NBC4 Unveils Interactive Application

NBC4 in Burbank is going after its viewers with smartphones and mobile devices with a new service to receive offers from advertisers and station promotional content. myCode is a free app that benefits the station with a greater reach to the audience and benefits advertisers with another way to get its message out, said Steve Carlston, president and general manager of NBC4. “Since you have to pick up your phone, you will have a touch experience with the advertisement,” Carlston said. The myCode technology was developed by WinMore Inc., a mobile-marketing firm based in New Jersey. Carlston said myCode now is part of the station’s social media strategy which also includes communicating through Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. “When I saw what myCode could do and the ability to use the second screen to communicate I wanted to add that on,” he said. After loading the app, a signal from the television set connects to the mobile devices. A viewer needs to be within 75 feet of the TV and have it normal volume to begin receiving messages. Offers are redeemed in several ways, including email-to-print, one-time-use barcode on a mobile device, sending/ sharing with a friend or calling a designated phone number. The myCode technology in the next wave in interactive media, said WinMore President and CEO Daniel Morris. “Viewers want to share, interact and transact and myCode meets that need, while simultaneously benefitting the advertiser and the broadcaster,” Morris said in a prepared statement. NBC4 is working on other interactive ventures at the corporate level and the local level, Carlston said. –Mark R. Madler