaigns in the USA for Nike, Red Bull and Sports Illustrated magazine.
Martin Copus, UK-based Business Development Partner, International at JAGTAG Inc said: “Although mobile giving is not a new concept, JAGTAG doesn’t have the limitations of current mobile 2D barcodes, which is especially important in the third sector for a charity like The Sick Children’s Trust, who won’t want to miss out on the possibility of a donation, just because their supporter doesn’t have the right type of phone.
“The image of a JAGTAG is visually more exciting than an SMS call-to-action, so we hope this will draw the attention of donors that wouldn’t usually think to support the charity.
“A JAGTAG can be printed or published in any visual medium (posters, leaflets, websites, TV etc), so the possibilities of marketing with the technology are limitless. In the future, we will be looking to roll out JAGTAG to deliver video content, voting, or entering a competition”.
You can try out the JAGTAG and donate to The Sick Children’s Trust by taking a picture of this JAGTAG with your mobile and sending it to 87078.
www.jagtag.com
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.