• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, August 12, 2019

Isobar Brazil has launched a QR code to serve promotional content from McDonald’s, Burger King, and Subway in a print ad. The new ad format provides personalized offers based on consumer profiles, time of day and geolocation.

The programmatic ad for print media was developed with O Estado de S. Paulo, Brazil's traditional newspaper founded in 1841, wrote Rui Branquinho, Isobar Brazil chief creative officer, in an email to Data & Programmatic Insider. “They bet on our creative idea to start this digital transformation and, through technology, prepare its media platforms to [accept] this new scenario,” he wrote.

It's probably one of the more innovative examples of media serving I've seen in a long time that uses traditional technology.

The pilot was released on July 26. The print ad has a smartphone-readable QR code. The geolocation and the time the code was read determine the ad that is served up.

Data allows each advertiser to rethink creative ideas based on the ad’s performance. The geolocation data comes from the consumer. If the consumer provides consent through the cell phone’s privacy setting, the technology will cross this data with the time of the day to deliver the best offer.

Branquinho said the next phase of the campaign will integrate temperature and will allow brands to bid on the media, giving them a better way to offer consumers the best experiences.

Branquinho said this type of technology would work in other market segments and will enable the companies to split the space on the printed page to offer their best deals to readers.

Isobar Brazil began with the fast-food industry because they are the most recognized in the category and have many stores in the city of São Paulo.

Programmatic technology can give the brands leverage in media that other media cannot, Branquinho says, explaining that crossing the location data and time of day in real-time allow the brand to serve personalized messages.

In this specific ad campaign with the fast-food restaurants, the offerings are related to breakfast items in the morning, lunch at noon, ice cream in the middle of the afternoon, and meals at night.