Vancouver's Gauge Mobile and Newad launch Canada's first NFC advertising network

Vancouver-based Gauge Mobile and Newad are have announced the first dedicated out-of-home NFC advertising network in North America.

Near Field Communications is an integral part of the Scanvee platform that enables smartphone users to tap their phone on a Newad advertising display to receive discount coupons, enter contests, provide feedback or purchase products. The Scanvee NFC badge will roll out on 200 of Newad’s large, backlit display boards located in top college and university campuses across Canada, providing advertisers a new way to engage an important and growing segment of Canadian smartphone owners.

Thanks to Google, NFC is fast emerging as the standard for making payments using your mobile phone. Mobile commerce is projected to reach a staggering $670 billion by 2015. 

“It’s an exciting time in the evolution of out-of-home advertising,” notes Tony Vassiliev, CEO of Gauge Mobile, the company that developed the Scanvee platform.  “NFC has the potential to turn all indoor and outdoor displays, or other awareness-building media, both static and digital, into interactive points of sale. This is great news, not only for Newad, but for the Out-of-Home industry as a whole."

“Our research shows that 60% of our audience has a smartphone," says Jerrid Grimm, Vice President, Client Services at Newad. "The Scanvee integration gives our advertisers a convenient and innovative way to interact with this audience.”

QR codes are also integrated into the Scanvee hardware and software platform. Scanvee is a QR code and Near Field Communication solution built by Gauge Mobile to transform awareness-building media into measurable engagement tools for reaching today’s mobile consumer. Newad reaches young and affluent Canadians by guiding its millions of consumers to four targeted platforms.