You can be sure that whenever a social network becomes successful, people will try to make money off it. Twitter is a very good example.

Of late, all sorts of people have been gaming the social network. For instance, using Twitter bots to artificially boost the number of Twitter followers, as what US Presidential nominee Newt Gingrich allegedly did.

Which was why I approached Gushcloud with some skepticism.

Gushcloud is a Singapore-based startup that, in a nutshell, rewards its users to perform certain tasks promoted by marketers: Tweeting or sharing on Facebook about a product, writing a blog post, or completing a survey. In this way, it’s similar to ChurpChurp.

For marketers, Gushcloud offers an advertising platform that allows them to pick their audience demographics, control how much they want to spend, and how much they want to pay their ‘Gushers’.

It is designed for individuals and companies to advertise with any budget on either Facebook or Twitter. They will be able to see who are the people that have performed the tasks set, and review demographics and click-through rates.

I do have some concerns with this approach. This pay-per-post sort of marketing may lose its efficacy in the long run, once social media users realize these tweets or posts are paid for.

They may also not appreciate having their feeds flooded with commercial tweets. It’s a possible scenario given how Twitter may be launching it’s own self-serve ad platform for small businesses, taking market share away from Gushcloud and its ilk.

It’s a little like an MLM business — easier to make money if you’re in it early on either as a platform like Gushcloud or an individual Gusher, but it gets much tougher as more players enter the market, causing saturation and market fatigue. The high click-through rates which they proclaim now for their campaigns may eventually see diminishing returns.

Another issue I see is how they are blurring the line between authentic and sponsored messages by attempting to cast their marketing solution as both. I wonder if they are going against the fundamental nature of true virality — that people share content because they genuinely love it and not because they’re paid to do so?

Noting my concerns, Althea Lim, Gushcloud’s CMO, said: ”We believe that there will be a minor percentage of people who are tweeting or Facebook sharing for the rewards. However, we found out via our audience base that consumers on the platform are self-censoring themselves; they are only doing the tasks that they like or believe in.”

I guess her point is that paying people to tweet is okay most of the time since they are likely to retweet only what they believe in, even as they receive a monetary incentive for it.

What she didn’t mention is that people are in fact being incentivized to spread a message which they in normal circumstances wouldn’t. A not-so-popular message, through Gushcloud, may end up becoming artificially more viral. Like pumping steriods. There’s also no telling how users may choose to behave in the future. Would they continue to stick to sharing only what they like?

But — and here’s my big disclaimer — I do think Gushcloud is a legitimate startup trying to solve a real problem, that of helping marketers reach out to consumers in an increasingly noisy world.

I genuinely wish them all the best, and I hope they won’t be adding to the noise.

They do at least have one believer though, and a prominent one in John Wu, the co-founder and former CTO of Alibaba Group. His private equity firm Singhome Fund has invested an undisclosed amount of seed money into the company. John is certainly a good partner to have, given his expertise and connections to the Chinese market.

And since their launch last October, user adoption seems to be coming along nicely, with US$70,000 spent on Gushcloud campaigns and 27,000 users within four months.

So where is Gushcloud going from here?

Althea says that the company plans to build “white label brand pages to further incentivize and engage their targeted consumers.”

In terms of expanding to other markets, they have managed to engage several Malaysian celebrities to use the platform, and are even setting up an office in San Francisco.

They’ve also attended the latest SXSW conference. Said Vincent Ha, co-founder and CEO: “Most of the agencies that we spoke to validated the Gushcloud idea. Some where even surprised that such a simple idea of rewarding users for marketing actions weren’t executed in a way like Gushcloud”

In addition, the company has plans to enter Indonesia in May, and Australia before the end of the year. By 2013, they hope to push into the rest of Asia – China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines and Thailand.

I’m genuinely curious how Gushcloud will do as they expand. It’s certainly a good test case of whether this pay-per-post model could work — along with their Silicon Valley brethrens, of course.

The adoption of green practices among entrepreneurs could become the new black in 2012. With natural resources dwindling, the quest for more sustainable business practices that generate profits will remain a pressing issue for years to come.

In addition, as more consumers are willing to spend more on green products, the boon to an organization’s profitability can be substantial. As such, companies know that taking the plunge into green business practices is necessary to add to their company’s overall value.

Green Future Solutions, a Singapore-based business that promotes environmental awareness and action, provides consultancy services to help SMEs reduce costs, increase revenue, and become more sustainable.

Its founder and director, Eugene Tay, sees ways for businesses to reduce the environmental impact of their products throughout its life cycle by exploring the demand for green products and services and being proactive to meet this need, which would help them gain a competitive advantage and increase revenue.

“Business owners will be in a better position to build up their reputation and enhance their brand as a sustainable company. The business can then market its environmental practices or the environmental benefits of its products or services,” he said.

Marketing green products and services as sustainable businesses

Green Cleaners, a leading eco friendly cleaning service in Singapore, is one company that is actively marketing itself as a green business. They specialize in providing green cleaning services to offices and bespoke facilities such as kindergartens, hotels, spas, gyms and health studios.

Colin Pudsey, its founder who moved to Singapore from Australia, started the company in early 2009 after his sinuses and asthma became worse due to long office hours. Suspecting the cause might have been the potent and toxic chemicals used to clean his floors, he tried looking around for a less harmful cleaning service, but couldn’t find one.

He expects a boom in the green cleaning business: “This industry trend is fast becoming mainstream and an expected option in certain areas of the cleaning industry.”

“The U.S.’s well-known previous Vice-President, Al Gore, has created a dynasty around the importance of “green” and saving the environment citing starting a green business as one of the top business start-up options to consider.”

Started two and a half years ago, Green Cleaners now sells their own range of green cleaning products. They also have a franchising program to meet increasing demand across Asia.

They are also helping their clients to promote environmental responsibility as a savvy marketing tool through their Green Stamp certification of approval, which Colin says “has proved to be an excellent value added service.”

Government support and incentives

For economies to progress, governments see a need for industries and companies to tap into renewable energy and become sustainable businesses. The Singapore government has schemes and funding to encourage firms to take the leap and adopt green practices.

Vaidehi Shah, projects manager from the Singapore Environment Council, believes government funding and incentives plays an important role in helping companies in various industries go green, and points out that Building and Construction, Manufacturing, Research, and Transport industries stand to gain the most from government incentives.

Some schemes that help businesses include the Water Efficiency Fund (WEF), which encourages companies to manage their water demand more efficiently, and the Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance Scheme (EASe), a co-funding scheme administered by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to encourage companies in the manufacturing and building sectors to carry out energy appraisals and identify potential areas for energy efficiency improvement.

She says of these eco-shifts: “Businesses are becoming increasingly concerned with greening the whole value chain – beyond the manufacturing process, they’re also becoming mindful of peripheral issues such as transport, packaging, waste management, and even corporate philanthropy.”

Adopting green labels and certifications

Green labels and certifications are becoming more important in the eyes of companies and consumers. With more consumer awareness comes greater impetus within the business environment to seek out certification and external validation for their green efforts, and display eco-labels that distinguish them from other competitors.

One such certification is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), an internationally recognized mark of excellence that provides building owners and operators with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

Colin of Green Cleaners believes the push for such certifications has resulted in more firms engaging the services of his company: “LEED certification not only covers the design and construction stages of a new building but operations too. This means there are points to be earned for things like the how the building is cleaned!”

Similiarly, the BCA Green Mark Scheme was launched in January 2005 to encourage the construction of environment-friendly buildings in Singapore. This benchmarking scheme incorporates internationally recognized best practices in environmental design and performance that has a positive effect on corporate image, leasing and resale value of buildings.

According to Vaidehi of SEC, her organization has the Singapore Green Labelling Scheme, Eco-Office Certification and Singapore Environmental Achievement Awards, and these are examples of local certification and awards programmes that reward strong business commitment to environmental excellence.

She also feels companies are genuinely encouraging behavioural change amongst their workers, to achieve soft changes in their corporate image:

“Environmental volunteering, allowing flexible work hours and telecommuting to reduce car-use and putting up reminders within the office to conserve water, electricity and paper are just some examples. SEC’s Project Eco Office is cognizant of the importance of this, and places heavy emphasis on green behaviour in their certification criteria.”

Monitor and manage environmental risks and impacts

Environmental monitoring and managing such risks and impacts has its benefits and there is a growing awareness among companies to give back as climate change and environmental disasters impact everyone.

The Body Shop is an ideal example of a company engaging in green practices. A well-known advocate of social and environmental responsibility, they are moving towards a hub-based distribution system, consolidating shipping to make less frequent deliveries and merging different types of orders. This improves efficiency and reduces the amount of air freights needed, lessening the company’s carbon footprint.

Eugene of Green Future believes companies can reduce the use of fuel, materials and chemicals and at the same time increase the efficiency and productivity of their operations by finding ways to reduce consumption and disposal so that businesses save on utilities bills and waste disposal fees.

“There are many opportunities to reduce unnecessary wastage and inefficient practices in the business, and reduce costs.”

Photo: Tanaka Juuyoh

Just recently, they launched a pilot program in Singapore’s train stations to allow locals to purchase Valentine’s Day gifts at discount using QR codes, reported AllThingsD.

To purchase a gift, commuters would need to download a QR code reader on their mobile phones to scan the right spot on the poster. They will be brought to a webpage where they can purchase the product using PayPal. The experiment is being run on 15 subway stations in Singapore.

PayPal’s initiative follows a similar move by Cold Storage supermarket during the Christmas season last year, in which they offered groceries like Christmas ham to commuters at a couple of train stations.

Both programs are likely inspired by supermarket chain Tesco in South Korea, which is apparently the one that started the whole trend.

While Tesco reportedly received positive results and increased sales because of their virtual stores, it’s unclear if Cold Storage experienced a significant boost as a result of their experiment.

Although QR codes have frequently been dismissed as a gimmick and a passing fad, it’s more likely that the technology will see niche usage among marketers, who are still figuring out how to use it effectively.

It is also competing with even more advanced technology like NFC, which many believe will herald the new age of mobile payments. But NFC is unlikely to supplant QR codes completely, since both have different use cases.

PayPal appears to understand this well. It is putting its eggs in many baskets, investing in NFC for its Android app, and also working with Home Depot in the United States on a small point-of-sales trial.

Check out the video about PayPal’s Valentine’s Day special in Singapore:

More epic stuff about QR codes:

Ten QR code sins to avoid
QropIt hopes to take QR code implementation to the next level
Good and bad examples of QR code implementation (from Facebook)

QR codes are beginning to enter the mainstream in Singapore, driven by the mass adoption and usage of smartphones, and I expect this trend to continue in 2012.

But while critics might argue that NFC technology will supplant QR codes, I wholeheartedly disagree. Although NFC trials are slated to start in Singapore this year, I’d wager that mainstream adoption is at least one year away (depending on whether the iPhone 5 adopts NFC). It’s likely that QR codes will remain the de facto bridge between outdoor and digital marketing for some time.

Furthermore, even if NFC does reach mass adoption, it only has a range of 4cm. This limitation will mean that both technologies could co-exist as marketing tools.

Entrepreneurs with limited marketing budgets should seriously consider implementing QR codes as they are cheap to create, easy to implement, and measurable in their impact. It imbues marketers with the ability to track performance metrics in outdoor advertising, something that wasn’t possible before.

In this article, I provide ten QR code sins that marketers and entrepreneurs should avoid at all costs. Some of these tips are taken from a whitepaper published by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), a global trade association for mobile marketing.

1) Treating QR codes as a one-dimensional tool

Don’t insult QR codes by limiting its potential. While I’ve seen them being used for directing consumers to a website or YouTube video, there’s so much more that can be done with them.

These include: Offering special deals and promotions, making voice calls, sending SMSes, making purchases, participating in a poll, receiving contact information, and posting messages on Facebook or Twitter.

2) Having an unclear or weak call-to-action that draws little attention

A Citibank ad spotted at City Hall MRT. QR code should be made bigger to emphasis its link with the copy. The small text should be eliminated altogether.

Good marketing copy matters when implementing QR codes. A good rule of thumb would be to use active voice as opposed to passive voice. For example, use “Scan this to receive 10% off your next purchase” instead of, “There is a 10% discount off your next purchase after you scan this.”

Also, make sure that your QR code copy is large enough so that passerbys will be able to see it immediately. If the words are as small as ants, only people standing right in front of it will be able to see the copy.

Here’s a question: What’s worse than having bad QR code copy? Having none at all, which was the case for Tony Tan’ campaign team. He was then a Presidential candidate for Singapore’s Presidential Election in 2011.

3) Providing little or no incentive for consumers to scan QR codes

While the previous point speaks to the style of QR code copy, content matters too. Another rule of thumb to follow is that the copy should answer the “why” and “how” of QR codes. Why should consumers stop in their tracks and whip out their smartphones, an inconvenience in a fast-paced society like Singapore? For consumers who don’t know about QR codes, how would you educate them?

Beyond offering consumers the pedestrian URL to your website, think about how QR codes can contribute to online conversions, your bottom line, or brand education (like Starbucks did). Your copy should reflect these aims.

In developing markets where consumers aren’t quite as educated on QR code usage, consider directing them to a QR code reader like RedLaser, which also scans barcodes, or Google Goggles, which can even scan books, landmarks, and so on.  ShopSaavy has a ‘Scan the ShopSaavy’ art that you can put on your product packaging.

4) Not drawing enough attention to your QR codes

A QR code often has to compete with many numerous other elements in an outdoor advertisement. Whether or not you decide to make QR codes the primary focus of your ad, some design basics can be implemented to make it stand out.

First, ensure adequate spacing aroundyour QR code to give it emphasis, as having too many visuals around it will distract potential customers. Second, ensure your QR code is large enough. The Mobile Marketing Association recommends using the Five Times Rule — “the distance that the user will be scanning should beabout Five Times the size of the code.” Test it out to find gauge the distance the consumer is likely to be away from the marketing material, as well as the size the QR code should be.

Finally, you can implement unique QR code designs. This Mashable article gives tips on how to design beautiful QR codes.

5) Making QR codes the only option in markets with low mobile penetration

QR codes are useless if your target market has low mobile phone penetration. In such cases, make sure you offer elements like hotlines, website URLs, or email addresses on your outdoor marketing material. Also, don’t immediately dismiss QR code usage in countries with low smartphone penetration because many feature phone these days have QR code scanners. Do your research to find out about the feature phones in these countries and whether they have native or third-party QR code scanners installed.

6) Putting the QR code in places that deter consumers from scanning

QR codes at the urinals? Hmm, not too sure about that one. Photo: Robert Nyman

Some common sense and understanding of the psychology and cultural nuances of consumers are needed here. Putting QR codes above the seats in a subway train might sound like a good idea, but think about how embarrassing it may be for them to stretch their hands out to scan a QR code — under the gaze of fellow commuters.

Putting a QR code above a toilet urinal may sound like a good idea, but some consumers might be put off with the idea of using a smartphone in the toilet, especially since it can be unhygienic.

On the other hand, putting these materials in table tops at a cafe or restaurant might be effective, since patrons are not in a hurry and are more likely to spot and scan the QR code.

It’s clear that QR code implementation must be done with sensitivity to the surroundings. Printing marketing materials wholesale without any thought to where it’s being put signals laziness from the marketer.

7) Pointing consumers to a website through an extremely long URL

According to the MMA, QR codes that contain a lot of data are harder to scan and complex in appearance. Hence using URL shorteners like bit.ly or goo.gl can help in making the data more manageable. These two shorteners even allow you to create a QR code along with the URL.

8) Using QR codes without analytics

The key advantage of digital marketing is the ability for companies to track a campaign’s effectiveness. QR codes extend this characteristic to outdoor advertisements, making it an invaluable addition to your arsenal.

Singapore-based startup QropIt (see our product feature) has a free web app that is a QR code reader, QR code generator, and analytics tool all rolled into one. A similar alternative is BeeTagg, although it’s a pay-as-you-go service.  Tagloop, a Singapore-founded freemium service, ties in both NFC and QR code solutions with analytics. Finally, if you’re a heavy Google Analytics user, this article tells you how to track QR codes with it.

9) Ignore the post-scan experience of consumers

Pat yourself on the back for creating a killer marketing collateral. But don’t forget the post-scan experience. Consumers will find it extremely frustrating to scan a QR code for a coupon only to find out that it hits a dead link or a deal that has long expired. Therefore, it’s crucial to think of QR codes not just as a standalone tool but part of a larger integrated marketing effort.

Think about it: If first-time users are turned off by your badly implemented QR code, they might never again scan another QR code. That’s bad news if you are planning on using QR codes again in the future.

One way to improve user experience would be to mobile-optimize your site. Don’t ignore the basic design elements of your website. For example, if you want consumers to buy that product, ensure that the ‘buy’ button on your mobile site stands out.

Test and optimize your web content for popular smartphones like the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S II, tablets like the iPad, and even feature phones with QR code scanners. A new buzzword in web design is ‘responsive design’, which is a website that adjusts itself according to screen size and resolution. If your aging company website is in need of a complete overhaul, revamping it to be responsive could be a good investment.

Finally, make sure you cater to users who scan your QR code after the campaign expires. Include a message indicating that the discount coupon is void, and direct them towards the promotions section of your site.

10) Putting your QR code campaign out in the market without first testing it

This may sound like an obvious transgression, which is why some may overlook it. While a QR code is easy to implement, there are so many elements and steps to it that something may easily go wrong and go unnoticed. Make sure you test it repeatedly, taking into account the location of the QR code (what if the 3G network is spotty in the area? What if it’s monsoon season and your poster is placed in a location with no shelter?).

Ultimately, it’s a very bad idea to use QR codes just because they’re the latest marketing fad. Think carefully about your campaign objectives and whether QR codes are a good fit. Your marketing campaign, after all, shouldn’t just revolve around some newfangled tool. Leave that to the QR code startups.

Some examples of great QR code implementation here and here. Came across examples of good or bad QR code usage? Snap a picture and share it with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+!

Special thanks to them for their contributions to this article: Nityanand Rai, Kuek Jinhua, Rebecca Laurien, Nasrul Mukasim, Jeffrey Paine, Sudhir Gupta, and Jeff McNeill (Apologies to the rest whose suggestions didn’t make it. Maybe next time!)

Here are several key points summarized from the full report.

1) Social networking has emerged globally as the activity which Internet users spend the most time on.

Social networking sites are reaching 82 percent of the global Internet population, or 1.2 billion users. The activity now accounts for 19 percent of time spent online, making it the most popular activity on the Internet. That’s a huge jump from a mere six percent in 2007. Social networking is followed closely behind by search/navigation, retail, and communication.

2) East Asian countries spend the least amount of time on social networks.

While social networking is almost universally a popular activity, cultural differences do matter. While Asia Pacific are seeing high penetration rates for social media, its Internet users are spending only 11 percent of time online on social networks, or slightly under three hours a month.

In contrast, Latin Americans are the marathon runners of social networking, clocking in at 28 percent and over 7.6 hours of monthly usage. Israelis have emerged as the most prolific social media users, at 11.1 hours. In Asia, Philippines is the only outlier occupying the global top ten.

While usage patterns differ across continents, what is similar is that women consistently use social media more than men, or 1.5 hours more per month to be exact.

3) Older people no longer form the minority of social media users (with the exception of Asia).

It used to be true that social networking is a young person’s game. But older people have caught on in the past 18 to 24 months. In fact, the aged 55+ segment is the fastest growing among all age groups.

However, this trend is far more noticeable in North America, Latin America and Europe than in Asia Pacific, where old people still lag behind. Penetration rate among those above 55 in the Asia Pacific is only 59.8 percent against a global average of 79.9 percent.

Internet users aged 15 to 24 are the most prolific at utilizing social media, while those above 55 are the least regular.

4) Facebook continues to be the most dominant social network.

Facebook reaches 55 percent of Internet users worldwide, accounts for three-quarters of the time spent on social networks and one in seven minutes of total time spent online. Facebook is the leader in 30 out of 43 individual countries tracked by comScore in the beginning of 2010, and has since gone on to capture pole position in six more countries.

Today, there only seven markets where Facebook is not the largest player ?– China, South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Brazil, Poland, and Russia.

5) Microblogging tools like Twitter, Tumblr, and Sina Weibo are gaining traction.

Today, Twitter reaches one in ten Internet users globally, hitting a growth rate of 59 percent over the past year. It has emerged as an important tool for ordinary citizens to report on important events like the Japanese Tsunami and the death of Steve Jobs as well as organize political movements like the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Sina Weibo, the tenth largest social network worldwide, is the leading microblogging tool in China with an impressive 181 percent growth rate in the past year. Tumblr, in 12th position, grew by 172 percent over the same period of time. These two tools have registered the strongest growth among the top 20.

With microblogging tools registering the strongest growth, it’s likely they’ll become an even more dominant force in the social media world for years to come.

6) Among the top 20, US-based social networks are attracting vast non-US audiences.

The top four social networks — Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live Profile, and LinkedIn — all have the majority of their users coming from outside the US.

7) Google+ surged to 25 million users faster than any social network in history, but future success remains uncertain.

Google+, which is Google’s own social network, was off to a fast start. It reached 25 million global unique visitors in under a month, and now currently has 65 million users, or five percent of the total social networking audience. To put things in perspective, Facebook took 36 months while Twitter needed 33 months to reach the milestone. However, while sign-ups have certainly increased, Google+ weekly visits have actually dropped to 1.16 million in August from a peak of 1.8 million in July.

8) In the US, social networks lead in online display ad delivered, but lag in terms of spending.

More online display ads are now being displayed on social networking sites than anywhere else, capturing one quarter of US ad impressions. This mirrors the rise in social networking as the predominant activity for Internet users. However, advertisers are still not paying a lot for display ads in social networks, accounting for only 14.8 percent of total US online display ad spend.

Top brands like General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Volksagen, IBM, Intel, HP, P&G, Unilever and Coca-Cola have used the Crisp platform to reach publications like CBS, CNN, ESPN and Yahoo!, as well as ad networks Jumptap, Millennial and Mojiva.

The deal will merge Crisp’s rich media advertising solutions with Smart Device Media’s marketplace to provide brands the ability to extend their reach to mobile devices and other emerging platforms.

“The mobile ad market is at the critical stage where premium brands are starting to play significantly,” said newly appointed Crisp Media CEO Jason Young, who previously co-founded Smart Device Media.

“Yet because barriers to buy still exist, the premium market demands an integrated set of solutions optimized for its unique needs.  Crisp Media will be a catalyst for the industry, by bringing together an unrivaled combination of platform, products, services, and team expertise.”

In April, Crisp received a US$6M investment from EDB Investments (EDBI), the independent equity investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), along with existing backers Meritage Funds and Intel Capital. Subsequently, Crisp planted its Asian headquarters in Singapore.

EDBI aims to contribute to Singapore’s economic growth and by investing in knowledge and innovation-intensive sectors of biomedical sciences, clean technologies, Internet & digital media, and others.

Ambient will be using Amobee PULSE for Publishers to manage mobile advertising for thousands of publishers and global brands in its network, while MCM will use Amobee PULSE for both Advertisers and Publishers.

The Vietnamese advertising network claims to reach 70 percent of online consumers in the country.

“91% of the Vietnamese population uses mobile phones to manage many facets of their daily lives,” said Andrew Stephens, CEO of Ambient Digital.

“The mobile phone is ubiquitous in Vietnam; therefore, reaching these consumers through mobile advertising will be an effective way for large brands to build relationships and get results.”

Trevor Healy, CEO of Amobee, believes there is more to Asia besides India and China. “We are taking the road less travelled and are going to focus on great markets like Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia and Philippines.”

Merah Cipta Media (MCM) Group is a group company that provides complete solutions in branding, marketing, communication and digital media for major industry players in Indonesia. It is situated in a fast-growing mobile market with close to 100 percent mobile phone penetration.

Said Grant Watts, Amobee’s regional vice-president for Asia-Pacific: “With Amobee PULSE for Advertisers and Amobee PULSE for Publishers, MCM will be able to bring value to the entire mobile advertising ecosystem, and deliver highly relevant and immersive mobile ads to Indonesian mobile phone users.”

Thousands of Singaporean commuters taking the train at the Bugis and Boon Lay MRT stations will be in for a Christmas surprise: They can purchase now groceries by scanning QR codes with their smartphones.

The squarish bar codes are placed next to pictures of the items, which are on a wall. Commuters will then be brought to the Cold Storage website, where they can key in their details and get the Christmas ham delivered to their homes. It’s an interesting integration of mobile commerce and ambient marketing.

Dawn Loh, managing director of SMRT Investments, told Channel NewsAsia: “A lot of commuters are always time-starved. Sometimes, they may not have time to do grocery shopping. Online shopping is a way to go now, so with a virtual store now on the public transport network which is very pervasive, we hope that the commuters can take onto this very quickly and more will come on board.”

This initiative started on 7th December and will last till 20th December.

However, Lee Xian Jie, a 22-year-old entrepreneur who passed by Bugis MRT, felt the implementation could have been better.

“The location the advertiser chose was outside the station, and the high traffic does not allow people to stop and snap, as they would wish. If the ads were in the platform area, on the sliding glass doors, people would pay more attention since they would be literally sitting around waiting,” he said.

Singapore is not the first country to have done this. In South Korea, supermarket chain Tesco did something similar in a subway station. Said an Adverblog report: “Online sales between November 2010 and January 2011 increased by 130 percent, with the number of registered members rising by 76 percent.”

2011 has turned out to be the year where QR codes have entered mainstream Singapore and many other parts of the world. Step out of the train at City Hall MRT, and you’ll see a huge poster of the upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie with a QR code that brings you to the movie trailer.

Even our political scene has seen some QR code action, with current President Tony Tan using them on his campaign posters during the Presidential election in August.

I can’t vouch for the effectiveness of how these mobile barcodes are used though, but I expect that as marketers get used to this tool, they’ll become better at it.

Image: Screengrabs from Channel NewsAsia video clip

Sprooki is an app that lets shoppers find out the latest deals near them, purchase the products in-app, and redeem them at the store. Sounds like just another daily deals app? Not quite — it’s much more than that.

Think of it as Groupon meets Chalkboard, with retail analytics built-in.

It is an end-to-end platform that lets retailers push their promotions to mobile users in the vicinity, receive payment directly from customers who use the app, and analyse data about their customers.

Malls too can benefit from using Sprooki, which allows them to launch campaigns, schedule alerts, view real-time results and sales, and read post-campaign reports.

The consumer end has a social media element built into it — shoppers can ‘follow’ stores they like to receive promotions from them, much like on Facebook. This benefits merchants as well since it’s an additional channel to build customer loyalty.

The Singapore-based company was co-founded in February 2011 by Claire Mula. They cooperated with 313@Somerset, a shopping mall located along the Orchard Road shopping belt, to launch their app in November for the iPhone.

So far, the free-to-download app has accumulated more than 35,000 promotions viewed in under three weeks.

While some might think that shopping centers have gone entirely out of the picture in the e-commerce space, I like how this company has not forgotten the fact that malls still hold much sway in the Singapore retail industry. Sprooki is smart to leverage on them to promote their own app, while at the same time offering malls a tool to promote their brand alongside the merchants under them.

“hello i wish to rent a taxi for 1 day and propose to my girlfriend. the taxi will be decorated with photos of us and wordings of: will u marry me? flowers will be placed on the back seat of the taxi and i will call for the cab. venue will be near central area, to be confirmed again,” the message went.

While some would ignore this plea, EatAds.com CEO John Fearon found an opportunity.

“We thought it was a unique request and wanted to make someone’s dream come true,” he told SGE via email.

So his company decided to go the whole nine yards: They arranged for the taxi, printed and installed the proposal onto the vehicle. John also arranged for a videographer to document the whole process. The proposal happened at the end of July.

Silong, the groom, and Jia Ni got to know each other more than four years ago, while they were taking biking lessons.

“We were in the same class and I just can’t get my eyes off her,” said Silong.

“After the motorbike lesson, I saw her chase after the bus, therefore I chased after her. I went up to her and asked to be friends. So we exchanged numbers.”

Their first date did not begin until about a month later, when he was bored one day and decided to ask her out. They soon went on more dates and the relationship blossomed.

“While crossing the road, I just took the chance to grab her hand and never let go since then,” he said cheekily.

Check out the video on their love story below. Skip to 1.20 if you just want to see how the proposal went!