Holland America Line, with an assist from Microsoft, has figured out a way to have consumers cruise over from reading print advertising to a mobile website with promotional videos and interactive content.
The cruise line's upcoming advertising in Food & Wine, The New York Times Magazine and Travel + Leisure, as well as Holland America's consumer brochures, will contain Microsoft Tag 2D bar code technology.
Assuming smartphone wielders have downloaded the free Microsoft Tag Reader software, they will be able to scan the bar code and navigate to a specially designed Holland America Line mobile site.
The cruise line says "the content and user interface are designed to encourage sharing and include a series of mobile-optimized videos and a mobile gallery displaying art collections aboard Holland America Line ships."
The Microsoft Tag Reader phone app can be used on Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Java 2 Micro Edition, Symbian S60, Windows Mobile and Windows Phone 7 smartphones.
The cruise line tapped advertising agency Hey and creative technology firm 8ninths to pull off the mobile campaign.
Here's a YouTube video on how Microsoft Tag technology works:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuDTlDfAbWU